Thoughts About Thoughts

The battle within (part 2)

2010-06-16T15:32:52Z

Last week we discussed the fact that we have this battle that we are constantly fighting; the battle against the flesh. Though we are Christians, it doesn’t mean that we are sinless and it doesn’t mean we are free from temptation. It means that we have to fight even more. The attack is on and it is one in which we must recognize. The fact is, “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:19).

First thing

From the moment you wake up, the flesh is on the attack. I don’t know many people who pop their eyes open in the morning with the first thought in their mind being, “I can’t wait to get out of bed a talk with Jesus.” Sure, in our “super spiritual” pride we might say this but the reality is that most of us open our eyes in the morning only to close them again. We think, what’s another 8 minutes of sleep going to do? However, if you are anything like me, that 8 minutes turns into 38 minutes pretty quickly.

This is the battle that we are fighting. I don’t doubt that the Christian has a desire to get out of bed early in the morning to seek his savior. What we need to recognize is that the flesh wants us to do anything but seek Jesus in the morning. This is the battle we must recognize and this recognition is the first step to conquering the flesh. Indeed, the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41).

Put on the armor

Question: If you were going to go to war, bullets flying and bombs exploding, would you enter the battlefield naked? Certainly not! You would put on as much armor as you possible could and still be effective in battle. You would put on a helmet, bullet-proof vest, sturdy boots, and a gun around your shoulder. You would arm yourself and be ready to fight and you would fight in such a way so as to not die. So too, Christians have to put on the full armor. We too have to arm ourselves, go to war, and fight in such a way so as to not die. I fear that we live in a church age in which so many Christians are running around naked. They are not armed and they are ill-prepared to fight any battle.

It would be wise of us to realize that this battle against flesh, sin, and the enemy is not one that we can or ever should try to fight on our own. It is bigger than we can imagine yet it is able to be defeated. Listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 6:

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Paul says that this battle against the flesh goes even beyond the flesh. The source behind the battle is Satan. We are ultimately fighting against forces of evil that want to take us away from God as much as possible. Therefore, we must be fully armored so that we can go into battle. We are to put on the Word of God, we are to pray, we are to shield ourselves so that we can extinguish all of the flaming darts that the enemy shoots our way.

This is how you fight. Are you in the battle? If so, are you armed? Are you prepared to fight? Have you shielded yourself with God’s Word and with prayer? Church, we must learn to recognize this battle that we fight. It is a battle that can be won and that ultimately has been won at the cross! Don’t give in. Look to Jesus and His finished work, and fight.

The battle within

2010-06-08T16:30:53Z

A raging battle

Sin. I hate it, I want it gone, but it won’t leave me alone. Does anyone else sympathize? In my recent meditations it seems that God has wanted to make known to me my sinfulness. I have always known about it but it is currently at the visible forefront in my life. My need for Jesus is so clear.

Though I don’t want to

This raging battle is one that we often find in scripture. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Paul, and Peter were all men who faced this battle. However, none seem to have written more clearly about it than Paul. In Romans 7:18-20 we find the argument. Paul argues with himself that “the things he wants to do, he doesn’t do, and the things he doesn’t want to do are the very things in which he finds himself doing” (my translation).

This is the battle that we face as Christians. We daily go to war with the flesh. Do you realize this? Do you understand that though you may be passionately living for Christ, you still have the flesh that wants to do anything it can to get your attention off of Christ. The question we must ask ourselves is how do we fight? We will address this fight in the next post.

To be continued…

Pure in Heart

2010-05-18T15:35:36Z

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8)

I had the blessing to preach through this verse last weekend. I use the word blessing kind of loosely because I haven’t had a single verse tear me and my sin apart as bad as this one did in a long time. I spent much time in preparing for this sermon, and my meditation on this verse just showed me how completely impure I am.

To be pure

To be pure is really a multi-faceted concept with a single purpose of being singly devoted to God alone. The idea is that we are to be looking to Him and Him alone. If we look for satisfaction anywhere else then we are impure. The Psalmist writes:

Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. (Psalm 24:3-6)

Did you catch the idea? We are blessed in having clean hands a pure heart before God. We are blessed in seeking his face alone.

