God's Goodness: Story of My Life

Everyone has a story. If someone were to ask me to summarize the story of my life, which would entail narrating the key moments of that story, moments like when there was a change in the plot, or when something important was foreshadowed, then I think I would tell the story of my life like this.

Lord, You Are More Precious Than Silver

This memory is from when I was very, very young, so young that I wasn't old enough yet to associate memories with age. Also, I know I was very young because I was still at that age when it was allowable to rest my head on my mother's opened Bible laid upon her lap when the sermon started for church. In any case, I remember sitting in the pew with my parents in our rural United Methodist Church, and we were singing the hymn Lord, You Are More Precious Than Silver, and I remember the absolute electric charge that shot through my puny mind when I actually thought through the contrast depicted in the lyrics of the hymn: I thought about the words Lord, you are more precious than silver . . . more costly than gold . . . more beautiful than diamonds and I was electrified by 1) what it meant -- the inexplicable value of God, and 2) the beauty of words. I can honestly say that in that moment I matured in my love and appreciation of God, and that I also fell in love with words (e.g. the word 'diamonds' sounds beautiful).

How Do You Like It?

I'm older now . . . either seven or eight years old. My dad is in the driveway washing our family car (I think it was an Oldsmobile 88 Station Wagon). I'm pretending to "help" dad, but what I was really doing was being a little brat -- I kept spraying the dog with the hose, despite my father's instructions not to. Then the unexpected happened: I was blindsided!!!! "Spritzs--Splashssss--Drip-Drip!!!" . . . O, the Carnage! I thought I had been hit with a fireman's hose, but it was just my dad spraying me with our puny garden hose. And I will never forget what he said: "How do you like it? I told you to stop spraying the dog."

I cried like a baby. Wait. Let's qualify that. I cried like a brat. I was now a soaking wet kid, and a kid never wants to be soaking wet unless it is the precise moment that he has orchestrated it to be such, which for me was not that moment. However, I was also sad because I disobeyed my dad, and I knew that disobedience was a sin. I remember feeling so dejected because I was both soaking wet and a sinner.

Why Are You So Introverted?

Fast-forward to sixth grade. I'm with my mother in our white Aerostar van, parked in the gravel drive that ran alongside our Associate Pastor's parsonage. He's talking with my mother. I'm a shy kid just trying to become invisible because the pastor keeps asking me questions and the last thing any shy kid wants is to be asked a question, and then he drops a bomb on me and asks, "Why are you so introverted?"

Kaboom!!! I was shy and I loved to read and I loved words, but I didn't know what the word introverted meant, so I asked him "What's introverted mean?" He told me, and then he told me that I didn't need to be "so" introverted . . . I don't remember what he said verbatim, but the lasting impression was I realized that my introversion, to a certain degree, was antithetical to being an evangelical Christian, and that meant I needed to change. Like I said, it made a lasting impression, and I remember even going home and writing a poem about it. I don't remember the entire poem, but I do remember the first line: Why are you so introverted? Always keeping to your self.

Give Me Jesus

Now I am a freshman in high-school. I'm in gym class, it's a sunny and breezy afternoon, and we're playing capture the flag dodge-ball on the practice football fields. The balls are lined up on the 50 yard line, teams are lined up on the opposite endzones, and the gym teacher whistled or said go and we all break into full-all-out sprints to the 50 yard line. When I was about 5 yards out I leap through the air for ball, but a peer from the opposite team baseball dives foot-and-knee first, and two of us collide. I'm instantly in pain. I stand up. I fall down and pass out. When I come to, the whole gym class is around me and I've started to go  into shock. The school calls an ambulance, they load me up on the gurney and shuttle me to the Emergency Room in Kokomo.

