Overflowing with Hope

Romans 15:13

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust him.  Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

How The Doctrine of Providence Can Help You Die Well, Serve Courageously, and Care for Your Wife

I posted this a few weeks back on my other blog, but it feels more at home here.

 
via DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed

The above letter was written from a man in prison to his obviously beloved wife. His name was Guido de Bres, and he is known as the author of the Belgic Confession. He was imprisoned for his Protestant faith, and in 1567, was publicly hanged. He continued to exhort the crowd to be faithful to scripture and to obey their magistrates even as he was pushed off the scaffold.

Just Hug

Chris Brauns: (via Take Your Vitamin Z)

If you aren’t suffering terribly right now, you know someone who is.  John Piper (12/27/09) preached on suffering and Romans 8:15-25 at the Village Church who recently learned that their young senior pastor, Matt Chandler, has a malignant brain tumor.  (See these posts on suffering).

Piper introduced his sermon by stating that the first thing believers should do with those who are suffering is hug them.  No words.  Just silent hugs.  But, Piper also noted that those who are hugging must have a place to stand.  That is, if we are going to make it through the suffering in this life apart from anger and bitterness, then we must know sound doctrine and how suffering fits with the plan of God.

If you can only listen to a few minutes of this sermon, it will be a wonderful investment of your time.

Listen here.

On Making Decisions

I like this perspective on decision-making.  It comes from Tim Chester's blog, but I found it via Take Your Vitamin Z:

In our culture we expect to make our own decisions. But decision-making must have a communal dimension.

First, we need the community to make good decisions. God does not have a specific will for our life that we have to somehow discover. The Bible speaks of God’s sovereign will (all things are under his control, good and bad) and his moral will (the revealed way of life to which he calls us all). Sometimes God guides in specific ways, but more often we make decisions with the wisdom that comes from fearing of the Lord and with our priorities set on God’s kingdom. The problem is we often find reasons for doing what we want to do. We need one another to help us see when our reasoning is corrupted by our sinful hearts.

Second, we should involve the Christian community in decision-making to the extent that our decisions affect the community. This doesn’t mean that the community or its leaders tell people what to do in their personal lives, but it does mean that we should:

* make decisions with regard to the implications for our Christian community; and
* make significant decisions in consultation with members of our Christian community.

A single person typically makes decisions without regard to anyone else. Marriage changes everything. When asked to go for a drink after work, they think about the implications for their family. Big decisions get made in consultation with the family. The same is true in the Christian family. The family doesn’t makes decisions for us. But we make decisions with our family and in the light of our membership of that family.

Christmas

MeRRy CHriStmAs!

What is the Starting Point for Mercy?

What is the universal condition of mankind?  What is the fundamental Biblical teaching about humanity?  Is it that we are sinful?

NO!

Jesus was a human and he was not sinful.  One day we will have new bodies and we will forever be human and yet we will not be sinful.  What is the fundamental Biblical teaching about humanity?

It is that we are IMAGE BEARERS of God.  This is the starting point for mercy.  If you try and start from any other place, it will not take you quite so far.

Calvin said it this way, "To see another human being, is to see a creature that delights God by mirroring God.  Wherever God contemplates His own face, He holds it in honor."

His royal stamp on every person demands your respect, your love, your care, your honor.  Whether you encounter faces in the country club, the nursing home, or the ghetto, you can look them squarely in the eye and address them as "Your Majesty."  It's His royal stamp. 

 ~Mercy: Pillars and Practice-- a lecture by Paige Benton Brown.   Download the full audio here.

A few years ago when I was attending Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, I was lucky enough to attend a class on Bible history taught by the incomparable Paige Benton Brown.  I'd never heard of her before, when my friend said that she had heard (our pastor) Tim Keller once say, "You know Paige is the best speaker in the PCA, don't you?"  Well, after a glowing commendation like that, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to hear her, and I must say, the praise is well warranted.

The above snippet was taken from her talk on mercy at a woman's conference.  It blew me away, and parts of it brought tears to my eyes.  I strongly recommend listening to it.

Saint Francis' prayer

It is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

~St Francis

The Purpose-Driven Life

glo⋅ri⋅fy [glawr-uh-fahy, glohr-]

-verb (used with object), -fied, -fying

1.  to honor with praise, admiration, or worship; extol.

2.  to make glorious; invest with glory.

Some thoughts that have been going through my head lately...

• Our lives were created with a purpose.  Yes, this is old hat to some of you, but it is something that has been striking me lately.  We were not created to be rich.  My purpose in life is not to be happy, nor is it to be successful as the world defines success.  What I do as my job is not to define who I am. 
• What purpose were we created for?  I always liked the way the Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it 

Q.1. What is the chief end of man?

A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, [a] and to enjoy him forever. [b].

[a]. Ps. 86:9; Isa. 60:21; Rom 11:36; I Cor 6:20; 10:31; Rev 4:11

[b]. Ps. 16:5-11; 144:15; Isa. 12:2; Luke 2:10; Phil 4:4; Rev 21:3-4

• We will always glorify something.  What does it mean to glorify something?  If we say a movie glorifies violence, we are saying that the movie praises violence, it makes it look good.  It gives honor to violence.  You at this very moment are glorifying something.  What does your life point to?

Am I fulfilling the purpose of my life?  I was created to bring God glory.  Does my life reflect that (probably not) and what can I do to change that?

The prayer of my heart right now is that He will transform me.  Father God, take away my desires for earthly glory.  I pray that you would conform me to your image and that my life and my all would point towards you.  Lord, show me the areas of my life that I need to give to you.  Ever conform me to your likeness and draw me nearer to you.  I lift these in Jesus's name.