Thank You

I just wanted to thank everyone who was involved with Sunday's "after service surprise". Laura and I were humbled and deeply moved by everyone's generosity and love. For those of you who weren't there, the church presented us with $100 in cash, two tickets to the Fireside dinner and theater, a firepit (which we've been wanting), a free round of golf, and ... last but not least: a trip to Israel. Amazing. Totally didn't see that one coming. I was like, "Um, the firepit was sufficient, really!" But that totally blew us away and we're more thankful than we could ever say. I'm not so sure we're deserving, but we are thankful. We love you all and look foward to another five years of ministry together.

Celebrating John Calvin

This year marks the 500th anniversary of John Calvin, one of Christianity's most influential leaders. There isn't enough space or time to try and show you how important and influential God's work through John Calvin has been. It's unparalleled and indescribable. When I encountered John Calvin's teachings in Bible college, they transformed my whole Christian walk. I went from thinking that I deserved heaven because of my good choices to realizing I deserve nothing because my right choices were empowered by God's Spirit in the first place. As Jesus said, "You did not choose me, I chose you" (John 15:16). The verse that completely got me was 2 Timothy 1:9 which says that God "has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time..." When were we born again? In one sense, we were born again before we were born the first time. (Pause. Think.) And there are countless verses like this in the Bible - verses which show us God's sovereign control in saving us.

Do we really think we would have chosen God if left to ourselves? Absolutely not. Trust me: you don't want your (or anyone else's) salvation dependent upon your own free will. Let me ask you this: Do you want your children's salvation to be dependent upon their free will? The answer to that question is, "No". Some may stubbornly still say, "Yes!" These are the same people who get angry with God for not violating the free will of wicked men who cause suffering in the world. But you can't have it both ways. You can't maintain that God doesn't violate our free will, yet, at the same time, demand that God stop evil men from doing evil things. Nor can you ask God to protect your children when they choose to act foolishly driving down the highway at 65 mph. It's just nonsense.

Every mature believer needs to come to the realization that if it weren't for God choosing to save them, they wouldn't be saved. For some Christians this doctrine is the delight of their souls. It's what sets them free. For other Christians, this doctrine is utterly contemptable. They hate it. This, however, is the result of rebellion. How do I know it's the result of rebellion? Because Romans 9:18-20 says this: "Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: 'Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?' (Sounds like a familiar complaint to me) But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?" Do you know what that verse tells me? It tells me that it's pure rebellion to despise this precious truth of God's sovereign choice. When we continue to complain about this doctrine, or mock it, or refuse to accept it, we are, in essence, talking back to God. Just like when our children talk back to us, that's what we're doing to God.

So, what should we say then? How can I possibly accept this biblical doctrine which was merely highlighted - not started - by John Calvin? For me, I simply rest in this one fact: God's decision to choose some and not others was done in wisdom (Ephesians 1:8). For some of us, this is simply a trust issue. Can we trust that God is good and fair even though he's sovereign over our salvation? Can you trust that? My prayer is that you will. My prayer is also that, in light of this doctrine, you would never again go back to the silly, empty life of half-hearted devotion. Instead, we should say, "Therefore, in view of God's mercy, I will offer my body as a living sacrifice".

Jon & Kate +8 = A Sad, But Avoidable Situation

If you've been following the Jon and Kate saga, you're probably grieved just like I am. And why am I grieved? I've got three main reasons...

Number one, the children. This one is obvious. You've got eight children who will be negatively impacted by this in countless known and unknown ways.

Number two, Jon and Kate are apparently evangelical Christians who go to an Assembly of God church. I wonder if they were intimately involved in their church? I wonder if they were dedicated to authentic community? I wonder if they were involved in a home group or men's group or anything. I'm guessing not. I wonder if there was anyone in that church that saw the signs but didn't say anything because, well, "Who am I to judge? Besides, they'd probably just get mad if I said anything to them." I wonder if the leadership had an opportunity to discipline this situation? I wonder if they would have disciplined the situation even if they had known. But, I'm guessing they didn't know because most Christians who go to church don't allow themselves to be known, therefore, no one in the church even knows of the problems they're facing.

Number three, I'm grieved because this marriage, despite being a Christian marriage, refused to pattern itself after Christ and the church. The man did not lay down his life for his wife, nor did he courageously step into his God-given role of leadership. Instead, he was passive, weak, silent, conviction-less, and apathetic. The wife, Kate, was typically dominating, extremely disrespectful to her husband time and time again, and ... well ... loud. "Drip, drip, drip" (Umm, I'll be sleeping on the roof of my house tonight ... and tomorrow - Proverbs 21:9).

