jrl daily thoughts

To Whom Belong Wisdom and Might

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-06:00

“To whom belong wisdom andmight” (Daniel 2:20)

Have you ever had one ofthose days or weeks where you wonder what God is doing? It is the time when you have to constantlyremind yourself of his sovereignty over all of life. We thought we hadeverything taken care of but had other plans. The good news is they are better plans. God always has the best plans because he is the One “to whom belongwisdom and might.”

J.I. Packer defines wisdomas “the power to see, and the inclination to choose, the best and highest goal,together with the surest means of attaining it.” While we sit dazed and confused about whatGod is doing in our lives, we can rest assured that he has the best and highestgoal in mind. He is working all his plansaccording to his wisdom, not ours. Wehave a short sighted view as to why life should work the way we think it shouldwork. But God as an infinite view oflife which spans our entire existence that he is working out for our good andhis glory. The wisest thing we can do istrust that this is true. He is also theonly One with the power to see and choose those surest means of attaining thegoal. Power and wisdom go hand and hand. Packer says, “Wisdom without power would be pathetic, abroken reed; power without wisdom would be merely frightening; but in Godboundless wisdom and endless power are united, and this makes him utterlyworthy of our fullest trust.”

The question for us is do wetrust him?

What is revealed about ourhearts when these times of crisis come into our lives is the fact that wereally thought that we had things in control. In my own life in see this because right away I want to fix theproblems. We turn into mystery solvingtrying to piece everything together to fit into the idea of how things shouldbe in life. But God is trying to teachus about his sovereignty. He wants us tosee that he had everything in control before the crisis and he is in controlduring the crisis. He wants us to trusthis character. He wants us to see thatwisdom is wiser and is power is stronger than our own. This isn’t easy because we never see the endresult until God says it is time to see the end result. We may not get it during the crisis but whenit is through there are so many things to look back on and praise God for hiswork. It is amazing that he always hasthe best and highest goals in mind.

Trust him. It is that simple yet so hard at times. We need to trust his character. Sadly the reason most of us do not trust himis because of our lack of knowing him. We need to be people of the Word. He left us the Scriptures for the purpose of knowing him. He sent his Son to die for the purpose ofknowing him. “For God so loved the worldthat he sent his only Son that whosoever believes in him might not perish buthave eternal life…And this iseternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John3:16; 17:3). It is hard to trust someonewe do not know.

Grace upon grace,

JRL

To Know God

2012-01-26T08:24:00.002-06:00

“What were we made for? To know God.

What aim should we set ourselves in life? To know God.

What is the ‘eternal life’ that Jesus gives? Knowledge of God. ‘This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent’ (John 17:3)

What is the best thing in life, bringing more joy, delight and contentment than anything else? Knowledge of God. ‘This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and know me” (Jer. 9:23-24).

What, of all the states God ever sees man in, gives God most pleasure? Knowledge of himself. ‘I desired…the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings,’ says God (Hos. 6:6)

In these few sentences we have said a very great deal. Our point is one to which every Christian heart will warm, though the person whose religion is merely formal will not be moved by it. (And by this very fact his unregenerate state may be known). What we have said provides at once a foundation, shape and goal for our lives, plus a principle of priorities and a scale of value.

Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life’s problems fall into place of their own accord.” (J.I. Packer, Knowing God)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Hell-Deserving Sinners

2012-01-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

Another great blog which focuses upon the gospel of Jesus Christ is Of First Importance. If you do not follow this blog I would encourage you to do so. This was on the blog the other day and I thought these were great words from John Stott:

All inadequate doctrines of the atonement are due to inadequate doctrines of God and man. If we bring God down to our level and raise ourselves to his, then of course we see no need for a radical salvation, let alone for a radical atonement to secure it. When, on the other hand, we have glimpsed the blinding glory of the holiness of God, and have been so convicted of our sin by the Holy Spirit that we tremble before God and acknowledge what we are, namely ‘hell–deserving sinners’, then and only then does the necessity of the cross appear so obvious that we are astonished we never saw it before.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Children of God

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

Praise to the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ
Our God and our King, to Him we will sing
In His great mercy, He has given us life
Now we can be called the children of God
Great is the Love that the Father has given us
He has delivered us
He has delivered us

Children of God, sing your song and rejoice
For the love that He has given us all
Children of God, by the blood of His Son
We have been redeemed and we can be called
Children of God
Children of God

A mystery is revealed to the universe
The Father above has proven His love
Now we are free from the judgment that we deserve
And so we are called the children of God

We are the saints
We are the children
We've been redeemed
We've been forgiven
We are the sons and daughters of our God (Third Day)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

The LORD also has put away your Sin

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

"The LORD also has put away your sin" (2 Samuel 12:13)

These are the words of the Lord spoken through the prophet Nathan. These were great words of comfort to the soul of king David. David had just committed adultery with Bathsheba. Then he had her husband killed in the war when he commanded Joab to place Uriah at the front of battle and withdraw the other men. These were selfish days for David. He no longer saw God as all-glorious because his sin had blinded him. But God lavished his grace upon him through the prophet Nathan.

Have you ever doubted the grace of God? Maybe sin has had a grip upon you and you think God is no where to be found. Or maybe sin has a grip on you and you don't want God around. Maybe you are content in or enjoying your sin. Perhaps you love the sin and no longer feel as if God can satisfy your soul. These are troublesome days if this is true of your life. If you are his though, he will not let it go long. God will expose your sin bringing you to repentance and turning you back to him. He wants your best even if it hurts. David was no different. It was said of David that he was a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22). That tends not to register with us after we read a chapter like 2 Samuel 11. God was still there as David's Savior but David's had not guarded himself against sin. He really had no accountability from an earthly standpoint either. Once he got away with one sin, he just kept piling them on until he was at a place where he needed to sin more to cover up his sin. This was a mess. But David did not realize how big of mess it actually was at the time. He was loving his sin while rejecting his God.

The good news is that God never rejected David. While David was indulging his flesh, God was grieving over David's sin. He knew David would never be satisfied with his sin which is why David continued down the trail until God rescued him from himself. So he sends the prophet Nathan to confront him. Nathan comes and speaks truth to David using a parable to peel the blinders of David's eyes. We also see the grace of God in the fact that David was broken over his sin. David did not try to deny his sin but rather repented saying, "I have sinned against the LORD." We get even a greater glimpse into David's brokenness over his sin in Psalm 51:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot our my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly of my iniquities, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. (1-4a)

God had brought his child back to the fountain of life. He brought David back to drink from the eternal spring which satisfies the soul. David had a broken spirit and a contrite heart which are the sacrifices of God. And God spoke through Nathan again saying to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin." I imagine tears were streaming down the face of David and excitement was welling up in his heart as he heard that he was forgiven of his sin.

What about us? Maybe we haven't committed sins like David but we have all sinned. Worse off, we are all sinners. This is who we are as humans. We are all sinners by nature. Because of Adam we all have the "sinner gene." There is no escaping this reality. Maybe we haven't committed sins like David but each of us are capable of it. In our thoughts and intentions we have all committed these sins. We must remember that David is not our standard. If we are better than David or our neighbor or our friends or whoever you want to put on that list, it only means one thing: We are better than those people. The problem is those people are not the ones who will judge us in the end. There is a Judge and his name is Jesus. His standard is perfection. He demands holiness. This is a dilemma for all of us from the "good" to the "bad."

But the good news is that the Judge came to pay our penalty that we deserve. He came to take our wrath and our sins upon himself. David could be pardoned and reconciled because of Christ. We too can be forgiven and reconciled because of Christ. If your faith is in Christ than you already know about this pardoning. If sin has gripped you, repent. Come with your broken heart to the foot of the cross and see your Father's loving arms outstretched ready to embrace you. If you are not in Christ, repent. Humbly bow before the Father and ask him to forgive you of you sins. Place your faith in Christ. Hear the word of the Lord: "The Lord also has put away your sin."

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Keep Short Accounts of Sin

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

In 2 Samuel 12 we see the grace of God in the life of David. David has spiraled down into depths of sin he probably never imagined could take place in his life. David had let his guard down in small ways which lead to great sins in his life. But God showed him grace by sending the prophet Nathan to rebuke him in his sin. Nathan tells the parable of a rich man, who had herds and flocks of sheep, and a poor man, who had one little ewe lamb. The rich man had a guest coming into town but did not want to kill one of his own lambs so he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for his guest. David is enraged and rightfully so, but little does he know the parable is about him. Nathan clues him in when he says, "You are the man!" Ouch!
As I looked at this passage I thought about the way God works in our lives. He wants us, as his children, to keep short accounts of our sin so that we do not plummet down into our spiritual grave. Here are three ways in which we can keep short accounts of sin:

1. Know the Bible

In order to know God, what he loves and hates, we must know his Word. We must let him speak for himself. Speculation about God will disappear as we get to know him through his Word. Read Psalm 119.

2. Hear the Bible taught

Be involved with a church that not only teaches the Bible but lives out what its been taught. We need pastor and people to hold us accountable. We need pastors who won't tickles our ears but rather confront us with God's truth. We also need faithful brothers and sisters who will hold us accountable.

3. Have friends like Nathan

We want to have friends who will help us see our sin. We want them because we are so often blinded by sin. True friends will tell us the hard things because they know it is best. They truly love us. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend" (Prov. 27:6). It is never easy to be one of these friends because most of us hate being rebuked. Rebuke crushes our pride. But these friends won't stop at telling us about our sin but they will continue on to remind us of the grace of Jesus Christ found at the cross. They will take us to the gospel and give us the joy of being forgiven sinners. Nathan did this very thing with David when he said, "The LORD also has put away your sin." Good friends will tell us bad news but will continue on with the Good News.

Three ways to keep short accounts with sin. How are you doing in this area?

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Lord of Patience

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

Written by Shai Linne and Melissa Thorpe

Heavenly Father, we come to You in the name of Jesus
It's because of His righteousness that we pray You receive this
Lord, you're holy, we shouldn't even be in Your presence
Due to our sin, we don't deserve the least of Your blessings
But through the cross and believing that Jesus is risen
Even the worst of sinners can be redeemed and forgiven
I'm living proof when I say this and these are truthful statements
You're beautiful when displaying Your unusual patience
You take the blasphemous- pridefully stuck in our blindness
Instead of smashing us, decided to love us with kindness
Even with unbelievers facing Your terror, You slow up
Like when You waited patiently in the era of Noah
We know that with You, a day is just like a thousand years
So does that mean for every sin, You cry a thousand tears?
Who can record Your graces? Adored through scores of ages
Your reward is the nations, for You are the Lord of patience

Chorus
Our Sovereign God, You are
The Lord of Patience, yeah
Your wrath, Oh God, we deserve
Christ has taken, yeah

Gracious God, You are
Slow to anger, yeah
You're Lord of patience and
You love us patiently

Lord, we worship You, we know that everything we owe You
And when we reflect on the time before we came to know You
How we were unbelievers committing tons of treason
We had a hundred reasons why we wouldn't come to Jesus
But they were all excuses because our thoughts were useless
That's what the dark produces, Father, You already knew this
We were foolish and clueless, just as ruthless as Judas
Who knew that You would choose to pursue us and move to woo us
So after waiting with patience as we would run from You
You activated our faith so that we would come to You
Your law exposed our sin so that we would know the danger
And take refuge in the Holy Savior who's slow to anger
And as our teary eyes beheld the cross of our King
We understood the true meaning of long-suffering
Who can record Your graces? Adored through scores of ages
Your reward is the nations, for You are the Lord of patience

And now that we're in Christ, the thing that is amazing to us
Is that You still continue to display Your patience to us
Through all our stumbles and falls and our idolatry
Through all our grumbling and all of our hypocrisy
Our self-righteousness, with brothers and sisters we're hostile
Our unforgiveness- all because we're just missing the gospel
We should be slow to anger, but Your Word- we're slow to hear it
Oh Father, help us please! We truly need Your Holy Spirit!
He is the only Person who can shape this fruit within us
We praise the risen Savior who is able to present us
Without an ounce of blame, with zero doubt or shame
Lord Jesus, down You came from heaven to announce Your reign
In the hearts of Your people, and now we have the truth
And gladly choose to praise You for all of Your attributes
Who can record Your graces? Adored through scores of ages
Your reward is the nations, for You are the Lord of patience

Grace upon grace,

JRL

Your Words are True

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

“Your words are true” (2 Samuel 7:28)

Have you ever considered that God is a God of truth? All God knows is the truth. He cannot lie. The Bible says, “It is impossible for God tolie” (Hebrews 6:18). God only speaks truth. God only knows truth. I admit it is hard to wrap my mind aroundthis truth because of who I am as a sinner but it is true nonetheless. The question for us: Do we believe this is who God is? Can we echo the words of David, “Your wordsare true”?

When God promises something he is not blowing smoke. He is not giving us some pep talk to motivateus to listen to him. God is clear thatwhat he promises is for the sake of his own glory. He wants to be praised and magnified throughhis promises. Many think this kind ofthinking can make God seem arrogant, like he is some egotistic being vainlyseeking the praises of others. Thiswould be true if he were not the highest source of delight and joy. He would be egotistical if he were notGod. Since he is God and eternal joy andsatisfaction can be found in him alone than the praising and magnifying of hisname would be the highest delight for his creatures. God is seeking his glory but also our highestjoy. This is the reason we should be clingingto his promises. His promises are truebecause they bring him glory and we get the joy.

Maybe we should look at a couple of God’s promises. Let’s look at the bookends of Romans 8. The first bookend says that there is no morecondemnation for those who are in Christ. If you are like me, you have felt condemnedmany times because of sin. The guiltweighs heavy upon us. We fall into thetrap of thinking we need to earn God’s favor again and again. But God is telling us that if we are inChrist than we have no more condemnation. Christ was condemned in our place at the cross. We have no reason for condemnation becausethe Father sees us clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ. You and I cannot improve on perfection. Rather than fall into the trap of guilt andlegalism, we should cling to God’s promise by faith. When we fall into legalism we sin and God isnot glorified and we are discontent. When we trust God’s words by faith, he isglorified and we have joy.

The second bookend of Romans 8 is that nothing can separate usfrom the love of God in Christ Jesus. Thisis an easy promise not to believe. Howmany times have we moped around wondering how God could love a wretch likeme? We sing that “God saved a wretchlike me” but live as if he did not send his Son to die in our place. We doubt God’s love for us in Christ. Let’s face it, our moping around is nothingmore than a prideful pity party. We wantit to be about us and how bad we are. Rather we should trust God’s promise to us that in Christ nothing can separateus from his love. When we cling to thispromise by faith he receives the glory and we receive joy unspeakable.

God’s words are true. We must hold on to them by faith. When we doubt his promises, we doubt his character. As his adopted children we can firmly clingto his promises. The amazing part isthat the gospel is at the core of every promise. The Bible says, “For all the promises of Godfind their yes in him” (2 Cor. 1:20). In who? Jesus Christ. For those who arein Christ we have a guarantee found in Christ. God promised before the world was formed to redeem a people for his ownpossession. Since this is true why wouldwe, as his possession, doubt his promises? In the light of gospel, unbelief just doesn’tmake sense. We need God to help ourunbelief. May we say with David, “Yourwords are true.”

Grace upon grace,

JRL

All Grace Dwells in God

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

Good words from James Smith courtesy of Grace Gems:

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you--so that in all things at all times, having all that you need--you will abound in every good work!" 2 Corinthians 9:8

All grace dwells in God-and flows freely from Him. He is glorified in the communications of His grace to the most unworthy. You have received a little--He is able to make all of His grace abound toward you.

The aboundings of His grace will produce . . .
   strong faith,
   great patience,
   deep humility,
   holy contentment,
   ardent love,
   joyful hope,
   warm zeal,
   Scriptural courage,
   and spiritual fortitude.

It is divine grace which . . .
   first quickened us to feel our lost state;
   led us to Jesus;
   gives us a good hope;
   conquers our corruptions;
   enables us to act for the Lord's glory.

In reference to all these things-you feel miserably deficient; you cannot produce them. But God can make His grace abound to you. He can give you a sufficiency of grace . . .
   to support you under every trial,
   to strengthen you under every burden,
   to qualify you for every duty, and
   to fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

You have perhaps set about doing good works-and have found yourself unable to perform them. You feel ashamed of what you have done; you have condemned yourself, and perhaps have given way to fear and despondency. Good works can only be performed through grace received from the Lord.

Without God's grace-the wisest miscarry.
With grace-the most simple succeed!

We can only serve God rightly-when we serve Him with His own grace.

You are not sufficient of yourself so much as to think a good thought! Without supplies of grace from Christ-you can do nothing to please Him.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Obedience brings Victory

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-06:00

Jerry Bridges gives us some good words on holiness in his book the Pursuit of Holiness. Bridges asks,

If holiness is so basic to the Christian life, why do we not experience it more in daily living? Why do so many Christians feel constantly defeated in their struggle with sin? Why does the church of Jesus Christ so often seem to more conformed to the world around it than to God?

Ouch. But sadly that does sound like me so often. I know I'm not on an island though because this is a struggle with so many of us as followers of Christ. Why are we so often conforming to the world and therefore being defeated? Bridges continues:

Our first problem is that our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered. We're more concerned about our own "victory" over sin than we are about the fact that our sins grieve God's heart. We cannot tolerate failure in our struggle with sin chiefly because we are success-oriented, not because we know it's offensive to God...God wants us to walk in obedience - not victory. Obedience is oriented toward God; victory is oriented toward self.

Will you begin to look at sin as an offense against a holy God, instead of as a personal defeat only?

