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Reverence

By Mike Ratliff — 5 months ago

If we examine our own devotion to our Lord in how we walk through each day, do we really entrepō Him as we should? Instead of putting ourselves to shame and completely bearing ourselves to God, entertainment is demanded. If the “worship style” is not exciting or upbeat enough then we get bored and look for another church. We want what we want and, in this, we are doing the opposite of entrepō.

37 But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ Matthew 21:37 (LSB)
37 ὕστερον δὲ ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ λέγων· ἐντραπήσονται τὸν υἱόν μου. Matthew 21:37 (NA28)
In the Old Testament the Hebrew word translated “reverence” is usually שׁחה or shâchâh. It is the same word used for worship as well because it speaks of assuming a humble posture before royalty for instance. However, in the New Testament we find a most remarkable word translated as respect or reverence or even shame. It is found in the passage above (Matthew 21:37). Look at the Greek passage of the same verse I placed below it. Here we have ἐντραπήσονται the plural, future tense, indicative mood, passive voice form of ἐντρέπω or entrepō, which literally means “to turn into oneself, to put self to shame, to feel respect or deference toward someone else.” If you are at all familiar with the parables of our Lord then I am sure you recoginze from where I drew the passage above. You may be asking yourself, what has this got to do with worship? Let’s see…
In the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers from Matthew 21:33-40, Mark 12:1-9, and Luke 20:9-16, a vineyard owner hired men to tend his vineyard, but they were wicked. When the owner sent servants to collect the harvest, the tenants beat them and stoned them, even killing some. He finally sent his son, thinking the tenants would “reverence” or “respect” him, but instead they killed him. When Jesus told this parable, the Jewish religious leaders knew that He spoke it against them and it only angered them even more against Him. The parable is, of course, about the Lord Jesus and the many servants of God who came before Him.
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Three People to Thank

By Reuben Bredenhof — 5 months ago

Whenever we treasure the gift of an earthly relationship and we thank God for it, we should consider how we can give back. For whom in your life do you thank God? Have you thanked God for them? And have you told them that you are thankful?

We should thank God for his good gifts, and thank people too, for how they bless us.

It is fitting that a grateful Christian develops a habit of reaching out to thank other people. Perhaps in person, or by phone, through email or social media—we let them know that we are grateful for who they are and what they do.

First, we could show our gratitude to someone who probably does not expect it. Perhaps it is the checkout person in the grocery store who packs your groceries with care. Say thank you. Perhaps it is the stranger on the bus who gives up her seat for an elderly woman. Say thank you.

Second, we could thank the people who have often supported and helped us. Here Paul sets an example of gratitude. In Philippians 4:10-19, he thanks the Philippians for how they looked after his material needs. Or in 2 Timothy 1:16-17, he acknowledges how Onesiphorus searched for him in Rome to bring encouragement. He does not take for granted the kindnesses that he received from others.

This requires us to think back: who has influenced you, or who has cared for you?

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Strengthened by God’s Love and Peace

By Forrest McPhail — 5 months ago

It is these truths—God’s love and His presence and control over circumstances–that brought strength to Daniel’s soul, even affected his body, and gave him courage to go on. He was not ready to receive this vision, one that would somehow take its toll on him. He said to the angel, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” Are we lacking in strength, exhausted, burdened with cares, even with good reason? If so, we need to re-immerse ourselves in who God is, which includes His perfect love.

