How to Tell If Your Grace is Weak or Counterfeit

I am guessing that many people have never actually read the Puritans. If they had they would not be able to maintain the view that Puritans are impractical men with their head in the clouds—helpful to nobody and a nuisance to all. These men were deeply helpful and excelled in soul care.

William Bridge is one of those Puritans. In his work, A Lifting up for the Downcast, Bridge gives seven differences between weak grace and counterfeit grace. If you are wondering how you can determine if your struggles reveal that you merely have counterfeit grace, Bridge hopes to open up for you the possibility that it is weak grace and not counterfeit*. Here are seven marks of weak, but true, grace.

1. True grace, though weak, will not oppose more grace
2. True grace loves examination; counterfeit grace likes to hide.
3. True grace seeks to grow in knowledge of God
4. True grace is engaged in the work of humiliation
5. True, though weak, grace is always laying the foundation; counterfeit grace pursues another foundation.
6. True grace is willing to learn from other people; counterfeit grace will not relish what is brought to him by the hand of another.
7. True grace is very sensible of its own weakness

That fifth point is a little difficult to summarize. Listen to how Bridge expounded upon it:

[True grace] staggers at the promise, yet it goes to the promise; it doubts of Christ’s love, yet it runs to Christ; it stumbles, yet it keeps its way; it is ignorant of Christ, and not so forward in the knowledge of Christ as it should be, yet it lays the foundation, Hebrews 6:1. It is the fault of a weak Christian, that he is always laying the foundation, yet he is laying the foundation. (Bridge, 101)

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*I have modernized Bridge’s language where necessary.

You can (and should) purchase Bridge’s work here.

God’s Wrath and the Boston Bombers

In Revelation 15-16 we see people and angels in heaven praising God for the execution of His wrath. That’s hard to swallow. I know that we are to praise God for all of his attributes and all of his actions—but it’s hard to fathom praising God for His wrath.

Watching the news last Friday evening helped me to get a faint picture of how we might praise God for His wrath. The picture to the right is from the Friday evening when Dzhokkar Tsarnaev was finally captured. The crowds gathered to cheer on the police as they escorted the scene.

This gives us a picture of what is going on Revelation 15-16. Justice is being served. Things are being made right. And it’s good for us to clap in those moments. As Wayne Grudem writes:

As with the other attributes of God, this is an attribute for which we should thank and praise God. It may not immediately appear to us how this can be done, since wrath seems to be such a negative concept. Viewed alone, it would arouse only fear and dread. Yet it is helpful for us to ask what God would be like if he were a God that did not hate sin. He would then be a God who either delighted in sin or at least was not troubled by it. Such a God would not be worthy of our worship, for sin is hateful and it is worthy of being hated. Sin ought not to be. It is in fact a virtue to hate evil and sin and we rightly imitate this attribute of God when we feel hatred against great evil, injustice, and sin. (Grudem, Systematic Theology, 206)

God has given us those who “bear the sword” and execute His judgment upon sin and injustice. This is but a preview of the full justice that God will eventually execute. As we cheer on those that brought justice to the Boston bombers—we are in fact cheering on the wrath of God.

Yet, grace gives us pause

I should be in that cop car. I should be the one of whom all the righteous clap as I’m escorted into hell. But I’m not. Grace stepped in. I will never face the wrath of God because it has been swallowed up in Jesus.

This reminds me that I don’t see things quite rightly yet. I do not see human sin in all of its ugliness. I do not yet see the grace of God in all of its fullness. But someday I will. Someday I will, through grace, clap as God’s justice is brought about.

Until that day I have a mixture of emotions and response. I marvel at the fact that I’m not in that cop car, that I have breath in my lungs, and grace poured out upon me. I go as a minister of reconciliation, telling the world that the wrath of God can be averted, that Christ has drank it to the dregs. I weep because people still grieve, justice isn’t fully accomplished, sin still has a say, and the next murderous outrage is still on the horizon. And yet I rejoice in hope, knowing that someday the Lord will set all things right.

Though I still don’t fully know how to worship and praise God for His wrath, I do know that I long for things to be made right. And with that I can only cry out, Maranatha!

Anti-Freeze Theology

Last week, a brother in Christ was inquiring on Twitter about something good to take for a sinus infection. Me, being the jerk I am, responded, “anti-freeze cures it every time”.

What I said was true. Absolutely, 100% true. Drink enough antifreeze and you will no longer have a sinus infection. Or breath in your lungs.

If we aren’t careful we can become this way with our theology. We can say true things that wrongly applied leads to death. Or we can highlight something that is totally true (drinking anti-freeze cures sinus infections) but leave out an equally important truth (it also causes death).

This was the problem in Corinth.

One group had a pretty good theological argument for eating food offered to idols. They rightly said that “an idol has no real existence” and that “there is no God but one”. Therefore, when people sacrificed to false gods they were sacrificing to only “so-called gods in heave or on earth”.

In their mind this was the end of the case. These believers with a weak-conscience needed to get with the program and stop denying the freedom of the gospel. So, they ate meat and mocked those whose conscience would not allow them to partake. They used true theology to bludgeon weak believers.

Anti-freeze theology “puffs up”. It is true theology held by an arrogant heart. Paul’s argument throughout 1 Corinthians seems to be that knowing right things is only half the battle. Having a grace-captivated heart that responds in love is also a necessity. To have one without the other is as harmful as suggesting anti-freeze for a sinus infection.

