January 6, 1850, God saved Charles Haddon Spurgeon at age 15. It happened in a most unusual way. Having been raised by Christian parents—and grandparents—Spurgeon found himself in a miserable condition spiritually. His prayers seemed to be unanswered. God was distant. His soul was tormented. Here is his recounting of that day from his Autobiography.
I sometimes think I might have been in darkness and despair until now had it not been for the goodness of God in sending a snowstorm, one Sunday morning, while I was going to a certain place of worship. When I could go no further, I turned down a side street, and came to a little Primitive Methodist Chapel. In that chapel there may have been a dozen or fifteen people. I had heard of the Primitive Methodists, how they sang so loudly that they made people’s heads ache; but that did not matter to me. I wanted to know how I might be saved, and if they could tell me that, I did not care how much they made my head ache. The minister did not come that morning; he was snowed up, I suppose. At last, a very thin-looking man,* a shoemaker, of tailor, or something of that sort, went up into the pulpit to preach. Now, it is well that preachers should be instructed; but this man was really stupid. He was obliged to stick to his text, for the simple reason that he had little else to say. The text was,—

“Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth”

He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter. There was, I thought, a glimpse of hope for me in that text. The preacher began thus:—“My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says, ‘Look’. Now lookin’ don’t take a deal of pains. It ain’t liftin’ your foot or your finger; it is just, ‘Look.’ Well, a man needn’t go to College to learn to look. You may be the biggest fool, and yet you can look. A man needn’t be worth a thousand a year to be able to look. Anyone can look; even a child can look. But then the text says, ‘Look unto Me.’ Ay!” said he, in broad Essex, “many on ye are lookin’ to yourselves, but it’s no use lookin’ there. You’ll never find any comfort in yourselves. Some look to God the Father. No, look to Him by-and-by. Jesus Christ says, ‘Look unto Me’. Some on ye say, ‘We must wait for the Spirit’s workin’.’ You have no business with that just now. Look to Christ. The text says. ‘Look unto Me.’ ”

Then the good man followed up his text in this way:—“Look unto Me; I am sweatin’ great drops of blood. Look unto Me; I am hangin’ on the cross. Look unto Me; I am dead and buried. Look unto Me; I rise again. Look unto Me; I ascend to Heaven. Look unto Me; I am sittin’ at the Father’s right hand. O poor sinner, look unto Me! look unto Me!”

When he had gone to about that length, and managed to spin out ten minutes or so, he was at the end of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery, and I daresay, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. Just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart, he said, “Young man, you look very miserable.” Well, I did; but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before. However, it was a good blow, struck right home. He continued, “and you always will be miserable—miserable in life, and miserable in death,—if you don’t obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved.” Then, lifting up his hands, he shouted, as only a Primitive Methodist could do, “Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothin’ to do but to look and live.” I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said,—I did not take much notice of it,—I was so possessed with that one thought. Like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, the people only looked and were healed, so it was with me. I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard that word, “Look!” what a charming word it seemed to me! Oh! I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away. There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that instant, and sung with the most enthusiastic of them, of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith which looks alone to Him. Oh, that somebody had told me this before, “Trust Christ, and you shall be saved.” Yet it was, no doubt, all wisely ordered, and now I can say,—
Six years later, after the Lord had called Spurgeon to serve the New Park Street Chapel as pastor, he preached from the text that was used to save him, Isaiah 45:22. In that sermon he said to his congregation,
I shall never forget that day, while memory holds its place; nor can I help repeating this text whenever I remember that hour when first I knew the Lord. How strangely gracious! How wonderfully and marvelously kind, that he who heard these words so little time ago for his own soul’s profit, should now address you this morning as his hearers from the same text, in the full and confident hope that some poor sinner within these walls may hear the glad tidings of salvation for himself also, and may to-day, on this 6th of January, be “turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God!”