The prophet Daniel saw many mighty works of God on the behalf of himself, his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, works performed before the greatest of kings of his era. He received revelation from God in visions and was given ability to interpret dreams for the seeming all-powerful king, Nebuchadnezzar. And yet even such a man as Daniel knew what it was to be utterly spent and in need of encouragement. He needed to be renewed in the love and peace of God.
A Full Life
As Daniel chapter 10 opens, it is the third year of the reign of Cyrus the Great, King of the Medo-Persian Empire, whose armies had toppled and absorbed the Babylonian Empire. Daniel had been a Jewish captive now for decades, though God has greatly exalted him to positions of authority and influence in both empires. Throughout all this time Daniel has seen God’s hand at work powerfully and clearly. He is now a very old man, and the world has radically changed, is still changing.
Prayers Answered
Daniel knew the time was close for the Jewish captives to be allowed to return to Jerusalem, just as God had said. He had spent the last three weeks now in fasting and prayer, seeking God’s face for revelation about the future of Israel and the last days. In answer to his prayers, it appears that the pre-incarnate Christ (Christophany) and a mighty angel visited him. The angel then gave him a vision of the future sent from God.
Before giving Daniel the vision, the angel tells Daniel about the great battle taking place in the spiritual realm between God’s angels and the fallen. The battle was so intense that God sent his famed archangel Michael to join the battle to ensure that the vision reached Daniel.
All of this is fascinating and rich with devotional truth, but these are not the points I would like to raise here. What happens next is what we will consider.
Exhausted and in Pain
Daniel is exhausted from prayer and fasting, overwhelmed by seeing the pre-incarnate Christ in His glory (compare with Rev 1:12-18), seeing the angel, and hearing of the great battle in the spiritual realm.
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Ministering to Addicts

By Burk Parsons — 5 months ago

We must pray, confess, confront, admit, intervene, befriend, and love. As the family of God, we must not give up on those who struggle with addictions as we depend on the transforming and renewing work of the Holy Spirit through the gospel of Jesus Christ, who has overcome the world.

As a pastor, I often find myself counseling people with addictions. Having served in local church settings for more than twenty years, I find ministering to addicts and their families to be one of the more difficult, complicated, and sad things I do. Every week, I preach the Word of God to people who have never been addicts and may never become addicts, to former addicts, to addicts themselves, and to future addicts. There are some addicts who know they are addicts, some who are seeking help for their addiction, and some who either do not know they are addicts or do not want to admit it. Some people think they will never become addicts because they do not have an “addictive personality.” Others think they will never become addicts because their parents were not addicts. And some fear becoming addicts because they think they have an addictive personality or because so many in their family history were addicts.
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Just as Heat Sets the Soft Clay

By Tim Challies — 5 months ago

Thomas Watson once warned that “the reason we come away so cold from reading the Word is because we do not warm ourselves at the fire of meditation.” So what is this meditation that he deems so important?
It is crucial we distinguish it from a fraudulent form that is increasingly popular today. Christians are not to engage in the meditation of Eastern religions that involves emptying the mind that it may be filled with a kind of self-knowledge. Rather, the meditation the Bible commends involves filling the mind to achieve knowledge of God. It is the meditation of Psalm 1:1-2: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
Packer says, “Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God.” Thus, to meditate in this way is to call to mind the great truths God reveals about himself—his works and ways and purposes and promises—and then to think about them, to ponder them, to prayerfully consider them, to allow the mind to dwell on them. Just as heat sets the soft clay to become hard bricks, meditation fixes the truths of Scripture within our hearts, our minds, our lives.

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Weekend A La Carte (October 19)

By Tim Challies — 5 months ago

I’m grateful to Redeemer University for sponsoring the blog this week. Redeemer is the largest Reformed University in Canada, with nearly 1100 students, six undergraduate degree options and 35 majors and streams. Learn more at Redeemer.ca.
Today’s Kindle deals include a couple I don’t think I’ve ever seen on sale before: Fesko’s Reforming Apologetics and Sproul’s Making a Difference.
(Yesterday on the blog: New Christian Books for Children and Teens)

Scott Hurst shows how Scripture teaches us to embrace our sadness and seek hope in God rather than avoiding our feelings.

“As someone deeply involved in orphan care ministry in Africa, I’ve observed numerous misconceptions held by well-meaning individuals and organizations from the West. While the desire to help is commendable, these misunderstandings can sometimes lead to approaches that are ineffective or even harmful in the African context.” Phil Hunt examines a few of them.

