The (W)right Move

The Bishop of Durham, Dr N. T. Wright, has announced that he will be retiring from the See of Durham on August 31. He has been appointed to a Chair in New Testament and Early Christianity at St Andrews.

So in a surprise move, N. T. Wright (my favourite theologian) is leaving the Church of England to return to the academic world. He has explained that his 'continuing vocation to be a writer, teacher and broadcaster, for the benefit of the wider world and church, has been increasingly difficult to combine with the complex demands and duties of a diocesan bishop'. But part of me wonders whether his decision has anything to do with the current crisis in the Church of England.

Anyway, I think this is a good move for both him and St Andrews. I'm just glad I managed to catch him in York in one of his last few months as the Bishop of Durham.

On another note, N. T. Wright is, as I have previously suspected (see here and here), a lifelong supporter of recently-promoted Newcastle United FC.

"I breathed a huge sigh of relief when Newcastle United were promoted," he said. "It is always a worry when a team goes down that they will become disheartened and fall to the bottom of the league, but this has been a great season." I approve!

The Butterfly Effect in Evangelism

"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe - as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." - 1 Corinthians 3:5-7 (NIV)

This passage is usually used to teach that the church is not about individuals but about Christ, the church's one foundation. More generally, evangelism is not about who sows or who reaps the seed of the gospel but about God, who is sovereign in salvation.

As I was thinking a bit more about this passage, it struck me that there is a butterfly effect in evangelism. If Paul did not plant the seed, there would not have been anything for Apollos to water. The butterfly effect applies not only to sanctification but also to evangelism (which, if you think about it, is really part of sanctification)!

Links: The Butterfly Effect (15 Sep 09), The Butterfly Effect in Sanctification (26 Apr 10)

The Butterfly Effect in Sanctification

*This post itself demonstrates the butterfly effect. If I hadn't made a note (7 months ago) of C. S. Lewis' observation that 'good and evil both increase at compound interest', I wouldn't be blogging about it now.*

Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance.

The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of.

An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.

- C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." - Galatians 6:7-8 (NIV)

"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." - Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)

"Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!" - Philippians 3:17-4:1 (NIV)

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.

"But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." - Colossians 3:5-10 (NIV)

Every (bitter) thought, every (evil) deed either brings us closer to Christ or further away from Him. Even if there are no apparent consequences, at the very least our thoughts and actions contribute to forming habits of either virtue or vice.

As N. T. Wright puts it, 'the point about the word "virtue" - if we can recapture it in its strong sense - is that it refers, not so much to "doing the right things", but to the forming of habits and hence of moral character'.

Links: The Butterfly Effect (15 Sep 09), The Butterfly Effect in Evangelism (27 Apr 10)

Blessed Assurance

Contentment

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

Refreshment

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.

Guidance

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Comfort

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Blessing

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Assurance

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

- Psalm 23 (NIV)

Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Saviour am happy and blest
Watching and waiting, looking above
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love

This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Saviour all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Saviour all the day long

Making the Most of Every Opportunity

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate to do." - Romans 7:15 (NIV)

I was just reflecting on a missed opportunity, to do something good for someone, which I had a while ago. But it's time to move on from that.

"Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." - Galatians 6:10 (NIV)

"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity." - Colossians 4:5 (NIV)

Understanding What the Lord's Will Is

"Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." - Ephesians 5:15-17 (NIV)

not as unwise but as wise -> do not be foolish
making the most of every opportunity -> understand what the Lord's will is

The construction of Ephesians 5:15-17 indicates that making the most of every opportunity is (related to) understanding what the Lord's will is.

Are we making the most of every opportunity?

By Grace Alone

"Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness." - Romans 4:4-5 (NIV)

We do not earn our salvation as an obligation. We receive our salvation as a gift. We do not work for our salvation. We work out our salvation.

(Of course, just because salvation is a gift does not mean that it is only given to some. On the contrary, salvation is given to all and only received by some.)

"For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed." - 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 (NIV)

"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed - not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence - continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." - Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)

"We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labour, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me." - Colossians 1:28-29 (NIV)

*****

If salvation is by grace alone, we cannot earn it. If we cannot earn our salvation, what makes us think that we can earn anything else? If we cannot earn our salvation, how much more can we not earn a degree, a job, a husband/wife?

