Humility - the Meat 3

According to Scripture, God deliberately designed the gospel in such a way as to strip me of pride and leave me without any grounds for boasting in myself whatsoever. This s actually a wonderful mercy from God, fop pride is at the root of all my sin. Pride produced the first sin in the Garden, and pride always precedes every sinful stumbling in my life. Therefore, if I am to experience deliverance from sin, I must be delivered from the pride that produces it. Thankfully, the gospel is engineered to accomplish this deliverance.

Preaching the gospel to myself each day mounts a powerful assault against my pride and serves to establish humility in its place. Nothing suffocates my pride more than daily reminders regarding the glory of my god, the gravity of my sins, and the crucifixion of God’s own son in my place. Also, the gracious love of God, lavished on me because of Christ’s death, is always humbling to remember, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the Hell I deserve.

Pride wilts in the atmosphere of the gospel; and the more pride is mortified within me, the less frequent are my moments of sinful contention with God and with others. Conversely, humility grows lushly in the atmosphere f the gospel, and the more humility flourished with me, the more I experience Gods grace alone with the strengthening His grace provides. Additionally, such humility intensifies my passion for God and causes my heart increasingly to thrill whenever He is praised.
Milton Vincent, A Gospel Premier (P 27-28)

Humility - the Meat 2

I know that I still have to defend my position that Humility is the greatest virtue, but I want to move on. I think that the next several entries will act a support.

My definition of humility: accepting who I am in light of the cross.

Why that definition? I stole much of my definition from Charles H. Spurgeon. He said that “Humility is to make a right estimate of one's self.” In a more foksy way, Thomas Merton says that, “Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real”

While the Bible does not define humility, it consistently links it to the fear of the Lord. So what that says is that God is in control and I am not. It says that I have a reason to fear the wrath of God - so much so that unless the Son of God intervened, I would experience that wrath.

Humility dictates that I am just not that important, I am not indispensable, I am not as good as my pride would lead me to believe.

And that leaves me more dependent on my Savior.

Humility - the Meat 1

I have wrestled and wrestled with the next entry, the next step here. One path I went down was; "Humility, the road less traveled" with the idea that we focus on a lot of things in the Christian life, but that Humility is not one of them.

I have also played around in my heart with a concept that pride is the ultimate sin or maybe better stated, the root of all sin. And if that is the case, then humility is the ultimate character trait. That is a pretty bold statement, and if I make it, isn't that a sign of pride (your classic catch-22). Well, I came across something that made up my mind for me, so I will throw caution to the wind:

Humility is the greatest of all character traits!

I have a co-conspirator in this belief, and after reading what Augustine said about humility, I was willing to make the plunge. He said:

Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.

I am not alone with Augustine (rather, I would be hiding in the folds of his robe. He has others who believe as he does of the foundational importance of humility:

God created the world out of nothing, and so long as we are nothing, He can make something out of us.
Martin Luther

Again, Augustine:

Should you ask me what is the first thing in religion, I should reply that the first, second, and third thing therein is humility.

C. J. Mahaney was asked to write a letter to a young pastor. This request was made to several promenant Christian leaders. the letters were then put into a book entitled, "Dear Timothy". C. J. chose to write his letter on humility.

But that is not the whole story...

Humility Intro 3

Theodore Roosevelt loved nature. He and a naturalist friend of his had a ritual whenever they were together. They would go out in early evening and each would try to be the first to find the faint misty light of the Andromeda galaxy. When one spotted it they engaged in a litany of awe.

One would cite the facts:
There is the spiral galaxy Andromeda.
- it is as large as our Milky Way.
- it is one of a hundred million galaxies.
- it is 750,000 light years away.
- it consists of one hundred billion suns,
- each larger than our sun.

Then the other would respond:
Now, I think we are small enough. We can retire for the night.

Humility Intro 2

It has now been several years ago that I attended a conference on business by, of all people, theologian Dr. Wayne Grudem. I could have left after 5-minutes and gotten my monies worth.

Dr. Grudem has a gift for taking complex, detailed subjects and cutting to the simple core of the issue. He did it for me that Saturday morning.

Before Dr. Grudem spoke, he was introduced by his friend, graduate assistant and co-author Jeff Purswell. Jeff has known Dr. Grudem a long time and very well, so that he was able to provide us great depth of Dr. Grudem's character, his compassion, his gentleness and his love of the savior. Jeff spent a significant amount of time telling us about the praiseworthy attributes of his friend and our speaker.

Finally, Dr. Grudem rose to speak. How would he start after such a lavish introduction? Very humbly and simply Dr. Grudem said, "Jeff, that was such a kind introduction, but since I did create my self, I cannot take credit."

"since I did not create myself, I cannot take credit". Ten words. The essence of Biblical humility.

Thank you Dr. Grudem.