I think I coined the phrase “cage-stage-patriarchy” recently to describe some of the less than stellar commentary being offered on social media about the authority that God has given husbands over their wives. The phrase suggests that those who, having recently discovered the biblical teachings on patriarchy, are so indelicate in handling the truth that they would be well-served (and better serve others) if they were locked in a cage away from people until they gain deeper understanding of the truth they have discovered.
Ours is, as John Stott put it, an “anti-authority” age that has been permeated in every sphere by demonically inspired feminism. While rightly rejecting this ideology some have rediscovered biblical patriarchy—the teaching that God has purposefully made men and women to be different and has assigned to men the primary responsibility and authority to exercise leadership in the home, church, and world.
What Scripture teaches on this in no way denigrates women. Nor does the Bible prohibit or judge women to be inadequate for many roles and tasks that require leadership qualities. Rather than expound on that let me simply refer to a few examples of what I have in mind, such as Proverbs 31:10-31, 1 Samuel 1:21-28, and Titus 2:3-4.
My concern is the excesses that too often accompany the rediscovery of biblical patriarchy. Specifically, I am concerned about those who, in the name of patriarchy, are advocating positions and actions that do not adequately honor all Scripture. They have fallen into what I call, cage-stage-patriarchy (CSP).
This is a close relative of cage-stage-Calvinism (CSC). When one first discovers the doctrines of grace, he often begins to interpret everything, including every Scriptural text through his newly discovered, not yet matured understanding of the sovereignty of God.
Thus, anything that smacks of human freedom is judged to be anathema. For example (and I have witnessed or myself engaged in all of these), some CSCs get nervous singing or refuse to sing altogether songs like Just As I Am. Or when teaching verses like John 3:16 and 1 John 2:2, they feel compelled to spend more time telling you what the text does not mean than what it does mean.
Cage-stagers become obnoxious with their new-found insights and are quick to challenge and correct anyone who seems to disagree with them. Social media has magnified this because everyone has a platform from which to air his opinions (Proverbs 18:2). You can recognize a cage-stager, or just an immature Christian, by how quickly and authoritatively they jump into conversations that do not concern them at all (Proverbs 26:17). They are gadflies who can be easily seen as such by a simple search of their social media timelines. 
Further, when controversy erupts, they feel justified to violate the very convictions for which they contend because of their sense of self-importance in defending the truth. Such cage stagers would be immensely helped by studying Bunyan’s Valiant-for-Truth. You miss the important lesson taught by this character unless you recognize that the enemies that bloodied that stalwart of the faith (but which he does indeed fight!) reside within his own heart.
This is why you see CSCs defend the doctrines of grace with so little evidence of the grace of those doctrines. It also explains why Cage-stage-patriarchists do not hesitate, in the name of defending the patriarchy, to speak derisively of men who deserve respect by virtue of their testimony and station in life. You can also see it in the way they speak down to and about women, violating the very Scriptures that form the foundation of male leadership and headship.
Cage-stagers regularly give hot takes on the issues they are advocating, often to the applause of immature listeners. When challenged, they either double-down in their not-yet-matured understanding trying to defend the biblically indefensible or offer multiple and needed qualifications to explain exactly what they meant and did not mean. One tell-tale sign of a cage stager is the claim that he is regularly being misunderstood when his very words are cited to critique the opinion he boldly espoused.
If you are regularly having to defend yourself and explain statements that you plainly make because people take your words in the plain sense in which you spoke them, you would be well-served to stop talking for a while until you figure out how to communicate clearly enough that you are not so often being misunderstood.
So, I appreciate CSPs rightly reacting against the widespread feminism of our day. It is not that they are completely wrong in their convictions. Rather, they have stopped short of going deeper into what the Word of God teaches about male-female distinctions and male leadership and headship. Therein lies the problem.
They speak beyond their maturity and, as such, wind up staking out positions that are often untenable, such as, the red dress test that recently made the rounds on X.com. To state the case starkly the argument goes like this: “If I tell my wife to wear a red dress every day for the rest of her life then she must do so. Period. Full stop.” That sounds bold. It sounds manly, patriarchal even. In our feminized age it will win applause from some who are awakening from the estrogen-drenched culture and churches in which they dwell. But this attitude misrepresents what God requires of both husbands and wives under the lordship of Christ. Do husbands have a responsibility to make sure their wives dress appropriately? Absolutely. Do wives have a responsibility to dress in accordance with their husband’s will? Absolutely. But there is a deeper dimension to the marital relationship that must never be overlooked by followers of Christ.
Before a Christian couple are husband and wife, they are brother and sister in the Lord. The duties and responsibilities that we have in God’s family under Christ’s lordship do not get cancelled by holy matrimony. Further, a husband’s headship over his wife is not arbitrary or unlimited. His authority, like all other human authority, is delegated and limited. Jesus is the sole possessor of “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). Magistrates, elders, and husbands possess authority only because Christ delegates it to them. They are required to use their authority under His lordship.
What does that entail? Every thoughtful Christian knows that no human authority has the right to command you to break God’s law. But does that mean that a husband is free to require of his wife anything that is not a clear violation of God’s law? Hardly. He is free to require of his wife that which pleases the Lord who has delegated to him the authority which he wields. A husband’s authority is not arbitrary. It is not inherent. It is delegated.
Just as fathers are commanded to exercise their authority in ways that do not provoke their children to wrath (Ephesians 6:4) so husbands are given clear instructions to be like Christ in how they treat their wives. “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7). I submit that arbitrarily requiring your wife to wear a certain color dress for the rest of her life is a violation of this command. To make the case a little clearer for those who are still fuzzy on this, let’s up the ante on the non-sinful requirement. Does a husband have the right arbitrarily to require his wife to stand in the corner of a room for three hours each day? Or to roll twenty times on the front lawn every day at 2PM?
To be clear, a godly wife’s default response even to such strange requirements should be the inclination to submit. But because she is a joint heir of grace with her husband, that inclination will be tempered by her own desire to please Jesus Christ. If she thinks her husband might not be thinking clearly then as his sister in Christ as well as his helper in marriage, she should try to get him to see her concerns. That may involve seeking counsel from other human authorities, most notably, the elders of their church.
This is a more integrated, mature approach to what the Bible teaches about the proper exercise of authority in marriage. Half-baked views of biblical patriarchy undermine this teaching. When they gain traction, they serve to inoculate against God’s good and wise teaching on the roles of and relationships between men and women. As a result, those still ensnared in feminism become more resistant to biblical teaching on the subject.
I know what it is to be in a cage-stage of some new conviction. And I have been the recipient of gracious patience and necessary rebuke by older, wiser men who recognized that my need was not refutation but correction. My hope is that men who are in a position to extend such patience and offer such rebukes to cage-stage-patriarchists will not shrink back from the opportunity to do so. The church of Jesus Christ needs to get right on this issue. And we need strong men who understand the full counsel of God on this question to lead the way.

In 2000, my sister, Joy Dyer, tried to pay for a purchase at a department store but could not make her hand write out a check. That was the first sign that something sinister was attacking her body. Almost one year later to the day, cancer took Joy’s life. The following article is taken from the upcoming book, Suffering with Joy, which is comprised of letters that were written out of a desire to walk with Joy, her husband, Dean, and their family and friends through this hard journey. My hope is that these letters will provide comfort and encouragement in Christ to other fellow sufferers who are walking a hard path.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 

Romans 8:35

Joy has had a couple of falls recently and has noticed some diminished capacity on her right side. She is being extra careful as she awaits her next appointment with the doctor. Monday, November 20, she has a MRI in Houston. The next day she will see her doctor. She and Dean continue to trust the Lord and call on Him for help and strength each day. When I spoke with her on the phone yesterday, we talked about how it seems like we are hearing about more and more people who are being diagnosed with cancer. She related to me part of a conversation she and Dean had about this over dinner—how some diseases are terminal while others are treatable. Dean, in his customary way, made a brief comment that put it all in perspective. He said, “Honey, we are all terminal.” 

Of course, he is right. No matter where you live, the death rate is a constant one per capita. Some live longer than others, but in the grand scheme of things, even the longest life is, as the Bible describes it: “a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). We were not designed to die. But when our first parents rebelled against God, sin came to the whole human race, and “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).