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Come Praise and Glorify

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

Come praise and glorify our God
The Father of our Lord
In Christ He has in heav'nly realms
His blessings on us poured
For pure and blameless in His sight
He destined us to be
And now we've been adopted through
His Son eternally

To the praise of Your glory,
To the praise of Your mercy and grace
To the praise of Your glory
You are the God who saves

Come praise and glorify our God
Who gives His grace in Christ
In Him our sins are washed away
Redeemed through sacrifice
In Him God has made known to us
The myst'ry of His will
That Christ should be the head of all
His purpose to fulfill

Come praise and glorify our God
For we've believed the Word
And through our faith we have a seal
The Spirit of the Lord
The Spirit guarantees our hope
Until redemption's done
Until we join in endless praise
To God, the Three in One (Tim Chester, Sovereign Grace Music, The Gathering)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Lower than a Slave

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-06:00

"I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is he who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose." (John 1:26-27)

John's mention of Jesus' sandal strap was an idiom, an expression of the Jews. A disciple of a rabbi, such as Jesus' disciples, not only attended the lectures of the rabbi and learned the lessons that he taught, he took on the role of a servant. The disciple actually functioned as the personal slave of the rabbi and took care of all of his needs - making his housing arrangements, getting his food, and so forth. We see examples of this in the ministry of Jesus, such as the occasion when he sent his disciples into Jerusalem to make sure that a room was reserved where he could celebrate the Passover. But the one thing that differentiated a disciples in a rabbinical school from an actual bondslave was that the disciples was never required to take care of the shoes or the sandals of his teacher. A slave could be reduced to that humiliating task, but not a disciple. Therefore, when John said, "I am not even worthy to unstrap his sandals," he was saying: "Don't look at me. I'm lower than a disciple. I'm even lower than a slave. I'm not even worthy to untie his shoes, to take off his sandals, to clean his feet. Don't look to me. Look to him."

I believe John put this incident right at the beginning of his Gospel to help focus his readers' attention on the One whom John's Gospel announces. John is saying, through John the Baptist, "It's time to make straight the highway of our God." (R.C. Sproul, John)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Immanuel

2011-12-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

“Immanuel” (Matthew 1:23)

This is the most wonderful time of the year. It is a time to celebrate. It is a time to spend with loved ones. It is a time set aside to give gifts to friends and family. It is a time to be reminded of the greatest gift ever given. It is a time to celebrate the birth of the baby born of the Virgin Mary. It is a time to celebrate “Immanuel (Which means, God with us).” But it is crucial, as Christians, that we not only celebrate the coming of Christ on Christmas but every day. Jesus’ coming has everything to do with our salvation.

The deity of Jesus Christ is often a stumbling block for many. This is often what separates biblical Christianity from false religion. There are many people and religions under the umbrella of Christianity that deny this most important truth. This is a doctrine we must stand up against. Why? Isn’t that unloving? If eternal life is on the line than the most loving thing we can do is fight for this truth. We are not physically fighting over this truth but rather standing up, in love, to speak about the truth written in God’s Word. Jesus claimed to be “the way, the truth and the life” and also said “no one can come to the Father but through me” (John 14:6). The Bible also says, “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we can be saved” (Acts 4:12). Obviously Jesus is important because our salvation is based on him.

Why does he have to be God in order to save sinners?

The reason he must be fully God and truly man is because we need a mediator. Sinners cannot have a relationship with a holy God unless sin has been dealt with by a perfect and holy sacrifice. But this perfect and holy sacrifice must also be able to relate and sympathize with humanity. This is why the Mediator must be 100% God and 100% man. The Father sent us a mediator when he sent his Son into the world to save sinners. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus knew he was the mediator. He “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:6-7). The baby born in the manger is our hope. The baby born in the manger is God in the flesh. He came to dwell among his creation so that we could have a mediator. “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). His singular sacrifice on the cross atoned for our sin. Without Bethlehem there is no Calvary. Without his birth, we have no victory.

“Immanuel” should ring through our ears throughout the year. The celebration should be going on in our hearts as we ponder the gospel. The man who died upon the cross was the very baby born in a stable. His single purpose was to be the perfect sacrifice for sinners. Through faith in Jesus, the Mediator, we have salvation. There is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved. Salvation is only found in “Immanuel.”

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Luke 2:1-21

2011-12-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:1-21)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

God With Us

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

Grateful for this video from The Village Church:

Advent: God With Us from The Village Church on Vimeo.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Sinners are the Source of Evil

2011-12-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

Recently an article was put out by ABC News titled Atheists Who Go to Church: Doing It for the Children. In the article I saw an interesting statement:

"Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, physicist Victor Stenger and others see religion as a source of evil in the world."

For once I agree with Dawkins. As a follower of Jesus Christ I agree with this statement from these atheists. No, I haven't denied my faith. No, I haven't lost my mind. But I agree that religion can be a source of evil in the world. Dawkins, Stenger and the others may argue that biblical Christianity is a religion but I argue that true, biblical Christianity has everything to do about faith in Jesus Christ rather than the external rituals of religion. This very thing seperates Christianity from the other religions. Religion is a legalistic, man-made idea which tries to earn or appease a god. Biblical Christianity is all about God working in the life of the sinner. Religion has ranks. Christianity has a level playing field. Religion is all about doing. Christianity is all about what's been done.

This is why I agree with Dawkins and his crew that religion can be a source of evil. To believe in an afterlife without knowing how to get there will drive a person mad. The reality is everyone wants an afterlife. Everyone knows this world cannot be it. This world does not satisfy us like we are meant to be satisfied. We all want rescue from this fallen world. Religion tries to earn the afterlife. Atheists try to get rid of God. Both religious people and atheists reject God but they both know there is a God. One wants to earn his favor and the other wants to get rid of him. But notice they both acknowledge that he exists.

What's the point?

The longing for both is a proper longing. Lets face it: Atheists think religion is a source of evil and the religious think atheism is a source of evil. But let me direct our attention to Jesus Christ. Jesus came to bring peace. He came to bring peace or reconciliation between sinners and himself which in turn bring peace between humans. Sin is why we have no peace. This is a fallen world. Sadly we have looked to everything as the remedy. Whether it's earning God's favor by doing "good works" or trying to get rid of God altogether. But there is a remedy. The remedy is Jesus Christ. He is the answer to the problem of sin. And he came to earth to die for sinful humanity. He came to break the bondage in which sinners are enslaved. Remember what the angels declared at his birth:

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2:14)

Jesus Christ is the one in whose image we are created. He is our Creator. He knows how peace will exist between us and him. But he also knows how peace will exist between you and me. It starts with loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength then and only then will peace be among humans. The source of evil lies in our lack of loving God in the way he intends for us to love him. The bottom line is sin is at the heart of evil and we are all sinners. We all need peace with God in order to fight against the sin in our own hearts which keeps us from living at peace with one another. We need grace. We need God's grace. We need God's transforming grace found only in Jesus Christ.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Don't Assume Saving Feelings

2011-12-15T08:00:00.000-06:00

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! (Psalm 34:8a)
In his book Religious Affections, Jonathan Edwards says this about the natural man having a perception of God's greatness yet not submitting to God for salvation:

"Natural" people can have some perception of God's greatness, power, and awesome majesty, and this tends to convince them that the Bible is the Word of a great and terrible God. They may even have a sense of the great guilt that sin against this God brings, and the dreadfulness of His wrath. Because of their guilt and fear, they then tend to believe more readily what the Bible says about the world to come. But this sense of fear and guilt is not enough for a truly spiritual conviction, for these people have no sense of the beauty and sweetness of God's holiness. And yet this fear and guilt are sometimes mistaken for a saving conviction, and the emotions that result are assumed to be a saving feeling of the heart.

Edwards is not taking away from the fear of the Lord but salvation is not all about dread. God's wrath is against all of us yet for those who are is chosen children through the finished work of Christ we now have been given a new heart that cherishes God. The wrath we deserve has been poured out on Christ so we in return will have hearts that are overflowing in worship for our Savior. The "natural" religious man knows nothing of this part of the relationship. The reason? Because he truly does not have a relationship with God. To the "natural" man God is an angry grandfather who lacks compassion; but for his children he is a loving Father who has graciously sent his Son to die in our place in order to bring reconciliation.

We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:11)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

He Died, was Buried and Rose Again

2011-12-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

At Your Name

2011-12-13T08:29:00.001-06:00

At Your name
Mountains shake and crumble
At Your name
The oceans roar and tumble
At Your name
Angels will bow
The earth will rejoice
Your people cry out

At Your name
The morning breaks
In Your glory
At Your name
Creation sings Your story
At Your name
Angels will bow
The earth will rejoice
Your people cry out

Lord of all the earth
We shout Your name, shout Your name
Filling up the skies
With endless praise, endless praise
Yahweh, Yahweh
We love to shout Your name, oh Lord

There is no one like our God
We will praise you, praise you
There is no one like our God
We will sing, we will sing (Tim Hughes & Phil Wickham)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Beware of Legalism

2011-12-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

Our Pastor, Tim Senn, has been going through the book of Galatians. Paul was writing the the churches of Galatia because some Jews had crept in to tell the Christians that salvation in Christ alone was not enough. They were saying that other things, mainly circumcision, needed to be added to the work of Christ. These Jews were trying to be bring these believers back into a bondage that was not theirs anymore because of faith in Christ. Throughout the book we have heard much between what faith in Christ means compared to legalistic religion. Recently in a blog post Tim laid out a few things from that list:

The legalist thinks of God as a harsh task-master to serve.
The Christian thinks of God as a loving Father to trust.

The legalist takes great pride in their morality and good works, and is very judgmental toward those who are not as ‘righteous’ as themselves.
The Christian is painfully aware of his or her sins and sinfulness, and knows that they only reason they are accepted by God is on the basis of His grace.

The legalist measures their spirituality and relationship to God upon external actions and behaviors – the measure is performance.
The Christian measures their spirituality and relationship to God based upon faith – measured by grace motivated obedience and spiritual character qualities and attitudes that can only be produced by the Holy Spirit of God!
The legalist looks at the commandments of God as burdensome and oppressive, which is why they “water” down the requirements.
But the Christian does not view God’s commandments as burdens to bear, but desires to please God and bring Him honor and glory.

The legalist focuses upon the external rules and regulations.
The Christian focuses upon the heart and the motives. We desire to serve God – to know God – to love God and His people.
The legalist can produce “children” – Ishmael’s just like themselves – but only God can produce a Christian, because only He can give new life!

To read the entire post click here.

Grace upon grace,

JRL

Before Abraham was, I Am

2011-12-09T08:00:00.000-06:00

"Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58)

Is it possible that Jesus Christ is God? In John chapter 8 we see Jesus having a conversation with some of the scribes and Pharisees about the law. They bring into the scene a woman who has been caught in adultery. Basically they want Jesus to make judgment on how she ought to be treated. Jesus shows her grace and mercy and then proceeds his conversation with this group. Near the end of the conversation Jesus tells these religious leaders that they are of their father, the devil (44). These men had to be shell shocked because they thought they were good, righteous people. Their problem? They were good, righteous people. But good and righteous people have no need for Jesus.

I've often wondered why these religious, moralistic teachers hated Christ so much. The conclusion: Because he claimed to be God. We tend to think these religious leaders would like God but the issue is the fact that they enjoyed God at a distance. They didn't want Jesus to be God because he was destroying their self-righteousness. Jesus brought every person to a level playing field. So he directs their attention to who he is by saying to them, "Before Abraham was, I am." These Jewish teachers couldn't understand how Jesus could claim that he was before Abraham. Abraham was their father so for Jesus to make this claim had huge implications. They would have also understood the meaning behind: "I am." Back in Exodus 3 we read, "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'" (14). This was Yahweh speaking back in Exodus and now Jesus was giving himself the same name. These Jewish teachers knew exactly what Jesus was claiming which is why they were indignant.

Sadly in our day we tend not to pick up on these profound claims of Jesus. We tend not to care because we want moralize his teachings. We want to know what kind of impact it can have on our lives so we can go out and do what Jesus did. We want to be like Jesus but we don't care to know Jesus. Jesus was never a good moral teacher. Jesus said and claimed the most outrageous things. There are only two options when it comes to Christ: He is either a blasphemer or God. He cannot be partly one and partly the other or both. It isn't possible. These Jewish teachers understood this completely which is why they wanted to kill him. Positive, motivational, moral teachers don't have groups of people constantly trying to kill them. Once the heat is on, they change their message to suit the haters. Christ never changed his message. Why? Because he is the "I am" which means he is unchangeable. Think about some of things Jesus taught: "Pick up your cross, deny self and follow me." When did this become a good moral teaching in our society? As sinners we do not want to die to ourselves. These are not good moral teachings but rather demands about how we live. And we do not want someone telling us how to live. These religious teachers did not want this either which is why they wanted Jesus dead. But we also want him dead because he makes these demands. He can make these demands though because he is God and he created us.

Christ is God. He has always existed. He is the eternal God who created the universe. Either he is God or he is a blasphemer. Those are the only options when you read what Christ said. My hope is that you will trust him as your Lord and Savior. He is the One who humbled himself by coming to dwell among his creation for the purpose of saving his creation. He came to die in our place. He came to defeat our sin and take upon himself our death. He proved his power over sin and death by triumphing over the grave three days after his death. Only God could raise himself from the dead because he is the One who gives life. Jesus is exactly who he claims to be: "Before Abraham was, I am" and he still is today. Repent of your sin and trust in the risen Christ.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Creation Sings of God's Glory

2011-12-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

The heavens declare the glory of God. (Psalm 19:1)

"We were made to know and treasure the glory of God above all things; and when we trade that treasure for images, everything is disordered. The sun of God's glory was made to shine at the center of the solar system of our soul. And when it does, all the planets of our life are held in their proper orbit. But when the sun is displaced, everything flies apart. The healing of the oul begins by restoring the glory of God to its flaming, all-attracting place at the center.

We are all starved for the glory of God, not self. No one goes to the Grand Canyon to increase self-esteem. Why do we go? Because there is a greater healing for the soul in beholding splendor than there is in beholding self. Indeed, what could be more ludicrous in a vast and glorious universe like this than a human being, on the speck called earth, standing in front of a mirror trying to find significance in his own self-image? It is a great sadness that this is the gospel of the modern world." (John Piper, Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, p. 15)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

The Word Became Flesh

2011-12-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

As Christmas approaches may we take the time to reflect on the significance of the birth of Christ. I hope this is not the only time of the year we reflect on this most important reality. But may we also remember that this birth is not the creation of Jesus. Yes his birth reminds us of the fact that he came down to live as a servant in this world. He truly did take on humanity. But this was not the beginning of Jesus. Many people think this is when Jesus was created rather than celebrating the truth that God has come in the flesh. We even sing about this truth when we sing the name: Immanuel.

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us)" (Matthew 1:23)

This is why I love this time of the year because it almost becomes common for people to talk about the birth of Christ. They may not fully understand the significance of the event but none the less they speak and sing about God coming in human flesh. Sadly their are some in the "Christian" realm who also deny this grand truth but the Bible is clear about who Jesus is.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:1-3)

So what does this have to do with Jesus? John is talking about "the Word." That is true but notice how he speaks about "the Word" in verses two and three: "He", "him", "him". "The Word" is obviously speaking about a person. Who is this person?

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

"The Word" is Jesus Christ. He was the One in the beginning with God and he is God. "All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." How could everything be made through him if he was just created at his birth? Paul helps us see why Christ came into the world in human form:

"[Christ], though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Phil. 2:6-8)

Christ humbly came to live in the world he created with the people he created in order to humbly die a substitutionary death for their sins. The baby born in Bethlehem is the hope for sinners like you and me. I would be more accurate to say he is the only hope for sinners. Christ came to rescue us from his wrath. Maybe I could end with these words:

"Hark! The herald angels sing
'Glory to the newborn King
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!"

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Evermore

2011-12-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

Of the Father's love begotten*
'Ere the world began to be
He the source of all that has been
And all the future years will see

Oh that birth forever blessed
When the chosen virgin go
By the Holy Ghost conceiving
Bore the Savior of our world

He is found in human fashion
Death and sorrow here to know
That the race of Adam's children
Doomed by law to endless woe

My not henceforth die and perish
In the dreadful gulf below
But forever rest in beauty
In the lights of Heaven's glow

Evermore, evermore
He shall reign forevermore
Humble King, Sovereign Lord
He shall reign forevermore

And evermore
He shall reign forevermore
Humble King, Sovereign Lord
He shall reign forevermore (Phil Wickham)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

May the LORD Rejoice in His Works

2011-12-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

Many great truths about God are all over Psalm 104. The Psalmist is praising God for who he is as the Creator of everything. He is screaming, "God, you are holy and awesome." He is screaming the same exact phrase as the creation. But as he closes the Psalm he writes:

May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke! I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD. Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!

Notice the phrase, "May the LORD rejoice in his works." How awesome is God? That is amazing to hear the psalmist say, "LORD rejoice in what you have done." Should God listen? Would that make God an idolater? No! He must rejoice in his works. He must glory in himself. If God does not rejoice in his works and get himself glory than he would be an idolater. He would also cease to be God. But this also plays a role in our worship as well. If God did not rejoice in his works then the psalmist could not say, "Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!" In order for us to praise and worship our Creator he must rejoice in his works. He must rejoice in himself. When we see him rejoice than we rejoice. When we see him praise his great name than we praise his great name. "I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being...Praise the LORD!"

Grace upon grace,
JRL

There is a God in Heaven Who Reveals Mysteries

2011-12-02T08:10:00.001-06:00

“There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries” (Daniel 2:28)

Have you ever contemplated God’s sovereignty? Have you considered the fact that God is over everything? His plan and purposes are never messed up. While this is certainly a comforting reality it can also produce many questions about life. But God’s sovereignty is about who he is rather than having all of our questions answered. Sometimes God shows us why now but other times he chooses not to reveal why. Reading the book of Daniel has helped me to see the great sovereignty of God.

I’m sure we would all agree with God’s sovereignty when we read of Daniel being protected from the lions. We read there was not even a scratch on him. Then when his enemies were thrown into the den the lions devoured them instantly. God’s sovereignty is all over this historical event. But from the beginning of the book of Daniel we see God at work. King Nebuchadnezzar commanded some from Israel to come get educated and then stand before him (1:6). The king did not want just anybody but those “of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace” (1:3-4). That’s a pretty hefty resume but it just so happened that Daniel was one of those men. The king gives orders to give these men a daily portion of food that he ate and wine to drink (1:5). But Daniel did not want to defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine so he asks the chief of the eunuchs to see if he can have vegetables and water instead. The chief of the eunuchs agrees to a ten day contract of vegetables and water. Eventually all the young men received vegetables and water because of what the chief had seen in Daniel’s appearance. Daniel is also seen as superior to the others (besides Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah) because of God’s favor on Daniel. The text says, “And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom” (1:20).