Humility Intro 1

What could I pursue that would be better than humility?

Humility is the precursor to my approaching the cross. Without a humble heart, I do not see my need to approach the cross.

Humility is the covering I wear at the cross. Without a humble heart, I do hear the story that the cross tells about me.

Humility is the fruit I pick from the cross. After surveying the wondrous cross, I am put in my place...and undone.

He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8

Here's a good one:

But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
Micah 7:7

There has got to be something in there for everyone. You are either in a trial, finishing a trial or about to go into a trial.

When you just want to throw your hands up or knuckle under - look to the Lord.

When it seems hopeless, wait for God

When you feel all alone - God will hear you.

Lost

Sunday morning. You know, that busy time...shave, shower, breakfast, rush to church so I'm only a little late. Wait, someone lost their Bible, or keys or...whatever.

But I've learned to get up early on Sunday and spend that extra time in devotions so that my heart is ready for church.

And now I want to get lost in worship. I want God to be so big, that I am so little. I want Him to be so important, that I am just not that important.

I want his grace to wash over me, wave upon wave. I want his glory to shine like the sun. I want these waves to wash over me like the waves wash over the beach and I become just a speck of sand. And then when the wave recedes the beach sparkles with his glory and grace.

Relief v. Righteousness

We've all been there. The heat is being turned up - at work, in a relationship, in our finances, or in our heart. The pressure grows.

Completely naturally, we want relief from the pressure. We have a decision to make. Often the decision is to leave the job, terminate the relationship, relocate. Relief.

But is it better to seek righteousness? Is this a 'furnace' situation where God is desiring to burn off the chaff and leave refined gold? Is God closing a door and we are to move on, or is God using the situation to send a message, and refine a saint?

Ask the question - why do I want out?

Oh God, Help Me!!!

Oh God help me!

I want to live with with an undivided heart. I want my love for you to be like a burning in my soul. I don't want to look to the right or to the left, but I want to look at you and to you, continually.

My heart is so cold, my mind so dull - I know that I miss so much that you have for me. I need your grace to break through my dullness. I want to bask in the depths of the richness of your splendor.

The Light I see is but a spark,
The words I read make but a mark.

How can I climb higher still,
To reach the top of your hill.

The moon, the sky, the clouds, the sun,
All testify to what you've done.

But cold my heart remains my fall,
Not bursting forth with praise and awe!

But Lord, it's only by your touch,
That will release my heart for much.

So please have mercy on your son,
Unlock the tide, please let me run.

That I might fall upon my knees,
Lifting hands with worship please.

To honor you for all my days,
With grateful heart and humble praise.

Is there Grace in the Old Testament?

Isn't the rule-of-thumb that the God of the Old Testament the God of judgement and the God of the New Testament is the God of forgiveness and grace?

That is the common belief, but only by those who don't read the Old Testament. Take the book of Amos for instance. I just completed it and the book is the study of a God who is Holy and gracious.

Chapters 1-6 are a report card for the nation of Israel, and they get all failing grades. Unrepentant sin and hypocrisy. And then in 7:1 God prepares his judgement. Then an interesting interchange happens between Amos and this Holy, unforgiving God:

Amos: Oh Lord, please forgive
God: I relent, It shall not be

God is inclined to mercy. God is predisposed to forgiveness. God is the God of grace. This is true in the Old Testament, and in the New.

In the Old Testament the God of Judgement and of Grace points to the cross, the place of judgement and grace.

Undone.

Dry Devotions

Devotions have been dry of late.

There are typically two things that I do when this happens. The first thing that I do is examine. I ask why questions - because to be honest, if I understood the vastness of the wonder of God, there would be nothing dull, dry or boring about devotions.

Isaiah 6 tells the story of when Isaiah saw God: "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne... And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost".

When people meet with God, the fall down, they cover their heads, they repent - but they do not yawn. So if my time is dry, then I need to look inside of me. Am I in sin? Am I getting caught up in the ways of this world and not cultivating my most important relationship?

The second thing that I do is to change things up. I may read some small devotional books that I typically don't read, I will add music, I may walk during my prayer time, I may change the room or the chair that I typically use. My goal is to add freshness and remove staleness.

But there is one thing that I need to do for sure. I my devotions are stale, then I have forgotten what Christ has accomplished on my behalf. I have forgotten a:

Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Church II

I know I spent a whole entry on church, but I want to share a few more thoughts.

Do you look forward to going to church? I did not used to - but now I do. I used to look for reasons to miss church, to plan around church.

If you don't, it says something - either about your heart, or about your church. It would serve you well to think about whether you love your church, and if you don't - why?

Finding the Right Church

Easy topic to handle in 25 words or less...

