A Prayer for Year's End

From The Valley of Vision Devotional:

O Love beyond Compare,
Thou art good when thou givest,
when thou takest away,
when the sun shines upon me,
when night gathers over me.
Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world,
and in love didst redeem my soul;
Thou dost love me still,
in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.
Thy goodness has been with me another year,
leading me through a twisting wilderness,
in retreat helping me to advance,
when beaten back making sure headway.
Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead;
I hoist sail and draw up anchor,
With thee as the blessed pilot of my future as of my past.
I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes to the waters ahead.
If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,
thou wilt be with me in them;
If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation,
I shall not drown;
If I am to die,
I shall see thy face the sooner;
If a painful end is to be my lot,
grant me grace that my faith fail not;
If I am to be cast aside from the service I love,
I can make no stipulation;
Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial,
as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.

Yawning With Purpose

Ever wondered why we yawn, and why it seems so contagious? Read on!

From ICR.org:

Yawning With a Purpose

by Brian Thomas, M.S.*

All vertebrates yawn, but why they do it has long been a mystery. Recent research suggests that yawning may be a cooling mechanism for the brain.

In their study set for publication in the journal Animal Behaviour, Binghamton University biologists tested the hypothesis that “as ambient temperature increases and approaches (but does not exceed) body temperature, yawning should increase as a consequence.”¹ In other words, as the surrounding temperature rises closer to the body’s warmer temperature, yawning should result. The parakeets they tested yawned as predicted, thus confirming the researchers’ temperature-based hypothesis.

Oral and nasal passages are very close to the brain, as those who have experienced “brain freeze” when swallowing ice cream too quickly can attest, and it makes sense that the increased air movement through those passages would aid in cooling. Vertebrate brains, which contain billions of delicate, heat-generating biochemical reactions occurring every minute, operate best within a certain cool temperature range. Further, “the new findings also explain why tired individuals often yawn, since both exhaustion and sleep deprivation have been shown to increase deep brain temperatures.”²

Thus, the pre-programmed instinct to yawn may serve the purpose of cooling, but it only does so because of the location of specifically-shaped airways near the deep brain.³ Remarkably, both the physical equipment and the metaphysical instinct (information or programming) to use it are found fully integrated “in all classes of vertebrates.”¹ How did this come to be?

Lead author Andrew Gallup asserts that yawning “evolved to allow maximum cooling of the brain,”¹ though he offers no evidence to support the concept that a long series of adaptations in response to differing environments led to the development of yawning—nor does he explain how this feature was retained by all seven vertebrate classes throughout their hypothetically long history of development from a common ancestor. Much less faith is required to believe that a Creator specifically integrated this system to maintain brain temperature, and that “in his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.”⁴

References

1. Gallup, A. , M. L. Miller and A. B. Clark. 2009. Yawning and thermoregulation in budgerigars, Melopsittacus undulatus. Animal Behaviour. 77 (1): 109-113.
2. Viegas, J. The Yawn Explained: It Cools Your Brain. Discovery Channel News. Posted on discovery.com December 15, 2008.
3. Thomas, B. 2008. The Amazing Design of the Human Nose. Acts & Facts. 37 (8): 14.
4. Job 12:10.

Musical Train-Wrecks for the Glory of God

If you have ever been to church, you've probably seen or been involved with the musical worship portion at some point. This clip, from Bob Kauflin's Sovereign Grace Ministries church in Gaithersburg, Maryland shows what happens when worship goes wrong. Hilariously wrong.

Beloved Unlovely, by Brenna Kate Simonds

From http://www.boundless.org:

It was the summer of 2000, if I remember correctly. Even though I'd only been serving God for a year and a half, I was zealous for God's Word and heartbroken for those who didn't know Him.

I had shared my desire to take my music to the streets with a friend, and as we prayed, she asked, "What's stopping you?" So I went. It was my first day of playing guitar out in the park. It was a very busy weekend in Boston, as there was a big tourist attraction in town, and there were literally thousands of people walking through the park.

I was ready to take on the world for Christ. Or so I thought.

I was unsure of whether or not God had really led me to sing in the park that day, and I wanted His confirmation. As I began to strum my guitar, I closed my eyes to sing some lines of a Delirious song:

Lead me to the cross
Where we first met
Draw me to my knees
So we can talk
Let me feel your breath
Let me know you're here with me

When I opened my eyes, there was a man standing in front of me. He was visibly intoxicated, and he reeked of mouth wash (I later found out sometimes alcoholics drink a certain brand of mouth wash when they can't get hold of alcohol). He was dirty, smelly and scary.

I was speechless.

And then he spoke. "I was headed in the other direction down the path when God told me to come over here and talk to you."