The king then has a dream. He wants to know the interpretation but the problem is none of the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, or Chaldeans could tell him the dream or its interpretation. King Neb is not happy. The result: “Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed” (2:12). Not a good day for these wise men. But this also meant not a good day for Daniel. Daniel was now being sought after to be killed. Daniel then requested a time to see the king that he might show the interpretation to the king. If no one else could show the king his dream or its interpretation what makes Daniel so sure he can accomplish the task? Is Daniel just trying to buy time? I believe Daniel was trying to buy time because we read back in chapter one, “Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” (17). But I am not sure if Daniel knew this or not. I believe Daniel was trusting in his God. “Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon” (2:17-18). Daniel and his friends make petition before God pleading with him to be rescued. “Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night” (2:19). God rescued his prophet Daniel and the other wise men.

I suppose you could be wondering if I am making a case for modern day prophets or the interpretation of dreams or if God speaks through visions. Fair question. I think the whole of Scripture answer those questions. All the prophets, whom God spoke through, were verified by what they spoke coming true. It’s all written is Scripture and its all true. The prophets were never in it for their own glory but God’s glory alone. Daniel doesn’t make his boast in himself but in the fact that “there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.” As Christians we should be rejoicing in this reality because the greatest mystery of all has been revealed to us. The triune God works in a life by his Spirit revealing the Father’s sovereign grace through the cross of his Son. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making know to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ” (Eph. 1:7-9). Do you realize the gift of salvation? O what a mystery God has revealed to his children.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Not One Complaint

2011-11-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

As I was reading Daniel 6 the other morning I was reminded of so many great events that took place to show off the sovereignty and power of God. We are all familiar with Daniel being thrown into the lions den but we may forget why. The king, Darius, had a plan to place Daniel over the whole kingdom (6:3). Then we read:

Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. Then these men said, "We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God." (6:4-5)

I thought about this passage for a while and wondered if that would be the response of the people I work with day to day. I hope they wouldn't be out to sabotage me but to think that they could find no fault with me would an amazing display of God's grace. In Daniel 6 we read that these men had no dirt against Daniel because he was faithful. Is my life like Daniel's? Do I love God this way? I must admit that is always true. Actually I wonder how true it is at times. This was a real eye opener to me as I read this passage.

My desire is to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and love my neighbor as myself. Daniel pressed on in the grace of the Lord. Daniel did not compromise even when these men tricked the king into making a law against God's will. Daniel trusted the Lord through every circumstance. But in the end we see the faithfulness of God more than anything else. God was faithful with Daniel and he will be faithful with all his children. May we cling to him no matter what this life may throw at us. We can trust him.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

God Delights in God

2011-11-28T08:00:00.000-06:00

I recently decided to pick up again John Piper's book The Pleasures of God. I remember certain things about this book that made an impact on my life but there is so much in the book that I need to be reminded of in order to understand God and the gospel to a greater extent. I want to drink in the fact that God finds his greatest delight in himself and that "God delights to give us the very delight that he has in himself." Simply amazing and encouraging. The book / sermon series came from a line in Henry Scougal's book The Life of God and the Soul of Man in which Piper read the words:

The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love.

While Scougal was speaking on a human level John Piper thought this is also true of God. The greatest delight of God's soul is found in loving himself. How is that not pride or arrogance? Simply because God is the greatest treasure. God cannot find a higher object to love or someone superior to himself. If God worshipped or love someone or something else he would be an idolater and therefore cease to be God. Piper says this about the gospel:

The gospel is the good news that God is the all-satisfying end of all our longings, and that even though he does not need us, and is in fact estranged from us because of our God-belittling sins, he has, in the great love with which he loved us, made a way for sinners to drink at the river of his delights through Jesus Christ. And we will not be enthralled by this good news unless we feel that he was not obliged to do this. He was not coerced or constrained by our value. He is the center of the gospel. The exaltation of his glory is the driving force of the gospel. The gospel is the gospel of grace! And grace is the pleasure of God to magnify the worth of God by giving sinners the right and power to delight in God without obscuring the glory of God.

What a great God and great gospel.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

John 13:1-20

2011-11-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand." Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you." For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "Not all of you are clean."

When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, 'He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.' I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you,whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me."

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Born by the Holy Spirit's Breath

2011-11-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

Born by the Holy Spirit's breath.
Loosed from the law of sin and death,
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Now cleared in Christ from every claim
No judgment stands against our name.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

In us the Spirit makes His home
That we in Him may overcome;
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Christ's risen life, in all its powers,
Its all-prevailing strength, is ours.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Children and heirs of God most high,
We by His Spirit 'Father' cry;
Alleluia, Alleluia!
That Spirit with our spirit shares
To frame and breathe our wordless prayers.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

One is His love, His purpose one:
To form the likeness of His Son
Alleluia, Alleluia!
In all who, called and justified,
Shall reign in glory at His side.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Nor death nor life, nor powers unseen,
Nor height nor depth can come between;
Alleluia, Alleluia!
We know through peril, pain and sword,
The love of God in Christ our Lord.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia! (Timothy Dudley-Smith)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Life for Life

2011-11-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

“Life for life” (Deuteronomy 19:21)

Recently I have been studying the topic of evil. Capital punishment has been the big issue being addressed which is addressed in Deuteronomy 19. Not really an exciting topic but since I started the study it makes complete sense. God designed it therefore the ultimate thought behind capital punishment is a righteous and holy design.

No doubt capital punishment is a hard topic to address. We have seen people wrongly executed and some others get off the hook when the evidence is clear. The media definitely helps the general public sway one way or the other in making a decision. Most of us have an opinion when a big case is shown on TV all day long or in the news because it is what we see and hear about non-stop. The judge and jurors have much to think about as the public weighs in with its opinion. But not all court cases are broadcasted for the world to see. I read our local news and hear of homicides that take place and very rarely are they broadcast all day long. Normally it is mentioned briefly on the news that night. The report normally comes in when the police or FBI have found the suspect. The murderer is then brought before the judge to face trial. Evidence is presented, attorneys examine, witnesses testify and the jury makes a decision. Until the case is finished the alleged murderer is locked up during that time. Verdict: Not guilty. He walks free. Verdict: Guilty. Life in prison or the death sentence.

Why? What’s the point behind this process? Life in prison is one thing but why would we take the life of another human? I know the Bible talks about premeditated murder being grounds for the life of the murderer to be taken away from him as well. But we don’t live in Israel’s time. No one is executed for adultery anymore. No child is executed for speaking back to their parents. Why would this command continue? “Life for life” is not just a concept here in Deuteronomy 19 but goes back to Genesis 9 right after the flood. “From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. ‘Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image’” (5-6). The reason behind “life for life” is the fact that man is more valuable than anything else created. Man is superior over the land, sea and animals. We are distinct because we are created in the image of God. The consequences are greater because of being made in God’s image. It has everything to do with God’s value. Capital punishment is still in play because God commands it. The process is not perfect because sinners are involved but we must do our best to honor God’s perfect design of “life for life.”

Capital punishment has everything to do with the value of the One whose image we are created in. It’s not fun, simple or easy but it is commanded. It is right. It is a display of God’s holiness. When we read of “life for life” we should be reminded that this is God’s plan. It is his plan as a consequence for sin. But “life for life” should also take our minds to another substitution. It should take us to the most important murder that ever took place. We should look to the death of Jesus Christ. The crazy part about this substitution is the fact that the perfect Son of God died in the place of those who were once “haters of God” (Rom. 1:30). In capital punishment the murderer’s life is taken because they have taken the life of another. In the gospel the only innocent man to ever live dies in the place of those who are his murderers. He dies so his enemies may become his sons and daughters. He dies so his enemies can come sit at his table with him. This is something that is truly impossible to comprehend. In Christ temporary life is exchanged for eternal life. Better yet eternal death is exchanges for eternal life.

Grace upon grace,

JRL

Jerry Sandusky and the Gospel of Jesus Christ

2011-11-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

Let's just be open and honest about this whole mess at Penn State University with Jerry Sandusky. Things quit frankly are not looking good. Being a huge sports fan I have been compelled to follow this story but only to a certain degree. The reason: It's a hard story to follow. Hard because it's gross. It's a story of perversion. It is a sad story but one that does not shock me. But in this post I don't want to focus in on the case or the crime but rather our response to wickedness.

Why?

I'll start by saying: Jerry Sandusky is a wicked, sinful man. (Stick with me) If you were to ask the general public, "Is Jerry Sandusky a wicked man?" I think right now the general answer would be "yes." But before this scandal he was a good man in eyes of the general public or at worst an unknown man.  The problem is having a mindset that his status has changed because of this scandal. But the truth be told he has always been a wicked man. I think most people are compelled to this story because now there is a new person to hold up and say, "I'm good because I haven't done what he has done." The public loves this story because there is a poster boy of wickedness and most of us rank above him as "good people." We feel better about ourselves because we think, "I would never do anything like he did."   When we think in this manner we show that we are wicked, sinful people as well. Sadly, we have have always been wicked, sinful people.

We enjoy the failures of others because it puffs up our pride. We are always searching for people who outwardly are worse off than we are because we feel so much better about ourselves. This is why we need a standard or better yet an authority. Goodness has become a relative term and the standard is whatever we set. This makes us the authority. But natural born sinners cannot set the standard for other natural born sinners. Therefore, I am not the authority. You are not the authority. No human being is an authority unless that human being perfectly obeyed the perfect standard set by the Creator.  There is only one authority and he says this about each one of us: "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" (Romans 3:10-12).

"But...I've never committed a crime of Sandusky's magnitude."
"You know if I had been in Joe Paterno's shoes I would have done better."
"If I was the president of Penn State I would have handled things in a right manner."

Maybe things could have been handled better but my point in this articles is for us to examine why we react the way we do to such sad news.  In each of these responses we are assuming we are "good people." We are assuming our hearts are always set on doing what is right but that is a wrong assumption. God says our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). You say, "Not mine." Really? Would you the creation call into question your Creator? That doesn't make sense.

As Christians we should all examine our hearts and pursue Christ so that we can fight against the temptations and sins in this life. What I love about the gospel is that it puts all of us on a level playing field. Sandusky is not someone that should us feel better about ourselves. This story is not a cause for self-righteousness.  As Christians we stand at the foot of the cross as forgiven sinners. Were it not for God's grace, where would we be? Yes, this crime is hideous. But when we stand at the foot of the cross we can easily see how hideous our own sins are. We can see clearly our own wicked hearts. God had to come in the flesh in order to die a criminal's death so that my sins could be pardoned. As Christians we shouldn't look to Jerry Sandusky and feel better about ourselves. The cross already tells us how wicked and sinful we are. If you're puffed up in pride when you see the wickedness of another person than you just don't get the cross and really haven't seen your own heart. As forgiven sinners we should be grieving over the sins of another not rejoicing and patting ourselves on the back. That doesn't make sense.

We should be praying for the victims. We should be praying for the school. We should be praying for Jerry Sandusky. While the cross speaks volumes about our wickedness, it speaks louder of God's grace and forgiveness for those who will repent and trust in Christ. Jerry Sandusky can be forgiven of his sins. There will still be consequences in this life for his crimes but he can find freedom in Christ. This is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is why the world despises the gospel. But it is so true and so glorious. How do I know? God promises: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). This promise isn't for "good people" who don't realize they need Jesus but for sinners who realize they cannot save themselves. The best of deeds won't outweigh his perfect righteousness and the worst of sinners can be covered in his perfect righteousness. Trust me, I've been forgiven.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Music with Instruction

2011-11-16T08:00:00.000-06:00

I love music. I know nothing about it but I can listen with the best of them. I've also never missed one note in my car. My steering wheel recently told me I have the voice of an angel. Okay not really but I do love music and the words in my book are as important as the music itself. I love artist that can make my mind think and especially love artist that make my heart and mind focus on Christ. Matt Papa is one of those artist. He recently released a new album titled This Changes Everything. The title track has some of my favorite lines on the entire album. Matt is speaking about growing up in church and how it is easy for those who have grown up that way to become callous to great truths. Here are some of the words:

I grew up in a little town
Used to sing in the old church house
There in the pew where I used to hide
Learned the story bout the man who died

Well I was sure I heard that He got back up
But as we broke the bread and drank the cup
Seemed the faces told another tale
They were as dry as the bread was stale

Did I miss something? Was I not supposed to cry?
Did they hear preacher, "Jesus is alive"?

I think Matt does a great job of helping us, as the Church, to see that the truth of the resurrection should bring great excitement to our souls every time we are reminded of it. He goes on to say:

Oh Lord have I become a man
Too scared to be a child again
Too comfortable with amazing grace
Familiar with the empty grave

We should never become "too comfortable" with God's abundant grace he has lavished upon us and too "familiar" with the resurrection. These are life altering truths.

In the chorus he asks some "If" questions:

If this is true, this changes everything
If this is real, I've got to tell the world
If He is God, then I've got a choice to make
If I believe, then I must follow Him

Then in the last chorus he changes to the fact that these things are true:

Cause this is true and this changes everything
This is real so I've got to tell the world
That He is God, and now there's a choice to make
If you believe, then you must follow Him

I'm grateful for songwriters like Matt Papa. Check him out.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Perfect Love

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000-06:00

Verse 1

Now let's get straight to the topic, God's love is weighty to process

And apart from the Holy Spirit, we're unable to digest

Because man's depraved in his logic, so God's haters will mock it

But inter-trinitarian love should make us astonished

Imagine the Son enjoying the embrace of His Father

Eternally paying Him homage as He bathed in His knowledge

Equally faithful and sovereign, gracious, patient and honest

Cosmic greatness blazing with radiance- conscious

Holy Spirit also present, full display of His God-ness

No creation could watch this- it wasn't safe for their optics

What an awesome scene in heaven with all esteem and reverence

It's Psalm 16:11 as conveyed through the prophet

Overflow of joy and love, the Father made Him a promise

To give His Son a people to liberate from their bondage

So they're no longer slaves and hostages, but blameless and spotless

Consequence of eternal love- our salvation's accomplished!

Chorus

Love so perfect

Love eternally

Unchanging, Holy, Righteous Love

Transcends our understanding

But in Your nature there is perfect love

Love so perfect

Love eternally

Unchanging, Holy, Righteous Love

Transcends our understanding

But in salvation there is perfect love

Verse 2

Now it's one thing to consider God's love that's within

But how could God's love extend to men corrupted with sin?

Because we certainly don't deserve it, He's perfect and we're imperfect

What's lurking beneath the surface? His mercy and deeper purpose

Made in His likeness, installed with reminders of His law

Despite our blindness from the fall, His kindness reaches all

The fact He allows the sun to rise on this evil planet

Means that His love is such that we can't even understand it

In other words, don't let traditions fool ya, gotta let them Scriptures school ya

As a matter of fact, see how Christ reacted when it came to the rich young ruler

Love explicit, if it isn't His love, what is it

Restricting Him from inflicting His vengeance on the wicked?

Some call it common grace, but I'm inclined to state

that it's the love of God shining from a place that beyond time and space

They say, "If God is love, what's eternal torment for?"

Well, He loves the world for sure, but He loves His glory more!

Verse 3

Perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of this subject

Would be the love of God that He expresses towards the elect

And the second some people hear that, they get mad inside

But it's a special kind of love the Husband has for His Bride

It's a love that distinguishes her and sets her apart

No other woman could ever have the same effect on His heart

Because this Groom is not adulterous, this marriage has no openness

His devotion is traced back to when the world was motionless

In love we were predestined for adoption as a son

Not for anything that we've done, check Ephesians chapter one

Look, when we lived as God's opponents, He gave His only Son for atonement

So we've got to see He can't possibly love us more than He does this moment

In love, He justified us, in love, He sanctifies us

So we don't have to jump through hoops to try to make Him like us

One thing we truly cannot fathom- we're stunned

The Father loves us with the very love He has for His Son! (Shai Linne & Monielle Laney)

Grace upon grace,

JRL

Forgiveness at the Cross

2011-11-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

Have you ever seriously considered the command: "Forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive" (Col. 3:13)? I must confess forgiveness at times is not an easy thing for me. I can look like the servant in Matthew 18 who has been forgiven much therefore I can forgive a fellow servant. But at times in my heart I have locked my fellow servant in prison until I am paid back. I work on a penance system at times which has nothing to do with true forgiveness.

I recently studied through Philemon which was a serious heart check for me to see the character of Philemon. Philemon had been wronged by his servant Onesimus with a crime that was punishable by death at the time. Not only did he run out on Philemon but he may have also stolen some of Philemon's possessions. This was no light matter. Philemon was a member of the church of Colossae who loved his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We read about his godly character all throughout the short book of Philemon. Paul says this to Philemon:

"I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you." (4-7)

Paul wasn't trying to butter up Philemon so that forgiving Onesimus would be easy rather Paul is comforted in sending Onesimus back to Philemon because of Philemon's godly character. Keep in mind Onesimus was probably standing right in front of Philemon has he read Paul's letter. Onesimus was back because he was a changed man. While Onesimus had run out on Philemon he had sought after Paul who was in prison. Surely this was the work of the Holy Spirit in this sinners life. We see grace at work while Onesimus was in sin. Through it all Paul ministered to Onesimus and ultimately Onesimus repented of his sin. Onesimus was a new man in Christ and now he was seeking forgiveness from Philemon who he had wronged. Philemon now had an opportunity to make his theology practical.

