Desiring God Blog

How Summertime Helps Us Pray

Jonathan Parnell — Sun, 27 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

Memorial Day weekend is the traditional welcome into summer. Long days, outside reading, baseball, iced tea, sunshine — 'tis the season of unparalleled displays of God's common benevolence.

And it's also full of exciting opportunities for us to grow in the grace of prayer.

God's grace is immeasurable, not seasonal (Ephesians 2:7). There's not more of him now than in January, but summer tends to open our eyes a little wider. We can see a little clearer. And this helps how we pray.

C. S. Lewis:

For what I call "myself" (for all practical, everyday purposes) is also a dramatic construction. . . Normally I call this construction "me," and the stage set "the real world." Now the moment of prayer is for me — or involves for me as its condition — the awareness, the re-awakened awareness, that this "real world" and "real self" are very far from being rock-bottom realities" (Letters to Malcom, 81).

In other words, prayer is when we snap out of it — out of the busyness, out of Facebook charades, out of our culture-imposed identities. Prayer is the most real thing we do, and if summer is when we are most awake, then let it teach us how to pray. Let it invite us into deeper fellowship.

Jonathan Dodson writes of prayer,

Prayer is about love not about lists. It is about drawing near to God, not about impressing God. It is about enjoying his grace not enduring guilt. In fact, our genuine guilt for loving something altogether more than we love the Father is gone in Christ. God so loved us that he sent his only Son to be cut off in death so that we might be wonderfully united with him in life. Prayer is a response to the Father and the Son; it is a warm reaction to what they have together done for us. Prayer is communion with God, a cementing of souls together in a common delight, in this case, a delight in God and his grace towards us in Christ. It begins and continues with honest words about our loveless lives, our guilt-ridden approaches to prayer, and a shameless embrace of God's reckless love and grace. (What to Do with Prayerlessness)

May the next four months be the background of deeper discoveries in what this means.

A Pregnant Woman’s Defense Against the Schemes of the Devil

Gloria Furman — Sat, 26 May 2012 09:07:00 -0500

If you are a pregnant mom, perhaps with your first baby, you may be reading these articles about Mommy Wars and shaking your head. As if you didn’t have enough on your mind already!

In the chaos of battles over things like bottle feeding, co-sleeping, and baby wearing, Carolyn has pointed out how the real Mommy Wars are primarily spiritual battles. The real battles are not against other moms who have different mothering preferences, but against our adversary the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

God has provided protection for the pregnant woman against the schemes of the devil.

The armor of God comes in maternity sizes.

For the next 42-weeks (or less) you have a unique opportunity to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might (Ephesians 6:10) even when you’re wearing support hosiery and your center of gravity has shifted to your navel.

When a pregnant woman wears the armor of God then she has every reason to estimate her potential for endurance based on “the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might” (Ephesians 1:19).

When Paul said in Philippians 4:19 that he “can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” he wasn’t only talking about throwing a baseball or lifting weights. He was talking about learning contentment in the permanent circumstance of God’s sovereign goodness toward him. The power of God toward you is “according to the riches of his glory that he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being” (Ephesians 3:16).

Pregnant ladies, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, including fearlessly ground your faith in God’s sovereign goodness as the basis for your contentment. I know it is so hard to be content when you’re weary and feel you can’t go on, when your heart is distracted with fear for your baby, and when your emotions careen out of control. But God’s power is more than adequate for these things; his immeasurable greatness of power can overwhelm even the most powerful schemes the devil devises to steal your joy in God.

The Armor of God Fits Over Maternity Elastic

Scripture exhorts us to “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). Even when the only pants and skirts that currently fit you are held up on your hips by a yard of elastic, the armor of God still fits you and you should wear it. By wearing the armor of God you can stand firm against the schemes of the devil as he tries to unsettle your faith with every wind of doctrine, encourages human cunning, and deceives you (Ephesians 4:14).

Here are a few things for pregnant ladies to remember about the armor of God:

Belt

The “belt of truth” encircles you with the confident protection of knowing who God is, what Christ has done for you, and who you are in light of your being “in Christ” through faith in him. You must take pains to hold up this belt of truth around you through whatever means necessary. Engage in spiritual disciplines like prayerful meditation on God’s word, commit Scripture to memory, and actively pursue fellowship with other women who will remind you of God’s truth in his word.

Breastplate

The “breastplate of righteousness” is one-size-fits-all-who-believe. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed by faith to sinners who deserve death and judgment for their sins. We understand that by “the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).

Pregnant sister, you will be tempted by the adversary to put forward your own righteousness as a front when you’re feeling insecure. The devil will use everything from insecurity about your pregnancy to your prenatal care and your birth plan to your mothering potential. Guard yourself against the temptation to comfort yourself with self-righteous pats on the back. Arm yourself with Jesus’ warning against parading our own righteousness before others to gain rewards of smiles, admiration, and respect from them (Matthew 6:1).

As you have put on the breastplate of Christ’s righteousness then you can stand firm against the devil’s lies of inadequacy and failure. Wear the breastplate of righteousness Martin Luther-style:

So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: “I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!”

Shoes

Dear pregnant friends, the shoes of the armor of God not only fit you, but they make your feet move. You know how special this is when you’re already fatigued by 10 o’clock in the morning and you can watch your feet widening with every pregnancy. “As shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15).

The gospel of peace provides readiness by giving you the reason and the power to go wherever Christ would lead you for his sake. In this way the gospel empowers you to go into the fray of the Mommy Wars and announce to the contenders the victory of the cross, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!”

Shield

The “shield of faith” is for your protection all day and into the sleepless nights. “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16). It doesn’t matter if your faith is as small as a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20) or the hCG hormones circulating through your blood right now. What matters is the greatness of the One in whom you have placed your faith.

As you get excited about the upcoming birth of your child, rejoice most of all in him who has caused you to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3, 23). When you take up the shield of faith and watch as the devil’s flaming darts implode into little puffs of smoke, give thanks to God: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Sword

In the weakness of your back pain and vulnerability of feeling nauseous remember your hope of salvation in Christ as you rely on Scripture, your offensive weapon against the enemy. “Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).

Don’t just not believe the lies of the devil, but speak God’s truth to yourself. Don’t just not dwell on your bloated appearance and spider veins, but talk to yourself of the beauty of Christ’s sacrificial love and how he gave his body up for us all. What a delight it is, then, for you to let your body serve the life of another.

Pray

And finally, purpose your mind, will, and emotions to submit to God’s good plans to glorify himself in all things. Be “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18).

This is the power of God in a pregnant woman whose hope is in the victory of Christ Jesus over the schemes of the devil.

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Posts in the Mommy Wars series —

Are You Mom Enough? (Rachel Pieh Jones)
The End of Mommy Wars (Christine Hoover)
Mommy Wars in the Local Church: A Parable (Gloria Furman)
Mommy Wars Are Spirit Wars (Carolyn McCulley)
A Pregnant Woman’s Defense Against the Schemes of the Devil (Gloria Furman)

The Rock-Solid Foundation of Christian Hedonism

Tony Reinke — Sat, 26 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

John Piper, Desiring God (Multnomah, 2011), 10:

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.

(Design submitted by Jacob Abshire.)

Fake Love, Fake War: Why So Many Men Are Addicted to Internet Porn and Video Games

Russell Moore — Fri, 25 May 2012 13:34:00 -0500

You know the guy I'm talking about. He spends hours into the night playing video games and surfing for pornography. He fears he's a loser. And he has no idea just how much of a loser he is. For some time now, studies have shown us that porn and gaming can become compulsive and addicting. What we too often don't recognize, though, is why.

In a new book, The Demise of Guys: Why Boys Are Struggling and What We Can Do About It, psychologists Philip Zimbardo and Nikita Duncan say we may lose an entire generation of men to pornography and video gaming addictions. Their concern isn't about morality, but instead about the nature of these addictions in reshaping the patten of desires necessary for community.

If you're addicted to sugar or tequila or heroin you want more and more of that substance. But porn and video games both are built on novelty, on the quest for newer and different experiences. That's why you rarely find a man addicted to a single pornographic image. He's entrapped in an ever-expanding kaleidoscope.