I had been hurt a lot in the past, I was somewhat use to pain. I played sports and grew up on a farm and wrecked bikes and jumped out of trees, and my older brother even shot me in the head once with a wooden dowel rod he was using as an arrow with our neighbors bow (I remember that really hurt), but pain came with that territory and I had a pretty high threshold . . . but this experience broke my pain paradigm. I distinctly remember sitting in the back of the ambulance thinking to myself, I've never felt pain like this before. Something is seriously wrong. This is so bad that whatever is causing it may kill me. So, I did what every young Christian teenager ought to do if they think they're going to die: I sang to myself. I sang the hymn "Give Me Jesus" -- When I come to die, give me Jesus.

At the Emergency Room I found out just how bad the accident had been: the Cat-Scan showed that I had lacerated my liver, so the doctors life-lined me to the hospital in Indianapolis. Obviously, I did not die.

Redemption: Accomplished and Applied

It was the Spring Semester of my senior year of college at Indiana Wesleyan University. That prior Fall I had become engaged, and now Julie and I were attending pre-marital counseling with her pastor. He had assigned mounds of books to read for pre-marital counseling, but in addition he also threw two books my way: John Murray's Redemption: Accomplished and Applied and John Frame's The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God. Both books shook me up. Both books were like dogs that grabbed me by the nape of my neck and rattled my brain until everything crooked in my brain was broken so that it might be rebuilt level and sound. Murray's book, however, cast the first blow, and it was by far the most severe.

In the opening of the third chapter I read, "If we once allow the notion of human sanctification to intrude itself in our construction of justification or sanctification then we have polluted the river the streams whereof make glad the city of God. And the gravest perversion that it entails is that it robs the Redeemer of the glory of his once-for-all accomplishment" (51). If my conscious was a mirror, then inside my head it must of sounded like something had shattered and a river of glass was falling down. I was convicted to the core. That academic year I had been wrestling with predestination passages in the Gospel of John, so the Holy Spirit had been spending a couple months cultivating my heart with the words of John the Evangelist, but when I read those words by a different John that was when, as the saying goes, the scales fell off my eyes.

I was mortified and convicted by the realization that I by thinking I could contribute to my own salvation through my freedom of choice was in fact robbing my Redeemer Jesus Christ, as John Murray put it, "of the glory of his once-for-all accomplishment" of Atonement. Needless to say, I repented. I was terrified with the thought of not attributing all the glory to Jesus for my salvation. I have no idea why that didn't occur to me earlier in life while I tried to ride the catamaran of Semi-Augustinianism. Needless to say, I signed on to the doctrine of Monergism.

May 27, 2006

Woot. Woot. I graduated from college and married my best friend, Julie Lynn. Julie was so beautiful. I cried like a baby when she walked down the aisle. We said our vows, kiss-kissed, and then at the reception we danced like Irish mad men to jigs and reels. We were so happy. I was so happy; I was finally the person God had created me to be -- Julie's husband.

Afterwards, we jumped into our black puddle-jumping Chevy Cavalier and headed south to our new home in Marion, Indiana. We then went and honeymooned in Nashville, where we slept in a lot, laughed a lot, ate a lot; we went to the Grand Ole Opry and Dukes of Hazard Museum, and I also accidentally bought an $80 surf-and-turf entrée at the local steakhouse -- Ouch! But you know what took the edge off of that sting? The Resort we were staying at brought in entertainers, and I was lucky enough to be asked to sing part of a chorus along with Joanne Cash (Johnny Cash's sister): We had popcorn and peanuts, Cotton and Jesus!

And Now You Know the Rest of the Story

And the past seven years have been a whirlwind experience of God's goodness: falling in love more and more and more and more with my bride, sensing the call to pastoral ministry, blessed with two children while preparing for the call to ministry, accepting the call to ministry, packing everything into boxes and moving to the land of the Big Sky . . . a summary of the story of my life.

Conformity to the Image of Jesus

"The selfish Christian professor, who wraps himself up in his own conceit of superior knowledge, and seems to care nothing whether others sink or swim, go to heaven or hell, so long as he walks to church or chapel in his Sunday best, and is called a "sound member" -- such a man knows nothing of sanctification. He may think himself a saint on earth, but he will not be a saint in heaven. Christ will never be found the Saviour of those who know nothing of following His example. Saving faith and real converting grace will always produce some conformity to the image of Jesus (Coloss. iii. 10.)" (J. C. Ryle, Holiness, 28).