What about us? What if we were in the situation where a brother or sister in Christ has wronged us and come back seeking forgiveness? A lack of forgiveness hinders our fellowship with God and not only with God but also our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Relationships are hindered when we don't truly forgive. When I'm struggling I normally sit there and think about how foolish it is not to forgive people. As brothers and sisters in Christ we all live at the foot of the cross. Imagine for a moment you are sitting with a fellow brother or sister in Christ, who has wrong you, at the foot of the cross. They ask you to forgive them of their sin against you but you reject their forgiveness. There you are sitting with them at the foot of the cross unreconciled. Something doesn't seem right. Don't you think gazing upon your infinite debt that is nailed to the cross would break your hardened heart? This is what Paul is saying in Colossians 3 when he says, "Forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive." Paul was confident Philemon would forgive Onesimus because he understood the saving grace of God. We all need to be reminded of the grace and forgiveness of God so that we in turn may forgive as we have been forgiven.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

God's Child

2011-11-09T08:00:00.000-06:00

"If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God's child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all." (J.I. Packer, Knowing God, 201)

"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13)

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him." (Romans 8:15-17)

Our Pastor this Sunday preached on this very topic. Click here to listen.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Psalm 62

2011-11-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

My soul finds rest in God alone,
My Rock and my salvation,
A fortress strong against my foes,
And I will not be shaken.
Though lips may bless and hearts may curse,
And lies like arrows pierce me,
I’ll fix my heart on righteousness,
I’ll look to Him who hears me.

O praise Him, hallelujah, My Delight and my Reward;
Everlasting, never failing, My Redeemer, my God.

Find rest, my soul, in God alone
Amid the world’s temptations;
When evil seeks to take a hold
I’ll cling to my salvation.
Though riches come and riches go,
Don’t set your heart upon them;
The fields of hope in which I sow
Are harvested in heaven.

I’ll set my gaze on God alone,
And trust in Him completely;
With every day pour out my soul,
And He will prove His mercy.
Though life is but a fleeting breath,
A sigh too brief to measure,
My King has crushed the curse of death
And I am His forever. (Aaron Keyes)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

He must Increase, but I must Decrease

2011-11-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

“He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30)

This should be the heart of every follower of Jesus Christ. We should all desire to be less noticed so that Christ can be more magnified in this world. No doubt, Christ’s glory is on display in many ways but a major way is him being displayed through his people. This is why we must say with John the Baptist: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John the Baptist was undoubtedly a great man who loved the Lord. But his purpose was not to make his own name famous rather he wanted to exalt the One who was actually worthy of being exalted. In John 1 he was being questioned by the priests and Levites about who he was? These Jews played a guessing game for a while before asking him, “Who are you?” They needed a response because they had to report back to those over them about who this man was baptizing people. John responded by quoting from the prophet Isaiah saying, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord’.” He was communicating to these men that he was nothing but a voice preparing people for the Lord. He tells them of Christ. He tells them that he is not even worthy to untie Jesus’ sandal. John is being crystal clear that Jesus is the one of most importance.

Now in John 3 we read of a very interesting scene. John, who had been the go to guy for baptism, was baptizing some people but in another area Jesus was also baptizing people. John’s disciples and a Jew have a conversation about what is going on. His disciples finally ask, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness – look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him” (26). Basically they were concerned about the competition. They didn’t yet get it. John had made it clear earlier that Jesus was more significant. But now Jesus is baptizing and John’s disciples think that is what he was to be doing. John’s disciples wondered what he is thinking as the people were lining up to be baptized by Jesus. Now I know what you thinking right now: What in the world is wrong with these disciples? Of course they are going to Jesus, he is Jesus! There is no competition because Jesus wins every time. We want to think that way but our hearts are not always saying the same thing. I think we get mad at John’s disciples because they remind us of us so often. There is no competition because Jesus is superior yet we give our heart’s over to idols. But what we should desire is more of the humility like John displays here in this text. Remember his name is John the Baptist. He should be baptizing yet he is rejoicing that people are going to see Jesus. John answers his disciples: “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete” (27-29). John’s joy is complete because Christ is there and his bride is going to him. He is telling his disciples there is no competition at all, just joy.

John is full of joy because Christ is being exalted. As followers of Christ we should always be rejoicing as we see Christ being exalted in others lives. When God wants to use us we should be humbled like John. We should continually be telling ourselves: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” It’s not about us; it’s about him and his glory.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

The Word of the Cross is Folly

2011-10-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

“The word of the cross is folly” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

In our society it seems like the cross is just a normal idea. Crosses are around people’s necks, hanging on walls in houses, tattooed on bodies and even displayed for all to see on interstates. For the most part crosses are fine decorative pieces, but all of that changes once someone start to speak about the cross. This is why Paul says, “The word of the cross is folly.”

As Christians we must speak about the cross. When Paul speaks about the cross he is speaking about all that sums up the cross. Christ coming, living a perfect life, dying on the cross for sin, resurrecting three days later showing his power over death and now being seated at the right hand of the Father. The cross is the summary of all those truths. Trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation is clinging to all of these truths. Christ did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but humbled himself by coming to take on the form of humanity (Phil. 2:5-7). Christ perfectly obeyed the Father therefore he was able to be the mediator between us and God (Rom. 8:3-4; 1 Tim. 2:5). Christ obeyed perfectly even to the point of death upon the cross as our substitute (Phil. 2:8; 2 Cor. 5:21). Christ then resurrected three days later just as he said demonstrating his power over sin and death (John 10:17; 1 Cor. 15:56-57). Christ is now seated at the right hand of the Father as the name above all names and the only name by which humans can be saved (Phil. 2:9-11; Acts 4:12). True Christians affirm each of these truths and they shape the way we live while here are earth. Sadly to the majority of the world “the word of the cross is folly.”

What can we do as Christians to make this message more appealing to our society who reject the message of the cross? Should we change the parts people find offensive? Tempting. No one enjoys being rejected. Rejection normally produces future fear. But we must trust God’s unfailing Word. When you are tempted to change the message of the gospel open God’s Word and find comfort in truth. When we change the message of the gospel we do the most unloving thing a person could do, we lose the message of hope. God’s Word tells us to not be ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). The Scriptures tells us to speak the truth of the gospel in love (Eph. 4:15). When we proclaim the truth boldly in love, God does his saving work in the lives of others. But we must be prepared for rejection. We should be grieved when the gospel is rejected. We must be faithful to pray for those to whom “the word of the cross is folly.”

Christian, are you faithfully and lovingly proclaiming the word of the cross? We are all familiar with 1 Corinthians 13 because it is read at the majority of weddings. This chapter is known as “The love chapter” in Scripture. I think we casually read over it many time not really pondering what is being said by the apostle Paul. Tucked away in the middle of the chapter are these words: “[Love] does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (6). Love rejoices in the truth and God’s Word is truth which means God’s gospel is truth. May we love others through the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. May we rejoice in the message of Christ crucified knowing it is the power of God unto salvation.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

The Grand Governing Maxim

2011-10-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

I had the privilege to read William Wilberforce's biography once again this weekend. What a great man of God.

When considering the nature of sin, Wilberforce said, the vast bulk of Christians in England estimated the guilt of an action "not by the proportion in which, according to Scripture, actions are offensive to God, but by that in which they are injurious to society." Now, on the face of it that sounds noble, loving and practical. Sin hurts people, so don't sin.

Wouldn't that definition of sin be good for society?

Wilberforce's reponse:

"Their slight notions of the guilt and evil of sin reveal an utter lack of all suitable reverence for the Divine Majesty. This principle [reverence for the Divine Majesty] is justly termed in Scripture, 'The beginning of wisdom' (Ps. 111:10)." And without this wisdom, there will be no deep and lasting good done for man, spiritually or politically. Therefore, the supremacy of God's glory in all things is what Wilberforce call 'the grand governing maxim' in all of life. The good of society may never be put ahead of this. That would dishonor God and, paradoxically, defeat the good of society. For the good of society, the good of society must not be the primary good."

Here is a link to Piper's book for free: Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce. Go get the book.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

An Open Appreciation to Byron Yawn

2011-10-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

Outside of the pastors at my church, whom I love very much for their impact in my life, there have been a handful of men who have had an impact on my life through their writings or teaching. I have read many books by men of this generation and many books by men of generations past. One person is the object of their love: Christ. I love reading these men because they encourage me to press on in the race set before me. I am grateful to God for these men and their God-centered, Christ-exalting wisdom. One of those men is Byron Yawn the pastor of Community Bible Church in Nashville, TN.

Byron was first introduced to me on a youth retreat many years ago. I was a leader at the time and I can remember him as a man who seemed to love the youth and really enjoyed spending time with them during the weekend. He was very involved and his teaching left an impression on the hearts of many youth that weekend. As time moved on and the memories of the weekend were gone, Byron was nothing more than a speaker at the youth retreat for me. But by God’s sweet providence, Mark Smith (my former youth pastor) shot me an email telling me to go listen to his pastor, Byron Yawn, preach on 1 Corinthians. The name came back to me as I remembered him speaking on the retreat years ago. So because of my love and respect for Mark I went ahead and downloaded the first few sermons from Byron in 1 Corinthians. He had just started the book and the first sermons I saw on iTunes were titled The Centrality of the Cross. Byron’s teaching was crystal clear. He communicated so beautifully the truth of the gospel. Following those sermons he took a detour for Easter to preach a sermon titled The View from the Tomb. I quote this sermon often to myself because the truths he reminded me of are what I need to hear on a daily basis. I’ve listened to the sermon several times because I love hearing the truth about our resurrected Savior and what his resurrection means for me as his follower. The resurrection brings victory, hope and life. One of my favorite reminders from that sermon: “If you can just walk inside the empty tomb and think that there is something else you need to do, you just don’t get it.” The gospel is so powerful. Powerful enough to change a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. Powerful enough to make a sinner into a saint. Powerful enough to make an enemy into a son. Powerful enough to break the chains of sin and give us the power over sins dominion in Christ. The gospel is so glorious and I’m grateful to have men all around me to tell me this over and over. Byron is one of those men.

Next Byron put out a book titled Well Driven Nails: The Power of Finding Your Own Voice. I asked Mark if he could get me a copy to which he did and mailed it to me. The book was about preaching. I love to read theology books but a book on preaching wasn’t really my top interest. In the back of my mind was a desire to preach because I love to study God’s Word. But even more so, I love Jesus. When the book arrived we were heading on vacation so I took the book along. It was hard to put the book down. God was using the book to grow my excitement to teach his Word.

“By its very nature, preaching is ignoring man's opinion. We have been called to speak on behalf of God. Let God speak. Let man listen. Why not allow the Word of God to crush and rebuild me and then carry that transforming message to those people I love who are yearning for the same thing? That's real.”

But something that blew me away from the book was God teaching me about humility. Without specifically addressing the topic, Byron had communicated the importance of humility in the preacher’s life. Humility does not magically appear on Sunday when the preacher ascends to the pulpit. Humility begins and ends with Jesus. A love and life captivated with Jesus produces humility. “True passion risks its own dignity to exalt Christ. True passion is a freedom from insecurity and the fear of man. It’s a type of freedom people observe in a sermon on Sunday and want in their lives on Monday.” It’s all about being a fool for Christ. I’m grateful to God that he used Byron’s book to have this impact on my life as well.

The last thing I’ll say is how blessed I was to join our youth for another retreat just last month where Byron was coming back to speak. He wouldn’t be a forgotten memory when he left this time because of his impact on my life. He came to tell us about Lies, Myths, Urban Legends and the True Gospel. I was excited, not because of Byron but because of the gospel he was going to remind me about. I needed to hear it. I always need to hear it and knew he would communicate it to my soul once again. Sure it was great to meet him, talk with him and let him know the impact he has had on my life. I really love and appreciate Byron because he turns my eyes to Jesus. This is why I love my pastors and these other men who preach and write: They tell me to look to Jesus. My prayer is that Byron and the rest will continue to press on toward the goal, stay humble and keep pointing fellow brothers and sisters to Christ.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Short Songs

2011-10-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of great short songs that pack great truth in them. These are special songs to me because I sing them most nights to Emma before she falls asleep.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace (Helen Lemmel)

Your grace is sufficient for me
Your strength is made perfect when I am weak
And all that I cling to, I lay at your feet
Your grace is sufficient for me (Martin Nystrom)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Run with Endurance the Race

2011-10-21T06:45:00.000-05:00

“Run with endurance the race” (Hebrews 12:1)

The Christian life is running a marathon on a short track. We know the finish line comes quickly so we keep our eyes fixed on the prize. A cloud of witnesses stand around cheering us on. They have faithfully endured to the end and now they are encouraging us to do the same. They are there at the finish line with Christ. May we “run with endurance the race.”

Chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews is well known as the “Hall of Faith.” As you read through the chapter it is easy to become overwhelmed by the faithfulness of these saints. It is easy to see that what is recorded about these faithful saints is times when they were under persecution or suffering. Abraham being called to sacrifice his own son trusting God was able to raise him from the dead. Moses choosing to be mistreated with the people of God rather than enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. “Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword” (Heb. 11:36-37). Are we willing to die for what we believe? The answer seems easy as long as the blade isn’t spinning or rocks aren’t being thrown in our direction. I pose the question, because when I think of Moses’ case, he was willing to be mistreated with God’s people and forsake the fleeting pleasures of sin. That seems way easier than dying for my faith yet I’m too much of a people pleaser to do what Moses did. If I’m not willing to suffer reproach for Christ what makes me think I’ll die for him? It’s a good question to ask. It’s how we need to examine our own hearts. But the writer of Hebrews had a point behind every account in chapter 11. The author wants us to look at these saints of old and be reminded that if our eyes are fixed upon Christ we too can “run with endurance the race.” But we can only finish if we have eyes fixed upon Christ.

Christ is that single focus that puts all of life in perspective. This is why we must run the race with eyes fixed upon Jesus. The saints of old had eyes gazed upon Christ and so should we. Running the race without Christ is impossible. Without Christ there is no endurance. It is faith in Christ that removes every weight and sin and frees us to run without being burdened down. It is Christ who is the author of our faith. Faith is a gift from God. But it is also Christ who sustains that faith in us to the end. He is not only the author of our faith but the finisher. This is why we have a hope to endure to the end. Christ promises to sustain his children. He promises that we will finish this enduring race. This should make us confident that we will finish the race, not because of our great faith in him but because he promises to faithfully sustain us until the end. Life is a short track but the days can seem long with our desires competing against our flesh. The battle is waging. The track has its ups and downs but we can cling to our faithful God who will bring us to the end.

Are your eyes fixed upon Christ? Remember that “He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). You can bank on that promise. Christian, Christ completed the work for you with great joy. He endured the cross, despised the shame and now he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. It is finished. There is no more need for sacrifice because the Father is completely satisfied with his Son’s atoning work at Calvary. Trust in Christ. Keep your eyes on Christ. We are being cheered on by those who ran before us but we must “run with endurance the race” before us with eyes fixed upon Christ. Without Christ you won’t make it.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Eternity!

2011-10-20T06:45:00.000-05:00

Below is a Grace Gem from James Orr. This is heavy stuff to think upon:

We have only one life to live-only one. Think of this for a moment.

Here we are in this world of time, making the journey of life. Each day we are farther from the cradle-and nearer to the grave! Solemn thought! See the mighty concourse of human lives; hear their heavy tread in their onward march. Some are just beginning life's journey; some are midway up the hill, some have reached the top, and some are midway down the western slope. But where are we all going? Listen, and you will hear but one answer, "Eternity!" Beyond the fading, dying gleams of the sunset of life-lies a boundless, endless ocean called Eternity! There, you and I are daily traveling.

Time is like a great wheel going its round. On and on it goes. Some are stepping on-and some are stepping off. But where are these latter stepping? Into eternity! See that old man with bent form, snow-white locks, and tottering steps. His has been a long round, but he has reached his end at last. See the middle-aged man. His round has not been so long, but he must also step off. See the youth. He has been on only a little while-but he is brought to the stepping-off place. He thought his round would be much longer. He supposed that he was just getting started-when that icy hand was laid upon him and the usher said, "Come, you have made your round, and you must go!" The infant that gave its first faint cry this morning--may utter its last feeble wail tonight. And thus they go. But where? Oh, where? Eternity!

If you were to start today and ask each person you met the question, "Where are you going?" and, if possible, you were to travel the world over and ask each one of earth's inhabitants-there could be but one answer, "Eternity!"

"Oh, eternity, Long eternity!
Hear the solemn footsteps of eternity!"

Only one life to live! Only one life-and then we must face vast, endless eternity! We shall pass along the pathway of life but once. Every step we take-is a step that can never be taken again.

This world is not a play-ground-or a place to trifle with time. Life is not given us to squander nor fritter away. To trifle away time, is indeed, to be the greatest of spendthrifts. If you squander a dollar-you may regain it; but a moment wasted-can never be regained. God gives us all the time we need to accomplish all that He purposes us to accomplish-but He does not give us one moment to trifle away.

We have only one life to live-only one. (James Orr, How to live a Holy Life)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Stand on God's Promises

2011-10-19T06:45:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I posted the hymn Standing on the Promises of God because I have recently been pondering why believers struggle with doing the very thing we sing. This is an area I struggle but I'm not thinking I am alone. We see these outrageous promises written in God's Word yet we tend to doubt them so often. Most of the time this takes place because we are so focused on us. We see our failures to resist temptation and give into the flesh which in turn makes us wonder if God's promises are really for us. This type of doubt goes beyond the self-examination process. Self-examination is a good thing and doubt can drive us to self-examination but I am concerned about unbelief. Unbelief means we are not believing God's promises to be true.

If you are familiar with the song you know the tune is pretty jubilant. The writer is trying to communicate the joy of standing on God's promises. Too many times we, as Christians, are hanging our heads because of what we have done rather than rejoicing in what Christ completed. I'm not saying we should just dismiss sin as no big deal but I am saying there is great joy in the promises of God. When he says, "Sin shall no longer have dominion over you for you are no longer under law but under grace", that means sin no longer has dominion because of grace. God is not making empty promises. He wants us to believe the truth. This is also why the hymn writer says, "Standing on the promises of God" so many times in the song. We need to be reminded where to stand. When we look at our performance our heads will always be hanging but when we gaze upon Christ we can rejoice in his grace and mercy to sinners like us.