We often think of death as natural, and it is to the extent that it is inevitable. But in another very important sense, death is unnatural. Death became a reality for humanity because of sin. “Through one man,” the apostle Paul says, “sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). While this does not mean every individual’s death can be blamed on his particular sin, it does mean that if sin had not come into the world, there would not be any death. So death is an intruder that has entered through the door sin opened.

Death is an intruder that has entered through the door sin opened.

No one escapes death’s impact. The Bible says, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). This is what Dean was talking about when he said, “We are all terminal.” This bad news is what makes the news of God’s provision for us in Christ so good! By His resurrection from the dead, Jesus has conquered death. Paul writes, “For since by man [Adam] came death, by Man [Christ] also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:21–22). Paul is not saying that everyone without exception will be made alive because of Christ. Rather, all who are “in Christ” will be made alive, that is, will be made to live again eternally—will be resurrected from the dead.

How do you get to be “in Christ”? God must draw you to Christ. Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44). Paul says the same thing when he explains to the Corinthians how they came to be “in Christ”: it is “of Him [God] you are in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 1:30). When God so convinces you of your own sin and separation from Him and your need to be reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ, you will trust Christ with your life; you will be drawn to Him and thus will, by faith, begin a new life “in Him.”

Life in Christ is full of meaning, purpose, and hope. It is life lived in connection with the true God. It is life lived in the love of God. The apostle John wrote, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9). To know the love of God is the greatest thing in the world, which brings us to this week’s Joy Verse. Continuing in Romans 8, Paul writes in verse 35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”

The love and compassion of our Savior for sinners is revealed most clearly in His self-sacrifice on our behalf.

Paul uses rhetorical questions again to make his point. Christians are loved by Jesus Christ. Unlike human love, which can wax and wane or even be broken altogether, Christ’s love for His people is eternal. Paul makes this point by asking, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” The implied answer is, “No one!” Then he mentions seven different kinds of difficult experiences that might tempt a Christian to doubt Christ’s love. First-century believers were liable to all of these trials. But Paul reassures us here that nothing can ever separate us from Christ’s love. Not outward afflictions (“tribulation”), inward turmoil (“distress”), painful opposition (“persecution”), physical deprivation (“famine, or nakedness”), dangers (“peril”), nor death (“sword”). Nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate a believer from his Savior’s love.

When Paul wrote this, he was not speaking as a novice or mere theoretician. He had already experienced six out of the seven difficulties. And he knew by experience, as well as by the teaching of God’s Word, that Christ’s love conquers all. The love and compassion of our Savior for sinners is revealed most clearly in His self-sacrifice on our behalf. The cross of Christ stands as an eternal monument to the love of Jesus for His people. Paul knew this. We can know it, too, by looking to that cross in faith, and trusting in the One who died there and who then rose from the dead. 

Because of Christ, and in Christ, our terminal condition is overruled. Death, though it remains our last enemy, is defeated. And life beyond death is assured. This is the believer’s hope and confidence.

In 2000, my sister, Joy Dyer, tried to pay for a purchase at a department store but could not make her hand write out a check. That was the first sign that something sinister was attacking her body. Almost one year later to the day, cancer took Joy’s life. The following article is taken from the upcoming book, Suffering with Joy, which is comprised of letters that were written out of a desire to walk with Joy, her husband, Dean, and their family and friends through this hard journey. My hope is that these letters will provide comfort and encouragement in Christ to other fellow sufferers who are walking a hard path.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.

Psalm 37:7a

Faith is not a one-time event for the Christian. It is not merely something that we did at some point in our past. Certainly, there was a time when we moved from unbelief to belief. But that moment of initial believing ushered us into a life of faith. A Christian is someone who, having initially trusted Jesus as Lord, goes on believing. We continue depending on Christ. This trust is not perfect. Sometimes it may grow dim and waver, and other times it can be strong and sure. But faith for the Christian is continuous. It is ongoing. It is a way of life. 

The apostle Paul calls this way of life a fight. He encouraged his young colleague in the ministry to “Fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12a). Faith is a fight for the Christian in that we must work hard, discipline ourselves, and sometimes struggle to keep on believing. The seeds of unbelief remain in our hearts, and sometimes it seems as if they have so successfully sprouted that real faith is almost choked out. At such times I take comfort in that heartbroken father who asked Jesus to heal his son. With his demon-possessed boy writhing in the dirt at his feet and foaming at the mouth, this man looked at Jesus and, with tears in his eyes, said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). He had faith (“I believe”). But he was lacking in assurance (“Help my unbelief”). 

These words have been my prayer many, many times over the course of my life. When trials come, when it seems that God’s promises (what He has pledged Himself to do) are being contradicted by God’s providence (what He actually is doing), our faith can be severely tested. At such times the person who is trusting Christ needs to remember that the Christian life is a fight, and we are called to “fight the good fight of faith.” 

What makes faith hard and unbelief easy is losing sight of things that are true.

One good way to equip yourself for this fight is through Scripture memory. What makes faith hard and unbelief easy is losing sight of things that are true. Storing up your mind with God’s own Word makes His truth more accessible to you than if you only had a general idea of it. Scripture that is committed to memory can be readily called to mind by the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer. The psalmist testified to the power of Scripture to work this way in his life when he wrote, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Ps. 119:11).

Another good way to wage war against unbelief is by heeding the specific counsel of God’s Word. The Bible records the real-life stories of people who faced all kinds of trials and challenges. God taught them important lessons through these experiences. And by recording their stories in the Bible, He also can teach us through them. Often the Bible gives us the counsel of men and women who have gone before us in the fight of faith. By both their example and words, we are encouraged to keep believing. 

This is true of King David and his instructions in Psalm 37. He wrote this psalm when he was an old man (v. 25). It reeks of the wisdom of long experience. David knew what it was to be “on top of the mountain.” At one time he could do no wrong in the eyes of his fellow countrymen. Songs were written about him. Foreign kings respected him. His enemies feared him. But by the time he wrote Psalm 37, he had lived long enough to experience the reversal of fortunes. He had sinned grievously against his God and his people. He had experienced the death of a baby and inconceivably wicked conduct by other children, including the murder of one son by another and the betrayal and execution of that murderous son. 

To rest in the Lord means to trust Him to do what is right and what is good for us.