I didn't know whether I should be praising God for this confirmation or running for the hills.

I grew up with an alcoholic parent. I don't drink, and haven't for years. In fact, I can't stand the smell of alcohol. If I'm in the proximity of someone who has had a drink in the past 24 hours, I can probably tell just by standing 5 feet away. And I can't stand it.

Yet here was this man, standing in front of me, claiming that God had sent him to talk to me. I didn't know how to respond, so I asked him to sit on the bench next to me.

* * *

I was out of my comfort zone. God was having me share His love with the "unlovely." The thing is, Jesus was one of the original lovers of the "unlovely"; out of the many examples of this in the Gospels, a story in John 8 sticks out to me.

Jesus was teaching one morning, when the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught committing adultery. They asked Jesus if she should be stoned, as Mosaic law required. After a lengthy pause, Jesus responded, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

Many people walk away from this passage and think that this statement from Jesus is the key moral of the story. And maybe it is. It just strikes me slightly differently. Personally, I rarely have to remind myself that I'm a sinner. I could have written the words from Psalm 51: "For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night." I was once the woman caught in adultery. I also was ungrateful, bitter, self-righteous and proud. I'm generally very aware that I'm still many of these things, but I have to wonder if the majority of the Church can see themselves this clearly. Indeed, as Scripture says, if we think we are without sin, we are lying to ourselves. Even as believers who are no longer bound by the laws of sin and death, we still sin.

I knew a homeless woman who went by the name of Friend. We attended the same church for a year or so. Since she didn't have a place to live, she had nowhere to store her things. Every Sunday, she carried two huge pieces of luggage full of her stuff, big duffel bags that she threw over her shoulders, down into the basement sanctuary of our church.

That year, the associate pastor got engaged and invited everyone in the church to attend the wedding ceremony, which would be held in another, more traditional church in town. Friend showed up to the wedding with all of her stuff in tow. She was dirty, and she probably smelled, but she wanted to attend her pastor's wedding. I was shocked when I saw the looks of disgust on people's faces as she walked down the aisle — people whom I knew were Christians.

I honestly wanted to punch a few of them, evidence of my own unlovely attitudes surfacing.

For me, John 8 is about how Jesus deals with sinners, sinners like me. It's not only about how He dealt with the unlovely people, but also the unlovely attitudes that live in all of our hearts. How would Jesus respond to the man who smells like body odor and mouth wash? The homeless woman who carries two bags of her stuff into a church wedding? Or whichever unlovely person He might come in contact with? How did He deal with this woman, caught knee-deep in her sinfulness?

To help me resolve these questions, I turned to German theologian Helmut Thielicke:

When Jesus loved a guilt-laden person and helped him, He saw in him an erring child of God. He saw in him a human being who His Father loved and grieved over because he was going wrong. He saw him as God originally designed and meant him to be, and therefore, He saw through the surface layer of grime and dirt to the real man underneath. Jesus did not identify the person with his sin, but rather saw in this sin something alien, something that did not really belong to him, something that merely chained and mastered him and from which he would free him and bring him back to his real self. Jesus was able to love men because He loved them right through the layer of mud.1

All of the accusers left. Jesus illuminated their unlovely attitudes. But the woman stayed. Was she waiting to see if Jesus would accept her? Was the hope in her heart that Jesus would be able to love her, that He would see right through her layer of mud?

Jesus did not condemn her, nor did He shy away from commanding her to "Go now and leave your life of sin." I see Jesus' admonition here as a general admonition, not a specific one. Even if she stopped the specific sin that got her into this situation in the first place, she would not be in any better position than she was in before. She would still be a sinner, in need of a savior.

I've noticed that Jesus often refused to point out people's specific sin struggles to them. Instead, He pointed out the overall sinful condition of people's hearts and their need for a savior. He loved this woman caught in adultery and extended His grace to her, just as He does to us, and just as He asks us to do for others.

* * *

I wish I could find a written account of my encounter with the man in the park. I can't even remember his name. But I do remember how God worked in my heart, and in his, that day. I talked with him, as scared as I was, and I shared God's love with him as best as I could in my own brokenness.

He eventually consented for me to pray for him. I put my hand on his shoulder as I talked to God on his behalf, and he wept so hard he was shaking and snot was unabashedly running out of his nose. I struggled in that moment with my own unloveliness as I looked around and wondered what people were thinking about me, if they were noticing me and the snot, and looking down on me.

When I finished praying, his face was genuinely different, his entire demeanor lighter. He asked me to play "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore," which I faked my way through. He sang passionately, at the top of his lungs, for all to hear. By that point, I had gotten over myself and I sang out loud with him. Eventually, we parted and I said goodbye, letting him know I'd pray for him.