My encouragement to each of you is to consider once again the words of the hymn. But even greater than those words are the words of our God written to us in Holy Scripture. There is promise after promise in the Bible where we should dwell and memorize so when the storms of doubt arises we can fight with the truth. When temptations are all around us may we be ready with the Word of God to fight. May we be people who are constantly standing on the promises of God.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Standing on the Promises of God

2011-10-18T06:45:00.000-05:00

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call
Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God. (R. Kelso Carter)

Grace upon grace,

JRL

He Who Ate My Bread has Lifted His Heel Against Me

2011-10-14T06:45:00.000-05:00

“He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me” (John 13:18)

I think all of us need to ponder the question: Do I truly love Jesus or am I more like Judas? Passover was at hand and Jesus knew his time had come. Jesus sat down with his disciples to have supper. He was spending his last moments with those he loved most in the world. But at supper Jesus speaks of the one who would betray him. This seemed impossible because he was there with only his disciples. This betraying was inside job. Jesus knew who would betray him. Judas knew who would betray him. No one else knew who Jesus spoke of when he said: “He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.”

At dinner, Jesus quietly gets up and takes off his outer garment. I am sure the disciples were watching every step curious to what Jesus was going to do next. Jesus picks up a towel and ties it around his waist. He starts to pour water into a bowl. I wonder who that first disciple was Jesus bent down to wash his feet? The room was probably silent. Eyes were stunned at the sight of Jesus down at the feet of his own disciples. We don’t hear a response from anyone until Jesus arrives at the feet of Peter. We are all surprised to read that the disciple with the foot-shaped mouth was the first to speak up. But let’s face it Peter was saying exactly what all the other disciples were thinking, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Peter cannot comprehend why his Master is acting like a servant. Jesus is doing exactly what the disciples should do for him. Peter gets it. Not totally but he at least gets that reality.

As we read further we know Peter doesn’t fully understand because he asks Jesus to wash his hands and head as well. Peter wants every part of him to be clean. Jesus says, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean.” That had to bring comfort to Peter. His master had just told him he was clean but Jesus proceeds, “But not every one of you [is clean].” I wonder if the hearts of the other disciples began to sink at that moment. Who? Is it me? Is it him? Keep in mind, Judas was in the room and his feet were washed. He knew who Jesus was speaking about. He knew he was one that was not clean. I wonder if Judas loved the fact that Jesus was washing his feet. Here was the Son of God down at the feet of his betrayer. But this did not mess up Jesus’ plan at all. He finishes washing the feet of his disciples and takes his place back at the table. Then he reminds his disciples that a servant is not greater than his master. Jesus was the one they called “Teacher and Lord” yet he just did the job of a servant. His words rang loud and clear to them as they sat there thinking about their master serving them. None of them were greater than Jesus yet he washed their feet. Jesus is the motivation for them to wash one another’s feet. Jesus is the ultimate picture of humility. He did not just talk about it but he demonstrated it in his life.

Jesus demonstrated humility. Judas demonstrated pride. Jesus served everyone. Judas served himself. Judas was a deceiver who loved his position amongst the disciples. He loved being the treasurer so that he could take for himself. His heart was filled with the pride of possessions. He couldn’t love Jesus because he loved himself so much. Eventually his greed brought him to place where he sold Jesus over for 30 shekels of silver. He betrayed the One who gave him everything. He didn’t heed the warnings from Jesus but continued to be sucked away by the wide road of destruction. He was the one who ate the Lord’s bread and lifted his heel against the very hand that feed him. This is how Judas will always be remembered.

The saddest thing to ponder is that God has always been the One who has provided everything in life. He gives us life, breath, every heartbeat, food, drink, shelter and we could keep going yet so many respond the same way as Judas. Rather than be washed in the blood of Jesus Christ so many would rather lift their heel against the Giver to worship the gifts. Rather than being humbled by the love and grace of Christ displayed at the cross so many are sucked away by the fleeting pleasures of sin. Don’t be like Judas! Repent of your sin and surrender your life to Christ. Place yourself at the foot of the cross and ask God to be merciful to you.

Grace upon grace,

JRL

Sin Blinds us to Reality

2011-10-13T06:45:00.000-05:00

If you've never read Exodus 32 I would encourage you to do so in the near future. I have been studying the passage to teach it this coming Sunday morning. The first few verses struck me about the foolishness of sin. Or if I may say, "Sin makes us stupid." It is easy to read these verses and think, "Huh, these people weren't so bright" but before that happens maybe we should examine our own hearts. I find I am more than like the Israelites than I want to admit.

The Israelites witnessed many amazing things before this moment in Exodus 32:

The plagues
The Passover
The pillar of cloud by day and fire by night
The parting of the Red Sea
The log turning the water from bitter o sweet
The raining of bread from heaven
The water from the rock
The Lord's audible voice on Mt. Sinai

The Lord had shown them spectacular realities about himself in rescuing them out of Egypt. They saw things that we read about and are blown away. Then in Exodus 32 while Moses is on the mountain talking with God the people get impatient with Moses. Rather than continuing to trust the Lord's plan they turn there back on him.

"When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, 'Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the Land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' So Aaron said to them, 'Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.' So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'" (Exodus 32:1-4)

Really? Don't you feel like shaking them and saying, "Hey knuckleheads, do you not remember the true God who lead you out of Egypt? You just made the calf from your own jewelry. The calf is not the God who lead you out of Egypt." I know that is my first response when I read this passage. But after the initial shock of their actions, I think about my own sinful heart and how I am like the Israelites.

Christian, ponder a moment with me:

God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for our sins on a bloody cross. Christ took our punishment and our sins upon himself and in return he gives us his perfect righteousness so that we can have a relationship with our holy Creator.

Yet we so often chase after the things of this world. When we compare the love of Christ for us with the love God showed the Israelites we look just as foolish as them when we turn our back's on him for lesser things. Sin always makes us blind to reality. May we fix our eyes on Christ and the things of the world will grow dim.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Nothing...

2011-10-12T06:45:00.000-05:00

Sometimes the worship of God is most deeply expressed in a pause. Because of its semantic connection to other religions, meditation is mostly considered a bad thing in the Christian community. However, we shouldn’t run from the simple practice of deep reflection upon the weight of God’s truth. For me this has become a tremendous help for worship when I consider one of the weightiest songs in the hymnal, Nothing But the Blood.

Each line of the first verse offers a disturbing question; one that cannot be ignored:

“What can wash away my sin?” “What can make me whole again?

These questions assume a lot. First of all, they assume that we have sinned against God, and that, in order to be whole again, this sin must be washed away.

I believe that this is a proper place to pause and reflect. Consider your options. What can wash away your sin? What can restore you to fellowship with God that is as sweet as what Adam had in the garden? Money? Family? Church? Helping the less-fortunate? That’s not what the song says. Instead, it begins by putting us in our proper place:

Nothing…

We don’t want to pause here, but perhaps we should. NOTHING. There is nothing on this earth that can save you from eternity in Hell; nothing that can make you righteous before God. Absolutely nothing! Ephesians 2 tells us that, left to our own resources, we are “dead in sin” (verse 1) and “without hope” (verse 12).

Thankfully, the song continues…

“What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

“What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

After reflecting on our options (or lack thereof) we can now see that God has done the impossible. He has replaced our morbid future with hope. He has shined light into darkness. Christ, by his blood, has washed away our sin by his obedient, sacrificial death; he has made us whole again by his perfect, righteous life.

It is after this meditation that we can cry out with the hymn writer:

Oh! Precious is the flow / That makes me white as snow

No other fount I know / Nothing But the blood of Jesus

Grace and peace,
Stephen Bean

Sir, We Wish to See Jesus

2011-10-07T06:45:00.000-05:00

“Sir, we wish to see Jesus” (John 12:21)

This should be the desire of the heart of every single Christian. The author of Hebrews says, “Fix your eyes upon Jesus.” This is exactly what these Gentiles desired to do when they arrived in Jerusalem to worship. They had one desire and goal: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

When we consider what has just taken place the scene becomes even more powerful. Jesus has just been in Bethany where he has raised Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus had been dead for four days before Christ shows up on the scene. We see the love Christ had for Lazarus as he weeps with the other mourners who include Mary and Martha. But then something strange happens when Jesus tells them: “Take away the stone.” Not knowing what is going to take place Martha responds by telling Jesus that there will be a great odor if they remove the stone. They obeyed and then listened intensely as Jesus prayed to his Father. Once he finished he cried out: “Lazarus, come out.” Stop for a moment…what are you thinking right now? What do you think was going on in their minds? They obviously did not have much time to think about his word because the next thing they know Lazarus is walking out of the tomb. The response: Many of the Jews believed in him yet some went away to tell the chief priests and Pharisees.

Now six days before the Passover the chief priests and Pharisees had a plot to kill both Jesus and Lazarus, hoping this miracle would fade away. Jesus is eating dinner with Mary, Martha, Lazarus and the disciples when the chief priests find out where he is. Basically they followed the huge crowd who had learned where Jesus was eating. The fact that people believed in Jesus was killing the chief priests. They hated Christ because he claimed to be God and challenged their beliefs. Floods of people had heard of Lazarus being raised and they believed in Jesus. “The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.” The Pharisees even admitted, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.” The Passover was now at hand with many gathering to worship in Jerusalem when these Gentiles arrive requesting, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

Pondering these words I cannot help but imagine the desire of those who reject Christ. They would not care to see Jesus but Lazarus instead. In our lost condition we don’t understand who or what we are seeking. We search after the wrong object of worship. Why would we seek after the one who was raised from the dead rather than the One who raised him from the dead? We chase after signs and miracles rather than the power behind them. The same thing is true today. Christ did not only raise Lazarus from the dead; He himself died, was buried and after three days raised himself from the grave. Yet the world seeks for a sign. They want to see the proof while avoiding the empty tomb. Sadly they run from the only proof they need: The resurrected Christ.

Is your desire to see Jesus? Are you pursuing him? I pray this is the heart of every Christian. We should strive to be more like Christ, letting the world see the power of the empty tomb. The change from sinner to saint doesn’t occur in the power of self but the power of Christ and Christ alone. Our spiritual condition was the same as Lazarus' physical condition: Dead until Christ spoke life into our hearts. Then when the world takes notice of the change we have to tell them about Christ. If we don’t tell them about the power of the gospel they begin to think they can do it on their own. Tell them. By God’s grace they too might repent and trust in Christ.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Word of Faith (Part 3)

2011-10-06T06:45:00.000-05:00

Today my friend, Stephen Bean, will address "Faith and Confession."

The Power of Faith

Through our faith, God does incredible things. Miracles. Through faith the dead are raised. Through faith the blind see. Through faith chains are broken. There are many reasons to criticize the Word of Faith (WOF) movement, but one of them is not that the faith which they teach is too powerful. In fact, I would argue that the faith they present is weak.

There simply isn’t enough room here to have a full discussion of this issue. Volumes have been written on this subject. The question we need to ask is, what is faith? Is it the means by which we grant God access to work in our lives and the lives of others? That is what Gloria Copeland suggests in her article Understanding Faith - Part 1 – If God Can't Do Anything Without Faith…Neither Can We:

Everything that happens to us supernaturally happens by faith. Somewhere, somehow, someone has to release faith for the supernatural to happen in our lives…

…So whether it’s getting us born again or getting us healed, whether it’s avoiding a financial disaster or avoiding a fatal car wreck, faith must be released. Someone’s faith must be in operation—and if it’s not our faith that gets us in the right place at the right time, then it’s somebody else’s that does.

A lot of this understanding of faith comes from passages like Mark 11:22-23:

And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.

This passage alone is enough to make one consider giving Mrs. Copeland and others a little more credibility. However, we must consider what Jesus is actually trying to teach here. As my favorite writer/speaker D.A. Carson is often fond of saying, “A text without a context is a pretext for a proof-text.”

The immediate context of Jesus’ words here in Mark 11 is that the disciples discovered a tree- which Jesus had cursed - had “withered away to its roots.” Amazed that this happened, Peter says to Jesus “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” To which Jesus replied “Have faith in God…” We must be careful at this point in how we understand what Jesus is getting at. It seems that the Copelands of the world would like to understand Jesus as saying “if you want the power to curse trees and see them wither, have faith in God.” I guess that’s possible, but personally I wouldn’t put this in my top 10 list of Jesus’ miracles. Causing a bad tree to do what bad trees do faster than usual is certainly impressive, but it’s not on the list of things in his ministry that I aspire to emulate.

Instead, it seems that Jesus is teaching his disciples how not to be like the tree, namely, hypocritical. The tree had leaves well ahead of its scheduled time, but bore no fruit (11:12-14). Likewise, the Jewish leaders had plenty of “good” religious works to show for themselves, but they weren’t bearing the fruit of faith in God. It doesn’t matter that the Jews were a product of their own time, they were still hypocrites; so was the tree.

So Jesus tells his disciples to have faith in God, and then continues by explaining that there are no limits on their prayers. If you have faith in God, you can ask for the miraculous and receive it. However, if you are simply using language that gives the appearance of faith with motives that lack faith, you are more likely to wither like a bad tree than move a mountain.

Faith is something that God grants us, through which He blesses us with salvation and daily provision (Eph. 2:8). Christian, don’t be like the WOF who peddle a faith that is void of the power of God to save. Don’t be mesmerized by flashy promises of health, wealth, and prosperity. Put your hope in the gospel and be willing to suffer for righteousness.

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

Word of Faith (Part 2)

2011-10-05T06:45:00.000-05:00

Are you healthy and wealthy? If not all you have to do is...trust in a false gospel. Prosperity teaching is all over the place. There are prosperity gospel churches all over the place and if you are not near one, than get your remote and flip over to the "Christian" channels because prosperity preachers have raided the television. They will tell you how to become healthy and wealthy in this life but sadly they will leave your soul empty. Today I want to look at the Word of Faith teachings of "Health and Wealth."

Physical Prosperity is twofold – health and wealth. Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law – sickness, poverty and death. Health and wealth belong to the believer. Meditation on the Word and acting on the Word will bring results. When you act on the Word, mix your faith with it and do not doubt in your heart, the Word will work for you.

We cannot settle for prosperity in the physical or mental realm only, just as we cannot settle for spiritual prosperity alone. We can’t afford to be lazy and to discount physical and mental prosperity simply because we are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. It is God’s will for us to be made whole – spirit, soul and body – and to be kept that way until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Kenneth Copeland, Understanding Prosperity)

A passage often quoted by Word of Faith preachers on physical healing comes from 1 Peter 2:24:

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

This is a great passage speaking about the gospel of Jesus Christ but rather than focus on the entirety of the passage they quickly read it over to get to the words: “By his wounds you have been healed.” This is a quotation from Isaiah the prophet where Isaiah is prophesying about the suffering servant Jesus Christ. My argument is not against the words, “By his wounds you have been healed” because I completely affirm this truth but how the Word of Faith movement turns this into a physical healing passage. God never promised good health in the gospel. If good health is the point, than God didn’t need to crush his Son on a cross.

So what is the point?

The point is salvation found in Jesus Christ alone. This passage is clear on what the life and death of Christ accomplished for sinners. Earlier is the text Peter writes, “He committed no sin.” This is essential because every other human being is born into sin. Our nature is a sin nature. We are sinners in Adam but Christ (The second Adam) “committed no sin.” He was / is not a sinner. Yes, he healed people. Yes, he cured diseases. Yes, he did call himself the great Physician. But his perfect obedience to his Father helped accomplish the deepest issue of sin. Not everyone who was healed by Jesus repented and trusted in Christ. Unfortunately there were those who still loved their sin even though they were made well. Today there are many who are relatively healthy people that have no relationship with Christ. Christ did not come for physical healing but to wash away sins. He could be the sinners substitute because “he committed no sin.” Therefore he is the only One who could die in our place.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” He took upon himself my sin. Isaiah talks about this substitutionary death when he says, “He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities” (53:4-5). The reality of healing is ours; all of our sins washed away, God’s entire wrath against us removed and the promise of the Holy Spirit. “By his wounds we have been healed.”

Please do not buy into the lie that God wants you healthy, wealthy and prosperous. He wants you to trust in his Son Jesus Christ so that you may have eternal life. He wants you to know your sins have been forgiven in Christ. He wants us to be like the Macedonian church in 2 Corinthians 8 who knew the grace of God and gave in abundance out of their poverty. Why? So they could have more wealth? The Bible never says that they received more wealth because they gave. They got something even better: The gospel! They understood the practicality of Jesus Christ giving his life for them so they in turn gave what they had to bless the saints. “For you know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was right, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (8:9). They had the power of the Holy Spirit working in their lives so they gave in abundance out of their poverty. The Macedonians were concerned about the building of the gospel not the building of comfort. Take the Macedonians gospel and cherish it. Know that the best is yet to come. Don’t settle for a false gospel of physical healing and wealth. Take the true gospel which can remove sin forever!

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Word of Faith (Part 1)

2011-10-04T06:45:00.000-05:00

Over the next couple of days myself and a friend are going to do a couple of posts on the Word of Faith movement. We want to touch on a few of the core doctrines they believe such as health, wealth, prosperity, faith and confession. This will not, by any means, be an exhaustive study but we hope to show where this movement has gone wrong and turned away from the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

If you want to know more about the Word of Faith movement here is a helpful link.

Below is a video from Dr. John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel:

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Forget not all His Benefits

2011-09-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

“Forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2)

Have you considered the benefits that have been given to you by the hand of the LORD? Have you really pondered all his goodness to you? As Christians we can observe his goodness in so many ways in our life’s echoing with the David, “Bless the LORD, O my soul.”

We have been blessed by the LORD. His goodness is over all. When we think that he gives us life and breath and the fact that he sustains each heartbeat every second of every day for our entire life. Our hearts beat at his command. When we consider food, shelter, clothes, showers, parents, toys, cars, jobs, money, safety and really every detail of life than our praise is lifted to the LORD for all his benefits. When we place all these benefits in front of the backdrop of what we truly deserve for our sin than the magnitude of his goodness is increased. Ponder for a moment that our sin deserves eternal separation from God. We deserve nothing but his wrath for our sin yet receive life and breath. Then upon life and breath he heaps on so many other blessings. To think that I have a computer to type this on and the internet to post this on is simply amazing. To understand that you have a computer, phone or tablet to read this on is simply amazing. The unbeliever thinks he deserves these things because of something he has done. But Christian, our response should be praise to the One who has blessed us with all his benefits. To forget this truth is sin.