There's a key difference between porn and gaming. Pornography can't be consumed in moderation because it is, by definition, immoral. A video game can be a harmless diversion along the lines of a low-stakes athletic competition. But the compulsive form of gaming shares a key element with porn: both are meant to simulate something, something for which men long.

Pornography promises orgasm without intimacy. Video warfare promises adrenaline without danger. The arousal that makes these so attractive is ultimately spiritual to the core.

Satan isn't a creator but a plagiarist. His power is parasitic, latching on to good impulses and directing them toward his own purpose. God intends a man to feel the wildness of sexuality in the self-giving union with his wife. And a man is meant to, when necessary, fight for his family, his people, for the weak and vulnerable who are being oppressed.

The drive to the ecstasy of just love and to the valor of just war are gospel matters. The sexual union pictures the cosmic mystery of the union of Christ and his church. The call to fight is grounded in a God who protects his people, a Shepherd Christ who grabs his sheep from the jaws of the wolves.

When these drives are directed toward the illusion of ever-expanding novelty, they kill joy. The search for a mate is good, but blessedness isn't in the parade of novelty before Adam. It is in finding the one who is fitted for him, and living with her in the mission of cultivating the next generation. When necessary, it is right to fight. But God's warfare isn't forever novel. It ends in a supper, and in a perpetual peace.

Moreover, these addictions foster the seemingly opposite vices of passivity and hyper-aggression. The porn addict becomes a lecherous loser, with one-flesh union supplanted by masturbatory isolation. The video game addict becomes a pugilistic coward, with other-protecting courage supplanted by aggression with no chance of losing one's life. In both cases, one seeks the sensation of being a real lover or a real fighter, but venting one's reproductive or adrenal glands over pixilated images, not flesh and blood for which one is responsible.

Zimbardo and Duncan are right, this is a generation mired in fake love and fake war, and that is dangerous. A man who learns to be a lover through porn will simultaneously love everyone and no one. A man obsessed with violent gaming can learn to fight everyone and no one.

The answer to both addictions is to fight arousal with arousal. Set forth the gospel vision of a Christ who loves his bride and who fights to save her. And then let's train our young men to follow Christ by learning to love a real woman, sometimes by fighting his own desires and the spirit beings who would eat him up. Let's teach our men to make love, and to make war . . . for real.

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Russell Moore is scheduled to speak at this year's National Conference — "Act the Miracle: God's Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification." Visit the event page to learn more and register.

Mommy Wars Are Spirit Wars

Carolyn McCulley — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:45:00 -0500

As a part of American jargon, the “mommy wars” have raged for more than 20 years. The term was coined in the late 1980s by Child magazine to describe the tension that existed between working and stay-at-home mothers. Since then, numerous books and articles have been published about the so-called mommy wars, feeding the talk show circuit and fueling blogosphere brushfires.

But our history of cultural ambivalence about motherhood is much longer. Allow me a moment for a quick overview.

Shortly after our nation was founded, motherhood hit a high note. As historian Glenna Matthews writes in Just A Housewife, this new political experiment needed mothers:

There were no precedents for a republic on the scale of the United States. Many people believed that the new nation would require the support of a uniquely public-spirited citizenry. If citizens must learn to place a high value on the public interest, this was a lesson they would need to begin in childhood. Thus the home became crucial to the success of the nation and women — whose education began to be taken much more seriously than ever before — gained the role of ‘Republican Mother.’

Soon the Republican Motherhood concept began to spill out of the home into the public square as women organized benevolent agencies to combat drunkenness, slavery, gambling, and other problems of the age.

Mommy Wars, Darwinism, and Margaret Sanger

But Republican Motherhood met its demise when Charles Darwin released his 1859 publication, On the Origin of Species. Darwin viewed women as lesser beings in the system of evolution. His ideas were immediately embraced by Social Darwinists, who claimed that since men had always fought for survival in the world, they were honed by competition and natural selection. In comparison, women were sheltered from this process because they were at home with the children — thus, they “evolved” more slowly.

With motherhood thus devalued, children became the next targets. Margaret Sanger, who founded what later became Planned Parenthood, believed that most evils stemmed from large families. As she wrote in her 1920 book, Woman and the New Race, “the most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.”

Sanger was a vocal proponent of eugenics — the theory of race improvement that was the cornerstone of Nazi Germany. Her monthly magazine, Woman Rebel, was published under the slogan, “No gods; no masters!” For Sanger, the birth control movement was founded on two goals: limiting the reproduction of the “unfit” and challenging Christian teaching by creating a “new morality.” She campaigned against women who “with staggering rapidity” were breeding “those numberless, undesired children who become the clogs and the destroyers of civilization.”

Sanger’s scorched-earth writing left no one guessing about her views. Confidently, she predicted a future that never materialized — and arguably was precisely the opposite in the century that followed.

When motherhood becomes the fruit of a deep yearning, not the result of ignorance or accident, its children will become the foundation of a new race. There will be no killing of babies in the womb by abortion, nor through neglect in foundling homes, nor will there be infanticide. . . . Child slavery, prostitution, feeblemindedness, physical deterioration, hunger, oppression and war will disappear from the earth. . . . When the womb becomes fruitful through the desire of an aspiring love, another Newton will come forth to unlock further the secrets of the earth and the stars. There will come a Plato who will be understood, a Socrates who will drink no hemlock, and a Jesus who will not die upon the cross.

On the contrary, there is no hope for “child slavery, prostitution, feeblemindedness, physical deterioration, hunger, oppression and war to disappear from the earth” if the Father’s righteous anger against these terrible sins is not satisfied! Where would justice be in the universe if such sins go overlooked? There is no hope of a new heavens and a new earth, free from the effects of the fall, without the atonement of our sinless Savior. There is no hope for mercy to triumph over judgment unless it be found at the foot of that cross. Our only hope is the cross!

Therefore, the real “mommy wars” are not against other people and their parenting styles, nor even against Darwin, Sanger or those who promote similar ideologies. As Ephesians 6:12 says, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” The real mommy wars are spiritual. And this conflict began with the very first mother, Eve.

The First Mommy War and You

Her initial assignment, along with her husband Adam, was to be “fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). But after the Fall, childbearing became painful and opposed. When the Lord God cursed the serpent that deceived Eve, he said, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

Ever since, Satan has labored to destroy the offspring of those who are made in the image of God. The real mommy wars are not against flesh and blood, but against the one who seeks to destroy the next generation of those who would rise up to praise God.

You may be a mother and in the thick of rearing children right now. Perhaps it took you several attempts to read this blog post, thanks to the constant interruptions of young children. Your daily life may consist of dozens of repetitive tasks that feel mundane and irrelevant. This is absolutely not true! You are engaged in spiritual warfare. You are standing against those who believe heinous lies, like “the most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.” By bearing and nurturing life, you are reflecting the life-giving characteristics of our holy God! Made in his image, you are reflecting him when you care for the lives he has created.

This applies to those of us who are childless, too. Whether you are not yet married, or married but not yet pregnant, or past the age of bearing children — whatever season of life you are in, you are still part of the great community of believers who are called to witness to the majesty of God: “One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4).

It may be quite bitter not to have children of your own, but I ask you to be strategic about the battle. Where can you stand against the devil’s schemes and invest in the children God has already put in your life? Where can you reach out? So many hurting children exist and so many are being discarded.

The real “mommy war” needs every believing woman to enlist. The battle is more significant and more costly than we truly perceive.

________

Carolyn McCulley adapted this blog post from her book, Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World. In addition to being a writer and speaker, Carolyn is also a director/producer and founder of Citygate Films.

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Posts in the Mommy Wars series —

Are You Mom Enough? (Rachel Pieh Jones)
The End of Mommy Wars (Christine Hoover)
Mommy Wars in the Local Church: A Parable (Gloria Furman)
Mommy Wars Are Spirit Wars (Carolyn McCulley)
A Pregnant Woman’s Defense Against the Schemes of the Devil (Gloria Furman)

Jesus Also Had Unbelieving Family Members

Jon Bloom — Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

Do you, like me, have family members who do not believe in Jesus? If so, we are in good company. So did Jesus. And I think this is meant to give us hope.