I don't know what happened to him after that. I never did see him again, though I would often look for him in that park, the same park where I would sometimes meet up with Friend for lunch. I know I was changed in that encounter, and I still pray that he was, too.

In the years that followed that day in the park, there have been many times that I've felt very unlovely, times when I was sure no one could handle seeing my brokenness or hearing about my unloveliness. I know that in the times when I've let my guard down and shared my struggles with someone, I've most often found compassion and acceptance, and rarely rejection. I find comfort in knowing that I have a high priest, Jesus, who sits at the right hand of God, interceding for me, a high priest who has been tempted in every way, who, when I confess my struggles, can honestly say to God the Father, "I know exactly what that feels like."

I sometimes wonder how we, as believers, might do a better job of loving the unlovely, people covered with the filth of sin. How we might love them right through "their layer of mud." How we can extend the message of grace and love to those who so clearly need it. And I sometimes wonder how willing I am to come face to face with my own unloveliness.

* * *

NOTES

1. Philip Yancey, What's So Amazing About Grace?, p. 175.

From ICR Daily Devotional

Occupied Territory

December 10, 2008

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." (1 Peter 2:9)

In our ongoing struggle for both survival and victory in this world, we do well to recognize that we are in enemy territory. While it is true that our Captain created the world--indeed, "all things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3)--sacrificed His life to redeem it, and will reign over it for eternity, it is also true that "the whole world lieth in wickedness" (1 John 5:19), occupied by "the prince of this world" (John 12:31), "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2).

The fact that we are surrounded by such darkness should come as no surprise, for before we were rescued by His grace, we too were part of the darkness--indeed, we had to be called out of it. John the Baptist came "to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace" (Luke 1:79). Furthermore, as Christ taught, "men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19).

This confrontation overshadows mere human conflict, however, "for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12). But, praise God, we have been called "out of darkness into his marvellous light" as described in our text. Although we may be still in the world, our King has "delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Colossians 1:13). "In him was life; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4). JDM

10 Tips to Read More and Read Better

From Tim Challies' Blog, www.challies.com:

When I turned to the readers of this site and asked for questions I could answer or topics I could address, I noted (without much surprise) that many people were interested in the subject of reading. One person sought a basic “Why, what and how of reading Christian books.” Others sought advice on how to read more and how to read better. This is a subject I have written about before but I thought it would be valuable to return to it today. Here is a list of ten tips to read more and to read better.

Read - We start with the obvious: you need to read. Find me someone who has changed the world and who spent his time watching television and I’ll find you a thousand who read books instead. Unless reading is your passion, you may need to be very deliberate about setting aside time to read. You may need to force yourself to do it. Set yourself a reasonable target (“I’m going to read three books this year” or “I’m going to finish this book before the end of the month”) and work towards it. Set aside time every day or every week and make sure you pick up the book during those times. Find a book dealing with a subject of particular interest to you. You may even find it beneficial to find a book that looks interesting—a nice hardback volume with a beautiful, embossed cover, easy-to-read fonts and beautiful typography. Reading is an experience and the experience begins with the look and feel of the book. So find a book that looks like one you’ll enjoy and commit to reading it. And when you’ve done that, find another one and do it again. And again.

Read Widely - I’m convinced that one reason people do not read more is that they do not vary their reading enough. Any subject, no matter how much you are interested in it, can begin to feel dry if you focus all of your attention upon it. So be sure to read widely. Read fiction and non-fiction, theology and biography, current affairs and history, Christian and non. You will no doubt want to focus the majority of your reading in one broad area, and that is well and good. But be sure to vary your diet.

Read Deliberately - Similar to reading widely, ensure that you read deliberately. Choose your books carefully. If you neglect to do this, you may find that you overlook a particular category for months or even years at a time. Al Mohler, a voracious reader, divides books into six categories: Theology, Biblical Studies, Church Life, History, Cultural Studies, and Literature and has some project going within each of these categories at all times. You can draw up categories of your own, but try to ensure you are reading from a variety of the categories on a regular basis. Choose books that fit into each of these categories and plan your reading ahead of time, so you know what book you will read next and you know what you’ll read after that. Anticipation for the next book is often a motivating force in completing the current book.

Read Interactively - Reading is best done, at least when enjoying serious books, when you work hard at understanding the book and when you interact with the author’s arguments. Read with a highlighter and pencil in hand. Ask questions of the author and expect him to answer them through the course of the text. Scrawl notes in the margins, write questions inside the front cover, and return to them often (and, if the questions remain unanswered, even seek to contact the author!). Highlight the most important portions of the book, or the ones you intend to return to later. As Al Mohler says, “Books are to be read and used, not collected and coddled.” I have found that writing reviews of the books I read is a valuable way of returning at least one more time to the book to make sure that I understand what the author was trying to say and how he said it. So interact with those books and make them your own.