"Shaping the Cadences of Your Mind"

"Anyone who wants to write in the English language needs to focus on the canon of Scripture Read, reread, and reread again. This is of course something that all Christians should do, but it is also something every writer should do. For shaping the cadences of your mind, there is nothing like the Authorized Version [KJV]" (Douglas Wilson, Wordsmithy: Hot Tips for the Writing Life, 43).

The Capacity for Dissent

"What we need in this day is precisely what God has supplied his church in every age, what Stanley Hauerwas has called "the capacity for dissent." It's the capacity to resist the attractive but destructive narratives at hand because "you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God " (Col. 3:3). We know the great periods in which the Holy Spirit empowered a fresh proclamation of Christ by the people's marked capacity for dissent. At the heart of that capacity is the overwhelming power of the Christian story to transform the story of our life [emphasis CCS]. This alone renders the dominant alternatives not simply wrong but uncompelling by comparison" (Michael Horton, A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship, 51).

Free PDF: Counted Righteous in Christ by John Piper

The following testimonial can be found on the back jacket of John Piper's Counted Righteous in Christ: Should We Abandon the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness? (Crossway Books, 2002).

This is certainly the most solid defense of the imputed righteousness of Christ since the work of John Murray fifty years ago. I'm delighted that Dr. Piper has established that important doctrine, not as a mere article from the confessional tradition, but on the solid foundation of God's Word. -- John M. Frame, Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando

Quite the endorsement, that. Know what's even better? John Piper's book is available for free in PDF form through Desiring God Ministries. Enjoy!

"I defy anyone to read St. Paul's writings carefully . . ."

"The common idea of many persons that St. Paul's writings are full of nothing but doctrinal statements and controversial subjects -- justification, election, predestination, prophecy, and the like -- is an entire delusion, and a melancholy proof of the ignorance of Scripture which prevails in these latter days. I defy anyone to read St. Paul's writings carefully without finding in them a large quantity of plain, practical directions about the Christian's duty in every relation of life, and about our daily habits, temper, and behavior to one another. These directions were written down by the inspiration of God for the perpetual guidance of professing Christians. He who does not attend to them may possibly pass muster as a member of a church or a chapel, but he certainly is not what the Bible calls a 'sanctified' man" (J. C. Ryle, Holiness, 28).

Faulty Criticism

"Too often, we Christians are not as critical of ourselves as we are of the secular culture" (Michael Horton, A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship, 50).

Beyond the Impression

The phrase "beyond the impression" comes from the preface of C. S. Lewis' last work, The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature.

There are, I know, those who prefer not to go beyond the impression, however accidental, which an old work makes on a mind that brings to it a purely modern sensibility and modern conceptions; just as there are travelers who carry their resolute Englishry with them all over the Continent, mix only with other English tourists, enjoy all they see for its 'quaintness', and have no wish to realize what those ways of life, those churches, those vineyards, mean to the natives. They have their reward. I have no quarrel with people who approach the past in that spirit. I hope they will pick none with me. But I was writing for the other sort.

Beyond the Impression

I like the phrase beyond the impression. The phrase implies that there are two types of knowledge: "mere hearing" and "understanding." The former implies that a persons is satisfied with the mere impression of knowledge, while the latter seeks (to use another Lewis phrase) to go "further up, further in!"

Gospel: Going Beyond the Impression

In the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13), Jesus Christ used the imagery of a sower casting seed on different types of soil to demonstrate the principle of going beyond the impression: the sower cast some seeds along the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them; other seed fell on stony places that had not much earth, and they sprung up, but on account of not having deepness of earth they withered away when the sun rose; other seed fell among thorns and were choked out by them; lastly, some seed feel into good ground, and brought forth fruit upon fruit upon fruit ("some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold").

