Light from Old Paths

Old Path: Judges 3:5-6

2011-07-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

I am challenged to think about ways that the evil in the world has infiltrated my life in the following areas, as a result of the sermon this Sunday from Judges, culminating in Judges 3:5-6.

We are supposed to be having an influence for Christ in the world, but the world is on a conquest of its own, and it has certainly influenced each of us in ways we will regret.

So, I will seek to identify specific ways that the world is influencing my life in these four areas, and determine to push out those influences.

My home
My marriage
My family
My faith

A few days away...

2011-03-08T06:47:00.000-08:00

I am looking forward to the Shepherd's Conference tomorrow, but as I left home to go to work (and then straight down to the conference) before signs of life began to stir I found this quote to be fitting:

"The parting with my wife and poor children hath often been to me in this place as the pulling of my flesh from my bones."

Granted, this was quoted by John Bunyan while imprisoned, but the thought is appropriate nonetheless.

Counsel

2011-01-27T09:03:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been struggling with big decisions and trying to get as much counsel as I can to help think it through. Counsel is good, but sometimes it can be hard to sort through it all, especially when you are deciding between good things.

The most difficult thing for me is discerning the leading of the Lord, Himself. When it is not strictly a biblical issue that the Word of God has addressed specifically, we are left to discern the will of God somewhat subjectively. By the way, Found: God's Will by John MacArthur is a great resource here.

But this morning I am meditating on this verse from Psalm 16, which has been very helpful.

I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
Indeed my mind instructs me in the night.
I have set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Doing and Bearing

2010-11-26T08:59:00.000-08:00

"True holiness does not consist merely of believing and feeling, but of doing and bearing, and a practical exhibition of active and passive grace." - J. C. Ryle, Holiness

Lord, you have given me faith and passion in Christ. Please give me the character of a man that is diligent in doing and bearing in accordance with that faith and passion.

Things to Avoid

2010-11-22T06:51:00.000-08:00

This morning I was reading James 4, and in my Bible the title of the chapter (inserted by the publisher, not inspired) reads "Things to Avoid." I had to chuckle a little to myself because I knew what was coming: James' scathing confrontation of their blatant sin, including lust, murder, adultery, and more. This is perhaps one of the most stern rebukes that I can think of in Scripture, starting with the first verse, "What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?"

However... as I read on I was reminded of the verse that I always forget comes from this same chapter.

v.6 - But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, 'God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'

Lord, make me a humble recipient of your grace.

Family Worship

2010-05-06T21:19:00.000-07:00

We had our first Family Worship time at the dinner table tonight, and it was a blast! We have tried different things with family worship times, but nothing has worked very well. Tonight, we started with a couple of fun songs that the girls love ("I like the Bible," and "Rejoice in the Lord Always") while each playing an instrument. Then we prayed, started dinner, and read from Ephesians 1. I asked the girls a couple of questions about what we read, and then we talked about what we can praise God for. Kalena praised God for her triangle (which she had just finished playing), and Sara praised God for her strawberry and yummy food.

I'm really excited about our new Family Worship time because it is simple and fun and over time I think it will have a large impact on the lives of our children. I don't have to hype it up or make it this really serious event every time, we can just live out our faith with our kids and teach them by way of a godly example.

Preachers that Ignite My Soul - Steve Lawson

2010-05-04T20:20:00.000-07:00

Summit IV: Christian Alliance for Orphans

2010-04-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

I am currently out in Eden Prairie, Minnesota for Summit IV, the annual conference for the Christian Alliance for Orphans. It has really opened my eyes to the need of the orphans in the world.

Spiritually, we are all orphans or were at one point (thank you Al Mohler and Eph 1:5). Adoption is a picture of the gospel, and in my mind there is no better way for us in the church to give the world a visual picture of the gospel than to live it out in our concern and care for orphans.

Good stuff... just had to jot something down about what the Lord is teaching me today.

The Purpose of the Lord will Stand

2010-04-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

Pr 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.

There are so many plans floating around in my mind, recently. What place of effective ministry do you have for us, God? Where will we go and when will it be? Should we go as traditional missionaries, or try to be tentmakers?

We met with a pastor from Beirut, Lebanon last week (Joseph), and I am flying to Dallas in a few weeks to meet with a pastor from Kazakhstan (Andrey). Both men would be great to work with, but which will be most strategic and "mission critical" for us?