Hey, I have some advice: Ladies, if you want your marriages to fall apart, just model yourself after Kate. Keep returning evil for evil, and disrespect him over and over. Yes, that will do it. That will surely make him into the man you've always wanted! Men, if you want your marriages to fall apart, just be an apathetic, church-goer who really doesn't love Jesus, and who doesn't have the ... the ... the ... to be a man and take the reigns of loving, self-sacrificing leadership.

How To Tell If Idolatry Is Destroying Your Life

Idolatry seems so irrelavent to many of us. We think, "I don't bow down to statues or worship false gods like the ancient pagans did. Check! At least that's one commandment I know I'm not breaking!" But idolatry can't be irrelevant to us today. It can't be something only the people in the Old Testament struggled with. It can't be something only tribes out in the jungles are guilty of. It must mean something more than just bowing down to a statue or a totem pole. Why? Because Colossians 3:5 says this: "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry."

Let me try the best I can to boil down the meaning of idolatry in the simplest of terms. Idolatry is simply this: bringing more glory to something or someone other than God. And how do you bring glory to something or someone? You devote yourself to it. Think about it: Whatever you're radically devoted to gets glory. If you're radically devoted to a person or a hobby or animals or food or music or making money or your own reputation, that person, place, or thing will receive glory. I receive glory when someone says to me, "I love spending time with you. I just want more of your time. If it were up to me, we'd hang out every day." If someone said that to me, I'd receive glory. So, devotion through praise, time, gifts, etc., gives glory to the object of your affection. The Bible calls this "worship".

However, it's not wrong to be devoted to people, places, or things to a certain extent. It's just wrong to be devoted to them more than we are God. So, the all-important question is this: How do I know if I've crossed that line? How do I know if my devotion to a certain person or thing is too much? How do I know if I'm guilty of idolatry? Well, John Piper answers that question so well in one of his latest blogs. He makes this profound point: idolatry is what ruins our relationship with God AND our relationship with others. Therefore, we would all do well to mull his words over thoughtfully, slowly, and carefully. Just click on the link below.



http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2009/3991_Discerning_Idolatry_in_Desire/

The Day I Finally Understood The Purpose of Marriage

One thing is for sure: NOTHING forces you to examine your beliefs like having to teach them. When you are responsible to teach other people, it FORCES you to ask the hard questions. I guess that's one of the many reasons we're all commanded to make disciples. God knows that if we actually teach the Bible, we'll learn it better. Teaching really forces you to know what you believe and why you believe it.

A great example of this truism came upon me a few years ago. I was performing a wedding for a young couple who don't go to our church. They claimed to be Christian, so I told them they were going to get a Christian sermon at their wedding. I sat down to try and think of something profound and moving to say in this sermon. I thought to myself, "This is going to be great. I'm going to say stuff that will completely rock everyone's world - in a good way, that is." And so I sat down for the longest time trying to think of something to say about marriage. I finally thought to myself: "I should speak on the ultimate purpose of marriage." What IS the purpose of marriage? Children? Sex? Fulfillment? All those things seemed to be benefits of marriage, but it didn't satisfy my curiosity over why God created marriage in the first place - especially since there will be no marriage in heaven (Matthew 22:30).

And then it hit me. My training came back to me: "Derive the answer from the text of Scripture. Don't come up with your own idea and force it upon the text. Get your answer from the Bible. Don't say, "I think this is the ultimate purpose of marriage. Now: what Scripture verses can support MY genius theory?" Don't do that. Instead say, "What passages of the Bible speak on marriage? Go there, study them, and let God give you the answer. Great idea. The $45,000 I put towards bible college and seminary was paying off."

So I went to Ephesians 5:22-33 - the tallest skyscraper in the Bible concerning marriage - and I studied it up and down. Here's the most important thing God showed me: The Bible doesn't exist to serve the purpose of marriage; marriage exists to serve the purpose of the Bible. Often times you hear Christian preachers and authors say, "The Bible has some wonderful marriage advice that can help your marriage!" as if the Bible is some sort of divine tip column in a woman's magazine. (Heave ... bend over ... heave) This sort of thinking is backwards. The question isn't, "How can God bless my marriage?" The question is, "How can my marriage bless God?" Do THAT, and your marriage will grow better, more fulfilling, more purposeful, more meaningful, etc.