Christ goes on and provides the interpretation for this parable: regarding the 1) seed on the way side, 2) seed on stony places, and 3) seed among thorns, Christ said,

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received the seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he comeeth unfruitful.

And  this is Christ's interpretation regarding the last example, the seed cast upon good soil:

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

The difference between the three former examples and the fourth latter example can be described with Lewis' phrase "beyond the impression" -- the fourth example of the received seed into the good ground demonstrates the need to go beyond the impression of Gods word.

Spiritual Acknowledgment and Spiritual Agreement: Beyond the Impression

With understanding we go beyond the impression of merely hearing of God's word. Understanding God's word comes by the way of assent -- spiritual acknowledgement and spiritual agreement. But how does one come to God's word by way of assent? We must acknowledge and agree that God's word is God's word on the basis of God's authority -- we acknowledge and agree it is God's word because God said so. Submission is how you begin to go beyond the impression.

The demons have heard God's word. The demons even have faith (James 2:19). But is it a submissive faith? Is it a submissive, spiritual acknowledgement and agreement with what God has said? No. It is not. The demons have demon faith. They have demonic assent. They will not bend their knee to God. They will not accept God's word on the basis of God's authority. As James says, the demons believe and "tremble". Therefore, the demons never go beyond the impression of God's word. So too the reprobate.

God declares his word all over the place: God's word is declared in both special and in general revelation. The reprobate and the demons never go beyond the impression of God's special and general revelation. The elect, however, do go beyond the impression. The elect are those who received the seed of God's word into good (submissive) ground. Therefore, the elect understand, they are fruitful, and for this they will receive their reward.

Pretending to be a Saint

"He that pretends to be a saint, while he sneers at the Ten Commandments, and thinks nothing of lying, hypocrisy, swindling, ill-temper, slander, drunkenness, and breach of the seventh commandment ["thou shalt not commit adultery"], is under a fearful delusion. He will find it hard to prove that he is a "saint" in the last day!" (J. C. Ryle, Holiness, 27)

Sermon Series: Habakkuk

This past Lord's Day I concluded sermon series on Habakkuk. Here is the bare bones summary.

Habakkuk 1:1-4

 

Habakkuk’s initial lament: Habakkuk is confronted with the appearance of the paralysis of God’s law and justice; Habakkuk is sick and tired of the wicked encircling the just (the righteous) and squelching God’s law and goodness. Habakkuk lifts his lament to the Lord because wrong (bad/crooked) judgment goes forth. Sadly, it is Israel who is the cause of this warped justice, and that is why the Prophet cries out to God.

 

We need to be like Habakkuk and cry out to God when we see injustice. We cry out to God with hope because we know that God has, by the victory of Christ, destroyed the crooked justice of the wicked.

 

Habakkuk 1:5-11

 

God’s response to Habakkuk’s initial lament to the Lord: God says he is sending the Chaldeans like a fierce wind-storm from the East to judge and punish the wicked, hypocritical Israelites. God’s plan is hard to swallow. Why? Because Israel is not as wicked as the Chaldeans, yet the Lord will use the Chaldeans like a tool in his hand with which to judge the hypocritical Israelites. The Chaldeans, however, will offend by imputing divine-like status to their own strength, and this implies that the Lord will in time pour out his judgment also upon the Chaldeans.

 

Text: Habakkuk 1:12 - 2:1

 

Habakkuk hears the Lord’s response to his first lament and he now comes to the Lord with a second lament. Habakkuk is a prophet of God, he has perplexed faith, yet it is a confident faith, so, even though he doesn’t understand how the Lord can use the Chaldeans as an implement for his divine judgment of rebellious Israel, the prophet still exclaims “we shall not die” . . . But why would he say that? Habakkuk has confidence in God’s word of mercy (see Deuteronomy 4:31). Therefore, the prophet’s confidence is built upon the foundation of God’s word of promise. Habakkuk’s declares with anticipation, “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved” (2:1).