David had seen wicked people prosper and good people suffer. And out of the wisdom of long experience with God, he encourages us to “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (v. 7a). This is sound counsel for people who really know God. The Lord never hurries and is never late. Furthermore, what is sometimes easy for us to forget, He is always working for eternity. We often become anxious and wonder where God is or if He really cares. It is good to hear the God-inspired counsel of an experienced man like David, who also had those thoughts: Rest in Him. Wait patiently for Him.

What exactly does it mean to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him? It means to give our burdens and concerns over to Him. To trust Him to do what is right and what is good for us. It means to remember heaven, to remind ourselves that we are in this fight of faith for the long haul. God’s sense of timing is not limited to our clocks and calendars. To rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him means to orient our hearts with such determination toward Jesus Christ and His death on the cross that the bloody scene of Calvary begins to melt our fears and anxieties as we gaze on it and are enabled to say, “For me.”

In 2000, my sister, Joy Dyer, tried to pay for a purchase at a department store but could not make her hand write out a check. That was the first sign that something sinister was attacking her body. Almost one year later to the day, cancer took Joy’s life. The following article is taken from the upcoming book, Suffering with Joy, which is comprised of letters that were written out of a desire to walk with Joy, her husband, Dean, and their family and friends through this hard journey. My hope is that these letters will provide comfort and encouragement in Christ to other fellow sufferers who are walking a hard path.

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

James 1:12

Joy had her first treatment of new chemotherapy on Monday. The side effects were hard on her. She was very sick Monday evening and night and unable to sleep at all until Tuesday afternoon. Her next treatment is scheduled for July 17. Continue to pray for Dean and Joy, specifically that this new treatment would eradicate the cancer cells and that the side effects would not be as difficult next time. Most importantly, pray that they will continue to experience God’s grace and strength to help them through this. Their faith remains intact. Despite the number and intensity of the assaults this ordeal keeps bringing against their faith, they continue to trust Christ. They are looking to God for strength day by day. In other words, they are fully engaged in what the apostle Paul calls the “fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12).

Our next Joy Verse comes from the same book as last week’s verse. James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

The word translated “temptation” is the same word translated in the plural as “trials” in verse 1:2. Trials become temptations to us because, when we go through them, we are often plagued with doubts about God’s goodness or sovereignty or wisdom. Such doubts are natural, and we might even say inevitable at points. But when doubts and questions give way to despair and unbelief, then we have moved from being tempted to actually sinning. While it is never right or helpful to fall into this kind of sin, it is easy to do.

Everyone who loves Joy and Dean is facing this temptation right now. Why has God let this happen? Why doesn’t He miraculously intervene? The simple truth is we do not have definitive, complete answers to these questions. So we must live by faith and trust God through this trial. The things we have learned about Him from His Word are still true. He is still good, sovereign, and wise. He does not make mistakes. Successfully resisting the urge to quit believing these truths during severe trials is what James means by “endur[ing] temptation.”

That person is truly blessed who lives through trial and does not give in to unbelief. Such endurance proves the genuineness of his or her faith. Real faith lasts. It doesn’t always soar on the wings of eagles. Sometimes it barely walks. But it never finally quits. 

What does real faith look like amid a severe trial? There is a great deal of confusion about this in our day. Some well-meaning but wrong-thinking Christians have taught that real faith will always be bright, almost happy-go-lucky, no matter what kind of trial it goes through. But this kind of superficial spirituality is foreign to the Bible. In the Old Testament, Job provides a great example of one whose faith was severely tried. He lost his family, his wealth, and his health. But he did not lose his faith. He faced his trial with genuine agony and sorrow. And at times he entertained serious doubts about God and looked like he was right on the brink of cursing God and turning away from Him. But in his weakness and brokenness, he persevered. And his faith was rewarded with a deeper knowledge of God. 

Real faith lasts. It doesn’t always soar on the wings of eagles. Sometimes it barely walks. But it never finally quits. 

An even better example is given to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. As He hung on the cross, dying in the place of sinners, He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46).He felt utterly abandoned by His Father and expressed His sorrow of heart in that cry. But even as He asked this question of His Father, He prefaced it with, “My God.” Jesus did not give up His confidence in God even at the point of feeling most forsaken by Him. 

So what did faith look like for Job in his trial? And what did it look like for Jesus on the cross? Glib, superficial pronouncements that all is well? No! Rather, in both cases real faith was demonstrated by what John Piper calls, “an uncursing hope in an unfelt God.”[1] For Job, the refusal to curse God, even when God seemed so uncaring, so distant, was faith. And for Jesus, the refusal to come down off the cross and to turn away from His planned death was faith. 

So for us, humble submission to God in steadfast hope may be the clearest demonstration of our faith when we are going through trials. James says such tested, proven faith will be rewarded with a crown of life, just as the Lord has promised. Like every reward that comes from God, this crown will not be given because we have deserved it. It is not because we have in any way earned it by our faith. Faith does not earn or merit God’s gifts; rather, it accesses them. 

The crown of life, which is eternal life with God in heaven, is given to everyone who loves God. We love Him because He first loved us. We trust Him because He has given us faith to believe. As we go through trials, we must fight to keep trusting Jesus Christ. We must remember all that God has done for us and is for us. And we must hope in God, knowing that a crown of life awaits us on the other side of the grave.

[1] John Piper, “We Do Not Lose Hope,” desiringGod.org, April 11, 1998, https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/we-do-not-lose-hope. Accessed April 19, 2024

One of the greatest blessings any pastor can experience is the prayers of the people he serves. There are people in the church I serve who regularly let me know that they are praying for me and there are others who, although they do not tell me in so many words, demonstrate a prayerful interest in me and my responsibilities. I am among those blessed pastors who can confidently, as Spurgeon put it, “take it for granted that his people are praying for him.”

But I am confident that if the people I serve knew more of the depths of my need for prayer, they would pray even more. Many of the needs are evident. The deepest needs are known—and that only partly—only to the pastor’s own heart.