Read with Discernment - Though books have incredible power to do good, to challenge and strengthen and edify, they also have the power to do evil. I have seen lives transformed by books but have also seen lives crushed. So do ensure that you read with discernment, always comparing the books you read to the standard of Scripture. If you encounter a book that is particularly controversial, it may be worth ensuring that you can reference a review that interacts critically with the arguments or that you can read it with a person who better understands the arguments and their implications. You do not need to fear any book as long as you read with a critical eye and with a discerning mind.

Read Heavy Books - It can be intimidating to stare at some of those massive volumes or series of volumes sitting on your bookshelf, but be sure to make time to read some of those serious works. A person can only grow so much while living on a diet of easy-reading Christian Living books. Make your way through some Jonathan Edwards or John Calvin. Read Grudem’s Systematic Theology or David Wells’ “No Place for Truth” series. You will find them slow-going, to be sure, but will also find them rewarding. Commit to reading some of these heavy volumes as a regular part of your reading diet. Consider joining in one of our Reading Classics Together efforts to add some interaction and accountability in reading one of the classics of the faith.

Read Light Books - While dense books should be a serious reader’s main diet, there is nothing wrong with pausing to enjoy the occasional novel or light read. After reading two or three good books, allow yourself to read a Clancy or Grisham or Peretti something else that never changed anyone’s life. Allow yourself to get lost in a good story every now and again and stay up way too late insisting that you’re going to read just one more chapter. You will find that they refresh you and prepare you to read the next heavy book.

Read New Books - Keep an eye on what is new and popular and consider reading what other people in your church or neighborhood are reading. If The Secret is selling millions of copies, consider reading it so you know what people are reading and so you can attempt to discern why people are reading it. Use your knowledge of these books as a bridge to talk to people about their books and what attracts them to the ones they read. Use your knowledge of these books to understand what other Christians are reading and why.

Read Old Books - Do not read only new books. I cannot say this any better than C.S. Lewis: “It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones. Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books.” So be sure to read old books, whether that means classics or whether that simply means books that come from a generation or two before your own. And be sure to read history as well, since there is no better way of understanding today than by understanding yesterday.

Read What Your Heroes Read - A few years ago, while at the Shepherds’ Conference, a young man who was in ministry but had not had opportunity to attend seminary asked John MacArthur what he would recommend to this man so he could continue learning and continue growing in his knowledge of theology. MacArthur’s answer was simple: He said that this pastor should find godly men he admires and read what they read. So do that! Find people you admire and read the books that have most shaped them. Visit the web sites of your heroes and you may just find that they have already compiled lists of their most formative books. Read these books and see for yourself how they shaped your heroes.

The Other Christian Faith

The Other Christian Faith
by Rachel Starr Thomson

When I first fell in love with God, I thought the initial starry glow would never wear off. I cared so much about being His; about pleasing Him; about dwelling in His presence. I loved Him. Besides, this warmth, this new reality, was so much more than emotion. It was spirit. It was life.

But I lost it.

I'm not sure when or where, but the glow wore off. Then it did worse: It turned around. As the sun set one day, I paused in the middle of sweeping our driveway to acknowledge a devastating truth: I was afraid of God's voice. I felt like Eve, hiding in the bushes. I had loved Him, deeply and passionately, but now love had turned to fear.

If you drift away from God's presence, I had often been told, you must have sinned — so now you must make it right. Uncover your sin, acknowledge it, get your life back on track. That will close the distance between you and God.

I took the advice to heart, finding and repenting of sins in the darkest corners of my soul. I tried my hardest to repent properly, but I couldn't seem to straighten myself out enough to truly change. My depression only deepened.

I had heard that the key to God's presence was prayer. We can "practice the presence of God" by praying constantly, in every situation. So I did. But my prayers felt shallow and distant. At night I would lay on my face on my bed and try my hardest to pray, to pray passionately, to pray with greater faith.

Greater faith. Perhaps that was the key. Or greater outward holiness. Or inward sincerity. Or something I hadn't even thought of yet. My depression started to affect my outer life. Others noticed. I felt bad — like I was just trying to get attention. But I couldn't fake joy where I felt none. I loved God, and somehow I had destroyed our relationship. That hurt more than anything.

But rays of light started to reach me, mostly through the Book of Romans. As they did, they revealed the truth. Somewhere, somehow, I had confused my allegiance and become a devotee of The Other Christian Faith.