Links: Grace-Driven Effort (11 Jun 10), Grace and Growth (29 Jun 10)

Apr 15 to 21

Apr 15: "So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" - Luke 17:10 (NIV)

Apr 16: "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." - Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

Apr 17: "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." - Luke 18:1 (NIV)

Apr 18: "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law." - Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV)

Apr 19: "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." - Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)

Apr 20: "I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he." - Deuteronomy 32:3-4 (NIV)

Apr 21: "All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." - Luke 21:4 (NIV)

The Gospel of Grace

*From Caleb's blog*

The one basic message that both Christians and unbelievers need to hear is the gospel of grace. It can then be applied to both groups, right on the spot and directly. Sermons which are basically moralistic will only be applicable to either Christians OR non-Christians. But Christo-centric preaching, preaching the gospel both grows believers and challenges non-believers.

If the Sunday service and sermon aim primarily at evangelism, it will bore the saints. If they aim primarily at education, they'll bore and confuse unbelievers. If they aim at praising the God who saves by grace they'll both instruct insiders and challenge outsiders.

- Tim Keller, Evangelistic Worship

Reflections on New Word Alive

77 days to New Word Alive 2010, I wrote that:

During my national service from Jan 05 to Nov 06, I spent most of my time hoping that I could disrupt from national service and come to York in Oct 05, or at least Oct 06. But looking back, Oct 07 was exactly the right time for me to come to York.

Now I see that had I come to York earlier, I would not have had the opportunity to go for New Word Alive for all 3 years of my time in the UK (Word Alive only split off from Spring Harvest to form New Word Alive in 2008). Of course, New Word Alive is just one of many reasons as to why Oct 07 was exactly the right time for me to come to York.

"From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us." - Acts 17:26-27 (NIV)

Going mysteriously forward, I trust that Jul 10 will be exactly the right time for me to return to Singapore.

The best is yet to be!

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning, new mercies I see
All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Epilogue

Now that New Word Alive 2010 - my third (and in all likelihood last ever) New Word Alive - has come and gone, I can say that I've been greatly blessed by New Word Alive over the past 3 years. The teaching has been excellent and the fellowship has been equally amazing, both with friends living in the same caravan and friends I've made/run into throughout the conference.

As I graduate from York and return to Singapore for good this Jul, I will miss many things about the UK, not least New Word Alive. It's tempting to wish that I could stay on for another year, but I trust that God - who brought me to York at just the right time - will bring me back to Singapore at just the right time as well.

Back to school next week, back to Singapore on 29 Jul and back to work with the Singapore Prison Service thereafter. As the tagline for New Word Alive goes - Serving the Church, Reaching the World.

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:33-34 (NIV)

Link: The Providence of God (26 Jan 10)

Apr 8 to 14

Apr 8: "And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?" - Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (NIV)

Apr 9: "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him." - Luke 12:35-36 (NIV)

Apr 10: "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to." - Luke 13:24 (NIV)

Apr 11: "In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name for ever." - Psalm 44:8 (NIV)

Apr 12: "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." - Luke 14:33 (NIV)

Apr 13: "'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'" - Luke 15:31-32 (NIV)

Apr 14: "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?" - Luke 16:10-12 (NIV)

Cultivating the Virtues

The point about the word "virtue" - if we can recapture it in its strong sense - is that it refers, not so much to "doing the right things", but to the forming of habits and hence of moral character.

I remember Rowan Williams [the Archbishop of Canterbury] describing the difference between a soldier who has a stiff drink and charges off into battle waving a sword and shouting a battle cry, and the soldier who calmly makes 1000 small decisions to place someone else's safety ahead of his or her own and then, on the 1001st time, when it really is a life-or-death situation, "instinctively" makes the right decision. That, rather than the first, is the virtue of "courage".

Yes, we modern westerners - and even more postmodern westerners - are trained by the media and public discourse to think that "letting it all out" and "doing what comes naturally" are the criteria for how to behave. There is a sense in which they are - but only when the character has been trained so that "what comes naturally" is the result of that habit-forming training.