Things that get in the way

So what is getting in your way? We live in a world and particularly in a culture (America) that tells us we will be satisfied by setting our hearts on getting the best stuff. So if you get the nicest house with the nicest yard and white picket fence with the nicest cars in the garage and the perfect little family on the inside, then you will be satisfied. However, this isn’t being pure in heart, this is being divided. This is saying I want stuff because I think that the stuff will make me more happy than God will. We could also call this idolatry. The stuff may not be bad but if it’s getting in the way of God than it is in the wrong place.

Extra grace and mercy

So how are you being pure in heart? How are you living a life that is singly devoted to God and God alone? If you are anything like me then you are not living this life of purity before God. Your heart and mind are elsewhere. You want things far more than you want God. For me I have come to realize that I need more grace and more mercy. I need to look to Jesus because he lived the perfect life of purity in my place. I must look to the cross where he bore my impurities upon himself.

I am a man, who by God’s grace, is growing in purity. My prayer is that you are a man or woman, who by God’s grace, is growing in purity.

The pure in heart will see God, and there is no more satisfying blessing than that.

Hold on tight

2010-04-30T19:02:03Z

This video is kind of an add on to my post from the other day. I found it to be so true of much of Christianity. What do you think? Just click on “balance beam” to check it out.

Balance Beam

Immediately

2010-04-28T20:27:31Z

They went immediately

Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. -Matthew 4:22

When Jesus tells you to do something, do you do it? I found this verse in Matthew to be a striking challenge to followers of Christ. I am amazed that Jesus told Andrew, Peter, James, and John to follow him and they did. They dropped everything they were doing and went to follow after a homeless guy who they hardly even knew. It occurred to me that I have been following Jesus for years yet most days it seems far-fetched to say that I would drop everything to do what he wants me to do. My faith is often so little.

So would you go? If you were to be given the clearest of callings from God, do you love Him enough to drop everything and go? You might immediately say yes but think about it. Are you willing to leave your livelihood? We often find so much comfort in our jobs that to leave them would be like having an arm amputated with no anesthetic. Are you willing to leave the comforts of your home? If you have to leave your job you will certainly have to leave your home; that place where you know you can go every day after a long hard day at work and find a bit of peace and comfort. Are you willing to leave your family? Not that you divorce your spouse and dump your kids, this is not what Jesus was teaching, but are you willing to leave your own parents behind just as the disciples did? You may not realize it but family is one of the greatest idols that many people hold tightly in their hearts. Is it yours?

The big question that I am asking myself here is do I love Jesus more than anything, more than my daily comforts and pleasures? Do I love him to the point that I would leave my job with my comfy paycheck, leave my home with my nice backyard, and take my family, leave our families behind, and go serve Jesus for the glory of his kingdom?

This is the love with which we are called to love our savior. Jesus, help us to be people who are so in love with you that we would do anything you ask us to. Give us courage and boldness that is only given by your Holy Spirit.

Thoughts on John Piper’s leave of absence

2010-04-06T17:23:29Z

John Piper takes a sabbath!

One of the things that I most enjoy doing is reading the blog’s of my favorite pastor’s. This past week I ran across this one from John Piper. http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2010/4555 It explains that he is going to be taking a full 8 month leave of absence from Bethlehem Baptist Church. This leave is a full sabbath rest. No sermon preparation, no writing books, no traveling, nothing. Just rest with the family. This announcement came as a shock to me and I am sure many others as well but I am very much blessed by it. Let me explain why.

The ministry of John Piper is a blessed one. Bethlehem Baptist church in Minneapolis is always growing and reproducing leaders and I know that they are a well fed flock of Christians and that the Kingdom of God has grown because of the fruit that has been produced out of Bethlehem. John Piper himself is an amazingly gifted preacher/teacher/prophet/leader of the universal church. When you listen to this man preach it captivates you. He uses his words in such a way so as to cause you to be enthralled with the Scriptures in a way that maybe you never have been before. John Piper is all about bringing glory to God, or at least from my stand point and I know the stand point of others. Piper’s ministry has been all about desiring God and seeing people live for Him so that He might be glorified. In all that I have ever listened to or read of John Piper I don’t think I have ever thought about John Piper. My thoughts are only captivated as to how glorious God is and how glorious I am not. This is precisely the reason I am so shocked at his upcoming Sabbath and at the same time immensely blessed.