The Other Christian Faith has been around as long as Christianity itself. Paul railed against it when he wrote, "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you? Are you so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" (Gal. 3:1, 3). Its backbone is a system of works. It shapes itself as we embrace many good and worthy things; it incarnates when we replace Christ with those things. Personal convictions, politics, homeschooling, ancient Christian disciplines, even right doctrine can become invested with the spirit of The Other Christian Faith — so long as we are capable of trusting in our own abilities, rules, practices, and traditions.

Slowly, I began to see the lie. God had never left me, but in all my strivings to find Him, I had left Him. All He asked of me was trust in His unearned grace, and that was the one thing I was unwilling to give.

In my case, The Other Christian Faith took the form of holy living — what we sometimes call sanctification. In trying to follow the reams of advice out there on living a true, vibrant, Spirit-filled Christian life, I forgot about grace. I did not trust God to make me righteous: I trusted the works I thought He had called me to do. When I hit a crisis point, not once did I simply throw myself on God's mercy and ask Him to help me because of His love. Instead, I tried to fix everything by fixing myself.

In the end, The Other Christian Faith is not even trust in works. Its lie is as old as Eden: We can do this by ourselves. The Other Christian Faith is faith in myself, couched in religion, bolstered by works, and totally dependent on my own righteousness.

There are several signs that The Other Christian Faith has set up camp in my life:

1. It can be spotted in how I treat other believers. If I am far more ready to judge and distance myself from others than I am to love and fellowship with them, chances are I have forgotten the nature of my salvation and theirs. If I see my fellow Christians as brands plucked from the fire, as lost sheep sought and saved by the Jesus who also found me, I will treat them with grace.

2. Likewise, The Other Christian Faith reveals itself in the way I treat myself. Like the Old Testament law, its demands are harsh and unflinching. Under its sway, I know what I want to become, and I strive in that direction. When I succeed, I rejoice in my own goodness. When I fail, I discover the law's age-old limits. The Other Christian Faith offers no hope and no comfort — just plenty of condemnation and pride.

3. The Other Christian Faith is revealed in the way I relate to God. Do I come to Him in gratitude and humility, or do I believe He owes me something? Is He my Father, loving me for no more reason than that His nature is to love, or do I see Him as smaller and less gracious than even myself?

Light came through my depression at last, reminding me of two important things. First, I began to see God again. His love, power, and infinite worth lifted my eyes. Psalm 5:3 became a theme verse: "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up."

Second, I remembered that He loved me first.

And not only first, but more.

I had tried so hard to prove my love for God. He had already proven His by giving His only begotten, deeply beloved Son for my sake. He had sought and saved me. "What shall we then say to these things?" Paul asks in Romans 8:31-32. "If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? "

True Christian faith is trust in a person who loved us enough to die for us. It is a deep belief that we will never deserve what has been done for us, but God has done it anyway. Unlike The Other Christian Faith, faith in Jesus Christ sets us free from condemnation to dance in the great open pathways of His grace. It pours through us in love toward others, who are as helpless — and as rescued — as we are.

Incredibly enough, years after God broke through my darkness, I opened the doors to The Other Christian Faith again. Again, I hit a crisis; again, my misplaced faith condemned me. And again, graciously, lovingly, my Jesus found me. He lifted me, a pauper in spirit, and anointed me with the riches of His love.

Faith in ourselves traps us in a rule-based world of our own making, threatening us every moment with disgrace. True Christian faith begins as we beat our breasts and cry, "Have mercy on me, a sinner," and sweeps us up in a real mercy, a real grace, far beyond anything we could imagine. In small ways, I choose between them every day. And every day, the real Christian faith is more than enough to set me free.

From WORLD Magazine, 11/15 Issue:

Marry. Cry. Rejoice. Buy.

And do politics as though you were not doing politics | John Piper

Illustration by Krieg Barrie

Politics is like marrying and crying and laughing and buying. We should do it, but only as though not doing it. Here is a strange text:

The appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away (1 Corinthians 7:29-31).

This sounds bizarre. First it says: Don't flee the world. Marry. Cry. Rejoice. Buy. Deal. But then: Do it all as if you weren't doing it. So with politics. How does this work?

"Let those who have wives live as though they had none." If she is exquisitely desirable, beware of desiring her more than Christ. If she is deeply disappointing, beware of being hurt too much. This is temporary—only a brief lifetime. Then comes the never-disappointing life. Marriage—good or bad—is for making much of Christ.

So it is with politics. Its outcomes are not our greatest joy when they go our way, and not demoralizing when they don't. Political life is for making much of Christ whether the world falls apart or holds together.

Let those who mourn do so as though they were not mourning. Our losses do not incapacitate us. They do not blind us to the truth that for Christians the best is always yet to come. Always. The Lord gives and takes away. But He remains. And we remain hopeful in our mourning.