How did the Lord lead me to this conclusion? He did so when I discovered the true meaning of the word "mystery" in Ephesians 5:32, which says, "This is a profound mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the church." Everytime I read that, I thought to myself, "Yes, marriage is mysterious." But, I was interpreting the word "mystery" there to mean "confusing" or "something not fully understood" because this is how we use the word "mystery" today. But that's not what it meant when the apostle Paul used the word. All throughout Paul's writings, the word "mystery" means this: "truth once hidden, now revealed". For instance, check out 1 Corinthians 15:51 when, in speaking of Christ's second coming, Paul says, "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed." In other words, not all of God's people will die ("sleep"). Some will be "caught up to meet the Lord" (cf. 1 Thess.4:15-17) when Christ comes back." This is a truth that was "once hidden, but is now revealed to God's people"; this is a mystery.

You see, God doesn't reveal the full meaning of things right away. Sometimes he hides the meaning of something until an appointed time. Sometimes he allows the fuller meaning of something to be grasped slowly over time. The point is this: the ultimate purpose of marriage wasn't fully understood until the ministry of the apostle Paul. I'm sure there were signs of it beforehand. But the fuller meaning wasn't understood until God revealed it through him in Ephesians 5:22-33. And what's the mystery? What's the "truth once hidden, now revealed"? It's this: God created marriage to be a reflection of his relationship with us! Our Christian marriages are supposed to mirror the relationship between God and his people.

This is why Genesis says, "For this reason a man shall leave his Father and Mother and cleave to his wife." Sound familiar? Who else did that? Christ did. Christ "left his father" and "cleaved to his wife (the church)." And the two became one! This "cleaving" of Christ to his church, this "two becoming one", is seen in Jesus' words about unity in John 17. Jesus prayed that he and his church would be one. Paul said in 1 Corinthians that we, as Christians, are one in spirit with Christ (6:17). Sexual intercourse is a physical symbol of this profound unification of God and his people.

This is also why Paul says that women are to submit in everything to their husbands "as the church does to Christ" (Eph.5:22). This is also why husbands are supposed to be a "type of Christ" in their marriage. They are to "sacrifice their lives" for their wives. They are to give up their lives for their wives. They are to "wash her in the word". These are all things Christ did for the church. And these are all things men are called to do for their wives.

How can we then turn around and say there is no submission within a marriage context? To say that completely undermines God's ultimate purpose for marriage from the very beginning of time! How can men live selfishly for themselves? That completely undermines God's ultimate purpose for marriage from the very beginning of time! How can we dare seek out other relationships with people outside of our marriage? Was Christ unfaithful to us? Did God seek out other lovers? No. He was faithful to us despite our unfaithfulness to him (read Hosea). Women are to respect their husbands, in word, in deed ... in everything. They are to submit to his leadership in everything as the church does to Christ. And men are to love their wives and care for them as they would their own bodies.

You know what's so disheartening? There are more Christian books on sex and marriage than you could possibly count. But if we would simply grasp and obey the teaching of Ephesians 5:22-33, we wouldn't need most of those books. Having Ephesians 5:22-33 imbeded in my mind and heart has utterly transformed the way Laura and I relate to each other. When I'm downstairs and she calls for my help, even though it's the last thing I want to do because I'm probably writing a blog or something, the Lord always reminds me of this passage.

I'm so glad God taught me these things. Not only is my marriage more meaningful, enjoyable, and honoring to the Lord, but now I don't have to think of something to say for my next wedding sermon. :-) Grace and peace.

Looking For God's Will?

If you're looking for a great book on the will of God, this is it. I love the title, I love the author, and I especially love the wisdom in this book. The title is utterly hilarious. I went to seminary with this guy at Gordon-Conwell. He's also been a leading voice against the Emergent movement.

Get this book if you want biblical wisdom about discerning God's will and you are tired of some of the

ridiculous, frustrating, conventional wisdom you find in the evangelical and charismatic worlds today.

Movie Review: Up

We saw the movie "Up" in 3-D last Monday at the Fitchburg theatre. Great movie. A truly moving, unique, engaging film that will tug at the ol' heart strings. Very good. I recommend it highly. Savannah really, really had a good time, but she barely made it through, though, even with 3-D glasses to enhance the experience. Thank God the movie was only 1.5 hours. But she did make it through with one potty break and a few bored moments. But other than that, it was a positive experience. Probably more for ages 4 and up. Try and see it in 3-D, although it's not a must.