According to the Apostle John, “not even his brothers believed in him” (John 7:5). That’s incredible. Those who had lived with Jesus for 30 years really did not know him. Not one of Jesus’ brothers is mentioned as a disciple during his pre-crucifixion ministry. But after his resurrection and ascension, there they are in the upper room worshiping him as God (Acts 1:14).

Why didn’t they believe? And what made them change?

The Bible doesn’t answer the first question. But I’ll bet it was difficult to have Jesus for a brother.

First, Jesus would have been without peer in intellect and wisdom. He was astounding temple rabbis by age 12 (Luke 2:42, 47). A sinful, fallen, gifted sibling can be a hard act to follow. Imagine a perfect, gifted sibling.

Second, Jesus’ consistent and extraordinary moral character must have made him odd and unnerving to be around. His siblings would have grown increasingly self-conscious around him, aware of their own sinful, self-obsessed motives and behavior, while noting that Jesus didn’t seem to exhibit any himself. For sinners, that could be hard to live with.

Third, Jesus was deeply and uniquely loved by Mary and Joseph. How could they not have treated him differently? They knew he was the Lord. Imagine their extraordinary trust in and deference to Jesus as he grew older. No doubt the siblings would have perceived a dimension to the relationship between the oldest child and their parents that was different from what they experienced.

And when swapping family stories it would have been hard to match a star appearing at your brother’s birth.

Jesus out-classed his siblings in every category. How could anyone with an active sin nature not resent being eclipsed by such a phenom-brother? Familiarity breeds contempt when pride rules the heart.

More pain than we know must have been behind Jesus’ words, “a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household” (Matthew 13:57).

So as we assess the role our weak, stumbling witness plays in our family members’ unbelief, let’s remember Jesus — not even a perfect witness guarantees that loved ones will see and embrace the gospel. We must humble ourselves and repent when we sin. But let’s remember that the god of this world and indwelling sin is what blinds the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4).

The story of Jesus’ brothers can actually give us hope for our loved ones. At the time his brothers claimed that Jesus was “out of his mind” (Mark 3:21), it must have appeared very unlikely that they would ever become his disciples. But eventually they did! And not only followers, but leaders and martyrs in the early church.

The God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” shone in their hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of their brother, Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:6).

So take heart! Don’t give up praying for unbelieving family members. Don’t take their resistance as the final word. They may yet believe, and be used significantly in the kingdom!

And while they resist, or if they have died apparently unbelieving, we can trust them to the Judge of all the earth who will be perfectly just (Genesis 18:25). Jesus does not promise that every parent, sibling, or child of a Christian will believe, but does painfully promise that some families will divide over him (Matthew 10:34-39). We can trust him when it happens.

It is moving to hear James refer to his brother as “our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (James 2:1). Can you imagine what this phrase meant for James? The Lord of glory had once slept beside him, ate at his dinner table, played with his friends, spoke to him like a brother, endured his unbelief, paid the debt of his sin, and then brought him to faith.

It may have taken 20-30 years of faithful, prayerful witness by the Son of God, but the miracle occurred: his brothers believed. May the Lord of glory grant the same grace to our beloved unbelievers.

________

Previous posts from Jon Bloom —

The Heart of Discipleship

Jonathan Parnell — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:00:00 -0500

Discipleship is about values. This could not be clearer in the Gospels. Jesus' call is for a double action: leave and follow. "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," he first said to Peter and Andrew in Matthew 4:19. And "Immediately they left their nets and followed him." Then to James and John. And "Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him." Whether nets or family, the call to follow Jesus is the call to walk away from something else. It is the call to this, not that. Here, not there.

The disciples knew this. They knew they were forsaking one thing for another. And they knew pleasure was at the root. That's why Peter asked what he did in Matthew 19:27. To be sure, he was still putting the pieces together, but he tipped his hand here. He was waiting for the pay off. Jesus had just taught on riches, which I imagine seemed out of the ballpark to Peter. Riches? Psssssst! (He had even walked away from his meager livelihood.) Ayhem, Jesus? Great lesson on riches, and about that, we, you know, we, uh, we left everything. So when do we get to cash the check?

Maybe more astonishing than Peter asking the question is that Jesus answers him.

Forsake the lesser pursuit in order to gain the greater pleasure. That's why a man sells everything to buy a field (Matthew 13:44) or why the merchant considers all his goods mere commerce compared to one pearl (Matthew 13:45). There is something better out there and discipleship is the great calling to lay hold of it.

The human is a deep creature: "not just a body, but a soul. Not just a soul, but a soul with a passion and a desire. Not just a desire for being liked or for playing softball or collecting shells." And Jesus says, "Follow me." His call harmonizes with our inherent depth. Look, here's the treasure. It's me. Then we are awakened, muddy hands and all, wallowing in the slums this whole time but now testifying of a "desire for something infinitely great and beautiful and valuable and satisfying — the name and the glory of God" (Boasting Only in the Cross). So we leave and we follow. Goodbye broken cisterns (Jeremiah 2:13), hello my exceeding joy (Psalm 43:4).

We follow Jesus into a new world, not as pedagogy, but as fellowship. We come not as pupils, but as rebellious creatures made alive for the first time — rebellious creatures now reconciled to God by the death of his Son. Discipleship — following Jesus — is to live before God's face, to dwell in his presence, to be satisfied in all that he is. We follow as creatures of grace, entering into the fellowship of the triune God in whose presence there is fullness of joy, at whose right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11).

Mommy Wars in the Local Church: A Parable

Gloria Furman — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:45:00 -0500

This parable* was told to some mothers who engaged in Mommy Wars and trusted in themselves that they figured it all out, and treated others with contempt:

Two mothers woke up and opened their Bibles to pray, one a perfect mother and the other a not-so-perfect mother.

The perfect mother prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am Mom enough, not like other mothers who have no clue what they’re doing, or even like those whose children disobey and don’t achieve as much as mine do.

But the not-so-perfect mother prayed, ‘God, help me, a grace-dependent mother whose faith is so small but whose God is so great!’

Christian and non-Christian mothers alike decry the issue of mother-to-mother destructive criticism. Their voices have weighed in by the hundreds of thousands against the “Mommy Wars.”

Many women, with cynical derision, claim this problem is more prevalent inside the church, and that is because inside the church, motherhood-related issues are more likely to be assigned a moral value, creating a game that no mother can win.

Understanding Mommy Wars

Along with Rachel, I find these Mommy Wars to be quite foreign. In fact I asked some friends back home in the States to explain how their lives were impacted. We left the U.S. before our oldest was 16 months, before DIY online stores were generating income for Proverbs 31 hopefuls, before social media sites showcased our God-given creativity with professional cameras, and before organic food was available in major grocery food stores.

Our other two children were born in the Middle East. Here, when someone asks me about my mothering, it is often in the vein of “It takes a village to raise a child, so what village are you from?” There’s little competition here, but sincere intrigue and concern.

I have been asking my friends: Are Christian mothers more violent contenders in this culturally-facilitated Mommy War? Do the moral values of Christian mothers make us more likely to throw other mothers under the bus instead of build them up in the gospel?

Moral and Non-Moral Matters

There are in fact moral values assigned to certain parenting practices described in the Bible. Ephesians 6:4 comes to mind, “Do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” The moral value of this parenting practice is indisputable. Our moral potential for practicing this is also indisputable. We are sinners in need of God’s grace!

But most of the outrage against mother-to-mother criticism comes from the assigning of arbitrary moral values to non-moral mothering techniques or practices. Take nursing and bottle feeding for example. I have heard both of these moral judgments: “You nurse your baby? Shame on you.” and “You use bottles? Shame on you.”

When we acknowledge the heart idols of competitive mothering we can understand who fired the first shot in the Mommy War. We all did.