So it is with politics. We win or lose. Either way our expectations and frustrations are modest. The best this world can offer is short and small. In the long run Jesus wins.

Let those who rejoice do so as though they were not rejoicing. Christians rejoice in a thousand created things. But none of them satisfies the soul. Even the surest sights of glory now are in a mirror dimly. Such delights will soon be as though they were not. They will be replaced by a vastly better joy.

So it is with politics. There may be happy victories. But the best government we get is a foreshadowing. Peace and justice are approximated now. They will be perfect when Christ comes. So our joy is modest. Our triumphs are short-lived and shot through with imperfection.

Let those who buy do it as though they had no goods. Christians earn, give, spend, and buy. But our treasure is in heaven. Car, house, books, computers, heirlooms—we possess them with a loose grip. If they are taken away, we feel that in a sense we did not have them. We are not here to possess the world. We are here to show, by how we use the world, that Christ is more precious than the world.

So it is with politics. It does not have ultimate weight for us. It is one more stage for acting out the truth that Christ, and not politics, is supreme.

Let those who deal with the world do it as though they had no dealings with it. Yes, we deal with the world. But there are unseen things that are vastly more precious than the world. The full passions of our heart are attached to something greater—God and His purposes. We will inherit the world soon enough. For now we deal with it to show that Christ, not the world, is our treasure.

So it is with politics. We deal with the system, the news, the candidates, the issues, the outcomes. But they are not the great thing in our lives. Christ is. And Christ will be ruling over His people with perfect supremacy after every election and after the vanishing of every nation.

So we do not revel or retreat. Our reward is in heaven. Our comforts are great. Our task is clear. Make much of Christ, not Caesar.

From Al Mohler, 11/5/08:

America Has Chosen a President

The election of Sen. Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States came as a bang, not a whimper. The tremors had been perceptible for days, maybe even weeks. On Tuesday, America experienced nothing less than a political and cultural earthquake.

The margin of victory for the Democratic ticket was clear. Americans voted in record numbers and with tangible enthusiasm. By the end of the day, it was clear that Barack Obama would be elected with a majority of the popular vote and a near landslide in the Electoral College. When President-Elect Obama greeted the throngs of his supporters in Chicago's Grant Park, he basked in the glory of electoral energy.

For many of us, the end of the night brought disappointment. In this case, the disappointment is compounded by the sense that the issues that did not allow us to support Sen. Obama are matters of life and death -- not just political issues of heated debate. Furthermore, the margin of victory and sense of a shift in the political landscape point to greater disappointments ahead. We all knew that so much was at stake.

For others, the night was magical and momentous. Young and old cried tears of amazement and victory as America elected its first African-American President -- and elected him overwhelmingly. Just forty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, an African-American stood to claim victory as President-Elect of the nation. As Sen. Obama assured the crowd in Chicago and the watching nation, "We will get there. We will get there." No one hearing those words could fail to hear the refrain of plaintive words spoken in Memphis four decades ago. President-Elect Obama would stand upon the mountaintop that Dr. King had foreseen.

That victory is a hallmark moment in history for all Americans -- not just for those who voted for Sen. Obama. As a nation, we will never think of ourselves the same way again. Americans rich and poor, black and white, old and young, will look to an African-American man and know him as President of the United States. The President. The only President. The elected President. Our President.

Every American should be moved by the sight of young African-Americans who -- for the first time -- now believe that they have a purchase in American democracy. Old men and old women, grandsons and granddaughters of slaves and slaveholders, will look to an African-American as President.

Regardless of politics, could anyone remain unmoved by the sight of Jesse Jackson crying alone amidst the crowd in Chicago? This dimension of Election Day transcends politics and touches the heart of the American people.

Yet, the issues and the politics remain. Given the scale of the Democratic victory, the political landscape will be completely reshaped. The fight for the dignity and sanctity of unborn human beings has been set back by a great loss, and by the election of a President who has announced his intention to sign the Freedom of Choice Act into law. The struggle to protect marriage against its destruction by redefinition is now complicated by the election of a President who has declared his aim to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. On issue after issue, we face a longer, harder, and more protracted struggle than ever before.

Still, we must press on as advocates for the unborn, for the elderly, for the infirm, and for the vulnerable. We must redouble our efforts to defend marriage and the integrity of the family. We must be vigilant to protect religious liberty and the freedom of the pulpit. We face awesome battles ahead.

At the same time, we must be honest and recognize that the political maps are being redrawn before our eyes. Will the Republican Party decide that conservative Christians are just too troublesome for the party and see the pro-life movement as a liability? There is the real danger that the Republicans, stung by this defeat, will adopt a libertarian approach to divisive moral issues and show conservative Christians the door.