Let me try and major on the majors, and let me tackle the most difficult one of all:

Sound Biblical Teaching. To paraphrase Mike Singletary, "can't live without it, can't grow without it, can't win without it." But how can the novice know if the Pastor/Teacher is rightly handling the Word of God? This is tough to summarize - but here goes. Stories are great, quotes add depth, but ask this question - is the teacher using the Bible to explain the Bible. If not, he is more likely to be using verses out of context or coming to a conclusion and the back filling verses to support his point, instead of having the Bible inform his doctrine.

God. How does the church portray God? He should be the center of attention, the center of teaching and the point of every sermon. Essentially, we are here for God, not the other way around.

Sin. Does the teacher regularly remind us that we are sinners? We have committed acts, thoughts and omissions that are an abomination against a Holy God (sin). That has separated us from Him and requires punishment.

The Gospel. But God, in his kindness, substituted His Son to receive our punishment on the cross so that we could be re-united with him. Christ and only Christ can save us from God's wrath.

The People. Are they impacted by this message? Are they motivated to action, compassion, study, evangelism?

It's not music. Old Hymns have great theological depth and new songs add variety.

It's not the building. That's just where they can afford to meet.

It's not the color, ethnicity, or age. God's people come in all flavors.

Let me over simplify - is leadership leading you to the foot of the cross as the answer for our greatest problem and is the congregation responding by growing in humility?

For a better,deeper and more informed discussion of what to look for in a church, I would refer you to Mark Dever:

The Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
http://www.wtsbooks.com/product-exec/product_id/2171/nm/Nine+Marks+of+a+Healthy+Church

New Believers

Recently I wrote about a great day that I had. Two people dear to me had felt the hand of God. One dear friend, after years of thinking, wrestling and seeking - accepted God into their heart. The other a precious family member re-dedicated their life to Christ.

So the question for me became - what should a new believer do? My mind went immediately to Mark 4 and the Parable of the sower:

seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.

I did not want this work of God to wither. What should they do to protect themselves from this. There are a few critical things -

1. Find a good church. Get planted, take root, don't be a spectator but a participant. I have said it before, I have experienced the greatest growth in recent years in my understanding of the doctrine of the church, than of any other doctrine. More on a good church later.
2. Find a mentor, discipler, a big brother/big sister. You will grow so much faster and so much deeper if you are discipled. Next week I am taking a trip to Gettysburg. While I would love to tour the battlefield, I am ecstatic about the opportunity that I have of being taken on a personal tour by a National Parks historian. Find a tour guide.
3. Develop faithfulness in the disciplines. Bible reading, prayer, devotions, Bible Study, evangelism, meditation, service, worship, church attendance, biblical fellowship, accountability...These are all means of the grace of God for your growth.

This list is not exhaustive, but it is not long. For me simple is good. And this list can be good for your continued advancement in your spiritual walk.

How long will it take you to install this in your life?

Lengthening the School Year

There is now a conversation about the possibility of lengthening the school year. It is interesting that the discussion does not revolve around better education, but about child care. I have many issues with it, but let me summarise a few:

First, whenever the government makes a decision, one piece of or freedom is taken away. If the government mandates away from a 165 day school year to 200 or 260 days we lose the ability to make one more decision about our children's welfare and education. Sure, you can yank them out of government schools, but many families cannot afford private schools or are equipped to home school. We should remember the many lives that were lost on the battlefields of Lexington and Concord, Gettysburg and Antietam, the Argonne Forest, Iwo Jima, and now Iraq and Afghanistan - for our freedoms. They were hard won, they should not be easily lost.

If the government makes decisions about my child's welfare, it will not likely be in their best interest. When I make a decision about one child, I have a set of criteria and desired outcomes. When I make a decision about all my children, the criteria becomes more restrictive. When it is a classroom full, or a nation, the criteria is very restrictive and the outcomes will not fit all children well. Remember Rec-Soccer? When the order the team tee-shirts, they don't have time for a fitting, and usually some tiny kid spends the rest of the year running around in an XL tee-shirt. One size, or even three or four will not fit all.

There are all kinds of hidden costs. Educating our kids and providing them with supervision sounds good - but how many schools are we going to need to fit-out with air conditioning. And when you get a contractor to install AC in all these schools, take a guess with me - how well will it work? And that is just one hidden cost.

And I can't take credit for this, but radio personality Ed Norris said this on his program this morning: "If you don't do it well, don't give us more of it." Amen. There are numerous hard working, dedicated, passionate public school teachers at work in our county and our country. This is not a swipe aimed at them. But they would be the first to admit that budget constraints, class size, curriculum bureaucracy and a hundred other things makes doing their jobs very difficult.

The government is there to: "form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare". It is not there to be everyone's Daddy, solving all our problems. That is our job.

Oh, and the government of the United States is to do one more thing:

...the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity...

Are we going to pass on Liberty to our children, or a dependence on programs and subsidies because we were not strong enough to stand on our own two feet?