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Don’t drink anti-freeze. Ever. This is my DO NOT DO THIS AT HOME disclaimer. Or at church. Or anywhere. If you drink anti-freeze you will die. So don’t do it.

When Cancer Hi-Jacks Your Reunion

A little over a year ago Jason Taber had supper with his sister, Tonya. This was no ordinary meal. This was the first time they had met. On Jason’s 38th birthday he reached out to his sister for the first time in his life.

Now, one year later Jason stands beside Tonya’s hospital bed as she is fighting complications from Hodgkins lymphoma*. Their story is a testimony of God’s grace and the uniting power of the gospel. Jason was kind enough to share his story with us.

Jason, can you share the back story to your relationship with Tonya? What inspired you to finally reach out to Tonya?

My birth father left me when I was a baby. I learned that I was adopted at the age of 12 or 13. I first learned that Tonya existed when she first got married about 13 years ago. I had always stayed away because I assumed that the family wanted nothing to do with me. In reality Tonya had known about me her whole life, and had prayed for the day that we would meet.

God had been working in my heart for awhile about my propensity to isolate when things get difficult. One Sunday a man from our church shared his testimony of reaching out to his estranged daughter. On November 22, 2011, my 38th birthday, I finally decided to contact Tonya. I feared that it would be awkward. It has been everything but that; it is as if we had known each other those 37 years.

Shortly after our reunion I met my dad for the first time. Or rather I saw him for the first time, he was lifeless on a hospital bed. Tonya’s relationship with him had been fractured. We were able to be there for one another during this time.

When was Tonya diagnosed with cancer?

Tonya was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in October of 2012, just under a year of our first meeting.

What was your initial reaction?

My first reaction was a mixture of fear, anger and confusion. I was terrified to lose this person that I had just found. We had quickly filled empty spots in each others lives and become extremely close. I was also very angry and confused with God. I could not understand why He would bring us together only to take her away from me. That along with other setbacks in my life made me pull away from God and those close to me. I was becoming bitter.

About a week ago Tonya had some major complications from the cancer. Can you tell us a little about this recent trial?

About two weeks ago Tonya experienced extreme fatigue from chemotherapy treatments. On February 10th she collapsed in the shower. She was admitted to the hospital the next day. At first the doctors assumed they were treating dehydration and other deficiencies due to her weakened immune system. Little did they know an infection had taken hold, with her body having no way to fight it. On February 15th, Tonya developed a fever and labored breathing. They quickly determined that she had fluid in her lungs and feared she could be septic. Within hours she crashed, with her blood pressure dangerously low and unable to breathe.

I received the call that she had been rushed to ICU, and I needed to come quickly. Shortly thereafter the decision was made to put her on a ventilator. Things looked very bleak. For three days she was under constant sedation as they tried to kill the infection in her body. On Monday the 18th they awoke her from sedation. It took me 2 hours to get her to open her eyes. She has steadily—actually quite miraculously—improved since then. From last Wednesday on she has improved leaps and bounds every day. (Tonya was actually released yesterday, to continue recovery at home).

How have you seen God's grace during this time? 

God's grace was evident in so many areas. Tonya's immune system was completely gone, medically speaking she should not have made it. The outpouring of prayer on Facebook and in churches all over the place was an act of grace. The cancer that had caused me to isolate from God and other unbelievers, had now by the grace of God drawn hundreds of believers to my side to encourage me. There is no way on my own volition I would have done that. God was gracious to draw me to Him, and believers to me when I needed it most. It was by God's grace that Tonya received amazing care. Doctors somehow made the correct choices without even knowing what they were fighting at first.

How has this trial of suffering strengthened your relationship with Tonya? with the Lord? 

My relationship with Tonya was very strong to begin with, but this situation has made it even stronger. We lived 37 years without being able to be there for each other. We both suffer from abandonment issues due to our history with our dad. He wasn't there for her much more than he was for me. Tonya knows now that even in the worst circumstances, I will never leave her side. Watching my sister through a window, many mornings at 3 or 4am, struggling to just take each breath, made me realize just how much that I love this person.

These same times alone in the morning, also strengthened my relationship with God. I was at a point where I was helpless to do anything. All I could do was cry out to God to save my sister. Sometimes I didn't even have words, just sobs or tears. In the beginning, I felt alone without my sister. By the end, it was obvious that God has carried Tonya and the family through. We had given everything, we were drained and weary. He picked us up each time that we felt like we couldn't go on. I feel ashamed for pushing God away while I attempted to fix all my problems on my own. I have no doubt that it was only by God that Tonya was healed. His grace and love was so great that at times it felt like being hit by a truck. It was overwhelming each time Tonya was able to do something she had no business being able to do. This is one of those markers in life I can look back on and say “look what God did!”

What is one thing that you would say to estranged siblings?

For those who know they have a sibling out there, don't ever give up. Tonya prayed for years to have a relationship with me, her brother. For those scared to reach out, take the risk, it is worth it. For years, I missed out on a relationship with an incredible woman, my sister. I was held back by fear. We have a God who forgives, and who heals broken relationships. Pray!!!  I can't say enough about Tonya praying and the faithfulness of God to hear that prayer.

Lastly, how can people get involved? How can we pray?

Pray for Tonya to continue gaining strength. Also, she does still have cancer. Pray that she can get rid of the cancer when her strength returns. Pray also for her three young children.