Mommy Wars in the Church

Christian mothers must not accept Mommy Wars in the church. Mommy Wars are a contradiction of a community founded on Jesus Christ.

God's forgiveness, and our knowing that we are forgiven sinners, frees us from the very things that spoil our relations with each other. It frees Christian mothers from the need to prove anything. It frees us from envy and one-up-mothering. It frees us from the craving for approval and praise that we seek from others. It liberates us to value each other in Christ, and to love our mother-neighbors as ourselves.

In other words, the cross makes possible the fellowship that the Mommy Wars threaten to tear down.

So-called Mommy Wars have no place among Christian sisters. Christian mothers are weak and needy for one another. Like the faithful Canaanite mother, we approach the Savior on our knees, saying “Lord, help me” (Matthew 15:21–28). That is the posture of the needy, Christian mother.

We cherish the shed blood of Jesus Christ who cleanses us from our sin and we live peaceably with one another because of the cross. Moreover, we love to boast all the more gladly of our weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon us!

We approach the Savior on our knees, and we are able to “put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander” (1 Peter 2:1) and we can “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24).

Instead of taking the next shot to slander a mother who does things differently, Jesus gives us the grace we need to adorn the gospel. Jesus gives us the grace to be reverent in behavior, teach what is good, train young women to love their husbands and children, be self-controlled, be pure, work at home, be kind, and be submissive to our own husbands (Titus 2).

* The parable is based on Jesus’ Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18:9–14.

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Posts in the Mommy Wars series —

Are You Mom Enough? (Rachel Pieh Jones)
The End of Mommy Wars (Christine Hoover)
Mommy Wars in the Local Church: A Parable (Gloria Furman)
Mommy Wars Are Spirit Wars (Carolyn McCulley)
A Pregnant Woman’s Defense Against the Schemes of the Devil (Gloria Furman)

A Cure for Lame Table Prayers

Tony Reinke — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

I find it easy to slip into vague gratefulness, and vague gratefulness is as hollow as a light bulb. Mostly I notice this at the dinner table with my family. The vague verbiage I speak over our food is a reflection of my vague thoughts about God and his provisions spread across the table. (It’s certainly not a reflection of my wife’s cooking!)

If you find this vaguity in your prayers, Douglas Wilson offers us a remedy in his new book Father Hunger. In a section on vocation, Wilson points us to look deeper into the gracious provisions from God:

We have to understand that all Christians are called, and are called to labor self-consciously and faithfully in their calling, whether it is law, real estate, carpentry, medicine, brick-laying, shop-keeping, writing novels or songs, digging latrines, or planting trees. All of God is in all of it.

We must fix it in our minds that God is in everything, and works through everything. This means that Christ is hidden in the artisan, and Christ is hidden in the customer. Christ is hidden in the one behind the counter, and He is hidden in the one in front of the counter. He is hidden in the dentist, and hidden in the patient in the chair.

God provides for us through means. We benefit from the work of the farmer, the fertilizer salesman, the trucker, the grocery store clerk, and the dairyman; and when we bow our heads to thank God for the breakfast cereal, we are thanking Him for His work in all of these people, whether they know Him or not. We receive from God through the work of others. We acknowledge this when we pray for our daily bread (Matthew 6:11). We know that God is working in and through all things (Romans 8:28), and this includes countless daily kindnesses. When we thank the Lord for the cereal, we should know that we are thanking Him for the whole supply chain, and not just for the full bowl in front of us.

Reading that quote changed my next dinner time prayer.

Instead of a vague prayer for the provisions, I gave thanks to the God who channeled his grace to us through a supply line of farmers who awake early in the morning to study the heavens and to crank cold tractor motors, through the factory workers with ID badges who wear gloves and goggles and package food every day, through the unshaven truckers who speed rigs across the country in a race against expiration dates, and through the grocery store stockers who organize and arrange all that food on shelves while most of us are asleep.

God wants you to enjoy breakfast, and he has ordained, called, and equipped certain specific men and women to make sure you do. Similarly, he has ordained and called and equipped us to return the favor to our neighbors. We all play different roles in the world, but we are knit together in God’s network of common grace.

But the point here is that the men and women in this supply line have all been ordained, called, equipped, and preserved by God because God knows your name, he knows your tastes, he loves you, and because he wants you to enjoy a bowl of breakfast cereal in his name.

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Related posts —

20 Quotes from Father Hunger

You Can't Say This Enough

Jonathan Parnell — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:58:00 -0500

John Piper writes about a conversation with his wife, Noël, when he was preaching a series on marriage a few years ago. After a couple sermons on the foundation and ultimate meaning of marriage he asked for her feedback. "You cannot say too often that marriage is a model of Christ and the church," she replied.

And she is positively right. Marriage as a picture of Jesus and the church is "Marriage 101" for most Christians and yet, we cannot underline the truth enough.

We've heard it helpfully said of the gospel that it's not just the thing that gets you into the Christian life, but also that which empowers your everyday Christian living. There's a parallel here in how we talk about marriage as a model of Jesus and the church.

This reality isn't just for our entry into marriage, as if it's a thing to check off during pre-marital counseling. Marriage as a picture of Jesus and his church roots our day in, day out experiences with our spouse. It "gives marriage a solid basis in grace," Piper writes, "since Christ obtained and sustains his bride by his grace alone" (This Momentary Marriage, 42).

Continually remembering that marriage is about Jesus and his church drives us to consider what Jesus has done for his church. And when we bask in our vertical experience of God's mercy it overflows horizontally to transforms our relationships.

Pastor John writes,

In Colossians 2:13–14, Paul writes one of the most wonderful things imaginable:

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him [Christ], having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Those last words are the most crucial. "This — this record of debt that stood against us — God set aside, nailing it to the cross." When did that happen? Two thousand years ago. It did not happen inside of us, and it did not happen with any help from us. God did it for us and outside of us before we were ever born. This is the great objectivity of our salvation.

Be sure you see this most wonderful and astonishing of all truths: God took the record of all your sins that made you a debtor to wrath (sins are offenses against God that bring down his wrath), and instead of holding them up in front of your face and using them as the warrant to send you to hell, God put them in the palm of his Son's hand and drove a spike through them into the cross. It is a bold and graphic statement: He canceled the record of our debt . . . nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:14).

Whose sins were nailed to the cross? Answer: My sins. And Noël's sins. My wife's sins and my sins. The sins of all who despair of saving themselves and who trust in Christ alone. Whose hands were nailed to the cross? Jesus' were. There is a beautiful name for this. It's called a substitution. God condemned my sin in Christ's flesh. "Sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3). Husbands and wives cannot believe this too strongly. It is essential to our fulfilling the design of marriage. (45)

This is the grace upon which our lives depend — and the grace that fuels a husband's sacrificial love and a wife's glad submission. Pastor John sums it up, "Let the measure of God's grace to you in the cross of Christ be the measure of your grace to your spouse" (46).

Download a free copy of This Momentary Marriage (PDF). Also check out the small group special, 24 books for a donation of $75.

_______

Recent posts in "Talking About Marriage" —

Four Reasons Why Marriage Is God's Doing

The End of Mommy Wars

Christine Hoover — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:45:00 -0500

Every other week this spring, I opened my home to a group of new moms to discuss biblical motherhood. Each of them arrived with their babies and baby gear in tow, as well a palpable fear that they were getting it all wrong.

There is an inherent danger in gathering moms in a room: we immediately compare notes regarding our children’s milestones, personalities, and sleep habits. Really, though, we are comparing ourselves, wondering if we are good moms and if our children reflect that.

With the new moms, I addressed this tendency toward comparison on the first day. Until we stop comparing ourselves or telling other moms they should mother our way, I said, we will leave our time together feeling isolated and condemned.

The gospel of Christ holds no place for comparison. We are all equally in need of grace, and we all equally receive it as a gift from God. In regards to mothering, the gospel clearly applies:

None of us are good enough mothers.
Through Christ, God offers us grace in our mothering. He takes our meager efforts and produces spiritual fruit in us and our children. He is enough.
He has given us principles in Scripture as a framework for mothering.
He has also given us the Holy Spirit to individually lead and guide us in mothering our unique children.