 

We learn from Habakkuk that sometimes the straightforward answer is disturbing (e.g. God’s response to Habakkuk’s first lament). However, we still need to learn how to reside in and flourish on account of God’s promises. Habakkuk knew that his only hope for life was to cling to God’s promises. We too must live in God’s promises, as did Habakkuk: and because we live in God’s promises we can say with Habakkuk, “We shall not die!” We shall not die because our God is merciful! That God would reconcile any of us, that God would be merciful to any of us is a remarkable thing—so remarkable that we only dare to believe it because God specifically has told us that he is merciful.

 

Habakkuk 2:2-5

 

The Lord kicks-off his second response to Habakkuk with an imperative; God gives Habakkuk homework: “Hey, Habakkuk, write down this vision of revelation!” God gives Habakkuk something to document, in order that God’s message might be rehearsed in the ears of the remnant. God has a design and plan. He wants the righteous remnant to know the design and plan for his program of redemption—specifically, judgment is coming to Israel and then to the Chaldeans, but that the “just shall live by faith.”

 

“The just shall live by faith” means the righteous come before God naked. We cast off our old, sinful identities and our filthy-rag-righteous-deeds. The righteous come naked before God, and the Lord adorns them with the imputed merits and righteousness of Jesus Christ.

 

Habakkuk 2:6-20

 

The Lord then pours out his oracles of judgment upon the Chaldeans in a series of five Woes. The Woes follow a specific pattern: 1) God declares the Woe, 2) God describes the crime committed by the Chaldeans, and 3) God declares the prescribed judgment for their crime.

 

The house/kingdom of the wicked Chaldeans is contrasted with the house/kingdom of God; the Chaldeans house/kingdom will end, but God’s house/kingdom will not end, it is eternal. Therefore, the “knowledge of the glory of the Lord” is going to fill the earth.

 

The knowledge of the glory of the Lord is knowledge of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). Jesus Christ is Lord, therefore, slowly but surely Christ’s kingdom will be pushed into the shadows and corners of this earth, until the entire earth is filled with the “knowledge of the glory of the Lord,” that is, with the knowledge of Christ.

 

Habakkuk 3:1-2

 

Habakkuk has heard the Lord’s response to his second lament, so now he composes a prayer-psalm of praise declaring the deeds of the Lord. And what are the deeds of the Lord declared in this introduction to Habakkuk’s prayer-psalm? They are this: that God in wrath remembered mercy. With this prayer-psalm Habakkuk stirs up our collective memories of our Lord’s powerful and merciful deeds.

 

God’s word of mercy, the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, that word of mercy is the Word, it is, Jesus Christ. All of Scripture is about Jesus Christ. The Old Testament anticipated and prepared the way for Jesus Christ, and the New Testament celebrates and declares that Christ came. God tells us lots of stories, and he wants those stories to get in us: once the stories are in us they form and fashion us into the image of Jesus Christ. At back of every Christian’s memory is the same story: that God in wrath remembered mercy. Every Christian has the same memory of God ransoming sinners from the fall.

 

Text: Habakkuk 3:3-19

 

The outline of Habakkuk’s prayer-psalm is structured around three occurrences of liturgical term Selah, with each section concluding on the theme of the “salvation of the Lord.” Habakkuk’s prayer-psalm is recounting God’s deeds; in this prayer-psalm Habakkuk has taken the stories of God’s powerful and mighty deeds and abstracts them and puts them to verse to be accompanied with stringed instrument (3:19).

 

God’s power and salvation are proclaimed in this prayer-psalm. Habakkuk concludes the prayer-psalm with the demonstration of the optimism that is characteristic of those who live by faith: Habakkuk knows that God’s judgment is coming to Israel and the Chaldeans, yet he still declares that even if the fig and olive and livestock should wax away he will “rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk’s comfort is not tethered to material possessions or temporal blessing. Rather, Habakkuk knows that the Lord God is his strength and will make his feet like hinds feet. Christians, like Habakkuk, know that God is their strength; the just (righteous) who live by faith know that they shall not die.