My wife, Donna, and I are reading again this year Octavius Winslow’s Morning Thoughts. I am not sure how many times I have been through it myself or the two of us together. But each time it has proven to be a helpful instrument to help frame our thoughts for the day ahead. Recently we read his meditation on Romans 15:30 in which he expounds on the need that pastors have for the prayers of their people. Once again, I was moved deeply with a sense of gratitude and a fresh awareness of how desperate my need is of that which only God can supply.

Because of His grace and mercy toward us in Christ, He does supply it. And He supplies it through the prayers of His people. I commend Winslow’s words to you with an encouragement of my own, that you make it matter of studied, heartfelt discipline to pray for your pastor.

***

“Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me.” Romans 15:30

The Magnitude of Their Work [1]

There are many weighty and solemn considerations which powerfully plead for the prayers of the Church of God, in behalf of her ministers and pastors. The first which may be adduced is- the magnitude of their work. A greater work than theirs was never entrusted to mortal hands. No angel employed in the celestial embassy bears a commission of higher authority, or wings his way to discharge a duty of such extraordinary greatness and responsibility. He is a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ- an ambassador from the court of heaven- a preacher of the glorious gospel of the blessed God- a steward of the mysteries of the kingdom. Properly to fill this high office- giving to the household their portion of food in due season- going down into the mine of God’s word, and bringing forth to the view of every understanding its hidden treasures- to set forth the glory of Emmanuel, the fitness of His work, and the fullness of His grace- to be a scribe well instructed, rightly dividing the word of truth- to be wise and skillful to win souls, the grand end of the Christian ministry- oh, who so much needs the sustaining prayers of the Church as he?

Their Own Insufficiency

Secondly. The painful sense of their insufficiency supplies another affecting plea. Who are ministers of Christ? Are they angels? Are they superhuman beings? Are they inspired? No, they are men in all respects like others. They partake of like infirmities, are the subjects of like assaults, and are estranged from nothing that is human. As the heart knows its own bitterness, so they only are truly aware of the existence and incessant operation of those many and clinging weaknesses of which they partake in sympathy with others. And yet God has devolved upon them a work which would crush an angel’s powers, if left to his self-sustaining energy.

Their Peculiar Trials

Thirdly. The many and peculiar trials of the ministry and the pastorate ask this favor at our hands. These are peculiar to, and inseparable from, the office that he fills. In addition to those of which he partakes alike with other Christians- personal, domestic, and relative- there are trials to which they must necessarily be utter strangers. And as they are unknown to, so are they unrelievable by, the people of their charge. With all the sweetness of affection, tenderness of sympathy, and delicacy of attention which you give to your pastor, there is yet a lack which Jesus only can supply, and which, through the channel of your prayers, he will supply. In addition to his own, he bears the burdens of others. How impossible for an affectionate, sympathizing pastor to separate himself from the circumstances of his flock, be those circumstances what they may. So close and so sympathetic is the bond of union—if they suffer, he mourns; if they are afflicted, he weeps; if they are dishonored, he is reproached; if they rejoice, he is glad. He is one with his Church. How feelingly the apostle expresses this: “Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of how the churches are getting along. Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?” To see a Christian pastor, in addition to his own personal grief, borne often in uncomplaining loneliness and silence, yet bowed down under accumulated sorrows not his own—others looking to him for sympathy, for comfort, and for counsel- is a spectacle which might well arouse in behalf of every Christian minister the slumbering spirit of prayer. We marvel not to hear the chief of the apostles thus pleading, “Brethren, pray for us.”

(This is taken from the entry on August 1 of Winslow’s Morning Thoughts)

[1] I added the subheadings.

In 2000, my sister, Joy Dyer, tried to pay for a purchase at a department store but could not make her hand write out a check. That was the first sign that something sinister was attacking her body. Almost one year later to the day, cancer took Joy’s life. The following article is taken from the upcoming book, Suffering with Joy, which is comprised of letters that were written out of a desire to walk with Joy, her husband, Dean, and their family and friends through this hard journey. My hope is that these letters will provide comfort and encouragement in Christ to other fellow sufferers who are walking a hard path.

You will keep him in perfect peace,

Whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You.

Trust in the Lord forever,

For in YAH [Jehovah], the Lord, is everlasting strength.

Isaiah 26:3–4

Joy and Dean went to MD Anderson yesterday in hopes of beginning the agreed-upon chemotherapy treatment today. But a discovery was made while checking her blood that something is not quite the way it should be in her liver. Because of that, the doctor recommended a different type of chemo with a different treatment regime. Joy started this new regime last night. She will take chemotherapy by pills at home every six hours, beginning at midnight last night and continuing for three days. She will then travel to Houston on Saturday for a four-hour intravenous treatment. These steps will be repeated every six weeks with her blood being checked in Bryan every two weeks. She will also have an MRI every six weeks. This change of plans at the last minute is just the latest in a series of challenges Joy and Dean have faced with her sickness.

As you can imagine, the changes and uncertainties tend to put one on an emotional roller coaster. But they are trusting the Lord and believing that these changes are from Him and for their good. Is it possible to have real peace through all the ups and downs and unexpected turns in life? This week’s Joy Verse answers with a definitive “Yes!” and tells us how to obtain not only peace but perfect peace.

Chapter 26 of Isaiah starts off with a song of praise and thanksgiving, which the prophet tells his fellow countrymen they will sing once they have been restored from exile in Babylon. It is a testimonial song, and it makes claims that anyone who knows the Lord can affirm. And as it testifies to God’s character and involvement in the lives of His people, it becomes an invitation to others to come and trust this God and to receive the salvation and peace He offers. 

Peace—real peace—is possible even in the most stressful times. Sometimes we Christians are tempted to pretend that we have peace because we feel like this is what we are “supposed” to do. Giving in to that temptation does not help and, in fact, can be spiritually harmful. It certainly does nothing to commend the cause of Christ. You can pretend to have peace by acting like you are not affected by things. The Stoics were masters at this. They developed an outlook on life that celebrated not being emotionally moved by either good or bad things. Such detachment may be good Stoicism, but it is not even close to Christianity!

The peace God gives is genuine, strong, and sure. It can thrive in both joy and sorrow and has no need to downplay either.