The Biblical Counseling Coalition has been running a mini-series on miscarriage and in this article offers help to husbands. (See also helping wives and helping siblings.)

There are such treasures to be gained by understanding our union of Christ. Jeremy Walker unearths just a few of them in this brief article at Ligonier Ministries.

A recent situation in the UK has brought about questions related to freedom of conscience. “What of when individual liberty and conscience collide with that of another? Whose conscience should be given priority?”

As our loved ones are pulled from our grasp, as they depart this world and fade from our sight, we have the greatest of all hope and the greatest of all assurance. We have the sure and steady word of the God who made us, the God who saved us, the God who raised his Son, the God who has promised that he has given us the ultimate victory through Jesus Christ.

Spiritual credibility springs from a holy and pure life.
—Jerry Wragg

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If God Desires All to Be Saved, Why Aren’t They? 1 Timothy 2:1–4, Part 5

By John Piper — 5 months ago

What is Look at the Book?

You look at a Bible text on the screen. You listen to John Piper. You watch his pen “draw out” meaning. You see for yourself whether the meaning is really there. And (we pray!) all that God is for you in Christ explodes with faith, and joy, and love.

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Fruitful No Matter What: Life in the Garden of Contentment

By Andrea Hoglund — 5 months ago

Midway along the journey of our lifeI woke to find myself in a dark wood,For I had wandered off from the straight path.

Here at the beginning of the Inferno, Dante is lost in what he calls “a bitter place” and a “wasteland.” He has no hope of getting out of the dark and into the light until a guide approaches him, the Roman poet Virgil. As the story continues, they must travel down through the icy core of hell and then up through the other side until, finally, Dante makes it to the light he seeks — to Paradise.

Like Dante, along the journey of our life, many of us have unexpectedly found ourselves in a dark wood, a bitter place — the wasteland of discontentment. Somewhere, somehow, we wandered off from the straight path. We remember a time when we felt more satisfied, more whole, more at rest. We felt less inclined to grumble, to compare, to covet. But now, in this barrenness of discontentment, our thirst for more never seems quenched. Our hunger for different circumstances never goes away. No matter how “good” life is, we still feel generally miserable. How did we get into this wasteland in the first place? And how can we ever get out?

Happiness That Holds

At first glance, cultivating contentment can seem like a light topic. We may simply think, Yay! I’m going to be a happier person! But contentment reaches much deeper than that.

In The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs describes contentment as a habit of heart that submits to and takes deep satisfaction in God’s wise and fatherly will in any condition. He bases this definition on the apostle Paul’s words in Philippians 4:11–13: “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. . . . I can do all things through [Christ] who strengthens me.” Both Paul and Burroughs recognize humanity’s diabolical ability to be discontent in any circumstance — in plenty or hunger, in abundance or need. The remedy they offer is not a change of circumstances, but a contentment that is built upon something far more stable than the changes and chances of this fleeting world.

When we talk about contentment, we’re not talking about picnics and puppies. We’re talking about real enemies and spiritual armor. True contentment isn’t light, like a helium balloon. It’s weighty, an anchor that holds us fast through storms and deep waters. Godly contentment doesn’t rise and fall with our circumstances; it stands on the faithfulness of God. It isn’t wishful thinking; it is faithful feeling and living, rooted in the all-sufficiency of Christ (Philippians 4:11–13).

And that means discontentment is worse than we may have realized.

Maker of Wastelands

In fact, discontentment goes back to the work of the devil himself. We wander into the wasteland of discontentment the same way Eve did, when a serpent slithered into paradise speaking lies and spreading doubt.