This is what John Piper has to say about himself: “But on the other hand, I see several species of pride in my soul that, while they may not rise to the level of disqualifying me for ministry, grieve me, and have taken a toll on my relationship with Noël and others who are dear to me. How do I apologize to you, not for a specific deed, but for ongoing character flaws, and their effects on everybody? I’ll say it now, and no doubt will say it again, I’m sorry. Since I don’t have just one deed to point to, I simply ask for a spirit of forgiveness; and I give you as much assurance as I can that I am not making peace, but war, with my own sins.”

The man is not a god

I was recently talking with Bryan Devore about John Piper. We were discussing the fact that it is sad how John Piper so often gets put on a pedestal as if he is some kind of god. The day after this discussion Piper’s announcement came out about the pride that is grieving his soul. Simply put, this sabbath shows us that John Piper is a sinful human just like the rest of us who needs to take time off to be with Jesus repenting of his sins and to be with his family to show that he loves them more than the ministry.

The example he has set

I say all of this to say that I greatly respect what John Piper is doing. It is a rare thing to see a man humble himself to the point of stepping out of ministry the way that John Piper is doing. This is an example that more men need to follow; especially men in full time ministry. Too many families have been destroyed or are being destroyed because of men who are committing spiritual adultery with the ministry.

Thanks to John Piper for setting us a biblical example. Thank you for showing us that full time ministry is not God, church is not God, but God is God. Thank you for showing us that priorities do matter and thank you for showing us how to get those straight. Thank you God for the ways you have worked through this man to display your magnificent glory.

Blessings of work

2009-06-16T16:10:09Z

Blessings of work

Work is a blessing! I never thought I would say this but I have come to that point in my life where I have realized that the ability to work is a blessing. I have especially realized this blessing this spring while in the process of planting vegetable gardens, flower gardens, and just the regular and necessary yard work that is to be done around the house. I have discovered more than ever that the work is hard, yet joyful and even more than that it is scriptural. In fact I would say that the work is necessary.

The work is hard

This is the second year my wife and I have had the opportunity to have a garden. Last year we discovered that we love gardening and we enjoy reaping the harvest. This year our gardening adventure was a little different however. Last year we had a nice big roto-tiller to till the ground; this year we did not. We decided to forgo borrowing the big tiller we had last year and we decided that we did not want to spend the couple hundred dollars to by a mini gas-powered cultivator. So, we bought a hand cultivator. Needless to say we will be buying that mini gas-powered cultivator for the next gardening season.

As I was using my hand tiller, breaking up the ground, working up a massive sweat, and using muscles I didn’t know existed (the few that I have), I couldn’t help but think of Genesis 3. And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten the tree of which I commanded you ‘You shall not eat of It,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:17-19).

The passage stands true. The work is hard. We get calluses on our hands, we get sore, we get cuts and scrapes, we might even break something every once in a while. The ground is hard and there always seems to be a weed to pull. Yet through all of this, the work is good and it is a must.

The work is a must

Men have to work. It is biblical. It is wise for us to note as men that Adam had a job before he had a wife. There was work to be done and he did it. It is dangerous for us men to be idle for when we are idle we sin. When Adam sinned he was standing idle with his wife, doing nothing.

We of course have to be careful and we must also rest. All too many men just work all the time. They neglect there wife and children all in the name of making an extra buck. I would say that God rested and that is the example we are to take as well. He gave us a day to rest. That day is a blessing. We have the opportunity to rest from our work, meditate on the blessings that God has given to us and behold all of His splendor, and we get to be with our families. Men, we must learn to work hard but not neglect the family God has blessed us with.