If you are interested in further updates to the story, or to know how to pray with more information, you are invited to join the Praying for Tonya Hief page.

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*Tonya was actually released from the hospital yesterday to continue her recovery at home.

How Would You Like This Résumé?

How would you like to have this on your résumé?

• Wrote a best-selling book
• Wrote arguably the most popular hymn of all time
• Faithfully married to your sweetheart for 40 years
• Pastor a growing church for 15 years
• Pastor a thriving church in the largest city in the country
• Instrumental in ending the slave trade
• Wrote hundreds of letters that are still being read today

That is only a small portion of what John Newton could write. He could also list the names of William Wilberforce, William Cowper, Hannah More, and a host of others of whom he was influential in their life. Newton was also a key behind the scenes influence on the modern missionary movement. His influence is still be uncovered even in our day.

One might be tempted to having a life and ministry similar to that of Newton. Reading his writings makes me want to drink deeply from the well that is Christ. I further want to make an impact for the kingdom as Newton did. You might say that part of me seeks great things.

All of these accomplishments happened to John Newton after 1764 (save for his marriage to Polly). Listen to a somewhat discouraged Newton in 1761:

My comfort is comprised in this one sentence—“I know whom I have believed”. I know that Jesus is mighty to save; I have seen myself lost in every view—but the hope of his mercy; I have fled to him for safety; I have been preserved by him thus far; and I believe he will keep that which I have committed to him even to the end. Blessing and honor, and glory and praise, be to his name, who has loved poor sinners, and washed them in his most precious blood! Amen.

For the rest, alas! alas! I am unfaithful and unprofitable to a degree you would hardly believe; yet, vile as I am, I taste of his goodness every day, and live in hope, that in his own time he will enable me to show forth his praise. I have been much exercised with respect to the ministry; my heart is led that way—but the Lord's hand keeps me in; I need much humbling; there is that in me which seeks great things, though I am, as I said, sadly unfaithful in small ones; therefore, for my pride, I am set aside for the present.

In the early 1750’s Newton felt a tug to pursue vocational ministry. Finally in 1757 he applied to be ordained as a priest in the Church of England. He was not met with willing arms. He was met with denial. This is why Newton says, “I am set aside for the present”. The above quote was written in 1761. It wouldn’t be until 1764 that Newton was finally ordained.

Most of us would desire Newton’s resume. Less are as willing to embrace the humbling. In 1761 Newton was learning the lesson of being faithful in the small things. What is interesting is that this seemed to be the call of his entire life. Most of the things on that resume were thrust upon him. A good portion of them came as a result of him just being faithful in the small things and the Lord gave them increase.

Newton is drinking deeply from the fountain of Jesus. He believes that if the Lord sees fit he will eventually “enable me to show forth his praise”. Until that time Newton knows that he needs to be faithful in the small things and rest in the Lord’s unending grace.

Résumés like Newton’s seldom come without an equal catalog of humbling.

Why I Took the Moabites Shelter

Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;
for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased.
-Isaiah 16:9

I can’t wrap my mind around this passage. Or better yet my theology. The “I” in those sentences is the Lord. He is weeping over the destruction of these cities. That is what has me baffled at the complex emotions of the Lord.

Some would have no problem with this passage. “Of course God is weeping over these cities. He loves all people and when the devil destroys them, or the consequence of their sin catches up with them, the Lord cannot help but weep over them”. Isaiah 16:9 fits easily into this theology. One problem though…

Isaiah 16:10. “ have put an end to the shouting…”

The same “I” that is weeping is the same “I” that put an end to the shouting. Verse 10 does not cause me to scratch my head either. The sovereign Lord of the universe has every right to put an end to their shouting. They are prideful. He is--as verse 6 shows--insolent, arrogant, and engaging in idle boasting. I do not have a problem with the Lord judging Moab, and even doing so with at least some pleasure (like that of a mother watching the execution of the man that brutally raped and murdered her daughter).

What baffles me is the combination of these verses. It is even more prominent in the shift from verse 10 to verse 11. “I have put an end to the shouting. Therefore…” What would you expect here? The Lord has judged their pride and has put an end to their wrong-headed and ill-hearted mirth. I would expect something other than this: “Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab…”

As I reflect on Isaiah 16 I find myself trying to unite these verses. I want to make sense of them and put them in a nice little box. It’s as if Isaiah 16 has given me a Scooby Doo mystery that inspires me to eat a massive sub sandwich and solve the riddle of the God who mourns over those He smites.

Then I realize that this is not a mystery to be unraveled. This is a God to be worshipped. He is just. He is loving. He is gracious. He provides shelter to those under His wrath (Isaiah 16:3-5), saying “come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Yet, in their pride they never come. And He mourns as their shouts of joy cease because of His hand.

Not All There Is to Say

This would be my story if it were not for the “But God” in Ephesians 2. I responded and took the shelter that the prideful Moabites did not. Yet, I was just as prideful as they, if not more so! The only thing that drew me into the shelter house of grace was the Father’s election, which motivated the Spirit’s wooing, which drew me into the Son’s covering.

Isaiah 16 isn’t my story because sovereign grace is. I do not understand why the Lord does what He does. Nor do I pretend to even understand the complexities of a God that mourns the judgment that His hand doles out. But what I do know is that grace has captured me. And for that I am grateful.