What does this mean in day-in, day-out motherhood?

It means that we are all mothering toward the same goal — that our children know and worship God. Our methods for reaching that goal may vary according to our unique families, circumstances, and the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Will he lead every believer toward the same goal? Yes. Will he lead every believer to the goal in the same way? No. And this is a very good thing.

Nancy Wilson writes,

Because every family is a distinct cultural unit, it is good that our methods differ. God did not intend for us to walk in lockstep with one another. . . . We ought to rejoice in a common commitment to biblical principles and in the variety of methods God’s people employ. (The Fruit of Her Hands, 58)

Because of the gospel, then, the Mommy Wars have no place among believers. After all, at the heart of the Mommy Wars is pride (“I am more spiritual than that mother because I employ this method and she does not.”), competition (“My children are better than hers because I employ this method.”), and self-condemnation (“I am not spiritual enough or a good enough mother because I don’t employ the method that she does.”).

To end the Mommy Wars in the church, we must learn to apply the gospel to our own mothering, and also to the mothering methods of others. When we know God’s grace, we stop looking for validation from others for our methods, and we are able to extend grace to others. We celebrate and respect the different gifts and styles of mothering as we move toward a common goal.

These are all the things I said to the new moms in my living room. I pleaded with them earnestly to remember grace, to turn off the chorus of (good) voices on the internet and (good) books on their shelves, and to listen for and focus on the only voice that matters, the quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit in the pages of Scripture.

_______________

Posts in the Mommy Wars series —

Are You Mom Enough? (Rachel Pieh Jones)
The End of Mommy Wars (Christine Hoover)
Mommy Wars in the Local Church: A Parable (Gloria Furman)
Mommy Wars Are Spirit Wars (Carolyn McCulley)
A Pregnant Woman’s Defense Against the Schemes of the Devil (Gloria Furman)

How to Sabotage an Introverted Pastor

Jared Wilson — Wed, 23 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

My dearest, dreadful Grubnat,

I have read your report with great interest and am not dissuaded in the least that your client has not responded well to our previous tack of desiring his congregation’s pleasure, and in fact is more predisposed to not caring what they think at all. You should remember from primary school the very basic lesson that any one idolatry has at least two doors of entry. If your client cannot be led to feed on his pride through the front door of people-pleasing and what the Enemy calls “fear of man” take him by his nose around to the service entrance.

Our Enemy looked at the shepherdless sheep and felt compassion (for some inexplicable reason). Your client appears easily manipulated into seeing his sheep and feeling irritated. So let us go with that. Let us count some ways this may be accomplished:

Your patient is an introvert, yes? Feed him more and more information about how utterly draining people are, how ungifted he is to care for them, and how it is actually Enemy-glorifying for him to operate according to his personality type, others be damned.

A wee bit of truth there, of course, but mixed in with his fleshly aversion to being bothered will make a potent combination in the service of his neglect of the congregation. Before too long he will be refusing to counsel or visit or even disciple, seeing it all as “outside his area” or against the grain of his “calling.” Pastors often love these categories because they make good barriers. What the Enemy calls the gifts of his Spirit sometimes make excellent rocks and trees for his people to hide behind in abdication of obedience to him.

One of the Enemy’s servants — the one we refer to endearingly, regretfully as The One That Got Away — has instructed his fellow workers to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you” (1 Peter 5:2). It sounds like common sense but what is very common among clients like yours is the wish for a flock other than the one they’ve got. Put it in his ear that he should have a different flock, a better flock, a bigger flock, what-have-you and so on. Poke his heart away from the flock he has and toward the idealization of the flock he wants. This will make him hate the messiness of ministry and the slow-going nature of sanctification all the more, making him hate his people all the more.

Speaking of hearts, you want your client’s as hard and as shriveled as possible. The servant of the Enemy that gave us such fits — miserable Thornflesh has never quite been the same since his assignment to him; he’s been simply rocking back and forth in his cell for, lo, these 2,000 years muttering, “Couldn’t be shaken, couldn’t be won, couldn’t be shaken, couldn’t be won,” poor thing — instructs his flock on an open heart (2 Corinthians 6:11–13). Nothing could be more dangerous. If your patient’s heart is open, it will lead to more open hearts.

Attack, Grubnat, attack! Get his defenses up. What we are after is a thin skin and a hard heart, a closed heart. You appear to be well on your way to success in this area. Put that forked tongue in the fellow’s earhole and whisper sweet morsels of entitlement and elevation. In this mode, even the common benefits of his solitude — in study, in prayer — will dry up, funneled inward. An isolated, insulated pastor is a black hole for joy and compassion. Go with the grain of this man’s selfward bent, my infernal poppet. You will sabotage this sinner yet.

Yours insidiously,

Wormwood

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Previous Wormwood Letters —

The Subtle Art of Sabotaging A Pastor

Lessons Learned from Pastoral Ministry

Jonathan Parnell — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:00:00 -0500

Darrin Patrick is the pastor of The Journey in St. Louis, a church he planted back in 2002. He also serves as the Vice President of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network and has written a couple books, Church Planter and For the City (with Matt Carter).

Earlier this year Darrin sat down with us to talk theology and pastoral ministry. In this five-minute video he mentions a few lessons he's learned:

In sum,

Trust others with ministry
Say no to critical people
Learn from other churches and minstries
Be willing to give away your best leaders

Are You Mom Enough? (Mommy Wars)

Rachel Pieh Jones — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:45:00 -0500

I have spent 10 of my nearly 12 mommying years in Africa, so when an American friend mentioned the “Mommy Wars,” I had to ask her what that was.

Apparently, as she informed me, there is a perceived “mothering battleground” where moms pit themselves against each other over topics like feeding babies, choosing schools, eating healthy, disciplining children, and more.

Are You Mom Enough?

Time Magazine recently joined the fray with the provocative cover of a beautiful young mother visibly breastfeeding her four-year old son next to the title, “Are You Mom Enough?”

The message screamed at moms from this issue of Time, from television, Facebook, blogs, and Pinterest is: unless you are fit to run marathons, breastfeed into the preschool years, own a spotless and creatively decorated home, tend a flourishing garden, prepare three home-cooked meals per day, work a high-powered job, and give your husband expert, sensual massages before bed, you are not mom enough.

From my perspective, however, the Mommy War is over. Done. Finished. Kaput.

And I lost.

I am not mom enough. Never was, never will be.

But I am on the frontlines of another war. The battles are raging and the casualties could be my children, my husband, or myself. This war isn’t about me being mom enough. This war is about God being “God enough.”

Is God “God Enough”?

Is God “God enough” when my daughter falls from the roof and the nearest hospital is a two-hour drive and a four-hour flight away?

Is God “God enough” when a beloved friend and devoted mother is diagnosed with cancer?

Is God “God enough” when loneliness and culture shock creep in like a snake and squeeze my heart?

Is God “God enough” to take my best, stained efforts at childrearing and craft something that brings him pleasure?

Is God “God enough” to turn little hearts to him, and to hold them there?

Five loaves and two fish feed thousands. A shepherd boy takes out a giant. A king who commits adultery and murder is called “a man after God’s own heart.” A pagan prostitute bears the bloodlines of Jesus. A man dead and buried for days inhales fresh life. An outcast, stained with a continual flow of blood, is healed with the touch of a tunic. The wind and waves are stilled. The sting of death is vanquished, the curse removed forever.

God is, always has been, and always will be, God enough. The battle is over whether or not I will believe it, whether or not I will delight in God’s enough-ness.

Mom Enough

And somehow, in God’s mathematics of grace: Mom (never enough) + God (infinitely enough) = Mom enough.

Mom enough to believe and to be called Chosen, Daughter, Righteous, Honored, Heir, Forgiven, Redeemed.

Trusting in God, because of Christ, I will rise from the graveyard of Mommy War victims, victorious and filled with resurrection power. Loving and living in his perfect enough-ness, I will live to parent for another day. Never mom enough, but filled with the One who is always enough.