The Christian vision of the ultimate future, the "end" or "goal" of our human vocation, takes the place within the New Testament's scheme of thought which in Aristotle's philosophical scheme (where the "virtue" language goes back to) is taken by his idea of the human telos, or goal. The way "virtue" works is that the "virtues" are the strengths of character you need to develop in the present so that you can be shaped for that ultimate goal.

- N. T. Wright, The Rebirth of Virtue: An Interview with N. T. Wright

"Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." - 1 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV)

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." - 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

"Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." - Hebrews 5:13-14 (NIV)

You give and take away

""Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." - Job 1:21-22 (NIV)

Blessed be Your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
And blessed be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in
Lord, still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be Your name
And blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

""Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said." - Job 2:10 (NIV)

Why Theology Matters

I've come to learn that theology matters. And it matters not because we want a good grade on a test but because what we know about God shapes the way we think and live. What you believe about God's nature - what he is like, what he wants from you, and whether or not you will answer to him - affects every part of your life.

Theology matters because if we get it wrong, then our whole life will be wrong.

I know the idea of "studying" God often rubs people the wrong way. It sounds cold and theoretical, as if God were a frog carcass to dissect in a lab or a set of ideas that we memorise like math proofs.

But studying God doesn't have to be like that. You can study him the way you study a sunset that leaves you speechless. You can study him the way a man studies the wife he passionately loves. Does anyone fault him for noting her every like and dislike? Is it clinical for him to desire to know the thoughts and longings of her heart? Or to want to hear her speak?

Knowledge doesn't have to be dry and lifeless. And when you think about it, exactly what is our alternative? Ignorance? Falsehood?

We're either building our lives on the reality of what God is truly like and what he's about, or we're basing our lives on our own imagination and misconceptions.

We're all theologians. The question is whether what we know about God is true.

- Joshua Harris, Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters

Now the layman or amateur needs to be instructed as well as to be exhorted. In this age his need for knowledge is particularly pressing. Nor would I admit any sharp division between the two kinds of book.

For my own part I tend to find the doctrinal books often more helpful in devotion than the devotional books, and I rather suspect that the same experience may await many others.

I believe that many who find that "nothing happens" when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand.

- C. S. Lewis, Introduction to Athanasius' On the Incarnation

"We do not always recognise that the mark of true growth in the study of Scripture is not so much that we become masters of the text as that we are mastered by the text." - D. A. Carson, The Trials of Biblical Studies in Andrew J. B. Cameron and Brian S. Rosner, The Trials of Theology: Becoming a 'Proven Worker' in a Dangerous Business

Links: Philosophy and Theology (3 Jan 10), I think, therefore I am (10 Aug 10), Scripture and the Interpretation of Scripture (4 Sep 10)

Waiting on God

"My soul waiteth only upon God; from Him cometh my salvation." - Psalm 62:1

It is, then, because Christians do not know their relation to God of absolute poverty and helplessness, that they have no sense of the need of absolute and unceasing dependence, or the unspeakable blessedness of continual waiting on God. But when once a believer begins to see it, and consent to it, that he by the Holy Spirit must each moment receive what God each moment works, waiting on God becomes his brightest hope and joy.

As he apprehends how God, as God, as Infinite Love, delights to impart His own nature to His child as fully as He can, how God is not weary of each moment keeping charge of his life and strength, he wonders that he ever thought otherwise of God than as a God to be waited on all the day. God unceasingly giving and working; His child unceasingly waiting and receiving; this is the blessed life.

"Truly my soul waiteth upon God; from Him cometh my salvation." First we wait on God for salvation. Then we learn that salvation is only to bring us to God, and teach us to wait on Him. Then we find what is better still, that waiting on God is itself the highest salvation. It is the ascribing to Him the glory of being All; it is the experiencing that He is All to us.

May God teach us the blessedness of waiting on Him.

"My soul, wait thou only upon God!"

- Andrew Murray, Waiting on God

Enquiring of the LORD

I'm reading the Bible in one year and the Old Testament reading for April 25 is Joshua 8:1-9:15.

The Gibeonite Deception

Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things - those in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites) - they came together to make war against Joshua and Israel.