Jesus in Hosea 11

Hosea 11 would make a great Hallmark movie. Not that it’s lame, like most of those movies, but that it really tugs at your heart strings. It is not difficult to picture a court room with parents and a rebellious child standing before the judge. Of course it will take a somewhat different set of cultural eyes to really grasp what is happening in this text.

In ancient Israel rebellious children were to be stoned before the assembly for their rebellion. Not honoring your father and mother was a serious offense in that day. Today it produces guilty laughs and giggles amongst teenagers. They all acknowledge their having blown this commandment. I doubt it would have evoked such giggles in ancient Israel.

In Hosea 11 we have a court proceeding where Yahweh’s fathering is on display as well as his son’s—Israel’s--unfaithfulness. After hearing of Yahweh’s kind love and care for His children, coupled with Israel’s rebellion, the judge issues a guilty verdict and pronounces the sentence.

“They shall not return to the land of Egypt, but Assyria shall be their king…the sword shall rage against their cities…and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all.”

Can you see the picture? Yahweh’s beloved child is being taken away because of his rebellion. He is guilty. He must be punished. It’s even a more painful picture when we realize that the father in the story is also wearing a judge’s robe. He is the one handing down the sentence. He is the one giving the guilty verdict. His son deserves death and punishment.

Then in verse 8 the father emerges out from the judge’s cloak:

“How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel”

“I can’t give up my baby. I cannot execute the punishment on Israel. I will withhold my wrath.”

Why Hosea 11:8 is in our Bible

If we are not careful we will misread this text and insert our 21st century emotions and parenting methods into the text. It is not as if Yahweh is saying, “It’s okay I’m going to keep loving you no matter what you do. You just live how you want to and you know that no matter what decisions you make or how many times you hurt me, daddy is still going to keep loving you.”  No, Yahweh’s parenting is much bolder than this. His love and His parenting is transformative. Israel will be punished, but he will not destroyed.

Furthermore, Yahweh is holy. He cannot simply sweep Israel’s sin under the rug. Hosea 11:8 is only in our Bible’s because of Jesus Christ.

Jesus, the True Israel, the Greater Son, was handed over so that the Lesser Son would not have to be. The Lord was able to withhold the full fury of His wrath because that very same wrath would be poured out upon Jesus on the cross, where he took the rebellious child’s punishment.

God is able to not “hand you over” because He “handed over” Jesus into the hands of wicked and sinful men. He hung on a tree, cursed, so that rebellious children--like you and I--could be in a relationship with the Father.

One Reason I Don’t Play the Lotto

My first semester of college was about to start. I had all of my tuition covered through grants and student loans. I had a backpack. I had a car for the drive. A full tank of gas. And a little bit of money for lunch. But I lacked one really important thing…books.

I owed $175 for books, of which I had about four dollars. It was Saturday evening. School started on Monday. What was I going to do?

Thankfully, I had been watching a good amount of health and wealth teachers that taught me to plant my seeds of faith. If I would put God to the test then he would certainly bless me. I only needed to believe.

I was very new and immature in the faith. I wasn’t even very good at the whole health, wealth, and prosperity thing. So I wondered what would happen if I took my four bucks, used some faith, and tried turning that into $175 bucks.

I got all prayed up, and nervously ventured to the local gas station. “Four lottery tickets please,” I confidently told the cashier. She pulled off the four tickets and I took them to my car, knowing in faith that I would be back in a few minutes to claim my jackpot.

First ticket. Scratch. Scratch. Scratch…nothing.

Oh, well. God is testing my faith. Ticket two. Scratch. Scratch. Scratch…still nothing.

Third ticket. This time I scratch off the winning amount side first. There are sweet prizes to be had. Surely, this is the winning ticket. My scratching routine reveals the same as the first three…a big fat nothing.

Last ticket. I nervously scratch it off, feeling a bit like a fool. I didn’t really feel like the Lord let me down. I just figured (rightly) that I was being an idiot. This one, though, was a winner. Free Ticket.

That God sure is a trickster. He really ran me through the ringer. So, I jaunted back into the store and claimed my ticket. Which I knew would give me a huge blessing once I unveiled it’s tender mercies. I couldn’t wait to get it back to the car. I scratched it off at the register. And to my shock it revealed that I had won…

NOTHING. A big fat zero. Now I had no money even to eat lunch.

The next morning I went to church, still smarting from my painful demise the night before. I sat towards the middle of our small church singing worship songs. I still had no idea how I was going to get books. Or what I would eat the next day. I figured that I would have to get by until my next paycheck when I could buy books.

I don’t remember the song that we were singing, but my worship was interrupted by a somewhat shy man that tapped me on the shoulder. With tears in his eyes he informed me that the Lord had moved in his heart to give me a check.

I thought maybe it would be $50 bucks. Maybe that’ll buy me food for the week. I looked down and noticed a two and a zero. “Twenty bucks”, I thought. Then I glanced again. It was $200. This would pay for my books and my lunch.

I wept.

You see I didn’t put one dime in the offering plate that morning. I couldn’t. I had blown it on lottery tickets. I was “trusting” God but in a way strikingly similar to the Israelites of old. It was as if I went to Assyria and Egypt to play the role of God’s little helpers. I had betrayed the Lord.

But I still had a $200 check in my hands and a lesson that I will never forget. Yahweh is faithful to His people. Not because I was faithful, but just because He is. I haven’t bought a lottery ticket since that day. I don’t need it. My God supplies all my needs. The Lord will provide.

