Every turning from God - for anything - presumes a kind of autonomy or independence that is the essence of pride. Turning from God assumes that one knows better than God. Thus pride lies at the root of every turning from God. It is the root of every act of distrust toward God. Or, more accurately, pride is not so much the root as it is the essence of unbelief, and its remedy is faith in future grace.
- John Piper, Future Grace
"But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." - Acts 20:24 (ESV)
So difficult, and yet so simple.
Saturday 31 December 2016
Monday 19 December 2016
Order of Worship
"When [the wise men] saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh." - Matthew 2:10-11 (ESV)
1. Revelation
2. Rejoicing
3. Response/Offering
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." - Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)
1. Revelation
2. Rejoicing
3. Response/Offering
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." - Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)
Sunday 2 October 2016
Theatre of God's Glory
God is the God of all creation. He is the God of Monday mornings as well as Sunday mornings. Humanity was made in the image of God to reflect His glory in His world. In the gospel we are restored to our true humanity. We are renewed so that we can again reflect God's glory in God's world. The Reformation affirmation of everyday life is an invitation to see the whole earth as the theatre of God's glory and to see our whole lives as opportunities to reflect that glory.
- Michael Reeves and Tim Chester, What Difference Does God Make on Monday Mornings?
- Michael Reeves and Tim Chester, What Difference Does God Make on Monday Mornings?
Sunday 21 August 2016
Wait Upon The LORD
"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40:28-31 (ESV)
In God's Time
Nehemiah 1 - Now it happened in the month of Chislev (Nov-Dec)...
"Now I was cupbearer to the king." - Nehemiah 1:11b (ESV)
Nehemiah 2 - In the month of Nisan (Mar-Apr)...
"And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me." - Nehemiah 2:8 (ESV)
God opens millions of flowers without forcing the buds. It reminds us not to force anything, for things happen in the right time.
In God's Time
Nehemiah 1 - Now it happened in the month of Chislev (Nov-Dec)...
"Now I was cupbearer to the king." - Nehemiah 1:11b (ESV)
Nehemiah 2 - In the month of Nisan (Mar-Apr)...
"And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me." - Nehemiah 2:8 (ESV)
God opens millions of flowers without forcing the buds. It reminds us not to force anything, for things happen in the right time.
Wednesday 10 August 2016
For Such A Time As This
"Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem, and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counsellors, and before all the king's mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the LORD my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me." - Ezra 7:27-28 (ESV)
"Now I was cupbearer to the king." - Nehemiah 1:11b (ESV)
"Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"" - Esther 4:13-14 (ESV)
"Now I was cupbearer to the king." - Nehemiah 1:11b (ESV)
"Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"" - Esther 4:13-14 (ESV)
Friday 10 June 2016
Pray and Wait
God has a good and holy purpose for these periods of silence. He wants to test our faith that we might see for ourselves just how weak and dependent we are on him for all good things. His goal is nothing less than to heighten our spiritual sensitivities in order to draw us into more intimate fellowship and faithful obedience with him.
Prayer goes unanswered because God knows our needs far better than we understand our desires.
Your loving Father knows what you need before you ask him, therefore... ask him!? Jesus wants us to see that prayer is more about changing us than it is about either informing God or moving him to action.
As a sacrifice of time and energy that could have been used for other things, prayer is an act of worship, one by which our hearts are exercised in faith, not merely in religious ritual. "Ask," Jesus tells us, "just ask." Why? Because true prayer cultivates humility. It requires us to acknowledge our helplessness. We ask because Jesus told us to ask. We ask because all that is good comes from God, not from our own efforts.
As we build a lifestyle of prayer, this regular acknowledgment of God's fatherly provision is infinitely more valuable than anything else we may receive. The main thing is not that in the future we might get what we pray for. The main thing is that in the present, as we pray, our greatest need is already being met. That need is the transforming work of God in our hearts, with prayer itself as one of God's appointed means of meeting that need. When Jesus promised a "reward" for those who pray in secret (Matthew 6:6), perhaps this refining work of God in our hearts is at least partly what he had in mind.
The Spirit prays for us because our knowledge is incomplete. Matthew Henry writes, "We are short-sighted... like foolish children, that are ready to cry for fruit before it is ripe and fit for them."
One of my young daughters loves to eat pears, but she does not know how to tell when they are ripe. As a result, she will often grab a hard, green pear off the kitchen counter, take one bite, and leave the rest behind, claiming "it is too hard."
We often do the same. We want the fruit God is preparing for our future, but we want it now, before it is ripe. We do this because we are ignorant of what is best for us and, therefore, don't know how to pray as we should.
But the Spirit prays according to perfect knowledge. He prays with "groanings too deep for words." The Spirit pleads on our behalf in longings that are verbally inexpressible. This is his silent prayer ministry.
- Paul Tautges, Brass Heavens: Reasons for Unanswered Prayer
Prayer goes unanswered because God knows our needs far better than we understand our desires.
Your loving Father knows what you need before you ask him, therefore... ask him!? Jesus wants us to see that prayer is more about changing us than it is about either informing God or moving him to action.