_______________

Posts in the Mommy Wars series —

Are You Mom Enough? (Rachel Pieh Jones)
The End of Mommy Wars (Christine Hoover)
Mommy Wars in the Local Church: A Parable (Gloria Furman)
Mommy Wars Are Spirit Wars (Carolyn McCulley)
A Pregnant Woman’s Defense Against the Schemes of the Devil (Gloria Furman)

20 Quotes from Father Hunger

Tony Reinke — Tue, 22 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

What follows is a collection of 20 quotes that caught my attention as I read Douglas Wilson’s new book, Father Hunger: Why God Calls Men to Love and Lead Their Families (Thomas Nelson, 2012):

"In human history, there will never be a more perfect father-and-son moment than this moment between Father and Son [Matthew 3:16–17]. This is the keynote — pleasure. This is the pitch that a father/son relationship needs to match — ‘well pleased.’ When we don’t match that pitch, a lot of things start going wrong.” (12)

“The fact that these other things have not been added to us, the fact that we live in fatherless times, reveals our attitudes toward God the Father. Father hunger is one of the chief symptoms of our idolatry. It is the basis for our political follies, our cultural follies, our technological follies, and so on. But the solution is not to schedule numerous family retreats. The solution is to announce, preach, and declare that the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of God, and of His Christ. Another way of saying this is that men must seek to be Christians first. If they love Jesus Christ more than mother or father, or wife, or sons, or daughters, then they will be in fellowship with the source of all love. If they make an idol out of any one of their family members, then they are out of fellowship with the source of all love — meaning that the “idol” is short-changed. A man’s wife receives far more love when she is number 2 after God than she would if she were number 1. A man’s children will be fathered diligently when they are loved in the context of a much greater love.” (33–34)

“There are many lawful activities and pursuits that ought to be excluded from the sanctuary, even though they are taught, shaped, and informed by the ministry of the sanctuary. Examples would include lovemaking and auto mechanics, great naval battles and heart surgery. But in order to have these kingdom activities conducted rightly, it is necessary to have the worship at the center being conducted rightly. Worship is the necessary governor. This means that if we see a dearth of fathers in the realm outside worship, we must not try to organize pro-fatherhood rallies in that same realm. It will not work. The need of the hour is to return to the worship of God the Father, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and all conducted in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (36)

“The main threat against which a man must protect his wife is his own sin.” (40)

“We should get masculinity straight in the heart so that the badges of masculinity (which every culture necessarily has) can be understood in a straight manner as well. Sex roles, and sex badges, are often a matter of cultural definition. A kilt is not a dress, as everybody knows. Some might even say these signs are arbitrary. But we must also remember that cultures have the authority to assign these roles, just as a military service has the authority to define what constitutes a salute. And if the culture has this rightful authority, then members of that culture have the responsibility to submit to the definitions — and not kick against them. A military unit embroiled in a debate over whether or not ‘this kind of salute’ is an arbitrary imposition from a tyrannical authority is a military unit that has already lost its way.” (44)

“The Bible never says that a ’real man’ must go hunting, or play football at some time in his life, or change the oil in his truck, or spend some time every weekend at Home Depot buying fix-it items. If someone were to define such activities — suitably arranged in a checklist — as the essence of true masculinity, then we would be justified to laugh him right out of the room. Such a person would argue that Lord Nelson wasn’t a true naval hero because he never learned to salute the right way. And Caesar never changed the oil in his chariot either. Nevertheless, in any given culture certain masculine roles will necessarily be assigned, and those boys and men who are embracing their masculinity rightly will gladly assume those roles.” (44–45)

“When a man opens the car door for his wife, he is doing far more than just getting the door open. It is not a matter of utility. It is not a question of pragmatics. Granted, we could save energy all around if both individuals opened their own doors. But he is making a statement in addition to getting the door open. He is disciplining his own heart and soul, which need it, and he is honoring his wife, who is glorified by it. The role of the man here, if we may speak this way, is not just to get the door open. His central role is the liturgical act of saying that women everywhere should be held in honor by men, and that he adds his amen to this, as everyone in the parking lot at Costco can now see.” (45–46)

“Our males down here are only a dim, flickering image of what true masculinity is. We do not project our ideas of fatherhood up onto the big screen of the heavens. No, God’s ultimate idea of fatherhood is projected down onto the little screens that each of us carries around.” (50)

“The ancient world had no problems whatever with priestesses in religious service, and no problems at all with recognizing goddesses and consorts for the gods. The striking thing about the biblical faith is that this element, so common in the ancient world, is entirely missing. The biblical faith, with its highlighted masculinity, stands out in sharp relief against the ancient systems of unbelief — in much the same way that it stands out against modern systems of that same sort of unbelief.” (51)

“So what is it then? What is masculinity? Simply put, masculinity is the glad assumption of sacrificial responsibility. A man who assumes responsibility is learning masculinity, and a culture that encourages men to take responsibility is a culture that is a friend to masculinity. When a culture outlaws masculinity, they soon learn that such outlaws are a terrible bane to them, instruments that destroy civilization with their mutant forms of masculinity. Every society needs masculine toughness, but it needs a toughness that lives and thrives and is honored within the boundaries of the law. And if we want this kind of toughness in the men, we have to teach it to the boys, and cultivate it in them. Like a concrete foundation, masculine toughness has to lie underneath masculine tenderness.” (51–52)

“Biblical authority knows how to bleed for others. . . . The foundation of all Christ’s authority in the church is the blood that He shed. He took responsibility through sacrificial service, and therefore all authority flowed to Him. He shed His blood as He was assuming responsibility for the sins of all His people, therefore God has highly exalted Him. Jesus took the rap for things He didn’t do — that’s the model we are to live out. . . . When masculinity is not taught and disciplined, boys grow up thinking that it means selfishness instead of sacrifice.” (53–54)

“Everyone seeks happiness, and that’s the way it is. Virtue is based on what makes you happy, not whether something makes you happy. If you sought to disprove my point by adopting an extreme stoical outlook, in order to show me that not everybody is motivated by the ‘pursuit of happiness,’ as I am so glibly maintaining. We are not put in this world for pleasure alone, you might say, and then add that you intend to do your raw duty out to the utter frozen limit. This would not really throw me. I would shrug my shoulders and say, ‘Whatever makes you happy.’” (112–113)

“Our ambitions must be converted the same way the rest of a man is — through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Death is the ultimate detox center. It purifies everything. So, in order to be a clean ambition, it must be a resurrected ambition. Any other way, it will corrupt everything it comes in contact with. If it has not been mortified, ambition will destroy a man. If it has not been mortified, then lack of ambition will destroy a man.” (115)

“A man who takes a woman to the altar is going there to die to himself.” (126)

“Why is it not permissible for a woman to raise her hands to give a ministerial blessing? As we know, Paul forbids it (1 Tim. 2:12), of course, but why? It is not because Paul believes women to be incapable of the requisite knowledge, or that he thinks women cannot exhibit the necessary godly character. No, the reason is her body. Women can’t be ministers because they are women. Women have breasts and wombs, and the presence of breasts and wombs matter. Women were embodied with a different calling than was assigned to men when they were given their bodies. Bodies matter.” (138)

“What are fathers called to? Fathers give. Fathers protect. Fathers bestow. Fathers yearn and long for the good of their children. Fathers delight. Fathers sacrifice. Fathers are jovial and open-handed. Fathers create abundance, and if lean times come they take the leanest portion themselves and create a sense of gratitude and abundance for the rest. Fathers love birthdays and Christmas because it provides them with yet another excuse to give some more to the kids. When fathers say no, as good fathers do from time to time, it is only because they are giving a more subtle gift, one that is a bit more complicated than a cookie. They must also include among their gifts things like self-control and discipline and a work ethic, but they are giving these things, not taking something else away just for the sake of taking. Fathers are not looking for excuses to say no. Their default mode is not no.” (158–159)