Uncomfortable Grace is Still Grace

I forget if it was college or the latter years of high school. Whenever it was, I prayed something really stupid. You see I looked around at many of my friends that were able to do whatever they wanted to do and it seemed they were able to do it without even a tinge of guilt. Not me. I had what seemed like an angry bear of conviction that would pummel my soul and emotions whenever I would engage in sinful activities. My prayer in that day was that the Lord would simply leave me alone and let me do what I wanted to do without feeling so badly.

Stupid…stupid…stupid prayer. I was basically praying the Lord’s judgment on myself and I did not know it. I was acting like the Lord’s vineyard in Isaiah 5 and praying that the Lord would treat me the same:

    I will make it a waste;
        it shall not be pruned or hoed,
        and briers and thorns shall grow up;
    I will also command the clouds
        that they rain no rain upon it.
(Isaiah 5:6 ESV)

As I read through Isaiah 5 this morning I was reminded of my ignorance. I was painfully reminded that Isaiah 5 ought to be my story. There is absolutely nothing within me that does not deserve to be carried off and banished just as these Israelites were. I deserve for the Lord to not prune me, to lay me to waste, and to have His anger stretched out against me. I even prayed for it.

Thankfully the Lord in His grace disregarded my foolish prayer. He continued to hound me and prune me. He is molding me and shaping me into the creation of His desire. I am a vineyard…a stubborn vineyard…that He is radically dedicated to. Even His dry and painful seasons are meant for my redemption. May I think Him for every moment of His work.

If you are being convicted by the Lord today thank Him for it. Do not be dumb like I was years ago and pray for the Lord to remove His rod of conviction. Thank Him that He is still pruning you. And remember His uncomfortable grace is still grace. 

Poem From a Dying 9 Year Old Boy

I find myself today reading the Life and Writings of Mrs. Jane Dawson of Lancaster.  I skipped across this because of my weekly time with my dear friend John Newton.  My heart is warmed by reading the account of Jane Flower (later to be Mrs. Dawson).  Her letter to her parents at the age of 11 is astonishing and one that in our times we would expect to come from the pen of perhaps a college student.  I am further blown away by the dying poem of her little brother George. 

At 9 and a half years old a dying George quipped these words to his mother:

Christ is my portion and my all,

I need not fear, I shall not fall;

Nor need I fear what all the world can do,

Since Christ can fight and make---subdue. 

He’s not repeating a song, mind you.  He made that up moments before his death.  “Even your young men shall see visions…”  It’s amazing to see the work of the Spirit in the 1700’s Comforting and Guiding these little children.  This is encouraging me to pray for an outpouring of God’s favor and grace upon my children that they might see the beauty of Christ and live solely for His glory.

Why Jesus Might Want to Punch Us in the Face

I have lost track of how many books begin by telling me how jacked up the church is.  Usually after lambasting the church and pointing out her many failures there is some obligatory statement on how Jesus still loves her and how she is the only hope of this generation.  But at present she is unattractive, whorish, and a little on the ugly side.  What usually follows is the authors solution for making the church not quite such an ugly old hag. 

I’ll be the first to confess that I’ve spoken numerous times on how the church can be a pretty messed up place.  When Jesus draws sinners into such an intimate fellowship things can get ugly.  So, I get why people say that the church isn’t quite how she ought to be. 

Yet if I overheard some dude talking about my wife the way that we often talk about Jesus’ bride I’d start turning green like the Incredible Hulk and probably smash him in the nose.  “Jesus, your wife is an ugly old hag, that often plays the harlot, and she is unattractive to even her best friends.  But have no fear I’ve written a book that will shape her up to make her respectable.”  See how ignorant that sounds? 

I wonder if Jesus ever wants to thump us in the nose for the way we talk about His precious Bride that He is washing in the water of the Word? 

Yeah, but I’m part of the church…

It’s not quite as black and white as I have presented it though.  Because many of these authors are pastors that are really wanting to lovingly encourage the church.  And let’s be honest, often these assessments do have a level of truth to them.  And what muddies the waters even further is that the one speaking to the church is also part of the church, and so it’s really as if the bride is talking to herself. 

But what would a husband’s response be if he overheard his wife referring to herself as an ugly old hag?  Though I would never resort to a Hulk-smash I still don’t take kindly to even my own wife talking bad about herself.  It angers me.  She is my treasure and I’m not cool with anybody—even her—making it seem like what I value is really nothing better than a dilapidated rag doll that would be better served in a trash heap.  I’m offended that she would let someone other than her own husband provide her identity.  (Feel free to read into that last statement and entirely miss my point). 

If there ever was a church that deserved having a letter addressed to it as “dear uncomely peeps”, it would have been the church at Corinth.  They had plenty of faults that Paul could have really laid into them for.  Yet notice in 1 Corinthians 1:2 that Paul reminds them of their fundamental identity in Christ instead of the foolish garments of rebellion that they’ve decided to parade in. 

Maybe a better formula for helping the church is to constantly remind her who she is instead of dogging on her for who she ain’t.  Our identity comes from our husband and not from our falls and foibles.  Soiled and sullied we might be at times, but we’re still His precious Bride. 

Those of us that are occasionally the means that God uses to wash His Bride with the water of the Word ought to remember just who it is that we are talking to. 