Consider with me another way we sin against God for all his benefits to us. Isn’t it true that when we receive all these benefits from the LORD we tend to sinfully turn those benefits from his hand into the idols of our heart? Rather than bless and praise the Giver we turn to worship the gifts. Our hearts instantaneously run to the temporal pleasure rather than the eternal Giver. We see the idolatry of the heart. It seems the more benefits he lavishes upon us the more we begin to think we deserve. We feel as if we are entitled to the gift. We forget the purpose of the gift is to glorify the Giver. The Giver is worthy of the praise. He most definitely has given us the gifts to enjoy but not to worship. Forgetting to praise God for his benefits is a sin and making his benefits into objects of worship is also a sin.

The first thing David writes after “Forget not all his benefits” is “Who forgives all your iniquity.” Ponder this for a moment: God blesses us always with his benefits yet we forgot or turn those benefits into idols but he also forgives those very sins as well. We receive the benefit of forgiveness when we mistreat his benefits? This is similar to John 1, “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (16). David is saying we receive benefit upon benefit. When we trample his grace, it is his grace that covers our trampling. Think about Israel when all they had received was kindness from the LORD by taking them out of the land of Egypt yet they trampled his kindness underfoot. They committed all sorts of evil yet the LORD loved them because they were his people. They trampled grace yet his grace was sufficient to cover their sin.

Christian, have you gazed upon Calvary lately? Have you considered the weight of your sin? If so than you are aware of the grace of God. You are aware of his benefits to you. We have all trampled on his grace yet he crushed his Son in order to graciously cover the trampling we have done. What can we give in return for all his benefits? “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD” (Ps. 116:13). We cannot repay our debt but we can continue to trust in the all-sufficient work of Christ. Lift up your cup and continue to call on his name. “Forget not all his benefits.”

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Bless the LORD!

2011-09-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

Recently I read through Psalm 103 because I could not get the song Bless the Lord, O my Soul out of my head. The song is taken directly from the first verse of Psalm 103. David starts and ends the psalm with praise and adoration for the LORD. He is encouraging each of us to bless the LORD as well and to consider his holiness: "Bless his holy name!" Sandwiched in between the expressions of praise are the reason to praise the LORD. Verse 2 tells us not to forget all the benefits from the LORD. If we were to truly examine our life span and recall all of God's benefits to us than we would truly die before we reach verse 3. Listen to the reasons to bless the LORD:

Who forgives iniquity (3)
Who heals all your diseases (3)
Who redeems your life from the pit (4)
Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy (4)
Who satisfies you with good (5)
[He] works righteousness and justice for all who are opposed (6)
[He] is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (8)
He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities (10)
Great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him (11)
As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us (12)
As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him (13) The steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him (17)

WOW! Christian, you should be overwhelmed by the goodness of God. In the brevity of this life we, as sinners, receive great benefits from the LORD. These are eternal benefits from our God and Creator. He is a gracious God who is worthy of all praise, honor and glory.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

The Bread of Life

2011-09-28T06:45:00.000-05:00

On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever." Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. (John 6:22-59)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Only Jesus

2011-09-27T06:45:00.000-05:00

Father of grace, You’ve sacrificed
Your only Son for us, the crucified Jesus
Enlarge our hearts to love Your Son
O grant to us the grace to walk with Him always
To make Him our great delight
Bringing worship with our lives

Only Jesus! Only Jesus!
Give us Jesus, we cry
Only Jesus! Only Jesus!
The Pearl of greatest price

Spirit of grace, You’ve shed Your light
Upon our darkened eyes, unveiling Jesus Christ
Come change our hearts, conform our ways
To honor Jesus’ Name, His glory our refrain
Let His love compel our own
As we worship at His throne

Jesus, our great Savior,
Lord of heaven, Son of God (Doug Plank)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

By a Single Offering He has Perfected for all Time

2011-09-23T06:45:00.000-05:00

“By a single offering he has perfected for all time” (Hebrews 10:14)

Have you ever sat there stunned after reading some truth in the Scriptures that blows your mind? There are so many realities in the Bible that should cause us to meditate for days upon days, weeks upon weeks, months upon months…our entire life. We are talking about the words from our eternal Creator who reigns over all so the awe and wonder should never cease. We should continually be stunned by what he tells us in his Word.

The first stunning thing is he has revealed his Word to us through the work of the Holy Spirit illumining our hearts and minds to know our Creator. Once he has illumined our hearts and minds the truths that pour out from the pages of God’s Word should overwhelm us. We have been reconciled to God (Col. 1:21). We have been saved from eternal death (Romans 6:23). We have been given eternal life (John 17:3). We have had our sins cancelled (Col. 2:13-14). Sin no longer has dominion over us (Romans 6:14). We have become slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:17-18). We have become children of God and heirs of Christ (Romans 8:15-17). We no longer have any condemnation (Romans 8:1). These and so many more promises are in God’s Word. Sinners, like me and you, have these promises when we place our trust in Christ. This is simply amazing. These are truths that in turn produce a love for the Savior because nothing can compare to his love for us in the gospel. His promises are eternal realities that produce a greater love for him because we see more and more his love for us.

Just the other day I had some struggles and temptations that were beating me up while I was at work and that night I really felt defeated. The next morning I got up to read Romans 6 before I started my day of work. That day there was temptation but my mind was focused on Christ and by his grace I fought against those temptations. Victory. But as I sat at my desk near the end of the day I had to remind myself of some truth. I had to tell myself, “I am no more accepted before God today than I was yesterday.” Another truth from Scripture had been given to me that helped me kill any sort of legalism at the moment: I cannot improve on perfection. This was so freeing. In Christ, God the Father already sees us as he sees his Son. Perfect. How? “By a single offering he has perfected for all time.” Who? “Those who are being sanctified.” Christian, did you hear what he said? Because of Christ’s atoning work on the cross he has perfected us for all time. This truth humbles us because we have to acknowledge we have nothing to add to perfection. It also breaks the power of legalism when we realize we can do nothing to earn God’s favor. But this freedom should never be an excuse to sin. Sinning because you are forgiven is not a love for Christ. Being forgiven in Christ is the motivation and the power to pursue holiness. Being like Jesus is our aim. Yet we still live in this body of death. But the Father sees us even now clothed in Christ’s righteousness.

So I’ll ask again: Have you ever sat there stunned after reading some truth in the Scriptures that blows your mind? Perfection for sinners because of Christ! Let it sink in…mind blowing. This is a reality because of Christ’s substitutionary atonement. Theologians call this the “great exchange”: Christ takes upon himself the Father’s wrath for our sin and in turn we receive the perfect righteousness of Christ. I cannot comprehend it but I believe it’s true because God said it. “By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” What a promise! What a Savior!

Grace upon grace,
JRL

This is Exciting!

2011-09-22T06:45:00.001-05:00

Recently I bought Matt Redman's album 10,000 Reasons (Which I would recommend) in which the last song on the album is titled Endless Hallelujah. The first time I heard this song it caught my attention because of the opening verse:

When I stand before Your throne
Dressed in glory not my own
What a joy I'll sing of on that day
No more tears or broken dreams
Forgotten is the minor key
Everything as it was meant to be

I knew from the start this was a song about heaven but I didn't realize what a beautiful and true picture he was going to paint with his words. Once it ended the first time I put my headphones on to listen more closely the second time through. Tears. I couldn't help but think that this day is coming. This is the time we as Christians long for. While we don't fully understand all of eternity and what it will be like to worship Christ forever with no more sin or sorrow, we still wait eagerly. We receive small glimpses of this time here on earth that make us long for eternity even more. But what we do know is simply amazing. We know that to make the way for eternal life, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place, taking our sin and shame and imputing to us his perfect righteousness. This is why Matt Redman starts a song about heaven the way he does: When I stand before Your throne dressed in glory not my own. Christ's righteousness is the only way to stand before the throne and be ushered into the presence of the King forever.

The song also got me thinking about other songs that speak of heaven so here are a few to throw fuel on the fire of our longing:

Jesus Paid it All
And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete
"Jesus died my soul to save"
My lips shall still repeat (Elvina Hall)

The Solid Rock
When he shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne (Edward Mote)

Waging War
That I might see this day
This waging war might go away
And be no more
That I might see His face
And hear Him say
"Son, welcome home the war is over" (Shane Barnard)

To close I will go back to Matt Redman's song:

And we will worship, worship
Forever in Your presence we will sing
We will worship, worship You
And endless hallelujah to the King

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Are you in the Ark?

2011-09-21T06:45:00.000-05:00

I had the privilege to study the story of Noah in Genesis to teach this past weekend and was reminded of the great truths in this story. I am familiar with the story but as I've been diving into the text there have been several things that have hit home to me. The biggest being these few thoughts:

1. Noah and I deserve the same judgment those men and women faced in the flood.
2. Noah and I both received grace from God therefore I would have been in the Ark.

Noah was no greater than the other men and women in the world. We tend to think Noah and his family were good people so the Lord saved them but that is not in the text. We think that about Noah because of verse 9 which states: "Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God." This is true about Noah because it in the Scriptures but we cannot skip over the previous verse: "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD." The only thing that separated Noah and his family from those who were to be destroyed was grace. Noah was not a righteous and blameless man apart from the grace of God. Noah's response to grace was he walked with God. God did rescue Noah and his family by telling Noah of the coming judgment. He commanded Noah to build an ark and gave him specific instruction on how to build it. Noah obeyed God. While being mocked and ridiculed by neighbors, Noah had faith in God. God promised life in the ark while the rest of the earth was to be destroyed.

What really hit home to me is the fact that another day of Judgment is coming when Christ returns to take his children home and pour his wrath out in judgment on his enemies. His judgment won't be with water but with fire, eternal fire. His children will be those who are hidden in Christ. Just as Noah was safe in the ark from God's judgment so we, as believers, will be safe in Christ. Knowing what I know from the whole of Scripture is why I can read this historical event and see that only by God's grace was Noah rescued and only by grace am I saved as well. His response of obedience to God came after God's grace had been lavished upon him. Noah wasn't more righteous than the rest of mankind, he was shown God's grace.

Christian, don't bank of your "righteous deeds" or "good works." Keep trusting in the sufficiency of Christ's life, death and resurrection. God has displayed his great love, grace and mercy in sending his Son to die in our place. We have found favor with the Lord. Yet we can tend to veer away from this central truth. May we keep the Gospel the main thing.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)

2011-09-20T06:45:00.001-05:00

The sun comes up
Its a new day dawning
Its time to sing your song again
What ever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

You're rich in love and you're slow to anger
Your name is great and your heart is kind
For all your goodness i will keep on singing
10,000 reasons for my heart to find

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Soon my soul will sing your praise un-ending
10,000 years and there forever more

Bless the lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name (Matt Redman)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

G.O.S.P.E.L.

2011-09-19T06:45:00.000-05:00

I love this video by Propaganda on the Gospel.

G.O.S.P.E.L. from Humble Beast Records on Vimeo.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Entery by the Narrow Gate

2011-09-16T06:45:00.001-05:00

“Enter by the narrow gate” (Matthew 7:14)

As a Christian, have you ever been called narrow-minded? No doubt if you have spoken of Jesus Christ being the only way to salvation you have been considered narrow-minded. There is a narrowness that goes beyond speaking of salvation in Jesus Christ which adds rules and regulations that are not biblical when it comes to salvation. Even in the context of lovingly speaking the truth of the gospel we are considered narrow-minded. But Jesus only gives us two options: The narrow gate and the wide gate.

I often wonder why people won’t say Jesus was narrow-minded but only those who speak the truth from his Word are narrow-minded. He says for us to “enter by the narrow gate” and then proceeds to tell us why we should. “For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.” Jesus is lovingly warning all to enter the narrow gate so they will not be destroyed. Sadly he also lets us know that many will walk on the wide path of destruction. But nonetheless Jesus is trying to tell everyone that there is only one way that leads to life. “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” This is not the normal path people walk because only few find it. Is Jesus being loving or narrow-minded?

Narrow-minded is “having a closed mind.” Having a narrow-mind consist of showing respect and being open to the opinions of people but has nothing to do with the truth. People won’t get upset with you when you tell them that four quarters equals a dollar. Why? Because it is true. But as soon as you tell them Jesus is the only way for salvation their faces turn red in hostility. Jesus is the only way to salvation as four quarters does equal a dollar. Both are truth. As a matter of a fact the reality those four quarters equal a dollar could change but Christ being the only way to the Father will never change. The truth about Jesus is absolutely, universally true forever. Jesus is the gate. The reason people will always call Christians narrow-minded, no matter how lovingly they communicate the truth, is because they want to reject Christ. But we must speak of Christ. No matter the response of the world we must give them the only hope. Jesus says, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved” (John 10:9). “I am the way…No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Telling others about Jesus is how we love others.

The narrow gate is the only way to life. This is the road all of us want to be on but many don’t want to enter through the Gate. We desire the way to life while walking on the road to destruction yet when warned we reject the truth. This is sad. But this is also a reminder of grace. Only through God’s mercy is anyone walking on the narrow road. Only through the work of the Holy Spirit has anyone entered by the narrow gate. This is all of grace. May we not be concerned with the response from the world about the message of Christ and him crucified for sinners. This is the message that saved us so why would we not want to tell others. Right before Jesus talks about the two gates he says, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.” Knowing what you know now about the holiness of God and his wrath to be poured out on sinners who do not repent and believe in Jesus Christ; why would you not do unto them what you would want them to do for you? We should be pleading with people to be reconciled to God: “Enter by the narrow gate.”

Grace upon grace,
JRL

A Day to Long For

2011-09-14T06:45:00.001-05:00

I recently watched a documentary on the events of 9/11 which is one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the world. As I watched the documentary I was reminded of the horror of that day. I know most of us probably can flashback and remember where we were the moment we heard about the events or saw them on TV. But in the documentary I was reminded of our American idea of heaven. We can tend to put our own spin on what heaven will be like and who will be there. We decide we want to speak for God which is a great mistake considering he has already spoken to us in his Word.

One of the tragic events that transpired that day was the story of two flight attendants that flew United 93 every week together. These two had become the best of friends over time. In God's providence, one of the flight attendants was on flight 93 when it was hijacked while the other was off that day. United flight 93 crashed that morning in Pennsylvania. Everyone aboard was killed including this lady's best friend and fellow flight attendant. In the documentary she says:

"Sometimes you get into conversations with people that when you die, who are the first people you want to meet in heaven and most people will say, 'My father, my mother, whatever' and I say, 'I want to see [my best friend]'."

Two very sad problems with this response:
1. What most people say
2. What this lady said

Sadly this is the idea of most people who want heaven but have no relationship with the God of heaven. Their idea of heaven is nothing more than a glorified version of earth. What ends up happening is people think golf courses and basketball courts go from grass and asphalt to gold. They think they will go skiing and tubing on crystal seas. They are excited about reuniting with friends and family. The most important things in heaven are nothing more than the most important things on this earth. But this should not be true of those who know and love Christ. This is also not the picture we get from the Scriptures.

The focus in the Scriptures is not on the golden street, pearly gates or crystal sea; the focus is on the Lamb who was slain sitting on his throne. The golden street leads to the throne. The crystal sea flows from the throne. The point is the Lamb, Jesus Christ. We should long for heaven because we want to see Jesus Christ, first and foremost. I love my dad and mom. I love my wife. I love my daughter. I love my friends. But I want to see Jesus!! I want to worship Jesus without sin. I want to be in his presence forever in heaven worshipping Christ. "No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him" (Rev. 22:3). What a day to long for!

Sadly I believe this truth about heaven bores most people. They cannot comprehend worshipping God for eternity. When they hear the truth about heaven they are turned off because it is not what they imagine. But this makes sense. If there is no relationship with Christ on earth, heaven would truly be hell for the unbeliever. But for the believer who understands God's holiness and their sinfulness, they long to worship the Lamb who was slain in their place. Jesus Christ is the only One who makes eternal life with God possible. He is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). He is the only mediator between God and men (1 Tim. 2:5). He is the only One every Christian longs to see face to face. O what a glorious day that will be!

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

2011-09-13T06:45:00.000-05:00

Man of Sorrows! what a name
For the Son of God, who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
“Full atonement!” can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die;
“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in Heav’n exalted high.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew His song we’ll sing:
Hallelujah! What a Savior! (Philip Bliss)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Unspeakable Pleasure

2011-09-12T06:45:00.000-05:00

The blessed and inviting truth is that God is the most winsome
of all beings and in our worship of Him we should find
unspeakable pleasure. (A.W. Tozer)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

You Shall Love your Neighbor as Yourself

2011-09-09T06:45:00.000-05:00

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39)

Do you understand what makes this command so hard for us to obey? Jesus is trying to pluck out the pride in our own hearts. In big letters he is writing: You love yourself so so so much. That’s the point of this command. The challenge is twofold: Love your neighbor by dying to self.

This command is so tied to the first command of loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (22:37). Jesus is trying to rearrange our lives in order for us to find true satisfaction. He knows the wrong order of love causes hurt and disorder in life. We can see this truth when we sin. When we sin against another human we show our lack of love for God therefore we do not love our neighbor. This reveals how much we truly do love ourselves. Jesus knows who we love the most because he says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” He does not tell us to love our neighbor as we love our money, house, cars, sports and the list could go on. We can be blinded to this because we tend to think we are pretty good people because we have never really done anything “bad”. For the most part we consider ourselves good people who do good things. You know the “Helping the old lady across the street” type of people. But the reality is we think too highly of ourselves.

If you still don’t get it, maybe I could shed some light by telling you this: what Jesus is commanding is impossible. We cannot love our neighbor as we love ourselves because our love for self is too great. The only possible way to love our neighbor at all is by pursuing our love for the Lord. When our hearts’ and desires are fully fixed upon our Savior we begin to love the way he loves. We begin to forget about self and begin to see others interest as more important than our own. Is this not the example Jesus gave us? “In humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:3-5). The gospel is the only transforming power to order your life properly. Seeing and understanding the love of Christ is our motivation to love him fully. When our eyes are fixed on him alone then we begin to love others because we understand our role as humble servants bringing glory to the King by loving our neighbor. Then and only then do we begin to experience the abundant life found in Christ. When our lives are in the proper order then God is glorified and we find joy.