“We contrast impurity with purity, but Paul contrasts impurity with contentment [Ephesians 5:3–4]. There is something deep going on here. This is not a trivial point. Biblical contentment is not stoicism. We are not called to be content in the same way that a block of wood is content — even though we may assume that the wood presumably is content. That is not what we are called to. And Paul is not urging us into some kind of “happy, happy, happy all the day” kind of stuff. He is not urging a constant and frothy giddiness. No, he sets the pattern for us, providing us with an example. In one place he describes himself as “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Cor. 6:10). His joy, his contentment, was not a perverse kind of denial, or a stiff-upper-lip stoicism. And yet it was “always rejoicing.” This kind of contentment, whether well fed or hungry, is a deep satisfaction with the will of God for you (Phil. 4:11–12). This is bedrock stuff — a basalt kind of joy twenty feet down. And it needs to be a foundational, bedrock joy that runs underneath the entire house.” (184)

“Gracious fathers lead their sons through the minefield of sin. Indulgent fathers watch their sons wander off into the minefield. Legal fathers chase them there.” (195)

"Over the years, I have heard my own father talk about an assignment he has given (countless times) to victims of our father-hungry generation. Suppose that someone is converted to the Christian faith, and he wants to be a good husband and father. He thinks of it as a good thing, and so he is all for it. The only problem is that his father ditched when he was only two, and he doesn’t have a good grasp of what fatherhood is even supposed to look like. My father has often told young men and women in this kind of position to read through the gospel of John, taking special note of everything that is said about God the Father. We learn what tangible fathers are supposed to be like by looking to the intangible Father. And we look to Him by looking at Jesus, the one who brings us to the Father." (200)

“Authority flows to those who take responsibility. Taking responsibility is the foundation of all true authority. This means that reestablishing authority is accomplished by taking responsibility. Often a simple reassertion of authority is an attempt to evade taking responsibility. The point is reasserted so that someone else will do what needs doing. This is not only impotent; it is counterproductive.” (208)

* Note: the page references cited here are based on the pagination of unfinished proofs and may differ from the final book.

___________________

Previous entries in this series —

20 Quotes from The Explicit Gospel (Matt Chandler)

Four Reasons Why Marriage Is God's Doing

Jonathan Parnell — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:00:00 -0500

The most foundational thing we can say about marriage is that it is God's doing. John Piper explains, "A glimpse into the magnificence of marriage comes from seeing in God's word that God himself is the great doer. Marriage is his doing. It is from him and through him" (24).

In his book This Momentary Marriage, Pastor John gives four reasons why marriage is God's doing:

First, marriage was God's design.

While Genesis 1:27–28 makes clear that marriage is meant for male and female, the logic of Genesis 2 also confirms it.

In [Genesis 2:18], it is God himself who decrees that man's solitude is not good, and it is God himself who sets out to complete one of the central designs of creation, namely, man and woman in marriage. "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." Don't miss that central and all-important statement: God himself will make a being perfectly suited for him — a wife. (21)

Second, God gave away the first bride.

God took the role as the first Father to give away the bride. "Genesis 2:22: 'And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.' He didn't hide her and make Adam seek. He made her; then he brought her." (22)

Third, God spoke the design of marriage into existence.

We can see this if we look carefully at Matthew 19:4–5: "[Jesus] answered, 'Have you not read that he [God] who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said [Note: God said!], "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh"'?" Jesus said that the words of Genesis 2:24 are God's words, even though they were written by Moses. (22)

Fourth, God performs the one-flesh union.

The one-flesh union between a man and woman is the heart of what marriage is.

Genesis 2:24 is God's word of institution for marriage. But just as it was God who took the woman from the flesh of man (Genesis 2:21), it is God who in each marriage ordains and performs a uniting called one flesh. Man does not create this. God does. And it is not in man's power to destroy. This is implicit here in Genesis 2:24, but Jesus makes it explicit in Mark 10:8–9. He quotes Genesis 2:24, then adds a comment that explodes like thunder with the glory of marriage. "'The two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."

When a couple speaks their vows, it is not a man or a woman or a pastor or parent who is the main actor — the main doer. God is. God joins a husband and a wife into a one-flesh union. God does that. The world does not know this. Which is one of the reasons why marriage is treated so casually. And Christians often act like they don't know it, which is one of the reasons marriage in the church is not seen as the wonder it is. Marriage is God's doing because it is a one-flesh union that God himself performs. (23)

Download a free copy of This Momentary Marriage (PDF). Also check out the small group special, 24 books for a suggested donation of $75.

My Response to the Vote on Jason Meyer

John Piper — Mon, 21 May 2012 10:00:00 -0500

Last night, in a special All-Church-Strategy Meeting, 792 of Bethlehem’s members gathered at 7 PM and voted 784 to 8 to confirm God’s call on Jason Meyer to take hold of the baton that I have carried for the last 32 years. I wrote a letter to be read at that meeting giving my sense of God’s leading to this point. Then I wrote a response that we sent to all our people this morning.

Below is what I wrote in my journal when I couldn’t sleep for joy.

Journal Entry (6:30 AM, May 21, 2012):

I am up early this morning. Unable and uneager to sleep. My heart is seeking ways to praise the Lord, thank the Lord, be devoted to the Lord.

What shall I render to the Lord? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fix my eyes on the gospel of the glory of Christ.

The glory of Christ’s Calvary love.

The glory of Christ’s obedience.

The glory of Christ’s patience.

The glory of Christ’s purity and utter guilelessness.

The glory of Christ’s kindness.

The glory of his wisdom over his church.

The glory of his jealousy for his bride.

The glory of his friendliness.

The glory of his power to disarm the rulers and authorities, to conquer death (“If I lay it down, I will take it up again”).

The glory of his lowliness.

The glory of his prayers for his enemies.

The glory of his authority over all things (“Peter, when you have turned strengthen your brothers”).

The glory of his voice, used (“If I sinned bear witness”) and not used ("like a lamb going silent to the slaughter").

The glory of his compassion ("son, behold your mother").

The glory of his overflowing allegiance to God’s word (“that the Scripture may be fulfilled”).

The glory of his passion for the glory of his Father (“Father, glorify your name”).

All this and more lay beneath last night’s vote. Overflowing from the gospel of the glory of Christ, Jesus has loved his church. Loved her. Loved her.

________

Steps to Overcome Temptation

Jonathan Parnell — Mon, 21 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

Earlier this year David Mathis sat down with Don Carson to discuss sanctification. In this three-minute clip, Carson talks about some simultaneous steps to take for overcoming temptation, including a deepening delight in Jesus.

Sanctification is the theme of this year's National Conference — "Act the Miracle: God's Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification." Visit the event page to learn more and register.

How Zephaniah Helps Us Feel the Glad Love of God

Jonathan Parnell — Sun, 20 May 2012 19:00:00 -0500

John Piper says it's almost too good to believe. Hear Zephaniah's words:

The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:17 is an absolutely magnificent promise that is meant to make us feel God's joy. Like when the father ran to embrace his prodigal son, some scenes in Scripture are especially meant to astonish us with mercy.

But not everyone can bring themselves to believe God's love for us is that powerful. Though, as Pastor John writes, Zephaniah wants to help us get it:

[Zephaniah] labors under the wonderful inspiration of God to overcome every obstacle that would keep a person from believing — really feeling and enjoying — the unspeakable news that God exults over us with singing. (178)

But there are many who struggle, and you might be one. In chapter seven of The Pleasures of God John Piper sketches a hypothetical dialogue between a one who struggles and the rationale of Zephaniah. He speaks for Zephaniah and interacts with the potential inhibitions that keep us from believing in God's love. It goes like this:

A Dialogue with the Logic of Zephaniah¹

"Can you feel the wonder of this today — that God is rejoicing over you with loud singing?”

“No, I can’t, because I am too guilty. I am unworthy. My sin is too great, and the judgments against me are too many. God could never rejoice over me.”

“But consider Zephaniah 3:15. God foresees your hesitancy. He understands. So his prophet says, ‘The Lord has taken away the judgments against you!’ Can you not feel the wonder that the Lord exults over you with loud singing today, even though you have sinned? Can you not feel that the condemnation has been lifted because he bruised his own Son in your place, if you will only believe?”