Jesus Loves Our Space Invaders

I have a coffee mug (more a Mountain Dew mug since I’m not yet man enough to drink coffee) sitting on my desk.  It’s very special to me because of the artwork on it.  It has a heart, the letter I, something that looks like a dinosaur or maybe Vermont, I think some space invaders, a purple blob and an equals sign. 

I think it’s supposed to say “I love you daddy”.  But instead I think it says purple blob equals deformed dinosaur, I heart space invaders.  I’m confident the artwork on this will never be featured in the Louvre.  Let’s be honest the artwork is terrible. 

You know my response when I was handed this coffee mug, don’t you?

I didn’t say, “Son, this work that you’ve done here is quite ridiculous.  What is that purple blob?  Is that supposed to be a dinosaur?  Because it doesn’t look like one.  Is this some sort of sorry excuse for abstract art?  Do you really expect me to put this on my desk and use this so that people can actually see it?  You really ought to know better than trying art.  You are four years old.  And you have clearly shown from this little artistic endeavor that art is not your forte.  Now go to your room and give me something that is actually of respectable quality for my birthday.  I’m ashamed to call you my son.”

Yeah, that hurt to even type.  It’s ridiculous to think that even the worst of dads would respond in such a way. 

Then why do we think God views His children differently? 

Because He is holy?  Because His standards are much higher than ours?  Because He cannot look upon sin, and everything we do is tainted with sin and our righteous deeds are like filthy rags? 

And so somehow those truths make God a worse dad than I am?  Nah, I don’t think so.  I agree with Kevin DeYoung when he says,

…for those who have been made right with God by grace alone through faith alone and therefore have been adopted into God’s family, many of our righteous deeds are not only not filthy in God’s eyes, they are exceedingly sweet, precious, and pleasing to him.  (DeYoung, The Hole in our Holiness, 70)

I don’t expect my four year old to create for me a masterpiece.  But I know that every little stroke of that wobbly paintbrush was out of love for his daddy.  And so I love my deformed dinosaur and my space invaders.  When Isaiah handed me this mug, I did what every decent adult does when handed artwork of this caliber from a four-year-old.  I treasured it.  I put it on display. I found that which was really good in it, I highlighted it, and I showered him with thanks and appreciation. 

“As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.  For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” 

Just as a very flawed earthly father knows to show compassion to his little boy, so our perfect Father knows our frame.  Isn’t it possible that the Lord takes our wobbly efforts and pins them on his celestial refrigerator?  How wonderful it is that though we are but dust the Lord takes great delight in our not yet fully redeemed, still flawed, and still tainted expressions of love! 

Let’s go lovingly paint the best deformed dinosaurs that we know how. 

A Prayer God is Answering In My Life Right Now

Though I prefer my wife’s performance of the song, I’ll have to post Bethany Dillon’s performance:

Lyrics:

The Calmer of the sea
Here in this room with me
So gently welcoming
The weakest things in me
You are the blood over
The door of my heart
What pain You spared me from
How could I know it all?

Oh wonderful love, You died for me
The power of Your life is in me
Father, let Your light shine down on me
Father, let Your light shine down on me
No matter what the day or night may bring
Father, let Your light shine down on me

Oh Jesus, You became what was my deepest shame
That at Your very name
My calloused heart would change
How could You, oh perfect One
Love me, when I have done nothing that's worthy of
My freedom You have won

Oh wonderful love, You died for me
The power of Your life is in me
Father, let Your light shine down on me
Father, let Your light shine down on me
No matter what the day or night may bring
Father, let Your light shine down on me

Open up the heavens
Poor down Your Spirit
Home me God
Jesus, wherever You lead
I'll sing harmony
Hold me God

Father, let Your light shine down on me
Father, let Your light shine down on me
No matter what the day or night may bring
Father, let Your light shine down on me

What Are “GRACE Cards”?

One of our evangelism strategies as a church is to use “GRACE” cards.  “What is a GRACE card”, you ask?  I’m glad you asked.  Let me explain.

The concept behind a GRACE card is to bless our community.  Really the concept is to put words behind random acts of kindness.  Our church family is encouraged to take a GRACE card and to bless somebody throughout the week.  It can be as simple as buying a book of stamps or leaving quarters in a laundry machine.  Some like to purchase meals for the people behind them at a fast-food chain.  When you do this you simply leave a GRACE card. 

A GRACE card is really simple.  All it has is the word “grace” on it and then an encouragement to check out a bit.ly link.  You can see a picture of a grace card and the page that the bit.ly link leads to by going here. 

If you decide to do something similar to this with your church here are a couple of tips. 

• Make sure the people know that it’s not something that you leave with a tip.  This is when you go over the top and bless somebody
• It’s not a witness tract or a business card.  Don’t just encourage people to check out the website—bless them anonymously. 
• Stress that your goal is to do something in such a way that the person is left wondering, “Who in the world just did that for me”. 
• Make the cards glossy, simple, and inexpensive (You can get a ton of cheap business cards at various places online)
• Share ideas

Why Thorn Removal Is Not the Goal (Part 1)

Take a couple of minutes and watch this guys story:

What if this man spent his entire life trying to grow arms and legs?  He sacrificed marriage.  He forfeited kids.  He never had a job.  Never had an ambition to influence others.  His whole life was swallowed up with this single lone pursuit—have arms and legs.  He will not experience joy until he experiences healing.  He’s not moving on until he is “normal” and has arms and legs.  He is passionate, determined, and unrelenting in his pursuit of this goal. 