In the midst of all this wondering about what the Lord has in mind for us, it is comforting to know that His purpose is not wavering or unsure. His purpose will stand.

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

2010-03-06T09:23:00.000-08:00

If anyone ever reads this blog, you may have noticed that I don't post very often. There are perhaps a good number of reasons for this... But I can think of two that are at the top of the list.

I often have little to share that I consider truly valuable to others. I recognize that sharing profound truth is not the purpose of most blogs, but I feel a certain level of responsibility to provide something interesting and edifying to those who read this.
I don't want this to be all about me. I recognize that the entries that most would enjoy reading are not necissarily as profound as they are personal, so perhaps I will become better at this. My wife has a great blog that is more of a family blog, personal in that way, but I want to try to include a personal element here, too.

So, today I want to share something that is both personal and (I think) profound. I don't think I've ever had an original profound thought, and today is no different. I started anew my reading of Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross, edited by Nancy Guthrie, and I didn't even get 2 pages in before my heart was profoundly impacted by the following excerpt by Martin Luther:

The true contemplation is that in which the heart is crushed and the conscience smitten. You must be overwhelmed by the frightful wrath of God who so hated sin that he spared not His only begotten Son. What can the sinner expect if the beloved Son was so afflicted? It must be an inexpressible and undurable yearning that causes God's Son himself so to suffer. Ponder this and you will tremble, and the more you ponder, the deeper you will tremble. Take this to heart and doubt not that you are the one who killed Christ. Your sins certainly did, and when you see the nails driven through his hands, be sure you are pounding, and when the thorns pierce his brow, know that they are your evil thoughts. Consider that if one thorn pierced Christ you deserve one hundred thousand.

As I think back on how God worked on my heart a decade ago, it was this profound truth that helped me to realize my deep need for a Savior, and that it could only be found in Jesus Christ. And so I ask this morning, "Jesus, keep me near the cross."

Testing Your Faith by the Light of James

2009-10-07T13:13:00.000-07:00

I have been so encouraged in recent weeks as I have had the opportunity to study the book of James. As I read various commentators, my eyes were opened to the reality that the entire book of James gives us a litany of tests by which we can know the quality of our faith, whether it is real or fake, authentic or counterfeit, living or dead.

For example, check out chapter one, which I have been camping out in for the past 3 weeks.

The Test of Trials. How do you respond to trials? (1:2-12)
The Test of Temptation. How do you respond under Temptation? (1:13-18)
The Test of God's Word. How do you respond to God's Word? (1:19-27)

These tests have been an encouragement to me in recent weeks to continually evaluate my progress in the faith using these tests as a guide. It has been both encouraging, and challenging to evaluate myself, but I have found it to be a necessary process that I need to be engaged in continually.

The Priority of Justification by Faith

2009-09-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

As I read through Romans 1-4 this morning, I could not help but notice the progression of topics through chapters one through three. He starts with the priority of the gospel in 1:1-17, then moves into a discussion of the results of sin and unbelief in spite of God's clear existence (1:18-32). Throughout he uses coordinating conjunctions (therefore, and, for) in order to build his progression of thought. As I read, I thought, "Where is Paul going with this? What point is he driving at?" He continues to build as he talks about the condemnation of the law and the guiltiness of all men, and then he comes, I think, to the culminating thought in this first section of Romans.

What is that culminating thought? What is the point that Paul has been build to for 3 chapters?

I believe it is in 3:21-30, when Paul declares that the propitiation of Jesus' blood was to "demonstrate His righteousness... so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." His point is that the only thing that justifies the man of faith is the work of Christ on the cross. Justification by faith alone (Eph 2:8-9).

May I never lose my grip on this thought, that God is the one that justifies, and that faith is the priority of the gospel.

Relationship Fruit

2009-08-28T08:55:00.000-07:00

I noticed this morning as I was reading Romans 1 again that Paul hits on a key element of ministry when he is greeting the Romans in 1:13. He says, "I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. "

The interesting point is that he mentions his desire to come to them for the purpose of obtaining fruit. His intent in every relationship that God gave him was to bring about a spiritual harvest in that individual. Ministry is predicated on relationships. No relationship = No fruit.