Scripture is great because God tells us about himself in the pages. He makes sense of everything in life. In his common grace he gives each of us a glimpse of the joy in loving our neighbors. I’m sure we have all experienced helping someone in need and we find satisfaction in serving them. But the satisfaction only goes so far. Unless your motive in helping is to glorify God then all you’ve really done in the end is add to your “good deeds”. You don’t need to be convinced you’re a good person but you need to know all your righteousness is as filthy rags to the holy Creator. Christ did not die on the cross so we could do good things or become good people. Christ died on the cross because we are sinners. Apart from him we cannot love him fully or love our neighbor to extent Christ has in mind when he says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Only be grace can this be accomplished.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Ironies of the Cross

2011-09-07T06:45:00.000-05:00

In Don Carson's book Scandalous he write about the the ironies we see in the scene of the crucifixion account from Matthew.

1. The man who is mocked as king - is king
2. The man who is utterly powerless - is powerful
3. The man who can't save himself - save others
4. The man who cries out in despair - trusts God

Then to summarize the all four ironies he puts them in poetry form:

On that wretched day the soldiers mocked him,
Raucous laughter in a barracks room,
"Hail the king!" they sneered, while spitting on him,
Brutal beatings on this day of gloom.
Though his crown was thorn, he was born a king
Holy brilliance bathed in bleeding loss
All the soldiers blind to this stunning theme"
Jesus reigning from a cursed cross.

Awful weakness mars the battered God-man,
Far too broken now to hoist the beam.
Soldiers strip him bare and pound the nails in,
Watch him hanging on the cruel tree.
God's own temple's down! He has been destroyed!
Death's remains are laid in rock and sod.
But the temple rises in God's wise ploy:
Our great temple is the Son of God.

"Here's the One who says he cares for others,
One who says he came to save the lost.
How can we believe that he saves others
When he can't get off that bloody cross?
Let him save himself! Let him come down now!"
Savage jeering at the King's disgrace.
But by hanging there is precisely how
Christ saves others as the King of grace.

Draped in darkness, utterly rejected,
Crying, "Why have you forsaken me?"
Jesus bears God's wrath alone, dejected
Weeps the bitt'rest tears instead of me.
All the mockers cry, "He has lost his trust!
He's defeated by hypocrisy!"
But with faith's resolve, Jesus know he must
Do God's will and swallow death for me.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

For You are Not a God who Delights in Wickedness

2011-09-02T06:45:00.000-05:00

“For you are not a God who delights in wickedness” (Psalm 5:4)

In our day and age we have made it a practice to shy away from some biblical terms. People find them hard to understand or they lack relevance or people just do not want to say them. The danger of doing such things is diluting the Scripture. Wicked is one of the words we have taken out of our vocabulary but it is a part of God’s vocabulary. He is not a God who delights in wickedness.

Many modern day “evangelicals” have turned away from using words like sin or wickedness so that they don’t offend people and draw them away from the church. They’re alright speaking about mistakes or habits but sin is to offensive. Calling someone a sinner is just downright mean. We can potentially lower or damage a person’s self-esteem if we call them sinners. But the very term self-esteem carries with it the reality that we are sinners. Our pride is so off the charts that we esteem ourselves as something worth lowering. We think too much about us. This is the problem. We shouldn’t be calling people sinners in hopes of lowering their self-esteem but rather in hopes that God would crush their self-esteem. God does not take delight in elevating one’s self as the ultimate treasure.

Why all the negativity?

The short answer: “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness.” God is holy and he hates wickedness. The text goes on to say, “Evil may not dwell with you.” The power of positive thinking is not going to change the unchangeable “I AM”, so why are we trying to sugar coat sin? Sin tastes sweet enough to sinners without adding extra sugar. Since God does not delight in sin or wickedness Christians should not either. Our message to a dying world should not be training them to delight in the very things God hates. That doesn’t make sense. Pride is at the top of the list of wickedness. Pride is promoting one’s self to the status of God. Pride is the very thing that leads a person to destruction (Proverbs 16:18). When we teach people to build their self-esteem we are basically holding them over the edge of a cliff by a fishing line. They are dangling over the pit of destruction. We need to be encouraging them and challenging them to kill their self-esteem and find their worth in the all-satisfying treasure of Jesus Christ. Our value is not in self but in Christ alone.

We have too often talked about sin or “mistakes” in the way of our actions. Murder, rape, incest, adultery, stealing and so on. These are the offensive sins. This is the sort of wickedness in which God takes no delight. If you’re thinking pride is not that big of a deal maybe you should dig into the heart of every single sin mentioned above. You would dig up the root of pride. Pride is at the core of every sin. I'm not trying to sound like the “angry prophet” but this is a serious issue. Why are we teaching our people to build up the very thing God hates? It’s dangerous and foolish and ultimately never satisfying. The problem with building our self-esteem is the building is blocking out the treasure. The more we build, the greater the wall blocks out Christ. We need the gospel to break through like a wrecking ball to tear down our pride.

Rather than taking words away from the Bible may we be faithful to proclaim them, knowing God will work his purposes for his glory and our good. May we not sugar coat the truth. May we talk about sin and the fact that we are all sinners in need of God's grace. He is holy. He hates sin. Apart from Christ sinners will be destroyed. This is a tough pill to swallow but it is the truth found in God’s Word.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

All Sin is Ultimately Against God

2011-09-01T06:45:00.001-05:00

Reading through John MacArthur's commentary on Philemon has been such a sanctifying grace. Forgiveness is not one of my strong points at all. I struggle with truly forgiving people so when I decided to do a study through Philemon I guess I was not fully anticipating what all the Lord wanted to teach me. Last week I posted one of MacArthur's eight foundational elements of a biblical doctrine of forgiveness and I thought I would do another today.

"Whoever offends us gives greater offense to God. All sin is ultimately against God...Whatever his offense against men, he gave a greater offense to God. God has forgiven those who wrong us of the greater offense of sinning against him. Can we not forgive them of the lesser one of offending us? We are not more just, holy, or deserving than God, nor are we a higher court with a higher law. No one could ever offend us the way we have offended God. Yet he graciously, mercifully forgives us." (MacArthur, Colossians & Philemon, pp. 218-219)

How arrogant of us, as followers of Christ, to hold anothers sin against them when we have been forgiven everything in Christ. We need a heavy dose of the gospel. We need to beg God for his grace to forgive. May we not be like the unforgiving slave in Matthew 18 who had his debt forgiven by his master yet did not forgive his fellow slave of a lesser debt.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

The Exclusive Message for the Whole World

2011-08-31T06:45:00.001-05:00

Why are Christians so narrow minded? Why are they so adamant that Jesus is the only way? Why do they think they have the truth? These are questions I am sure we have all heard from the world as a response to proclaiming the gospel. If you haven't heard these words then I would encourage you to speak up about Jesus. What the world is really asking us to do is not believe the Bible. Therefore they want us to reject God. The Bible is our authority therefore we need to listen to God speak from his Word and obey his will. This is our desire and we love to listen to our Father.

Are we narrow minded?

Jesus says, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 5:13-14).

Should we be so adamant that Jesus is the only way?

Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

Do we really have the truth?

Jesus praying in John 17 says, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" (17).

There are many verses on all three of these offenses of Christianity. Christians must affirm Jesus is the only way to the Father and the Bible is the infallible Word of God. But while this message is exclusive in its nature it is also inclusive. As a matter of fact the gospel is the inclusive message for the human race. The message of salvation through Jesus Christ alone is for everyone.

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2:1-6)

The message of the Bible is clear: Declare to all people, every nation, tribe and tongue, the salvation found in Jesus Christ alone. Repent and believe in Christ.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

I Will Glory in my Redeemer

2011-08-30T06:45:00.000-05:00

I will glory in my Redeemer
Whose priceless blood has ransomed me
Mine was the sin that drove the bitter nails
And hung Him on that judgment tree
I will glory in my Redeemer
Who crushed the power of sin and death
My only Savior before the Holy Judge
The Lamb Who is my righteousness
The Lamb Who is my righteousness

I will glory in my Redeemer
My life He bought, my love He owns
I have no longings for another
I’m satisfied in Him alone
I will glory in my Redeemer
His faithfulness my standing place
Though foes are mighty and rush upon me
My feet are firm, held by His grace
My feet are firm, held by His grace

I will glory in my Redeemer
Who carries me on eagle's wings
He crowns my life with lovingkindness
His triumph song I'll ever sing
I will glory in my Redeemer
Who waits for me at gates of gold
And when He calls me it will be paradise
His face forever to behold
His face forever to behold
His face forever to behold (Steve & Vikki Cook)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Psalm 1

2011-08-29T06:45:00.000-05:00

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Come, Everyone Who Thirsts

2011-08-26T06:45:00.001-05:00

“Come, everyone who thirsts” (Isaiah 55:1)

Think for a moment about a hot summer day. You have just been out running errands in the heat of the day. You’re sweaty, tired and hot. Wouldn’t a tall glass of water taste really good in this scenario? Our body is restored once we have a drink of water. Spiritually all of us are born dying of thirst. Our souls are never quenched because we are running after broken cisterns that never satisfy. But Jesus says, “Come, everyone who thirsts.”

Each of us was created for a purpose whether we acknowledge this truth or not. We all have a desire to be satisfied. Look around and see the different fountains people drink from to quench their soul’s desire. Christian, check your own heart to see what cravings you have for fleeting pleasures. When we try to fill our eternal soul with temporal stuff it just doesn’t work. You cannot satisfy the eternal with the temporal. This is an impossible goal. But there is an eternal fountain to drink from that will satisfy your soul forever. Yes, forever! The Fountainhead is calling: “Come, everyone who thirsts.”

The apostle John records the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. This was an interesting situation from the start because Jews did not associate with Samaritan’s. But Jesus comes to the lady and asks, “Give me a drink.” Taken aback by the fact that this Jewish man was speaking to her she asks him a question, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” Jesus answers back, “"If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." I imagine the blank look on her face as he is sitting there with no bucket to draw water yet he is offering her living water. What she doesn’t understand is this Jewish man is the Messiah. Jesus then makes it clear that the water from the well will satisfy for a time but the thirst will naturally come back. But spiritually Jesus offers her the only eternal thirst quencher: Himself. “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Jesus didn’t need a bucket because he is the eternal spring of water welling up to eternal life. He is calling us to come and drink.

The question can be asked: Why do Christians still drink from the well water when the spring is dwelling within them? That is a fair question. For all of us, believer or not, that question reveals a problem with us, not God. Naturally we are all born enslaved to sin. We love sin and sin has the power over us. We don’t just sin but we are sinners. On the surface this may not always show itself because of God’s common grace. But in our hearts we are in bondage. We are not as bad as we could on the surface because of his grace. But for the believer, Jesus, through his death and resurrection, has pardoned our sin and empowered us to have victory over sin. We have been raised to newness of life through the power of the gospel. The Christian has the supernatural power to forsake sin because of the all-satisfying treasure of Christ’s Spirit dwelling within us. When our eyes are fixed upon Christ the broken cisterns of the world begin to lose there allurement. But sadly we are still sinners. This is why the believer longs for heaven because sin will be gone and our eyes will never be removed from Christ.

Until that day we strive, by God’s grace, toward holiness. We want to be like Jesus. He is our standard. Sadly, most people keep dropping their buckets down a well which ultimately doesn’t satisfy their soul. Jesus is inviting everyone who thirsts to come. There is only one eternal spring of water, Jesus Christ, but he is inviting all to come and drink. “Come, everyone who thirsts.”

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Quick to Forgive Myself, Why not Others?

2011-08-25T06:45:00.001-05:00

Currently I am studying the book of Philemon and learning about forgiveness. Reading through John MacArthur's commentary on the book has made a significant change in my view of forgiveness. I thought I understood what forgiveness was all about yet struggled with being a forgiving person. By no means has this study been a quick fix to my struggle but it has allowed me to view forgiveness in a practical way of my life. My struggles came from a lack of understanding the truth found in Scripture. Dr. MacArthur gives eight foundation elements of a biblical doctrine of forgiveness that really opened my eyes to my lacking of understanding. My bitterness toward certain aspects or people in my life ran deeper than I understood but also my view of the gospel has been distorted. This is what sin wants for our lives as believers. In one of the eight foundational elements of forgiveness Dr. MacArthur says:

"Matthew 22:39: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' We find ourselves eminently worthy of forgiveness, and have a hard time understanding why others would not forgive us. We are quick to forgive and excuse ourselves. It is utter selfishness to fail to extend that same forgiveness to others. Selfishness also cause us to exaggerate the faults of those who offend us. Humble, unselfish people, in contrast, do not see offenses against themselves as significant."

OUCH! I am so grateful God is breaking down this area of sin in my life. I am a very prideful person that needs breaking. What amazing grace from God to forgive me from my lack of forgiveness to others. I want to be more like him.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Are you Staring at Jesus?

2011-08-24T06:45:00.001-05:00

I recently started reading Rick Holland's book Uneclipsing the Son. The subject: Christ. This is a book to help examine your heart to see whether Christ is truly the object of your faith. Rick says:

As strange and unthinkable as it may seem, in the hurricane of Christian activity and the avalanche of "Christian things" in which most of us live, Jesus Himself can come up missing. Look around. Listen. Check your own heart. It's way too easy to begin to think of Christianity as behavior modification, as a limitation on what you can enjoy or maybe making a moral or political stand or a social alternative to the world. And when we slip unwittingly into this mind-set, we effectively estrange ourselves from Christ, which sets us on a hunt for satisfaction in thw world. And when the world fails to satisfy our souls - and it will - we try harder to do better to fit in more with Christians and to feel better about ourselves. When this happens, we have entered the cycle that sends us spiraling into yet deeper frustration.

What's wrong with me?

I'll tell you - you've ceased to worship Jesus. After all, Christianity is the worship of Jesus Christ. It's the worship of Jesus Christ exclusively, and it's the worship of Jesus Christ comprehensively. He alone is worthy; he alone is God; he alone is the infinite sacrifice made for the sins of those who would believe. But it's comprehensive as well, which means that every part of our being should be engaged in the worship and honor of Jesus. If Jesus is who the Bible says he is, if he did what the Bible says he did, he is worthy of absolute, complete, exclusive, comprehensive attention and focus in our life...That's the first and last word on the subject at hand. Worship this Jesus. Don't let Jesus be crowded out.

"But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:3)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Beneath the Cross

2011-08-23T06:45:00.000-05:00

Beneath the cross of Jesus
I find a place to stand,
And wonder at such mercy
That calls me as I am;
For hands that should discard me
Hold wounds which tell me, "Come."
Beneath the cross of Jesus
My unworthy soul is won.

Beneath the cross of Jesus
His family is my own—
Once strangers chasing selfish dreams,
Now one through grace alone.
How could I now dishonor
The ones that You have loved?
Beneath the cross of Jesus
See the children called by God.

Beneath the cross of Jesus—
The path before the crown—
We follow in His footsteps
Where promised hope is found.
How great the joy before us
To be His perfect bride;
Beneath the cross of Jesus
We will gladly live our lives. (Keith & Kristyn Getty)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Dead Bones Come to Life...In Christ

2011-08-22T06:45:00.000-05:00

Have you ever taken the time to consider what takes place when God saves a lost soul? Have you considered what speaking the truth of the gospel to someone could do for them? Have you considered what God did in saving you? Want to see what evangelism is all about?

"The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' And I answered, 'O Lord GOD, you know.' Then he said to me, 'Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.'

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.' So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army." (Ezekiel 37:1-10)

When we open our mouths and speak the truth of Christ crucified this is what God does to dead bones: He makes them alive in Christ Jesus.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Charge that to my Account

2011-08-19T06:45:00.002-05:00

“Charge that to my account” (Philemon 1:18)

Philemon is a letter that has forgiveness written all throughout it. The letter is short but packed with great theological truths. The main truth: Forgiveness. This is a theological truth that so many of us need to focus on so when the time comes for us to forgive someone (and they will) we can be prepared to respond in a manner worthy of the gospel.

Near the end of the letter Paul is telling Philemon to accept Onesimus as he would accept Paul. Paul had been the Lord’s agent in Philemon’s salvation and we see Philemon has grown in godly character based on what is written throughout the letter. Paul says he has “derived much joy and comfort” from Philemon’s “love” for the saints. He also speaks of Philemon’s great love for the Lord Jesus (5). But Onesimus had committed a great crime against Philemon which was punishable by death at the time yet Paul had confidence in the work Christ had done in the life of Philemon to send Onesimus back to him. Paul is also testifying to the repentance shown in the life of Onesimus since he has runaway. In the Lord’s providence Onesimus and Paul had established a relationship in which Paul was used by the Lord in the salvation of Onesimus as well. Paul knew what had transpired between the Philemon and Onesimus and he also understood the seriousness of the crime committed therefore he acts as a mediator between the two parties. In his mediation we can clearly see how the gospel transforms us into forgiving people.

The Bible is clear that Christians ought to forgive others the way the Lord has forgiven them (Colossians 3:14). The standard is high but it is possible because of the cross. Near the end of Philemon, Paul is recalling the reality of Onesimus great sin in fleeing and potentially stealing from Philemon. He knows Ovesimus is unable to pay back Philemon so he says, “If you consider me your partner, receive [Onesimus] as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account” (17-18). We ought to read these words and instantly be reminded of the gospel. We should see these words and understand that the gospel is practically working itself out. Onesimus, the fleeing rebellious slave represents the sinner enslaved to sin. Philemon is the master from whom the sinner has run from and is rebelling against. Paul is acting as the mediator. He is bringing reconciliation between the two parties. He is pleading to the master to forgive the crime committed. The sinner has a debt he cannot pay back and Paul says, “Charge that to my account.” When I see those words I cannot help but head back to Colossians 2 where Paul writes, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (13-14).

