God owns me through Jerry Bridges’ writing

The Lord has really blessed Jerry Bridges’ writing. He unpacks the Scriptures very well and also really gets into your heart and your kitchen. Today, I was reading the Discipline of Grace (this book used to be standard reading at GOC back in the late 90s… it needs to make a comeback), and boy oh boy, was I in for a whoopin’. You know that recent book by Bridges, Respectable Sins? That book is an expansion of stuff he touches on in Discipline of Grace. Man, Bridges doesn’t let you get away with anything; he’s extremely perceptive as to what even the most mature Christians are susceptible too.

So what I got whooped by was how we Christians can become deacons, elders, even pastors and still totally be critical of people and get away with it. Ouch. Sin is still sin. Sin is despising God, spitting in His face, rebelling against Him, defying Him, and spurning Him. When you put it in those terms, that’s pretty bad. To make matters even worse, let’s not forget about His infinite worth and majesty, which we mock when we sin.

I look honestly at my life over the past few weeks and I’ve become more aware of how I put in sly comments that subtly tear people down. Not cool. Even worse than not cool, that’s sin. And honestly, I’m doing it to make myself look better, because I’ll knock people on things like punctuality, decisiveness, or priorities because somewhere deep down I think I’m bulletproof in those areas. Yeah right. Oh sin, why do I do it? Oh dude, I’m ready to crumple into a heap on the ground and cry “Oh worthless! Why do I do this to my God!?”

Praise to Jesus Christ for dying for sinners like me. Truly undeserving. I’m forgiven and my conscience is cleansed by the precious blood of the great Savior.

Father, would You give me the grace to always cry along with the broken tax collector: “Father, be merciful to me, the sinner.”

Bowing in worship, reverence, and amazement at the humility of Christ

I had a good quiet time today. I’d love for those to come more often. But today was definitely good. Here’s why.

You know how it’s pretty intuitive to be amazed and bow before the majesty and glory of Christ? We have pretty decent analogies in human experience. Just go stand at the foot of El Capitan at Yosemite, or feel small before the Grant Tetons in Wyoming, or go check out the Grand Canyon. Wow. Blown away, and rightly so, because you feel insignificant and amazed by something so much greater than yourself.

But get this, that’s only part of why we should be positively floored by Jesus Christ. He is the Lion, yes, but He is also the Lamb. God will exalt Him for not only how awesome He is, but also for lowering Himself, becoming a man, and dying on a Cross for unworthy, despicable insects like us. Let us all be amazed at the meekness, humility, gentleness, compassion, and restraint that are so stunningly demonstrated in Jesus Christ.

I read Matthew 3 today, when Jesus got baptized by John the Baptist. Jesus shows up, John says “Jesus, You should be baptizing me!” But Jesus says no, rather “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” And then he lets John baptize Him. And then the Holy Spirit descends like a dove, and we hear the Father’s voice thunder from above: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Wow. The only other time something like this happens is the Transfiguration. So Steve, pay attention!

See in Matthew 3 Christ’s humility, obedience, and submissiveness to the Father. And be staggered by how the Father affirms that Jesus is the Son in whom His soul delights. And then recall that we will be able to love and worship Christ with the very love the Father has for Him, and we’ll be able to do it for all eternity! And then recall that our joy will increase infinitely into infinity.

I’m looking forward to it. Are you?

Lord, may I never confuse these two.

joy
1.    the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation. Transcends circumstance and is also deeper than emotions when it is rooted in Jesus Christ.

levity
1.    lightness of mind, character, or behavior; lack of appropriate seriousness or earnestness.

Father, I strive to be someone full of the joy that comes from You, because not only do You command it in Your word, but it’s also (to dig deeper into why it’s commanded) a tremendous source of strength and stability as life takes all its unpredictable turns.

However, as You know very well, Lord, I often confuse levity and joy. O Father, increase in me the joy that is rooted in You, and at the same time let my life be filled with a seriousness that befits the eternal nature of my decisions every day, the realities of Heaven and Hell, and the possibility of death at any moment. For Your name’s sake and in Christ’s name, Amen.

On a seperate note, a very cool quote from a pretty cool missionary, on the beautiful reality of God’s providence:
“When you’re a Christian, the word ‘coincidence’ is no longer in your vocabulary.” – Luke Everett (thx Ed Lan for the quote )

Today, Sunday, August 10 2008, was a feast

A short post.

Today was a feast. And what a feast. An expository sermon on Psalm 63 from a preacher on fire and deeply in love with the Lord. And then really good Chinese food for lunch (that’s the smallest feast today). And then an expository sermon on Psalm 46, where halfway through the sermon the curtain that is the preacher was drawn back and the only thing the eyes of your heart could see is the indescribable, heart-captivating, soul-satisfying greatness and goodness of God.

God, You are too good to me. Thank You for an amazing day at church. Would this profoundly affect my week. Amen.

How predictable are you, Steve?

I recently got a challenge from a trusted mentor of mine. It went something like this (pauses, stutterings, and such edited out, obviously).

“Steve, what are you passionate about?”

“Well, I care very much about being involved in the church. Serving the Body, equipping the next generation, helping younger Christians grow in their walk with the Lord. And I’m serious about meeting missionary needs. Something just feels right when there’s a lack of resources somewhere and I can help meet that need.”

“No, those are the things that you do that are important to you. I’m asking what are you passionate about? What excites you? Some guys are passionate about their car; they talk about it all the time and it excites them. Some guys are passionate about their girlfriend; they keep talking about her and their face lights up when they think about them.”

“Oh, in that sense. Then I’d say I’m passionate about the greatness and glory of God. I want to experience, behold, and enjoy Him more all the time, and I want to help others see how amazing He is that they might be captivated too and be completely sold out for Him. Nothing excites me more than worship and being exhilarated at our great God when I grasp great truths about Him.”

“There you go. Now when you talk with other people, how do you drive them towards your passion?”

“I usually ask what cool things they’ve read recently that have more opened their eyes to God. Or anything really eye-catching that they’ve read in their devotions. Or if they’ve been experiencing anything lately that have inclined their hearts more towards God and helped them love Him more. Things like that, sorta.”

“That’s good. I encourage you to really think about what kind of questions you can ask people to help them in this area and direct them towards God. Like for me, people know what they’re going to get when they talk to me. They’re going to get asked how their quiet times are. They know I’m going to talk to them about evangelism, and discipleship too. What can you be known for? What will people know they’ll get when they talk to you?”

Dude. Talk about a challenge. I know we’re all known for something, usually inadvertently. But to be able to be so intentional, so consistent, and so much the real deal that I’m intentionally known for something intensely Godward… that’s awesome. That’s the essence of effective spiritual leadership. O for more pointed and Godward questions. Lord, grant me that. Grant me the yieldedness to be shaped by You, please!

Father, may we be willing to step out of the way so that others will see not us, but Your glory. In fact, may we be anxious to step out of the way so that others will see Your glory.