Others will declare these struggles over, arguing that the election of Sen. Obama means that Americans in general -- and many younger Evangelicals in particular -- are ready to "move on" to other issues. This is no time for surrender or the abandonment of our core principles. We face a much harder struggle ahead, but we have no right to abandon the struggle.

We should look for opportunities to work with the new President and his administration where we can. We must hope that he will lead and govern as the bridge-builder he claimed to be in his campaign. We must confront and oppose the Obama administration where conscience demands, but work together where conscience allows.

Evangelical Christians face another challenge with the election of Sen. Obama, and a failure to rise to this challenge will bring disrepute upon the Gospel, as well as upon ourselves. There must be absolutely no denial of the legitimacy of President-Elect Obama's election and no failure to accord this new President the respect and honor due to anyone elected to that high office. Failure in this responsibility is disobedience to a clear biblical command.

Beyond this, we must commit ourselves to pray for this new President, for his wife and family, for his administration, and for the nation. We are commanded to pray for rulers, and this new President faces challenges that are not only daunting but potentially disastrous. May God grant him wisdom. He and his family will face new challenges and the pressures of this office. May God protect them, give them joy in their family life, and hold them close together.

We must pray that God will protect this nation even as the new President settles into his role as Commander in Chief, and that God will grant peace as he leads the nation through times of trial and international conflict and tension.

We must pray that God would change President-Elect Obama's mind and heart on issues of our crucial concern. May God change his heart and open his eyes to see abortion as the murder of the innocent unborn, to see marriage as an institution to be defended, and to see a host of issues in a new light. We must pray this from this day until the day he leaves office. God is sovereign, after all.

Without doubt, we face hard days ahead. Realistically, we must expect to be frustrated and disappointed. We may find ourselves to be defeated and discouraged. We must keep ever in mind that it is God who raises up nations and pulls them down, and who judges both nations and rulers. We must not act or think as unbelievers, or as those who do not trust God.

America has chosen a President. President-Elect Barack Obama is that choice, and he faces a breathtaking array of challenges and choices in days ahead. This is the time for Christians to begin praying in earnest for our new President. There is no time to lose.

Some thoughts from ICR

The President's Heart

"The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." (Proverbs 21:1)

A river may seem to meander aimlessly, but it eventually reaches its goal. The twists and turns along the way are constrained by a variety of hydraulic and geologic facts that determine its local speed and direction, but somehow it "just keeps rolling along" toward the sea.

So it is with a king--or with a president, or any leader of a state or nation. He may have a goal in mind (honorable or otherwise) for the nation he governs, but there are numerous people and circumstances along the way that will either impede or help his progress toward that goal. In fact, we ourselves--the Christian citizens of this nation--are an integral component of those circumstances.

But the president's heart is in the hands of God. In fact, "the powers that be are ordained of God" (Romans 13:1). Whether the ruler comes into power by election or inheritance or coup d'etat or some other way (depending upon the nation and type of government), God is in control and will accomplish His ultimate goal.

That is why it is vital that we frequently make "supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks . . . for all men," especially for "kings, and for all that are in authority" so that we will all be able to "lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty" (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Our American nation has had many great men as our presidents over the years, and many of our ancestors were indeed men and women of prayer. We do have a great heritage in our nation of both leaders and followers who believed in the Creator God of the Bible and who prayed diligently for their country and the great decisions of its history. We must--must--do the same today! HMM

ICR on Halloween, 10/31/08:

Halloween

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." (1 Timothy 4:1)

Halloween was a corruption of "Hallowed E'en," the evening before "All Saints Day" in which civil disobedience and sinful license were tolerated prior to the forgiveness and penance sought the next day.

Although the level of debauchery and wickedness has waxed and waned over the centuries, nothing "hallowed" has ever been associated with the practice--until more recent times among evangelical churches. Now we promote a "Harvest Festival" or a "Bible Character Dress-up Night"--much of which encourages the practice of costuming and treats as a harmless alternative.

The difficulty is not with the church activities, but with the timing and the association with that which is evil. That obvious connection with a pagan holiday will undermine resolve to "come out from among them, and be ye separate" (2 Corinthians 6:17).

Yes, no doubt that passage warns against an "unequal yoke" in marriage--but its primary focus is on church and individual purity! "What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? (2 Corinthians 6:14-15).

As a parent, I know the pain of restricting my children from participating in the "fun" of Halloween. And as a former pastor, I know the pressure to accommodate the majority of church members who see no "harm" in such things. However, our allegiance and our responsibility are to the Lord, not men (Colossians 3:23). HMM III

ICR Devotional Thoughts - 10/23/2008

When the Lord Comes

"After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." (Genesis 15:1)

This is the first of the great "I am's" of Scripture, and it was given to Father Abraham at a time of both great victory and great despondence. The Lord had enabled Abraham's little army to vanquish a much larger Amorite host, but then, still childless, he was suddenly overwhelmed by his loneliness and vulnerability in an alien land.