You can also pretend to have peace by wearing rose-colored glasses and acting like the silver lining is the only part of a black cloud that really exists. Some (not all) advocates of various types of positive thinking encourage this approach to life. But like the Stoic, the person who goes through life like this may appear unflappable, but he or she will not experience the kind of true, deep, life-giving peace that our Joy Verse promises that God will give. 

The peace that comes from God is “perfect peace”; literally, it is “peace, peace.” To emphasize the excellence of a thing, the Hebrew language (the language of the Old Testament) repeats it. That is what Isaiah does in verse 3. The peace God gives is genuine, strong, and sure. This peace does not pretend that life is other than it really is. It can thrive in both joy and sorrow and has no need to downplay either.

When the apostle Paul was in prison, facing possible execution, he not only experienced this peace; he commended it to others. While in prison he wrote to Christians in Philippi, “Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6–7). The peace that God gives defies explanation. But those who have experienced it would not trade it for anything.

How does one receive this peace? How can it be accessed? Well, it is not manufactured by playing mental tricks on ourselves or through some psychological ploy. Some who have never experienced it may think this must be the case. But those who have experienced it know, and the Scripture teaches, that it comes from knowing God. Our Joy Verse says (speaking to God), “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”

God keeps in perfect peace those whose minds are focused on, oriented toward Him. Knowing God, and knowing and believing the truth about God, is the key to real peace.

Think about this for a minute. If God really is all the Bible declares Him to be, then He is the most awesome Being in all the world. He is unlimited, all-powerful, absolutely sovereign, perfectly holy, infinitely good, full of mercy, loving and kind and gracious, patient, righteous, wise, eternal. I could go on because every moral excellence you can imagine reflects God. The Bible is filled with these kinds of descriptions (just read Psalm 145, for starters, and notice all the things that are true of God).

Knowing God, and knowing and believing the truth about God, is the key to real peace.

If you really know this God personally and are known by Him; if you love Him and are loved by Him; if you have been adopted by Him, chosen by Him, purchased by Him, and given tremendous promises by Him, wouldn’t it stand to reason that you could live with confidence and peace? It makes perfect sense. In fact, it would seem strange that one who has such a relationship with such a God could ever be without peace.

But of course, Christians are not immune to fears and anxieties. Sometimes we even give in to them and find ourselves in despair. The key is keeping our minds fixed on God. Hoping in God. Believing God. God is true and all the things the Bible teaches us about Him are true. Our challenge is to keep believing the truth about God, even when life starts to hurt. This challenge is what the apostle Paul calls the “fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12). It is the diligent effort to keep believing what God has taught us to be true, no matter what happens to us.

So after the promise that the Lord will keep us in peace as our minds are stayed on Him, the song in Isaiah goes on to encourage us to keep trusting: “Trust in the Lord forever, For in YAH [Jehovah], the Lord, is everlasting strength.” The word YAH is an abbreviated form of God’s covenant name (YAHWEH) in the Old Testament. This name is usually translated by Lord (in large and small capital letters), to let us know it is the name that God used when He revealed Himself to Moses as “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Verse 4 says, “For in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.” We might translate this, “For in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.”

The point is: the one true God, Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer is like an unmovable rock. As we anchor ourselves to Him through faith, we will not be moved but will be kept in perfect peace, real peace, no matter what.

Throughout Scripture, we see repeatedly that a person’s character is revealed not just in what they say—but even more in what they do. Character is especially revealed in what someone does in moments of crisis.

Last week, a pastor in Florida was arrested on charges of possessing child pornography. His (former) church belongs to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and was listed on several church search lists, including those found on the websites of the SBC, 9Marks, and Founders Ministries. Up until this horrific sin came to light, there was no way that the SBC, 9Marks, Founders, or others could have known about this pastor’s secret sin. No amount of abuse reform can grant powers of omniscience.

Once we at Founders heard of the arrest, we immediately removed the church from our search list, wrote to the church to inform them of our actions, and offered to help them in any way that we could. Leadership in the church has expressed appreciation for our actions. They, like all of us, are repulsed by the accusations. They were also caught completely off guard and are fully cooperating with proper authorities in seeking justice.

Addressing a Serious Accusation

The actions that Founders Ministries took upon learning about the arrest of this pastor demonstrate our priorities. Likewise, the actions taken by others upon learning of this horrific crime reveal where their priorities lie.

We can see another example of one’s actions revealing their priorities in how Jared Wellman responded to this awful situation. For those unfamiliar with Wellman, he is the pastor of Tate Springs Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. He has also been very involved in SBC politics and attempted to become the single most powerful leader in the convention.

Here is a brief rundown of Wellman’s involvement in SBC leadership:

Member of the 2020 ERLC Leadership Council under Russell Moore

Member of the SBC Resolutions Committee in 2019 (of “Resolution 9” fame), 2021, and 2020

Executive Board Member of Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, 2009-2013 and 2013-2017

Trustee at Criswell College, 2020-2021

Land Center Fellow at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS)

Adjunct Professor at SWBTS

Member of the Executive Committee (EC) of the SBC, 2015

Chairman of the SBC EC, 2022-2023

Chairman of the Cooperation Group appointed by SBC President Bart Barber, 2023-2024

Numerous people alerted me last Saturday night that Jared tried to implicate Founders Ministries in the sordid accusations against the Florida pastor because his (former) church was listed on our church search list. After linking to a story about the pastor’s arrest, Wellman posted this on X:

Why does Founders have zero accountability for churches they officially recommend as “healthy, biblically-grounded” churches while being so adamant about what kinds of churches can cooperate through the SBC?

I’m genuinely confused.

Founders’s own house is out of order.

Almost immediately, multiple pastors raised legitimate concerns about Jared’s post. Here are just a few excerpts of the many concerns raised:

“Knowing secret sins is not the job of a church search. They evaluate what confessions you claim to hold & look over a church’s teachings then list them. If your pastor engages in sexual sin privately & the church doesn’t even know, how is a church search supposed to know?” (Source)

“…this is how most church searches work (Founders, 9 Marks, TGC, etc). People submit their churches, and there is a disclaimer that this is the church identifying themselves and not an endorsement. Even a quick “verification of facts” can not identify evil men harboring secret sin.” (Source)

“What kind of accountability should be applied to a church who was unaware of the creep’s crimes and acted when it was revealed?” (Source)

“This is disingenuous but more importantly, simply being used as an opportunity to strike out at an ‘opponent.’” (Source)

“If you go after Founders for recommending the church but removing their recommendation when they became aware of the pastor’s sin, how do you not take responsibility for the SBC recommending the church while you were chairman of the Executive Committee?” (Source)

Jared’s response was not to engage with these concerns in good faith. Instead, he hid several critical replies before turning off the ability to respond to his post entirely.