As we come back to NorthCreek after being gone for 5 years, I am encouraged by the relationships that are being rekindled, and I look forward to the spiritual harvest that awaits as we pour into those relationships and impart Christ to one another.

Connected again!

2009-08-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

We've moved in to our new place in Walnut Creek, and finally got connected to the internet again! It's kinda sad that we feel like we are so disconnected when we don't have a 24-hour technical link to the rest of the world flowing into our house... but I guess that's the world we live in.

Since I am connected...

A thought that I have been stuck on for the last couple of days comes from Romans 1:11-12 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.

If Paul was teachable enough to learn and be encouraged from the faith of others around him, I need to be more teachable than I am.

Paternal Joy

2009-04-28T21:19:00.000-07:00

Today was my first real day of being out of the house all day, working, etc. I did Pastor of the Day at Grace in the morning, then did a half day at my new job at The Master's College until 5. I got home about 5:30, and Kalena scrambled off the chair and made a bee-line for me while shouting "Daddy's home!"

As if that wasn't enough, right when she was rounding the corner, I realized that Sara had made her own mad dash/crawl and was emerging from behind the couch at the same moment. Kalena reached me first, and gave me a sweet embrace, followed shortly by Sara, who grasped her way onto her feet and climbed into my arms. Once there, she laid her sweet head onto my shoulder, smiling from ear to ear.

I stood up with both of them nuzzling a shoulder, and was pretty sure it was the best moment of the day so far. Giving my wife a kiss a moment later capped it off. Daddy heaven on earth.

Considering our Reconciliation

2009-04-20T06:41:00.000-07:00

This morning, with Sunday still afresh in my mind, I am struck by the fact that God has reconciled us to Himself. Strike that... I am struck by the fact that God has reconciled me to Himself. If you spent 5 minutes with me during the past couple of days, walking my path and hearing my thoughts, you would know just how much I don't deserve to be reconciled to God. And yet, because of His infinite mercy and grace, and because of who He is, I have been reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of my faith.

Yesterday, Kurt brought a concluding message in his "Defeating Narcissus" series, a series that I think has been hand-crafted for my soul. This last message was no different, reminding me of the incredible privilege and responsibility of being loved by God. I had to leave a few minutes early for Children's Center duty, but here are my notes:

Consider Both Sides of the Doctrine of Reconciliation

Our need for reconciliation with God
- Is 59:1-2 Behold, the Lord's hand is not so short that it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and you sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
- Our relationship with God, by nature, is broken.
- Our poor relationship with God is our fault.
- Romans 5:1, 8, 11 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ... But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us... And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
- We have received the reconciliation in Rom 5:11
The Reconciliation of Races
- The reconciliation in Ephesians 2:16 is not between God and man, but between man and other men.
- In vv 11-13 God's grace is shown to the forsaken race.
- In vv 14 Jesus died on the cross to promote racial harmony in the church
- In vv 15-16 the church is a new amalgum
- In vv 17-18 Jew and Gentile enjoy equal footing before God - 1 Cor 12:13
- In vv 19-22 the church is a glorious proximity of unity, togetherness,and harmony.

Abandon Your Inherent Ethno-centricity!!

Morality or Holiness?

2009-03-04T20:40:00.000-08:00

Jerry Bridges wrote something in his little book, The Pursuit of Holiness, that has dominated my thinking the past few days. Here it is:

"Many Christians have what we might call a "cultural holiness." They adapt to the character and behavior pattern of Christians around them. As the Christian culture around them is more or less holy, so these Christians are more or less holy. But God has not called us to be like those around us. He has called us to be like Himself. Holiness is nothing less than conformity to the character of God."

Light from Old Paths

2009-02-24T19:39:00.000-08:00

It was the prophet Jeremiah who first used the expression 'old paths' and assured those who followed them that they would find rest for their souls:

"Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls" (Jer. 16:6, NASB)

J.C. Ryle was of the same conviction and wrote: "The longer I live the more I am convinced that the world needs no new Gospel, as some profess to think. I am thoroughly persuaded that the world needs nothing but bold, full, unflinching teaching of the 'old paths.'"

I am not sure how I will choose to use this blog in the future, but I pray that I will always be growing in my passion and pursuit of the 'old paths.'