However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. The men put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and mouldy. Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us."

The men of Israel said to the Hivites, "But perhaps you live near us. How then can we make a treaty with you?"

"We are your servants," they said to Joshua.

But Joshua asked, "Who are you and where do you come from?"

They answered: "Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan - Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, 'Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, "We are your servants; make a treaty with us."' This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and mouldy it is. And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey."

The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not enquire of the LORD. Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

- Joshua 9:1-15 (NIV)

How often we do things without enquiring of the LORD! As George Mueller has stated, 90 percent of the problems in regard to the will of God are related to not being truly submissive to God. Oh, that we may never do things without enquiring of the LORD!

Link: Six Steps to Knowing God's Will (16 Dec 09)

Apr 1 to 7

Apr 1: "But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the LORD; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out." - Numbers 32:23 (NIV)

Apr 2: "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" - Luke 9:25 (NIV)

Apr 3: "Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all - he is the greatest."" - Luke 9:48 (NIV)

Apr 4: "The LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast desert. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything." - Deuteronomy 2:7 (NIV)

Apr 5: "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." - Luke 10:41-42 (NIV)

Apr 6: "Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." - Deuteronomy 4:23-24 (NIV)

Apr 7: "You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today." - Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (NIV)

Oxen and Donkeys

I'm reading the Bible in one year and the Old Testament reading for April 14 is Deuteronomy 21:1-22:30.

"Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled. Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together. Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together." - Deuteronomy 22:9-11 (NIV)

The ESV Study Bible notes that these laws prohibit mixing various items, reflecting God's ordering of creation "according to its kind" (eg. Genesis 1:25). They also reminded Israelites that God had separated them from other peoples to be distinct and holy (Deuteronomy 14:2).

If we should not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together, how much more should we not be unequally yoked in a relationship!

Do Not Be Yoked With Unbelievers

"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."

""Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."" - 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (NIV)

Again, being with another Christian is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for a relationship to be according to the will of God. In other words, there is more to being in a relationship than merely being with another Christian.

Link: Housemates, Relationships and the Will of God (18 Jan 10)

Fields, Farms and Families

I'm reading the Bible in one year and the New Testament reading for April 12 is Luke 14:15-35.

The Parable of the Great Banquet

Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'

"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'

"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'

"Still another said, 'I have just got married, so I can't come.'

"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'

"'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'

"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'"

- Luke 14:16-24 (NIV)

Meanwhile, the Old Testament reading for April 13 is Deuteronomy 19:1-20:20.

Going to War

The officers shall say to the army: "Has anyone built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may dedicate it. Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy it. Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else marry her."

- Deuteronomy 20:5-7 (NIV)

At first glance, Luke 14:16-24 and Deuteronomy 20:5-7 appear to contradict each other.

In Luke 14:16-24, Jesus hints at the cost of being a disciple - which is in fact the subject of Luke 14:25-35. Being a disciple may require us to give up our fields, farms and families. As John Piper puts it, for all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20).

In Deuteronomy 20:5-7, Moses instructs soldiers who have recently built houses, planted vineyards and got engaged to stay out of battle. Indeed, among the covenant curses for disobedience are that 'you will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and ravish her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit' (Deuteronomy 28:30, NIV).

On the whole, Luke 14:16-24 seems to be saying that being a disciple may require us to give up our earthly possessions, while Deuteronomy 20:5-7 seems to be saying that being a disciple did not require the Israelites to give up their earthly possessions.

Nevertheless, I think that the apparent contradiction between Luke 14:16-24 and Deuteronomy 20:5-7 can be resolved by examining one of the differences between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.

Under the Old Covenant, the church was tied to the state. Earthly possessions were a measure of God's blessing and a means of establishing God's kingdom (through the state). So being a disciple did not require the Israelites to give up certain earthly possessions. In fact, being a disciple may have required the Israelites to grow certain earthly possessions for the sake of God's kingdom.

Under the New Covenant, the church is separate from the state. Earthly possessions are not necessarily a measure of God's blessing or a means of establishing God's kingdom (at least not through the state). Therefore, being a disciple may require us to give up our earthly possessions for the sake of God's kingdom.