As a sacrifice of time and energy that could have been used for other things, prayer is an act of worship, one by which our hearts are exercised in faith, not merely in religious ritual. "Ask," Jesus tells us, "just ask." Why? Because true prayer cultivates humility. It requires us to acknowledge our helplessness. We ask because Jesus told us to ask. We ask because all that is good comes from God, not from our own efforts.
As we build a lifestyle of prayer, this regular acknowledgment of God's fatherly provision is infinitely more valuable than anything else we may receive. The main thing is not that in the future we might get what we pray for. The main thing is that in the present, as we pray, our greatest need is already being met. That need is the transforming work of God in our hearts, with prayer itself as one of God's appointed means of meeting that need. When Jesus promised a "reward" for those who pray in secret (Matthew 6:6), perhaps this refining work of God in our hearts is at least partly what he had in mind.
The Spirit prays for us because our knowledge is incomplete. Matthew Henry writes, "We are short-sighted... like foolish children, that are ready to cry for fruit before it is ripe and fit for them."
One of my young daughters loves to eat pears, but she does not know how to tell when they are ripe. As a result, she will often grab a hard, green pear off the kitchen counter, take one bite, and leave the rest behind, claiming "it is too hard."
We often do the same. We want the fruit God is preparing for our future, but we want it now, before it is ripe. We do this because we are ignorant of what is best for us and, therefore, don't know how to pray as we should.
But the Spirit prays according to perfect knowledge. He prays with "groanings too deep for words." The Spirit pleads on our behalf in longings that are verbally inexpressible. This is his silent prayer ministry.
- Paul Tautges, Brass Heavens: Reasons for Unanswered Prayer
Thursday 9 June 2016
Trust and Obey
"Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness" - and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone." - James 2:21-24 (ESV)
"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back." - Hebrews 11:17-19 (ESV)
But we never can prove
The delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay
For the favour He shows
And the joy He bestows
Are for them who will trust and obey
Trust and obey
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and obey
"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back." - Hebrews 11:17-19 (ESV)
But we never can prove
The delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay
For the favour He shows
And the joy He bestows
Are for them who will trust and obey
Trust and obey
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and obey
Wednesday 8 June 2016
Justification by Works of the Law
"For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law." - Romans 3:28 (ESV)
Justification by faith apart from works of the law is not the same as justification by faith apart from works, let alone justification by faith alone. If it were so, Scripture would say so. As it is, Scripture says that we are justified by works (not of the law) and not by faith alone.
In other words, we are justified by faith, just not by faith alone.
"For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." - James 2:26 (ESV)
Justification by faith apart from works of the law is not the same as justification by faith apart from works, let alone justification by faith alone. If it were so, Scripture would say so. As it is, Scripture says that we are justified by works (not of the law) and not by faith alone.
In other words, we are justified by faith, just not by faith alone.
"For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." - James 2:26 (ESV)
Sunday 22 May 2016
Don't Waste Your Life
Today, I spoke with an 83-year old man who became a Christian when he was 76 years old.
Don't Waste Your Life
For me as a boy, one of the most gripping illustrations my fiery father used was the story of a man converted in old age. The church had prayed for this man for decades. He was hard and resistant. But this time, for some reason, he showed up when my father was preaching. At the end of the service, during a hymn, to everyone's amazement he came and took my father's hand. They sat down together on the front pew of the church as the people were dismissed. God opened his heart to the Gospel of Christ, and he was saved from his sins and given eternal life. But that did not stop him from sobbing and saying, as the tears ran down his wrinkled face - and what an impact it made on me to hear my father say this through his own tears - "I've wasted it! I've wasted it!"
This was the story that gripped me more than all the stories of young people who died in car wrecks before they were converted - the story of an old man weeping that he had wasted his life. In those early years God awakened in me a fear and a passion not to waste my life. The thought of coming to my old age and saying through tears, "I've wasted it! I've wasted it!" was a fearful and horrible thought to me.
- John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life
"Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them"." - Ecclesiastes 12:1 (ESV)
Don't Waste Your Life
For me as a boy, one of the most gripping illustrations my fiery father used was the story of a man converted in old age. The church had prayed for this man for decades. He was hard and resistant. But this time, for some reason, he showed up when my father was preaching. At the end of the service, during a hymn, to everyone's amazement he came and took my father's hand. They sat down together on the front pew of the church as the people were dismissed. God opened his heart to the Gospel of Christ, and he was saved from his sins and given eternal life. But that did not stop him from sobbing and saying, as the tears ran down his wrinkled face - and what an impact it made on me to hear my father say this through his own tears - "I've wasted it! I've wasted it!"
This was the story that gripped me more than all the stories of young people who died in car wrecks before they were converted - the story of an old man weeping that he had wasted his life. In those early years God awakened in me a fear and a passion not to waste my life. The thought of coming to my old age and saying through tears, "I've wasted it! I've wasted it!" was a fearful and horrible thought to me.
- John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life
"Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them"." - Ecclesiastes 12:1 (ESV)
Monday 8 February 2016
In God's Time
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." - Matthew 6:33-34 (ESV)
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