What if on his 80th birthday the miraculous happens: he wakes up with two arms and two legs.  He is healed.  His passionate determination pays off.  Then, two days later he dies. 

What of his life?

Thus begins a series in which I make the argument that many believers spend more time trying to remove thorns than we do living in sufficient grace…

Grace for the Little Things

It was an easy task.  At least it should have been.

Yet, if you ask my wife why our garbage disposal leaks she can quickly point the finger to the time that I took the whole thing apart, breaking the seals, and everything to “fix it”.  No need for a professional or an expert.  I’m a husband AND I’ve stayed at a Holiday Inn.   Even though I have no idea how a garbage disposal works I’m pretty certain that its not a big deal and I’ll figure it out as I go along.  After all how hard can it really be to get my garbage disposal to stop sounding like a pterodactyl giving birth? 

Had it been something huge I would have called a professional.  But this was something little that I was confident that through my own wisdom and strength I could fix.  No need to call in an expert. 

So I plugged away for a couple of hours.  Wasting an entire night.  Learning nothing.  Tearing up half the kitchen sink.  Sinking in my shame and inadequacy.  Even trying the ridiculous like taking off my belt and sagging my Levi’s hoping that maybe that will make me a better plumber.  Fail.

Grace for the Little Things

It’s not only garbage disposals that I do this with, though.  John Newton reminds me that it’s often in my prayer life that I “got” the little things:

…if the occasion seems small, we are too apt secretly to lean to our own wisdom and strength, as if in such slight matters we could make [due] without him.  Therefore in these we often fail. 

And so the Lord often treats us as a wise mother teaching a self-confident child how to walk.  “If there is no danger or harm from a fall, as if he is on plain carpet, the mother will let him alone to try how he can walk.”  Where mommy couldn’t convince him that he isn’t as strong and able as he thought a donk on the noggin will do the trick. 

Often times the Lord allows these “small things” to become “big things” to teach us the danger of self-dependence and the joy of trusting His infallible hand.  This is supremely loving.  The Lord consistently reminds us that “it requires the same grace to bear with a right spirit a cross word as a cross injury; or the breaking of a china plate, as the death of an only son.” 

We need grace for the little things just as much as we need grace for the big things. 

--

In case you were wondering after my failed efforts at fixing my garbage disposal my good friend Ryan came to our rescue.  He is somewhat of handyman and as opposed to me actually knows what he is doing.  Dude fixed it in three minutes.  “How”, you ask?  By sticking his hand down the drain and pulling out the screw that was rubbing up against the blades and causing the screeching of a birthing pterodactyl.   Little things don’t turn into “big things” when we get the right means of help. 

The Church Should Be Less Like Angry Coaches

I was listening a few days ago to a radio show that featured an interview with a college basketball coach.  His team had recently pulled off a few surprising victories.  The interviewer acknowledged a good amount of their successes and then asked the coach his thoughts on the games.  The coach, without skipping a beat, threw out a cranky, “we didn’t rebound well”. 

This is not an anomaly.  I have heard interviews like this numerous times in all my years of following sports.  I even had coaches like this in high school.  No matter how well you play there is always something that can be a little better.  Many coaches feel that to rejoice in a success will create a complacent and satisfied team.  So rather than focusing on the league leading three point percentage he decides to focus on the teams lack of rebounding.

I am not a coach.  Maybe his philosophy of coaching is good.  But after listening to that interview two thoughts occurred to me.  First, I wouldn’t want to play for that dude.  If he would chill out and let us enjoy the game, rejoice in success while simultaneously pushing us to do better then maybe I’d play for him.  But I wouldn’t want to play for a cranky coach that can’t celebrate. 

A Second Thought

A second thought then occurred to me.  People probably get discouraged following a cranky pastor that doesn’t know how to celebrate.  “Great job on putting together that Valentine’s banquet, but did you guys notice that the spaghetti was a little too saucy”.

Don’t get me wrong, spaghetti that is too saucy (just like anything too saucy in the church) needs to be corrected.  But perhaps there is a time to celebrate success.  Maybe there are certain things, like too much oregano, that love should just let slide.  

I see this problem all throughout the blogosphere as well.  I’ve seen several titles and interview questions asking things like “What is the greatest problem in the church today”, “What needs to change in the SBC”, “What is the churches greatest need”, etc.  But I seldom see questions about how the church is prevailing like Jesus said it would.  Seldom do I see interviewers probing to discover great success. 

I’m not calling for some sort of sentimental, meaningless, sweep-everything-under-the rug, type of mentality.  I am merely saying that those of us that have experienced the depth of the Lord’s grace ought to live, preach, teach, and write in such a way that is fitting to such a gift.  People that really understand grace don’t gripe about too much oregano or focus on a lack of rebounding, we celebrate the joy of a spaghetti supper or a hard-fought victory. 

“It is for freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery”. 

That yoke is the law.  But underneath that is an idolatrous heart that can never be satisfied or rest in Christ’s work.  Living in the freedom that Christ purchased means being able to enjoy spaghetti and basketball without shackling yourself with a yoke of performance. 

Live free.  Enjoy spaghetti—even if it’s too saucy.  Celebrate victories—even if you didn’t rebound well.

P.S. When I say “the church” I mean you—if you are a believer.