 

Like a Lead Balloon: Higher Education Bubble

Infographic series on the higher education bubble. 

Lordship of Christ and the Christian Future

Philip Schaff reflecting on God's hand of providence in the midst of Heathenism:

Greece gave the apostles the most copious and beautiful language to express the divine truths of the Gospel, and Providence had long before so ordered political movements as to spread that language over the world and to make it the organ of civilization and international intercourse, as the Latin was in the middle ages, as the French was in the eighteenth century, and as the English is coming to be in the nineteenth (History of the Christian Church, vol. 1, 77).

Before Christ (BC)

God providentially used heathen empires and languages of olden times to prepare man for Jesus Christ. All of Western history and culture, i.e., Mesopotamia, Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Sparta and Athens; Grecian epics, lyrical poetry, and dramas; the rise of Rome, etc., was a tool in the hand of God, preparing the sons of Adam for Jesus Christ. Schaff says, "In Judaism the true religion is prepared for man; in heathenism man is prepared for the true religion" (58).

Anno Domini (AD)

Christ came. Christ ascended and now rules at the right hand of the Father. And Christ used the events of AD history, i.e., fall of Rome and Romish and Byzantium schism; 7th-10th century Islamic growth and development of medieval civilization; economic, technological, and political European transformations and the Renaissance; Protestant reformation and Western expansion; etc. and etc., for , as Schaff said, the "gradual diffusion of his spirit and progress of his kingdom."

Christian Approach to the Future

So, if we want to craft a Christian approach to the future, then we need to remember that Christ is King and is using the events of AD history to push his Kingdom into the corners and the shadows of this world. But how do you think and live if that is the approach you are trying to take? Well, here are a couple examples:

1) International Economies

Christ is using international economies to subdue the world, even when the captains of those international economies are tyrants. Eventually those tyrants are going to be overthrown, but in the meantime Christ is using them as a tool to cultivate the world, and from those figurative fields the Lord will grow and feed his Church.

2) Internet

The Internet is an incredible vehicle for delivering stuff. The glorious thing about the Internet is that it is an infrastructure that is both ubiquitous and flexible, e.g., you can get nearly everything (audio, video, text) anywhere (via wireline, WiFi, Satellite, etc., communication channels). The Internet is a powerful tool that Christ is leveraging for expanding his Kingdom, e.g., with the click of a finger you can send the entire writings of the Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Fathers to a village in middle of the Congo. And parallel to the Internet is technology in general: you can smuggle all the Western Christian classics and multiple translations of the Bible into Communistic countries on itty-bitty SD cards. Boom Shakalaka!!!

3) Cities

Cities are growing and growing and growing and growing, and even though lots of cities are bastions for sin (read: NY, LA, etc.), have faith that God is shoving people into cities for a reason. I thinks that when God begins to pour out his Spirit of revival and renewal there is going to be a lot of (positive) collateral damage, merely because of the fact that God has shoved a whole lot of humans into cities. My best guess is that it will look like the revolution that took place when the early church grew in the midst of Roman paganism: back then there was a lot of "positive" collateral damages, e.g., God's common grace was dispersed through the mercy ministries of the church: through the creation of orphanages, and care and dignity was given to the sick and infirm; also, a great many abandoned babies were saved and given homes, etc. On the front-end, all of that revival and renewal requires sustained prayer, so that the church is prepared and made-ready. That way when the moment comes all of us are ready to roll-up-our-sleeves and jump in! But on the back-end, it is going to be so cool to see God's Spirit poured out that we're going to want to crack a beer and just bask in the enjoyment of watching the glory of widespread-revival. But I digress.

The thing to remember in the midst of all this optimism is that Christ does not convert the nations at the edge of a sword. Christ uses AD history for the "gradual diffusion of his spirit and expansion of his kingdom,"  but he uses it after the specific pattern exemplified by himself and his Church: it is the pattern of peaceful martyr and witness. Christ didn't march into Jerusalem armed to the teeth, rather he peacefully rode into that city, all the while knowing he would be crucified as a martyr. God raised Christ from the dead, so the church follows the example of Christ. The church knows that God brings life out of death, therefore, the church has always been an optimistic witness of the efficaciousness of martyrdom.