As the President of Founders Ministries, I offered to talk to him privately about his public castigation of Founders. Sadly, he has not has responded. But his antics are instructive.

Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste

Some will think Jared’s question is innocent and legitimate. Those more familiar with the radical progressive activist Saul Alinsky’s book Rules for Radicals will recognize that Wellman is simply following a script. Jared’s accusation doesn’t come from a confused mind. Rather, it comes from one that has an agenda.

Following the maneuver popularized by President Obama’s Chief of Staff Rham Emanuel (but first articulated by Machiavelli), Wellman simply could not let a serious crisis go to waste. That’s what his post on X was about. He took this tragic, horrific story and turned it into an opportunity to signal his virtue to a watching world while casting aspersion on Founders Ministries. Why? I will leave motives to God, but it is obvious to anyone who has kept up that I have been among those who have repeatedly protested the way that recent SBC leaders have been steering the SBC into bad paths.

Sadly, this is not the first time that Southern Baptists have seen such behavior from Wellman. He saw his political profile rise during a crisis, and he has continued to go back to that well. Every serious crisis is an opportunity for Wellman and those like him to gain more political power and attack those perceived enemies.

After Ronnie Floyd resigned as president of the EC over controversy related to an abuse investigation, Wellman used his position as Chairman of the EC and member of the search committee to attempt to take the vacant presidency for himself. He secretly resigned from the Executive Committee days before the search committee announced that he was their pick for one of the most powerful positions in the Southern Baptist Convention.

Once these back-alley dealings were brought to light, an unforeseen groundswell of opposition arose from rank-and-file SBC churches. Even liberals who liked Wellman recognized that he did not act ethically when he attempted to use a search committee on which he served to secretly appoint himself to the most powerful role in the Southern Baptist Convention. The opposition that arose led to several EC members breaking ranks, and Jared failed to be elected to the post.

Not only have we seen Jared Wellman brazenly attempt to use crises to gain power, we have also seen him use the lofty perch of SBC leadership to attack those he considers his enemies. While Wellman was on the Executive Committee, there was a misunderstanding between the outgoing chairman, Mike Stone, and the incoming chairman, Rolland Slade. Slade was mistaken about when his duties as chairman actually began and expressed frustration when he thought that Stone had overstepped. Wellman, again seeing an opportunity not to let a good crisis go to waste, used what was a simple misunderstanding to write an article filled with misrepresentations about Mike Stone and the Conservative Baptist Network. Later, when Slade recognized that he was mistaken, he apologized before the entire Executive Committee. Wellman continues to stand by his lies.

A Teaching Opportunity

Many of the current problems in the Southern Baptist Convention have been self-inflicted due primarily to failed leadership. Lack of integrity and lack of courage are two chief ingredients of such failure. Jared Wellman put both on display on Saturday night.

Lack of integrity and courage is why many SBC leaders like Wellman are quick to capitulate to worldly ideologies when doing so can curry favor with a watching world. Did I mention that Wellman was on the Resolutions Committee that railroaded the SBC into affirming critical race theory and intersectionality at the 2019 annual meeting? Or that he led the charge for the EC to waive executive privilege?

Sadly, we have seen that agenda play out in the way the SBC has been steered to address such issues as racial prejudice, women pastors, and even the atrocity of sexual abuse in ways that are more concerned with signaling virtue to hostile critics than with pursuing true virtue in the fear of the Lord. Every crisis has become an opportunity for SBC leaders like Wellman to use emotional manipulation and political maneuvering to advance their own ambitions and gain the approval of those who hate Christ and His church.

That’s why Jared Wellman’s social media post is a teachable moment. If Southern Baptist pastors and church members are willing to see it for what it is, they will find a specimen of the type of leadership that has guided the SBC over the last several years—the kind of leadership that has paid millions of dollars to LGBTQIA+ affirming organizations in the name of helping the SBC address the supposed apocalypse of sex abuse in our churches. To date, according to the estimates I have heard, the SBC has spent over $14,000,000 on “sex abuse reforms” and helped 0 abuse victims in the process.

If we had the kind of leaders who would challenge SBC pastors to pursue biblical justice (heeding such teachings as Proverbs 18:13,17; Deuteronomy 19:15-19; Matthew 18:15-20; and 1 Corinthians 5), we would see much healthier churches and provide much greater protection and care for the most vulnerable among us. That type of approach will never win the world’s applause. But it honors our Lord Jesus by taking His Word seriously. Sadly, for too many in the current SBC leadership class, fear of the former outweighs the desire for the latter.

The EC was right in 2023 when they listened to concerns raised by SBC churches and rejected the recommendation of Jared Wellman as the next President of the EC. The convention narrowly dodged a bullet as a result.

If we hope to see a much-needed course correction in the SBC, we must stop entrusting leadership to men whose ambition surpasses their godliness and start following those who fear God more than they fear people and who pursue biblical virtue even if the watching world does not approve.

Pray that God will give us such men to lead us.

Have you heard the latest church scandal? Sadly, the question is too broad and too evergreen to signal what situation is in mind. Ask that question any time in the last decade and it will be relevant.

No church that is comprised of sinners is perfect, which is to say that there is no perfect church. Yet, Jesus has given us clear instructions to deal with sin in a church. If biblical church polity and authority were better appreciated and exercised, many of the scandalous sins and crimes that have plagued churches over the last ten years would have been far better handled than they were.

When church membership is taken seriously and both formative and corrective discipline are implemented carefully there can still be sinful things (even egregiously sinful and sometimes criminal) things done in a congregation. But when such sins and/or crimes occur, both the victims and perpetrators will be better loved and cared for than would otherwise be the case.