From the Pen of Newton: The Oak Tree of Grace

John Newton explains the work of grace in the believers soul as more like a mighty oak tree than Jonah’s gourd which sprang up overnight.  By “work of grace” Newton does not mean only initial conversion but the entire process of redemption:

   The work of grace is not like Jonah's gourd, which sprang up and flourished in a night--and as quickly withered; but rather like the oak, which, from a little acorn and a tender plant, advances with an almost imperceptible growth from year to year, until it becomes a broad-spreading and deep-rooted tree, and then it stands for ages. The Christian oak shall grow and flourish forever.

   When I see any, soon after they appear to be awakened, making a speedy profession of great joy, before they have a due acquaintance with their own hearts--I am in pain for them. I am not sorry to hear them afterwards complain that their joys are gone, and they are almost at their wit's end; for, without some such check, to make them feel their weakness and dependence, I seldom find them to turn out well; either their fervor insensibly abates, until they become quite cold, and sink into the world again--of which I have seen many instances. Or, if they do not give up all--their walk is uneven, and their spirit has not that savor of brokenness and true humility which is a chief ornament of our holy profession. If they do not feel the plague of their hearts at first--they find it out afterwards, and too often manifest it to others.

   Therefore, though I know the Spirit of the Lord is free, and will not be confined to our rules, and there may be excepted cases; yet, in general, I believe the old proverb, "Soft and fair goes far," will hold good in Christian experience. Let us be thankful for the beginnings of grace, and wait upon our Savior patiently for the increase. And as we have chosen him for our physician--let us commit ourselves to his management, and not prescribe to him what he shall prescribe for us. He knows us and he loves us better than we do ourselves, and will do all things well.  (Works of Newton, Volume 1, 642-43)

There is, in my opinion, much to learn from Newton here.  I firmly believe that what Newton describes here became an epidemic in the late 1800’s with the rise of the Pelagian practices of Charles Finney.  Even in our day many church leaders, I believe wholly out of love, desire to quickly alleviate feelings of weakness, dependency, guilt, brokenness, etc.  Out of this good desire gone astray we end up as Newton said, “prescribing to him what he shall prescribe for us”. 

What then should you do?  Should a pastor pick up the practice of the Puritans and allow people to “smart awhile” or should they quickly apply the remedy of grace? 

I’ll attempt an answer to that question tomorrow…

From the Pen of Newton: An Astonishing and Cheering Thought

After writing at length about discovering sin daily in his life and then lamenting that though he can see that his heart “is very deep and dark, and full of evil; but as to particulars, I know not one of a thousand!”, John Newton then bursts forth in doxology concerning the depth of grace.  Though our sinner is great Newton shows that our Savior is greater:

And if our own hearts are beyond our comprehension, how much more incomprehensible is the heart of Jesus! If sin abounds in us—grace and love superabound in him! His ways and thoughts are higher than ours, as the heavens are higher than the earth; his love has a height, and depth, and length, and breadth, which passes all knowledge! The riches of his grace are unsearchable riches! Eph. 3:8, Eph. 3:18, Eph. 3:19.

All that we have received or can receive from him, or know of him in this life, compared with what he is in himself, or what he has for us—is but as the drop of a bucket—compared with the ocean; or a single ray of light—compared with the sun. The waters of the sanctuary flow to us at first almost ankle deep—so graciously does the Lord condescend to our weakness; but they rise as we advance, and constrain us to cry out, with the Apostle, O the depth! We find before us, as Dr. Watts beautifully expresses it,

A sea of love and grace unknown,
Without a bottom or a shore!

O the excellency of the knowledge of Christ! It will be growing upon us through time—yes, I believe through eternity! What an astonishing and what a cheering thought—that this high and lofty One should unite himself to our nature, that so, in a way worthy of his adorable perfections, he might by his Spirit unite us to himself!

Could such a thought have arisen in our hearts, without the warrant of his Word (but it is a thought which no created mind was capable of even conceiving until he revealed it), it would have been presumption and blasphemy! But now he has made it known, it is the foundation of our hope, and an inexhaustible spring of life and joy. Well may we say, Lord what is man, that you should thus visit him!   (From Newton’s Letter Ten to Miss M).

Am I Growing in Grace?

In my John Newton studies I stumbled upon a gold mine of 18th century Christian writings.  There is a magazine from the UK called The Gospel Magazine, it has been in publication (minus a few years in the late 1700s) since 1766.  Amazingly they have many of their old editions online.  In their May 1766 edition a question is asked, “How can I know that I am growing in grace”. 

As an answer to this question there are a few general observations that I find helpful:

1. Growth in grace is in general imperceptible to the Christian himself
2. Sometimes growth in grace is more quick and visible
3. We may, upon the whole, have some progress in the Christian life, though for the present we may appear to be going backward
4. We may grow in one respect, though we may not grow in all
5. We are not to judge of our spiritual growth by the growth of others

I find these general observations helpful.  But also the specific things mentioned as (possible) evidence of growing in grace:

1. Growth in grace discovers itself in an increase of spiritual light and knowledge
2. When we are enabled to go more out of ourselves, and depend more upon Christ, we may be said to grow in grace
3. We are making some advances, when we find a true relish for duties [what we would call spiritual disciplines in our day], and grow more spiritual in them
4. We make advances in grace, when we are more humble, submissive, and thankful
5. We grow in grace, when we find our corruptions weaken, and the power of sin more and more subdued in us
6. When we find less of an earthly and more of an heavenly disposition, we may be said to grow in grace

What do you think of this list?  Do you disagree with any of them?  What would you add?