Strong and Hardy Holiness

"True holiness does not make a Christian evade difficulties, but face and overcome them. Christ would have His people show that His grace is not a mere hot-house plant, which can only thrive under shelter, but a strong, hardy thing which can flourish in every relation of life" (J. C. Ryle, Holiness, 26).

Historiography: Christian Approach to History in One Sentence

"The history of mankind before his [Jesus Christ] birth must be viewed as preparation for his coming, and the history after his birth as a gradual diffusion of his spirit and progress of his kingdom" (Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. 1, 57).

Treasury of Scripture

"When Scripture is stored in the mind, it is available for the Holy Spirit to take and bring to your attention when you need it most" (Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 42).

Modern World: Appears to be Unsuited for the Coming of God's Kingdom

A little over a week ago I preached on the "Five Woes" declared against the Chaldeans in Habakkuk 2:5-20. Many crimes are listed in that passage, but I stressed that the Chaldeans were bloody-city-builders. The Chaldeans were brutal like Cain, who was the first bloody-city-builder (see Genesis 4).

God commanded man to multiply and subdue the earth (Genesis 1:28), but man is not suppose to accomplish this with murder; God's law forbids man to build civilization upon murder (Exodus 20:13). Because the Chaldeans committed the crime of bloody-city-building, that is, murderous-city-building, the Lord declared woes of judgment against them (Habakkuk 2:12).

It is disconcerting that so many contemporary nations are committing the same crime as the Chaldeans: at their worst, many contemporary nations are building civilization upon "strategic" murder (e.g., unjust war(s), euthanasia, abortion, etc.), or, at their best, many contemporary nations utilize "strategic" murder as a type of "flying buttress" that helps support the desired economic-political-sociological infrastructure (e.g., pharmaceutical abortifacients).

Discouragement comes easy for those who are faced with the grim prospect of contemporary nations that are bloody-city-builders, like Cain and the Chaldeans. However, for those of us who face the grim prospect of the modern world, these words by Herman Bavinck may be of comfort:

"The modern world appears to be extremely unsuited for the coming of God's kingdom. Much more emphasis seems to be placed upon political and economic progress, and self-rule, than upon any search for God and any desire to listen to him. Sometimes we feel almost powerless. With fear and trembling we can only try each day anew to live close to God, and we can pray. More than ever before in our own weakness, we experience that God alone can help us and that he will help, if we pray. Thus, we learn in these tense years to understand again what Paul had learned by prayer and tears, namely, that the power of Jesus Christ is revealed to the fullest only in our weakness, and that therefore -- no matter how contradictory it may appear -- it is possible to take comfort in our impotence" (An Introduction to the Science of Missions, 217).

Gospel

C. H. Spurgeon. Excellent, as always!

"If you stand half a mile off from a man and throw the Gospel at him you will miss him, but if you go close to him and lay hold upon him, giving him a hearty grip of the hand, and show that you have an affection for him, you will, by God's blessing, lead him in the right way."

Read the Bible and Study the Bible

"The basic difference between Bible reading and Bible study is simply a pencil and a piece of paper. Write down observations about the text as you read and record questions that come to your mind" (Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 37).

God Frustrating the Pagans

"It was the particularity of biblical faith that frustrated paganism: this God, this elect people, in this time and place. The typical pagan would (and still does) find such a restriction on sacred manifestation offensive. Still scandalous is the notion that God reveals himself as our Savior in the history of redemption through Jesus Christ and not just anywhere we happen to look for him" (Michael Horton, A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship, 41).

George Herbert on Tithing

"A tithe purloined cankers the whole estate."

You can keep 100% of your income, but 100% will be cursed, or you can keep 90% of your income, and 100% will be blessed.