Faithful church leaders will lead a church to recognize the supreme authority of Jesus Christ.

Such a church, though not impervious to wolves coming among them (see Acts 20:29-30) will be a less attractive target for evil people. The elders of such churches recognize that no small part of their shepherding work includes defending the flock from wicked people. These men must be qualified & determined to “rebuke those who contradict” the faith and practice that Christ has given to His church (Titus 1:9). Elders must also be willing and able to “silence” anyone in the church who becomes insubordinate or deceitful (Titus 1:10-11). Commenting on these verses, John Calvin wisely said, “A pastor needs two voices, one for gathering the sheep and the other for driving away wolves and thieves.”

Faithful church leaders will lead a church to recognize the supreme authority of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18) and to appreciate His delegation of specific authority to people and institutions in His world. This includes the authority that magistrates (the state, executives, legislators, judges, police, etc.) have in the civil realm. They specifically have been made responsible by Christ to punish evil, or as the Apostle Paul puts it, to be “the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:4). In other words, Christ has ordained the state to deal with crimes.

He has similarly ordained the church to deal with sins. Matthew 18:15-120 is quite clear about what is to be done if a church member becomes recalcitrant in offensive sin and “refuses to listen even to the church” and repent. Such a person is to be regarded “as a Gentile and a tax collector,” or as an outsider. In other words, he is to be excommunicated. Where the sin is both scandalous and public, the steps Jesus outlines are to be compressed into immediate excommunication, as Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 5.

Were churches to understand and follow these clear teachings of Scripture then sin would not be tolerated but would be lovingly corrected in the power of the risen Christ (1 Corinthians 5:4) with a view to helping the wayward brother repent and make things right. When such correction is rejected, then the church will exercise the authority Christ has delegated to it and the perpetrator would no longer be allowed to be a member.

In the same way when a crime is committed in the church (as has sadly and too often happened) the police should be called. Those government officials should exercise the authority Christ has vested in them and pursue justice, including vindication for any victims and punishment for any criminals. The church should cooperate with this process to see this outcome.

If you want to see the weak and the vulnerable loved and protected in churches, then pray and work for a renewal of biblical church authority and polity.

Think of the various scandals that have plagued churches over the last decade. We have heard horrific stories of children being preyed on by sexual perverts, women being abused by leaders, and money being wickedly misappropriated. How many of these situations do you know that were handled according to the instructions of God’s Word that I outlined above? Very few, if any at all. Had those churches been well-ordered and followed the instructions of Scripture, the stories would be much different.

That does not mean that there would have been no perpetrators nor victims. Again, no church is without sin. But it does mean that both the sinners and those who were sinned against would have been afforded the provisions that God has made in His church and world. I know of many such situations where this has been the case. Churches exercised the keys of the kingdom through excommunication and civil municipalities did not “bear the sword in vain” but prosecuted criminals. These cases tend not to make the headlines the way that the mishandled ones do. The sins are no less wicked and the crimes are no less heinous, but the grace and justice that Jesus has provided through His life, death, and resurrection were more readily and effectively applied as His Word was obeyed.

God’s ways are not only right, they are good. If you want to see the weak and the vulnerable loved and protected in churches, then pray and work for a renewal of biblical church authority and polity.

All creation declares the glory of God. Part of that glory is manifested in the ways that He designed specific creatures to benefit His highest creation, mankind. This was driven home to me again recently when preaching through the creation account in Genesis 1. I was struck by the fact that before God created man, He created an antidote to human anxiety and made certain that it would be widely available around the world.

He did it on the fifth day when He created animate life. On that day filled the seas with fish and the skies with birds. “And God said, ‘Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.’ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth’” (Genesis 1:20-22).

Every living creature has its role to play in displaying God’s glory by fulfilling the purpose for which He created it. This is confirmed by God declaring each phase of creation good after its completion. Creation is good in and of itself because it comes from God and exists for God. I find it fascinating, however, that God had in mind a special purpose for birds beyond their beauty and contributions to the various ecosystems of the earth. This purpose is not revealed until the New Testament when Jesus called special attention to birds.

Every living creature has its role to play in displaying God’s glory by fulfilling the purpose for which He created it.

He could hardly have picked a more readily available creature to consider. Researchers estimate that over 50 billion birds fill the world’s skies today. The most populous wild bird is the red-billed quelea, which is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa. There are about 1.5 billion of them, followed by 475 million mourning doves, 310 million Robins, and 160 million pheasants. It is safe to say that birds are heeding their Maker’s command to “multiply on the earth.”

I live in Southwest Florida where we get to see and hear a variety of birds year-round. From our national symbol, the bald eagle, to cardinals, burrowing owls, great blue herons, and sand hill cranes—this part of the world is a great place for bird watching. And the Lord Jesus told us to do just that. In Matthew 6:26–27 He commanded His disciples to “Look at the birds of the air.”

Have you ever really done that? Have you deliberately taken time to stop and consider birds? God created them, each according to its kind. And our Lord calls attention to them by telling us to look at them. Consider them, He says, because “they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” Then Jesus adds, “Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

On the fifth day of creation God created an antidote to anxiety. And He made this antidote ubiquitous so that if we will make even the slightest effort to obey the Lord Jesus and look at the birds, we will have ready access to one of the most comforting, life-giving truths in the world. God takes care of His birds. How much more will He take care of His image-bearers? More than that, how much more will He take care of His own people whom He has purchased for Himself through the life, death, and resurrection of His own Son?

God takes care of His birds. How much more will He take care of His image-bearers?

This is a vitally important truth. Jesus makes it by reasoning from the lesser to the greater—since God takes care of birds you can be sure He will take care of His people. The Apostle Paul makes the exact same point by reasoning in the opposite direction—from the greater to the lesser. He says in Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Jesus says, consider the birds. Your Father takes care of them. He will take care of you, too. Paul says, consider Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. Your Father did not spare Him but gave Him up for us to save us from sin & reconcile us to Himself. It is impossible, therefore, that He will not also with Christ freely give us all that we need.

Take time this week to stop and look at birds. Remember that their Creator is your Creator. Their Provider is your heavenly Father. Just as He cares for them, so He will most certainly take care of you.