Christian, we need to understand Onesimus represents all of us. We all rebelled against our Master. Yet in love Christ came to mediate between us and God. Christ came to bring reconciliation between us and God. Christ came so we could be forgiven and set free from the bondage of sin. How? Christ said to the Father on behalf of those who would repent and believe, “Charge that to my account,” which he bore upon the cross and validated by the empty tomb. He takes our sin and we receive his perfect righteousness in exchange. He commands us to forgive the way he has forgiven but it is only because of his forgiveness that we can truly forgive others. This is why we ought to be more amazed by grace.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

A Humble Servant and A Wonderful Wife

2011-08-18T06:45:00.000-05:00

"Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands" (Ephesians 5:24)

Today I want to talk about the woman I have the honor to call my wife. Heather is having another birthday celebration today so I want to talk about her. You might be thinking, "That is odd selection of Scripture to pick to honor her" but let me explain. This is an area of Heather's life where she excels. God has given her a great amount of grace to be able to live this out with a husband like myself. In the passage we read how the church is to submit to Christ. Christ loves perfectly and always works things out for the good of his bride. He loves his bride unconditionally. The way he loves us should make easy for us to love him back but that is not the case. As believers we still sin against God. Even though he has awakened us to his great love we still turn to other gods to love upon. Our love is weak and conditional because of sin. It doesn't make sense when know of his great love for us.

With that in mind, consider the calling Christ has placed upon two sinners in marriage. He has given the man and the woman different roles in marriage. The husband is to be the leader and the one who sacrifices for the sake of his wife. The wife is to be a helper and encourager in the marriage, submitting to her husband as the leader. The two are to respectfully compliment each other in submission to the design of our Creator. This won't be done perfectly because of sin. But when I read this passage I can't help but think of how wonderfully my wife lives this out. The command is to submit to your husband in everything (unless it is against God's will). This is not an easy task because this text is commanding Heather to submit to me in everything. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have to submit to a sinner like myself. This also reminds me of my great responsibility as a leader in our marriage. Yet I see Heather excel in her submission. I don't see her complain but rather submit with joy. To the world this makes no sense at all. When I see how I have treated her at times I wonder how and why she does submit. I'm sure for her this is not always easy. So what does make sense of this high calling for husbands and wives?

The Gospel!

The only thing that makes sense about a wife submitting to a fallible husband is the gospel. Marriage is supposed to be a human illustration of the gospel. By grace I am aware of this reality and by grace Heather is as well. This is what makes leadership such a joy for me and what makes submission such a joy for her. I don't lead perfectly and she doesn't submit perfectly but we strive daily to be more and more like Christ so that our marriage will be a reflection of his love for sinners like us. We strive by his grace and for his glory so that our marriage will magnify his great name to a lost world. This is only accomplished through what Christ accomplished on the cross. His life, death and resurrection makes sense of marriage. Sinners saved by grace united until death do them part for the glory of God.

I love you.

Grace upon grace,
Your Husband

Life is a Vapor

2011-08-17T06:45:00.001-05:00

From John Piper's book Life is a Vapor:

"As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more" (Psalm 103:15-16)

"Only one life, 'twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last. What a tragedy when we fail to see that Christ, by his death and resurrection, has freed us from this evil age - from everything that we would look back on and say: wasted.

Therefore, attach yourself to the gospel of Christ. This alone will turn your earthly vapor into everlasting life. 'For all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the world of the Lord remains forever.' And this word is the good news that was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:24-25) "

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Do Not I Love Thee, O My Lord?

2011-08-16T06:45:00.000-05:00

Do not I love Thee, O my Lord?
Behold my heart and see;
And turn each cursèd idol out,
That dares to rival Thee.

Do not I love Thee, O my Lord?
Then let me nothing love;
Dead be my heart to every joy,
When Jesus cannot move.

Is not Thy Name melodious still
To mine attentive ear?
Doth not each pulse with pleasure bound
My Savior’s voice to hear?

Hast Thou a lamb in all Thy flock
I would disdain to feed?
Hast Thou a foe, before whose face
I fear Thy cause to plead?

Would not mine ardent spirit vie
With angels round the throne,
To execute Thy sacred will,
And make Thy glory known?

Would not my heart pour forth its blood
In honor of Thy Name?
And challenge the cold hand of death
To damp th’immortal flame?

Thou know’st I love Thee, dearest Lord,
But O, I long to soar
Far from the sphere of mortal joys,
And learn to love Thee more! (Philip Doddridge)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Not Who I Once Was

2011-08-15T06:45:00.000-05:00

Christian, you ought to be able to say with John Newton:

"I am not what I ought to be.
I am not what I want to be.
I am not what I hope to be.
But still, I am not what I used to be.
And by the grace of God, I am what I am."

Grace upon grace,
JRL

I have derived much Joy and Comfort from your Love

2011-08-12T06:45:00.001-05:00

“I have derived much joy and comfort from your love” (Philemon 7)

Could these words be said about your life from another brother or sister in Christ? Bringing “joy and comfort” to a fellow believer would surely bring great encouragement to our souls and also great glory to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Thinking about the affect “your love” could have on a soul or many souls should be motivation to live a gospel saturated life.

Paul, writing to Philemon, says, “I have derived much joy and comfort from your love.” Paul had heard good reports from others about the life of Philemon. He was a member of the church of Colossae who had his slave, Onesimus, flee from his work. This letter in Scripture is Paul’s commending of Onesimus back to Philemon. Onesimus had since repented of his sin and given his life to Christ. Paul was a major contributor in the life of both Philemon and Onesimus so Paul wanted to see the relationship restored. He knows the character of Philemon and is trusting his love will carry over into the forgiveness of Onesimus sin against him.

Studying this book quickly makes us realize Philemon character should be the norm for Christians. What Onesimus had done to Philemon was a severe crime at the time. In our day when someone commits a sin against us we tend to hold a grudge without forgiving. Even when the offending party comes to repent and seek our forgiveness we often cling to the wrong committed. Philemon, on the other hand, tends to show a different portrait of forgiveness because his life has been changed by the gospel. His love for the saints is bringing “joy and comfort” to other believers who are not even in his own church. Paul had only heard of his love for other believers from other believers. This is a great testimony of grace in his life. This is how Paul could send Onesimus back to Philemon because he knew Philemon would be ready to forgive another believer. Paul is buttering him up but rather trusting in the power of the gospel.

Keep in mind Onesimus was potentially close enough to be back-handed by Philemon as he read Paul’s letter. But Paul was trusting in the work of the Holy Spirit to keep in his mind the truth which says, “As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Col. 3:13). This implies that people will sin against you and even worse, other believers will sin against you. The answer to sin is always the cross of Jesus Christ. Paul says we must forgive the way Christ has forgiven us. Paul was confident sending Onesimus back because of the life transforming power of the gospel in Philemon’s life. This should be the kind of attitude every believer should display in their life. When the gospel has transformed to love and forgive the way Christ has loved us than we will bring joy and comfort to other believers. We will also show the world what it means to lay down our lives in surrender to the King of kings. Jesus gave us a new commandment: “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

Christian, how are you doing in this area of your walk? When the world or other believers see a conflict in your life do they see a person who is striving to be like Christ or a complainer? Do they see someone who is unable to forgive the way Christ has forgiven? This is not easy but with the power of the Holy Spirit and the reminder of the empty tomb we can fight against our sin. May we turn to see the example of Philemon and hear, as he did, “I have derived much joy and comfort from your love.”

Grace upon grace,
JRL

An Open Letter to Chris Jones

2011-08-11T06:45:00.004-05:00

Recently an article was written on the sports/pop culture blog Grantland talking about Barry Zito, a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. In this particular post, Arts vs. Science: The Barry Zito Debate, writers Chris Jones and Jonah Keri debate over a previous article written by Jones on how Barry Zito was destroyed by lofty expections. Rather than give you the entire set of e-mail exchanges between the two I will just give you section that caught my eye and than a quick response.

Chris Jones writes:

"You're asking me to defend art with science, and I can’t. It’s why science always wins. Art can’t overcome the burden of proof, and I concede that point, absolutely, which is why I’d never claim that statistics are stupid. I understand their importance and their value. But that doesn’t mean I have to love them.

This will sound strange, but stick with me. I’m an atheist, and have been for as long as I can remember. Back in high school, I was asked to debate a minister, in front of my biology class, about evolution. I presented all of my carefully researched and well-documented science, from the voyages of Beagle on down, and made every possible rational argument against the existence of God and every other deity (including the fairly obvious argument that if there is a Higher Power, there can be only one). And the minister’s only Argument Against was that he believed otherwise. He had no real proof, of course. He could not rebut my case with any sort of fact-based evidence. If our debate had happened in front of a purely rational audience of 100 people, I would have won 100 minds.

But people think with their hearts, too.

And after that debate, if I’m being honest, I envied the minister and his allies. I envied his belief. I still do. It’s really hard to be an atheist. It’s hard to believe that life is just a series of accidents, that at the end of it is only darkness. It’s hard to have things go wrong and have only yourself to blame.

So I’ve found my small gods in other things. I see the constellations in one of Norman Mailer’s perfectly written paragraphs. I listen to “Montana” by Youth Lagoon and I believe in something like the divine. I am a man of deep feeling, and when I see people do beautiful things, I feel it in my chest. Barry Zito’s curveball was one of those beautiful things. When I first saw it and wrote about it, I thought for a long time how I might describe it. I ended up writing that “It dropped like a broken heart,” because that’s what I felt when I saw it."

Mr. Jones,

As a Christian this section of your e-mail response makes complete sense. I really appreciate your honesty about envying something about the minister's beliefs. I understand in your debate you presented careful research and well-documented science to disprove God to seemingly win the debate; but what you write in your following paragraphs really prove against your rational argument against the existence of God. You debated completely on science while the minister's "believing otherwise" was probably based on the truth that God created everything including you, me and the minister. Since God created everything and created humans in his own image, he therefore owns everything including you, me and the minister. Since he created us, he knows everything about us, and we can conclude he would know what would satisfy us. But rather than seeking our Creator for our joy and satisfaction we have rejected and rebelled against our Creator to seek other things (or gods) to try and satisfy our soul. God's says in his Word: "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things" (Romans 1:31-23).

The amazing part is you admit to this very thing in your article. Rather than submitting to the truth about God you have sadly rejected him while trying to fill the void with his very creation. Evolution makes no sense of this reality but the Bible makes it crystal clear. The void comes from rejecting Jesus, the eternal, all-satisfying treasure. In turn you have created multiple god's to temporarily fill the void. The saddest part is that the void will never be completely filled. You will find yourself seeking new god's when the others wear out. But the Bible offers an eternal hope because it the Word of the eternal God. "In [God's] presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11). You were created for a purpose Mr. Jones and that purpose is to bring glory to your Creator.

Can I show you something beautiful and breath-taking? I know you love things that are beautiful and beyond description so let me point you to the greatest news in all of history. Though you have rejected and turned your back on your Creator (As was my life for so many years) he has graciously provided the way to restore the broken relationship. Nothing you will ever do can earn favor with God but, in love, he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the price for all who would simply trust in him. Sin is the rejecting of God as God and what has separated you from God. Sin is what separated me from God. As humans we don't naturally love him "but God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Placing your trust in Jesus Christ is the way to have your void filled forever. He is the one who came to remove the wrath of the Father by dying in your place so your sins could be pardoned forever. This is amazing news. It all makes sense when we can go back to how and why we were created.

Life is not just a serious of accidents that will end in darkness. God is sovereign over all events and people. He is on his throne and his plan is absolutely perfect. And when things go wrong we do have only ourselves to blame because sin is what has caused all the corruption and destruction in this world. God is not to blame for sin, we are. "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire" (James 1:13-14). The Bible makes sense of all your questions. God created us for the purpose of basking in him and bringing glory to him as our Creator. We have sinned and rebelled against God (Genesis 3; Romans 3:23) therefore earning our wage of death (Romans 6:23). Yet Jesus comes and lives the life we could not live and dies the death we deserve in order to bring reconciliation between us and God (2 Corinthians 5:21; Colossians 2:13-14). The Bible says about Jesus, "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

I'm not pleading with you to give Jesus a trial run for 30 days to see if he works or not. I'm not asking you to try to do a bunch of good things in order to find God. I'm pleading with you to "be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20). I'm pleading with you to forsake your rejection of your Creator and place your trust in his plan of salvation. I'm pleading with you to trust Christ!

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Parental Mission Field

2011-08-10T06:45:00.001-05:00

If you are a parent have you ever considered the mission field? I know for many of you the thought of packing up your family to move halfway across the world does not sound appealing. But that is not what I am talking about when I ask you to consider your mission field. Yes we need and love those families who have packed up everything to move and minister to a certain group of people in a specific country but the mission field I am talking about is in our own home. As parents we have a mission field at the house.

Followers of Jesus Christ are called to be faithful proclaimers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have our commission from the God of the universe. So often in our Christianized culture we tend to think that is a job for missionaries and pastors only but that is not the case. We are all called to be lights in this dark world. We are called to be a city on a hill whose light cannot be hidden. We are called to be ambassadors for Christ pleading with people to be reconciled to God. As parents the best place I know to do this is in our own home with our children. God has given us precious gifts in our children but sadly, we too often forget they are sinners in need of a Savior. We can get too busy pinching their cheeks and telling them how cute they are rather than letting them know of sin and how it separates them from holy God. We are more concerned with getting them to church to learn all the Christian songs and memorize Bible verses rather than being faithful gospel proclaimers at home with our words and actions. Psalm 145:4 says, "One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts." This is what we are able to as parent who love Christ.

Everyday God gives you is to be used for his glory. If he should bless you with another day of dolls and tree houses than you have another great opportunity to speak of his glorious gospel on the mission field. Kids are not automatically Christians because of their parents or their church. Kids are natural born sinners in need of Jesus Christ. Believing parents are a gift to their children because they can proclaim the truth of the cross over and over. Have you been faithful? Your child's eternity is at stake.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Alas! And did my Savior Bleed

2011-08-09T06:45:00.000-05:00

Alas! and did my Savior bleed,
and did my Sovereign die!
Would he devote that sacred head
for sinners such as I?

Was it for crimes that I have done,
he groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide,
and shut its glories in,
when God, the mighty maker died
for his own creature's sin.

Thus might I hide my blushing face
while his dear cross appears;
dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
and melt mine eyes to tears.

But drops of tears can ne'er repay
the debt of love I owe.
Here, Lord, I give myself away;
'tis all that I can do. (Isaac Watts)

Grace upon grace,
JRL

God Opposes the Proud but...

2011-08-08T06:45:00.001-05:00

I hate sin. I know of no other way to start this post than stating that reality. It grieves me to see the sin that is in my life. It grieves me more that my sin so often affects the people I love the most. I've lately been noticing the pride in my life and how often that pride is directed toward my wife and others in my family. This weekend was good because God started showing me this reality. I know he is graciously working on my heart by his mercy and grace.

This weekend I did open up C.J. Mahaney's wonderful book Humility so I could get a dose of counsel and Scripture to help in my fight. Mahaney gives a great definitions of humility: "Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God's holiness and our sinfulness." The reason for not noticing sin in our lives boils down to how we know and see God. The more we study, read and understand who God is then, in turn, the more we will know about ourselves. I know at times I tend to avoid this study. I am afraid of knowing God because of what I will find out about myself. It is ugly!

The Scriptures encourage us to fight against pride. God's word is clear: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). I want grace! All of us want grace but grace comes at a great price. In Philippians we are told to "have this mind among yourselves." What kind of mind? "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others" (2:3-4). The mind we are to have is a humble mind which is only possible with Christ. He set the example by taking on humanity in order to die a substitutionary death on our behalf. God left heaven to take the death and punishment for our sins. This is humility. Only through the power of the gospel are we able to have a humble mindset and heart.

So, the fight is on. The battle is waging war. I'm grateful for the battle but I'm even more grateful to know Christ has already won. My encouragement comes from knowing this is not my home and one day I will be with him in that place where sin will be no more. I long for that day but until he comes or takes me home I want to be faithful to fight for joy in him.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

My Soul Waits for the LORD more than Watchman for the Morning

2011-08-05T06:45:00.001-05:00

“My soul waits for the LORD more than watchman for the morning” (Psalm 130:6)

Have you ever considered how we, as followers of Jesus Christ, are to wait for the Lord? We are to be people waiting with great anticipation for the return of Christ. We long for the day when he will come to take us to be with him forever. We wait trusting in our sovereign God to sustain our souls through the dark of sin by his amazing grace. “My soul waits for the LORD more than watchman for the morning.”

Watchmen were those who watched over the city to protect the city and to deter any sort of criminal activity. They would be like our modern day police and fire departments that protect our cities. These men had great responsibilities which lead to great consequences when failing to keep watch over the city. The prophet Ezekiel helps us see this responsibility: “If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand” (33:2-6). The watchman, no doubt, is in a dangerous role of warning and fighting against wickedness. This is why the Psalmist compares our waiting on the Lord to a watchman waiting for the morning.

The last watchman of the night would be relieved of his duty when the sun would rise in the morning. During the night would be the most dangerous time to be on guard. Sight is limited so attacks take place through the night so criminals might not be seen. The last watchman in the night would no doubt be grateful if no activity had taken place. He would be praising the Lord for his protection from harm. He would carefully watch through the night and wait eagerly for the morning. This is how Christians ought to live as well. As we wait for the day when we will see Jesus face to face we carefully guard our hearts against all ungodliness through the promises of Scripture and we wait eagerly for the great day of his return. Our new lives, in Christ, come with the great responsibility of guarding our souls while caring for other souls. Whether it is warning fellow believers against the false doctrines outside and inside the church or telling lost souls about the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have a great responsibility as we wait.

Christian, how are you spending your time waiting and watching? Are you too busy complaining about your circumstances that your missing out on opportunities to serve and love your neighbor? We have the gospel to protect and proclaim. This is a great responsibility that comes with an everlasting reward. We are waiting for the One who promises eternal joy and pleasures forevermore (Ps. 16:11). But while we wait may we not let people die under our watch and care without warning them of the coming of Christ. As the watchman blows the trumpet of warning so must we be proclaiming: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners!” May we wait in great anticipation. May we wait responsibly with the message of the gospel. May we wait patiently for our Savior. May we wait resting in Jesus Christ. “My soul waits for the LORD more than watchman for the morning."

Grace upon grace,
JRL