The work is a blessing

The last thing I want to point out about the work we have been given is that it’s a blessing. The harvest is plentiful. Every day we walk out to our garden and we pluck some lettuce and spinach for a salad. We pull strawberries for a delicious dessert. Our tomatoes and cucumbers will be blooming in no time. The lawn is green and all the flowers are in full color. My wife greatly enjoys the beauty of our yard and this brings me great joy. The work has been hard but a great joy and blessing and all praise goes to God for the ability He has given us to work.

Are you thankful for your work? Are you simply thankful to God for the blessing he has given to you to work a job, plant a garden, mow a lawn, and provide for your family? I think it would be wise for all of us to stop and reconsider our grumbling ways about our jobs. God has given them to us and he can assuredly take them away.

May you be blessed in all or your work!

God’s grace in the little things

2009-05-21T16:57:46Z

God’s grace in the little things

It’s so easy to always notice and focus on the negative things. The culture we live in is rampant with sin and it’s only getting worse. The news we see is continually negative. The economy is failing and there are still so many people losing their jobs on a daily basis. And, well you can fill in the blanks.

But I was awe struck this morning by God’s grace in the little things. I was sitting on my couch and I just realized how amazing and gracious God is even in the midst of hard times around us. His grace was displayed right in front of me. My wife was sitting snuggled next to me with her head on my shoulder. My son was sitting in the middle of both of us screaming his praises to Jesus. I was studying in my Grudem’s Systematic Theology and drinking a delicious cup of coffee and it struck me that this was God’s amazing grace. In that moment I was overcome with joy and could not help but thanking and praising my Lord for this grace shown to me. All other cares and worries simply disappeared. All I could see and think of was Jesus!

We must learn to see God’s grace in the little things of life. We have to learn to look and see where, how, and in whom He is working. We must learn to laugh, smile, and take great joy in the common grace that God displays in each of our lives every day. He is here and He is working, can you see Him?

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7)

What is modest?

2009-04-28T17:08:54Z

What is modest?

I was talking with my wife this morning and our conversation turned into a discussion over modesty. We are trying to figure out what it is that defines modesty in our culture or what is modest and what is not. The topic always becomes especially relevant this time of year as the weather outside warms up. The ladies bring out there shortest of skirts and most revealing of shirts and simply try to where as little as possible without being charged with indecent exposure. The guys just stop wearing shirts even though most of them should wear shirts. I think many of these men should be charged with indecent exposure. I think most of you probably catch my drift.

There are a few scriptures that seem to hit the topic of modesty. In particular 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 and 1 Timothy 2:9-10 seem to hit the topic most head on. But before we go into a discussion about these verses I would like to know what all three of you LCF bloggers think about modesty. I want to know what modesty should look like among men and women alike and who or what defines this.

So blog away and let’s see what we can come up with. I will wait a few days to get some answers and then we can look at the verses.

Delighting in my Father

2009-04-22T16:09:34Z

Delighting in my Father

I love coming home from a day of work. It brings me great joy to walk in the door and be greeted by my beautiful wife. I receive a loving kiss and hug from her and I know she is glad to have me home. I always kiss my wife first. And then, there he is, six months old, sitting on the floor and chewing on his toes. He sees me and gives his biggest two toothed smile, his feet start kicking, his arms start waving, he is my son and he is so happy to see his dad. What joy this brings me.

This causes me to think about my relationship with my Father who is in heaven. What joy He must have when I see Him and I too give a big smile for the joy that I have in seeing and knowing my Father. Do I simply delight in knowing God? Does my knowledge of God surpass all feelings, intents, and aspirations that I have in this life? Does it happen in my life that the more knowledge I gain about God and the more I know Him and see His glorious majesty, the more humbled I become? Knowing God should do this very thing to me. I should be humbled and in awe of Him and all of His glorious attributes.

I become even more amazed when I see that God knows me! He has taken the initiative by His grace to know me. He has revealed Himself to me and opened His Word to my understanding so that I might be all the more amazed at Him. What joy and delight this brings me.

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be know by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? (Galatians 4:9)

I am humbled that His grace has been shown to me, that I might know Him, delight in Him, and that He might delight in me.