Then Jesus came! When Christ much later affirmed His eternal self-existence to the Pharisees ("I am," He had said), He claimed that Abraham had seen His day, and rejoiced (John 8:56). This experience, recorded early in Genesis, was, no doubt, that great occasion. As the living Word (John 1:1) by whom all things were made (v. 3), He assured Abram that He, Himself, would provide all needed protection ("thy shield") and all needed blessing ("exceeding great reward"). And then it was that "he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness" (Genesis 15:6). The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal existing Creator and Redeemer of all things is no less able today than then to be our protection--and our provision, as well.

Note also that it was the Word of the Lord which came to Abram in a vision. This is the first use of the Hebrew word dabar in Scripture to mean "word," and here it is the Word of God personified. This still further identifies the vision with the pre-incarnate Christ, who would eventually become God's incarnate Word (John 1:1, 14).

Thus, as to Abram, God says: "Fear not!" Adam, indeed, was justifiably afraid when he heard the voice of the Lord (Genesis 3:10), for he had only a fig leaf for a covering. But, like Abram, we have a strong shield, which is none other than the Lord Himself. HMM

ICR Devotional Thoughts - 10/21/2008

A Bag with Holes

"Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes." (Haggai 1:6)

This biting description of a frustrating life style, penned by one of the Jewish post-exilic prophets, is both preceded and followed by this appropriate admonition: "Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways" (Haggai 1:5-7). When a professing believer somehow never seems to have enough and his money bag seems filled with holes, it is time for him to consider carefully his ways before the Lord.

After all, our God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and is well able to supply all our needs. In context, Haggai is rebuking the people of Judah for tending to their own welfare and neglecting the work of God. "Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled |paneled| houses, and this house |that is, the unfinished temple in Jerusalem| lie waste?" (Haggai 1:4).

Herein is an eternal principle. Jesus said, "Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things |that is, food and drink and clothing|. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:32-33). If these necessities of life are not being provided, we urgently need to consider our ways. Are God’s kingdom and His righteousness really our first concerns?

We often quote the wonderful promise "my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). But we must remember that this promise was given to a group of Christians whose "deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality," because they "first gave their own selves to the Lord" (2 Corinthians 8:2, 5). HMM

Today's ICR Devotional Thoughts

The Importance of Reading

"Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine." (1 Timothy 4:13)

In this video age, Christians are in grave danger of forgetting the importance of reading. The word translated "reading" in this verse is the Greek anagnosis, a compound word meaning essentially "renewed knowledge." A sermon or lecture is knowledge heard; an educational film or video is knowledge seen; but reading is knowledge that can be read, rehearsed, reviewed, and renewed again and again, until fully and securely learned. In fact, it is necessary for students to take notes, even when hearing a sermon or seeing a film, if they expect to retain any knowledge received by such means.

The importance of reading is also pointed out by the verb used in the verse. "Give attendance" means, literally, "continue steadfastly." It is so translated in Acts 2:42: "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine."

Reading and studying the Scriptures are especially necessary for a fruitful Christian ministry, but even this is not really enough. The Bible also commands us always to be ready to give an "answer" (Greek apologia, a systematic defense) to everyone who asks a "reason" (Greek logos, a logical explanation) for our Christian hope (1 Peter 3:15). To do this requires steadfast continuance in the study, not only of the Bible, but also of other sound literature as well. A truly effective and influential Christian is an informed Christian, armed with facts and sound counsel, prepared and capable both in his own professional field of practice and in his spiritual service as a Christian witness.

It is significant that Paul, just before his martyrdom and while imprisoned in a damp, cold, Roman dungeon, still desired his books to read (1 Timothy 4:13). The conscientious Christian must never cease to study and to grow in grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3:18). HMM

Encouragement and a Future Hope for you workers out there...

Today's One Year reading helped me to look at potentially tedious, time-consuming or downright dead workdays as beneficial and eternally significant. Here's what Paul writes:
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." (Colossians 3:23-24) Be diligent in the work the Lord gives you, it is for a purpose and He does see it!

The Shack

I've been reading through The Shack, by William Young. It's been over the past month or so, so the details aren't all that fresh. However, the storyline so far is intriguing. I will write more as I get into the meat and potatoes, so to speak, of the book and have some material to work with.

Our Engagement Picture!

Hey! That's Lisa and I...we're getting married! January 17th, 2009 to be exact. Please pray for our marriage and our future and as the Lord leads you. Thanks very much!