New Life

On this Easter Monday, let us reflect on how the life, death and resurrection of Christ compels us to follow Him.

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)

"For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me." - 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 (NIV)

"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NIV)

An Imperfect Illustration

"I love Newcastle United. The people around the city and the fans have been incredible with me. I really appreciate it. I don't deserve it with some of the things I've been up to since I signed for Newcastle. I don't deserve that backing but, for whatever reason, I've got it and I'm determined to repay them." - Joey Barton, 19 Mar 10

Time will tell whether Joey Barton means what he says, whether his faith is made complete by what he does. But that is not the point.

If the limited backing of Newcastle fans compels Joey Barton to repay them (us), how much more should the unconditional love of God in Christ compel us to follow Him!

New Birth

On this Easter Sunday, let us reflect on how we are born again in Christ.

In one sense, we have been born again. In another sense, we will be born again.

"For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." - Romans 8:29 (NIV)

That Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers implies that in some sense, we will be "born again" as Jesus was "born".

"And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy." - Colossians 1:18 (NIV)

"John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth." - Revelation 1:4-5 (NIV)

Given that Jesus is the firstborn from among the dead, and that unlike us Jesus was neither "born" (in the sense of "created") nor spiritually dead before being "born again", Jesus' birth from among the dead can only refer to His physical (not spiritual) rebirth, His resurrection from the dead.

To be sure, our new birth does refer to our spiritual rebirth. However, it does not only refer to our spiritual rebirth. It also refers to our physical rebirth, our resurrection from the dead!

We were born again spiritually when God raised Christ from the dead in the past; we will be born again physically when God raises us from the dead in the future!

Basic Belief

Suppose your friend is accused and convicted of stealing an ancient and valuable Frisian vase from the local museum. As it happens, you remember clearly that at the time this vase was stolen, your friend was in your office defending his eccentric views about the gospel of John. You have testified to this in court, but to no avail. I come along and offer to do a scientific investigation to see whether your view here is in fact correct. You are delighted, knowing as you think you do that your friend is innocent.

When I explain my methods to you, however, your delight turns to dismay. For I refuse to accept the testimony of memory; I propose to ignore completely the fact that you remember your friend's being in your office. Further, my method precludes from the start the conclusion that your friend is innocent, even if he is innocent. Could I blame you for losing interest in my 'scientific' investigation?

But the traditional Christian ought to view Troeltschian HBC [Historical Biblical Criticism] with the same suspicion: it refuses to admit a source of warranted belief (the testimony of Scripture) the traditional Christian accepts, and is precluded in advance from coming to such conclusions as that Jesus really did arise from the dead and really is the divine Son of God.

- Alvin Plantinga, Two (or More) Kinds of Scripture Scholarship

Wrestling in Prayer

On this Good Friday, let us reflect on how Jesus wrestled in prayer for us in the Garden of Gethsemane.

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." - Luke 22:42 (NIV)

The Son intercedes for us

"Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." - Romans 8:33-34 (NIV)

The Spirit intercedes for us

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." - Romans 8:26-27 (NIV)

By the way, Romans 8:26-27 is not about speaking in tongues...

The saints* intercede for us

"Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured." - Colossians 4:12 (NIV)

*those who are alive, not those who are dead

The Son, the Spirit and other saints are wrestling in prayer for us. Are we wrestling in prayer for ourselves, not to mention for others?

"Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last." - Luke 23:46 (NIV)

*****

"So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." - Romans 7:21-25 (NIV)

Mar 22 to 31

Mar 22: "If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them." - Numbers 14:8-9 (NIV)

Mar 23: "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." - Psalm 37:4 (NIV)

Mar 24: "Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."" - Luke 5:26 (NIV)

Mar 25: "Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her." - Proverbs 8:10-11 (NIV)

Mar 26: "If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand." - Psalm 37:23-24 (NIV)

Mar 27: "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" - Numbers 23:19 (NIV)

Mar 28: "Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, 'Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD - and I must say only what the LORD says'?"" - Numbers 24:12-13 (NIV)

Mar 29: "Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." - Luke 7:47 (NIV)

Mar 30: "I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God." - Psalm 38:15 (NIV)

Mar 31: "But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you." - Psalm 39:7 (NIV)