Surely, no woman had life as good as Eve did. She was the very first woman, made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Along with Adam, she was blessed by God and given meaningful work to do: “be fruitful and multiply,” “fill the earth and subdue it,” and “have dominion” (Genesis 1:28–29). And God equipped her with everything she needed for the task: “every plant yielding seed and every tree with seed in its fruit” — all that was necessary for food and fruitfulness (Genesis 1:29–30). Everything God had made, everything God had blessed, everything God had given — everything was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). But a day came when it wasn’t good enough for Eve. Satan crept in and planted a lie that moved her restful heart to restlessness (Genesis 3:1–6).

Listening to the empty promise of more, Eve walked straight into Romans 1 and exchanged the truth of God for a lie. She exchanged satisfaction for craving, blessing for curse, life for death. She exchanged the garden for a wasteland.

“True contentment isn’t light, like a helium balloon. It’s weighty, an anchor that holds us fast through storms.”

Does this sound familiar, like we’ve been here before? No matter what we have, in our discontentment, we daughters of Eve always want more. God’s generous provision suddenly seems strangely insufficient, and we go searching for something else. Deep down in our discontented hearts, we think we are wiser than God, and we dare to tell him what is best for us. And like Eve, we return empty-handed every time. As the Puritan Thomas Watson said, “Oh, this devil of discontentment . . . whenever it possesses a person, [it] makes his heart a little hell!” (The Art of Divine Contentment, vi).

Discontentment makes a wasteland. A wasteland is a bleak, neglected place where nothing good grows. It is what happens when we fail to “tend and keep” the garden we’ve been given. We stand with clenched fists, demanding our own way instead of bearing fruit. Our hands and our hearts become barren.

‘Except If’ Obedience

What do we do when the “garden” of our circumstances is not what we asked for? Too often, we offer to God “except if” obedience. We’re patient and kind, except if the kids are up at night or we’re struggling to get out the door for school. We speak graciously, except if we’re stressed out. We rejoice in our trials, except if this is the second trial in one week. We do all things without grumbling, except if there is a real reason to complain. We trust God, except if we don’t understand what he’s doing.

Our “except if” obedience is really not obedience at all; it is the same rejection of God’s will that we see in Eve when she eats the fruit. We want to become like God by arranging our lives according to our own preferences instead of trusting and obeying God no matter what today holds. No matter what excuses we make for ourselves, at the heart of discontentment is our self-rule in competition with God’s rule. At odds with both our Creator and our circumstances, no wonder discontentment feels so miserable. The garden has become a wasteland.

Thankfully, in God’s economy, the wasteland can also become a garden. Streams flow in the desert (Isaiah 35:6), and those who trust the Lord are like green, fruitful trees even in heat and drought (Jeremiah 17:7–8). This is what happens when God’s will is done “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Earth, with all its chaos and confusion, becomes more like heaven when we contentedly get to work in the circumstances God has given us — however bleak they may seem.

Mother Mary Full of Faith

The skill and mystery and beauty of contentment is to want what we have been given, because we can do God’s will right where we are. Even the most difficult circumstances cannot ultimately prevent us from trusting God, rejoicing in God, and bearing fruit in faith, extending God’s garden in a wasteland world.

If our discontentment makes us like Eve, godly contentment makes us like Mary the mother of Jesus. Like a second Eve, she teaches us how to respond in faith to God’s revealed will. After receiving God’s word from Gabriel, she responds so simply: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

Eve fell to the temptation to be like God, but Mary confesses she is a servant of God. Eve rejected what God had provided, but Mary accepts God’s will. Eve doubted God, but Mary takes God at his word. And God’s word bears fruit in her life.

Christian contentment makes us more than mere onlookers; it makes us participants in God’s kingdom. When we trust God like Mary did, we do the work of a gardener — we bear fruit! In God’s providence, our circumstances are not obstacles but opportunities to do his will right here, on earth as it is in heaven.

The Garden Virtue

In “The Contented Man,” G.K. Chesterton observes, “True contentment is a thing as active as agriculture. It is the power of getting out of any situation all that there is in it. It is arduous and it is rare.”