Philippians 1

TNT, Dynamite, C-4

All are duds compared to the explosive power of Philippians. Philippians 1 has the power of a hydrogen bomb all by itself. Look at just one verse, #27:

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

"Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel"?!?! What depth, what richness. Ask the question; is my life worthy of the gospel?

- is what people see a positive reflection on my savior?
- am i living a life reflective of the price paid for me?

Those are typical questions - but think deeper, think of the gospel truths that should inform our behavior...

What is, how I live, reflecting about what I know about the gospel:

- if I am impatient, it reflects a lack of faith in the God of the gospel
- if I am easily angered, it reflects a me-centered gospel
- if I am fearful...
- if I am ungrateful...

This stuff is dynamite - blowing holes in my sinful heart.

The Examined Life VI

The sixth and final entry in the Examined Life series:

(1.) My first circle of focus is my relationship with God.
(2.) Then my wife
(3.) Then my children
(4.) Then my job
(5.) Then my local church
(6.) Finally the lost

I don't want to - in any way - make light of evangelism. I want to properly prioritize my life. I need to make time for building into, loving, serving and sharing with the lost. If I can't do this, then I am not managing the other parts of my life well.

But I need to deal from a strong base. This firm foundation includes a love affair with my savior, with my wife and children who love God.

The Examined Life V

The fifth circle is the church. The next place where I serve, love, minister and care is my local church.

In the 6th chapter in Paul's letter to the Galatians, he encouraged them: And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (v. 9-10)

We are called to receive - to receive the gift of salvation, receive teaching, training, discipleship. Then we are called to turn around and apply that and serve others as we have been served, with our gifts, with our time with our resources.

The Sea of Galilee is a healthy body of water. It is fed with fresh water by the Upper Jordan River and by rain run-off from the surrounding countryside. At the southern point of the Sea of Galilee is the Lower Jordan. It continues south along the eastern side of Israel. It is a center for fishing for Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

Several hundred miles south of the Sea of Galilee is the Dead Sea. The Lower Jordan River empties into the Dead Sea, but at the southern end of the Dead sea, there is no other river to continue the process. The only way for water to escape is through evaporation. As a result, the Dead Sea, true to it's name has become so salty that it will not support any fish, only minuscule quantities of bacteria and microbial fungi.

We are created the same way. All in and no out is not a healthy formula. We get selfish and self centered if we are not regularly serving.

Thus we are called to serve other believers.

The Examined Life IV

So as we follow the concentric circles outward from the my relationship with God, it leads to my wife, my children and then the fourth circle. The fourth circle can be controversial, but my fourth circle is work.

Why not church, ministry, evangelism, or so many other areas? One verse struck home for me: But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Timothy 5:8)

That is a very strong statement. After I have dedicated my best to God, to leading my wife and children, I need to give my best to work for the purpose of providing for my family. Can this get out of balance and I am spending too much focus on work, or materialism, on ambitious goals? It usually does. But that does not mean that we skip or minimize this 'call'. Yes, I am saying that 1 Timothy 5:8 is a call - a call to excellence at work and to providing for my family in the best way that I am capable.

So here's to working hard for the glory of God.

Meditating on God’s Mercy

The Lord has been very kind to me.

Over the last several days, two young men who are very dear to me have either given their hearts to the Lord, or re-dedicated themselves to Him. With my imperfect love, I am deeply moved - I can only imagine how much God and the angels are rejoicing in heaven.

Last night I received an email from a sweet new mom, after spending Wednesday night talking about these two events. She sent two scriptures that she used while "meditating on God’s mercy". They cut thru my heart:

Lamentations 3:19-23

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore have hope:


Because the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Psalm 30:1-5

I will exalt you, o Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. O Lord, you have brought me up from the grave; you spared me from the pit. Sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment , but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

And rejoicing has come!

Now my prayers revolve around a parable:

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered way. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” -- Matthew 13:1-9

May the roots of these decisions go deep, be well watered and yield eternal fruit.

The Examined Life III

We started at the heart, at the center, and that was my relationship with God. Then, working out from the center, the next concentric circle is my relationship with my wife. Then the next level of calling is my children.

I once observed a family that we were close to as we both raised our children. They had some difficulties, not unlike us. But they took a different course. At age 18, they told their children that they were finished raising them, they were legally adults and that they needed to stand on their own. There is a principle of independence and not enabling that carries some validity, but this family did not accomplish that. I watched their children morally tail-spin from that point and now in their mid-20's they are only just recovering.

I will not invest time here to raising children. As much as I have dearly loved our children, invested in them and stayed engaged in their lives, I have not done well. There are so many people who have done so much better. Listen to them.

But I will add three things that I feel strongly about:

• Watch - be alert
• Ask questions and listen
• Pray - because it's not about you

Colossians 4:2 "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."