Contentment is not neutral, like a patch of bare soil with neither weeds nor fruit. True contentment allows us to roll up our sleeves, grab a spade, and get to work growing things.

One of the most beautiful fruits that grows in the garden of contentment is “no matter what” obedience. A contented woman is patient and kind no matter what’s going wrong. She rejoices in trials no matter how many there are. She trusts God no matter what. Her speech is filled with grace no matter what. She controls her thoughts and emotions no matter what. She gives thanks for these circumstances no matter what because she knows that these circumstances, even if not good in themselves, are working something very good for her. She has all she needs to do God’s will, right here in this house, in this neighborhood, in this family, in this suffering, in this joy. Let it be to her according to God’s word. She is content, and she bears fruit.

We are like gardeners, and our circumstances are our garden plot. Discontentment looks at that ground and sees only a wasteland. But godly contentment will gladly turn a wasteland into a fruitful garden — for God’s glory and for the life of the world.

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I Asked the Lord That I Might Grow

By Jacob Crouch — 5 months ago

He refines me and causes me to loosen my grip on this world that I might cling more closely to Him. He causes me to stop trusting in myself and causes me to trust more fully in Him. He answers the prayer for growth that I might say with the Psalmist, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25).

I asked the Lord that I might growIn faith and love and ev’ry grace,Might more of His salvation know,And seek more earnestly His face
I have often prayed a prayer like this. I need to grow in faith and love and every grace. I am weak, and I need God’s help. Praise God that we have the promise that we may come to Him to “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16).
‘Twas He who taught me thus to pray,And He, I trust, has answered prayer,But it has been in such a wayAs almost drove me to despair
God answers these prayers. When we pray according to His will “He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15). But I often have a way that I think God should answer these prayers.
I hoped that in some favored hourAt once He’d answer my requestAnd, by His love’s constraining pow’r,Subdue my sins and give me rest
The way that I want these prayers answered is with ease and rest. I’m being noble to ask, right? The least God can do is make it easy for me. Surely He will pour that grace out on me in such a way that *poof* magically makes my sin disappear. Right?
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Get the Basics Right

By Stephen Kneale — 5 months ago

The Big Picture for Small Churches (which is brilliant, by the way), John Benton helpfully boils it down to these five things: Quality presence, Quality welcome, Quality teaching, Quality hospitality, and Quality prayer. These are the basics as far as churches go. Basics that any church can do well.

I was watching a bit of post-match analysis from Roy Keane after England’s dismal loss to Greece. He was characteristically pretty miserable about them. But then, it’s hard to deny that they deserved it this time. His main takeaway – as has been that of many a football commentator and pundit for many decades – was this: they just didn’t get the basics right.
If in football we talk about getting the basics right, in basketball we tend to talk about fundamentals. You don’t wind up on the receiving end of absolute pastings without failing to work at the fundamentals. You can do all the fancy trickery under the sun, but if you can’t do the basics on defence or don’t commit to running back to help, all your skill will be for naught. You’ve got to get the fundamentals right before we talk about anything else.
We probably baulk at fundamentals (for different reasons) in the church. So, I think we’ll stick with basics. But it still holds true. Many a big church has come a cropper because it has run away with itself and forgotten about the basics. Many a small church has thrown the towel in because it doesn’t think it can operate on the necessary level whilst failing to spend any real time considering the basics, basics even they can do. In the church, we’ve got to do the basics.
The question is, what are the basics? What are the core things any church, of any size, can do well? What are the things that the Bible wants the church to be about? Helpfully, in his book The Big Picture for Small Churches (which is brilliant, by the way), John Benton helpfully boils it down to these five things:

Quality presence
Quality welcome
Quality teaching
Quality hospitality
Quality prayer

These are the basics as far as churches go. Basics that any church can do well.
By quality presence, we mean presence in our community. Being around as faithful witnesses to the Lord Jesus. It is through our presence in our community we will get opportunities to speak of Christ and share his gospel.
Being welcoming is Church Basics 101.
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