“No, I can’t, because I am surrounded by enemies. Obstacles press me in on every side. There are people who never let me believe this. There are people at work who would make my life miserable if God were my treasure. There are people in my family who would ostracize me. I have friends who would do everything to drag me down. I could never go on believing. I would have too many enemies. The oppression would be too much to bear, I could never do it.”

"But consider Zephaniah 3:17, ‘The Lord is a warrior who gives victory’; and verse 19, ‘Behold, at that time I will deal with your oppressors [says the Lord]’; and verse 15, ‘He has cast out your enemies.’ Can you feel the wonder that God is doing everything that needs to be done for you to enjoy his own enjoyment of you? Can you see that the enemies and the oppressors are not too strong for God? Nothing can stop him, when he exults over you with loud singing. Can you feel the wonder of it now? Can you believe that he rejoices over you?”

“No, still I can’t, because he is a great and holy God and I feel like he is far away from me. I am very small. I am a nobody. The world is a huge place with many important people. There are major movements and institutions that he is concerned with and happy about. I am too small. God is like the president. He is far away in Washington, busy with big things."

"But consider Zephaniah 3:15, ‘The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst’; and verse 17: ‘The Lord, your God, is in your midst.’ He is not far from you. Yes, I admit that this staggers the imagination and stretches credibility almost to the breaking point — that God can be present personally to everyone who comes to him and believes on him. But say to yourself, again and again, He is God! He is God! What shall stop God from being close to me if he wants to be close to me? He is God! He is God! The very greatness that makes him seem too far to be near, is the greatness that enables him to do whatever he pleases, including being near to me. Has he not said, for this very reason, ‘I dwell in a high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit’ (Isaiah 57:15)? Can you not then feel the marvel that God makes merry over you — even with loud singing — when you come to him and believe him?"

"But no, you just don’t understand. I am the victim and the slave of shame. I have been endlessly belittled by my parents (see Zephaniah 2:8, 10). I have been scoffed at and threatened and manipulated and slandered. Inside this cocoon of shame even the singing of God sounds faint and far away and indecipherable. It is as though my shame has made me deaf to anyone’s happiness with me, especially God’s. I cannot feel it.”

"Now I am sure I do not feel all that you feel. I have not been through what you have been through. But God is no stranger to shame. Unbelievable shame was heaped on his Son (Hebrews 12:2), terrible slander, repeated belittling, even from his own townsfolk (Matthew 13:55–58). Therefore, ‘We do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses’ (Hebrews 4–15). I know I have never walked in your shoes. I did not have to live with the family you lived with. But Jesus knows. He feels it with you. And best of all, his Father says right here in Zephaniah 3:19, ‘I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.’ Is it not amazing how well God knows you? Can you not feel the warmth of his heart as he makes provision for every question you have? Do you not yet hear the singing of God as you draw near?”

________

¹This is adapted from The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God's Delight in Being God, 1991, (Colorado Springs: Multnomah, 2012), 179–180.

Safe and Uncondemned for the Glory of God

Jonathan Parnell — Sun, 20 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

It was almost nine years ago when Owen Shramek died. His parents, a young couple from Bethlehem Baptist Church, had moved to the Middle East to work as cross-cultural peacemakers. Owen was born at 24 weeks and the medical context reduced his chance of survival to 10 percent. He lived on this earth for only 20 minutes.

After Owen's parents flew back to the States for his burial, John Piper preached his funeral sermon and comforted his family with the truth of the Bible. Pastor John listed eight propositions about who Owen is and his legacy for the glory of God.

Owen Shramek was and is a human being created in God's image.
Owen Shramek was and is your son.
Owen Shramek is safe and uncondemned in the presence of Jesus Christ.
Owen Shramek was created to glorify God.
The length of Owen Shramek's twenty-minute life on earth was virtually indistinguishable from the length of ours.
Owen Shramek is happier today than the happiest person on earth has ever been.
Owen Shramek was a test for your faith.
Owen Shramek is a gift to you and the Middle East.

In his book, The Hardest Sermons You'll Ever Have to Preach, which includes this story and full sermon, Bryan Chapell writes:

Pastor Piper assumes two critical burdens in this message: 1) proving from Scripture that a newborn is incapable of expressing faith can, nonetheless, be eternally safe and uncondemned, and 2) proving from Scripture that the short life of a newborn can bring glory to God and change the world. (119–126)

Suffering such as this demands the voice of God be delivered with clarity and love. Along with Owen's parents, to honor Owen and for the glory of God, we commend this sermon to you in the hopes that "the truth here continue to speak grace and comfort from our good and kind Father."

How to Thrive in College

Alex Chediak — Sat, 19 May 2012 12:00:00 -0500

College should be a temporary season of academic preparation and personal growth to propel a lifetime of effective service to God and neighbor. It should be a launching pad into all that goes with responsible Christian adulthood. Yet for some it’s a time when they abandon the Christian faith, displaying that they never really belonged to Christ (1 John 2:19). For others, their faith remains intact, but they waste their college years with video games, partying, and other frivolities — an expensive vacation funded by Mom, Dad, and (often) debilitating student loans.

Today, seven out of ten high school graduates immediately go on to college, but about 30% will never become sophomores, and almost half will not have graduated even six years later.¹ Many who do graduate move right back home with their parents, assuming little responsibility and armed with little ambition for Christ.

Own Your Faith

I’m convinced that you should not just survive college but thrive at college. Don’t just maintain your faith, but really come to own it — growing thick, strong roots (1 Timothy 4:12). Don’t just perpetually visit churches but find one to join — one that clearly proclaims the gospel, practices vibrant worship, and welcomes you into authentic iron-sharpening-iron community. You need a good church off campus as much as you need strong Christian friendships on campus.

Don’t trifle with sin; stay clear of impurity (Ephesians 5:3). God is not mocked; we never get away with anything (Galatians 6:7–8). Be quick to repent when you stumble. Practice being deeply satisfied with all that God is for you in Jesus and the pleasures at God’s right hand will overwhelm the deceitful siren calls of sin (Psalm 16:11). Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life (Proverbs 4:23).

Walk With the Wise

Preempt loneliness with a strategy to find Christian community on campus, particularly at secular schools. But even at Christian schools, be intentional about cultivating relationships that most provoke you to live fully for Christ (Proverbs 13:20). College is a time to establish life-long friendships — not just the kind you have a great time with (good as that is) but the kind that spur you on to love, trust, and follow God. Pursue relationships that help you put away childishness, grow in maturity, increasingly make wise choices, and “expect great things from God and attempt great things for God.”

College is a time for assuming responsibility, for becoming a disciplined steward of time and money, for recognizing that recreation is a gift of God to be enjoyed in measure but never to dominate our lives. Rather, when properly pursued, recreation empowers us for our work rather than distracting us from our work.

Be Trained to Make a Difference

Don’t just squeak by in your classes with as little effort as possible, but strive to discover your calling — what God uniquely wired you to do — and to love God with all your mind by giving it your very best (Ecclesiastes 9:10). As a student, remember that your work is learning (studying) so that you can, for a lifetime, increasingly love God with a well-trained mind, a mind that can identify key questions, pursue understanding, dissect arguments, discover logical fallacies, and communicate effectively.

College is an opportunity to get the training you need to make a difference in the world — by becoming a business person, an engineer, a doctor, a teacher, a historian, a physical therapist, a husband, a wife, a parent, who sees God’s lordship extending to every area of life and every corner of the globe.

It’s a time to take the gifts God has given you and develop them into finely-tuned skills — the kind that can really serve and benefit other people (some of whom may even pay you). It’s a time to become a man or woman with unshakable character and faithfulness — the kind that can be given increasing areas of responsibility, and who can eventually rise to leadership. It’s a time to honor all that your parents did for you by learning to own your decisions, even your mistakes, as you embrace a full-orbed, God-dependent adulthood.

________

¹ "College Enrollment and Work Activity of 2010 High School Graduates," United States Department of Labor, April 8, 2011. Mike Bowler, "Dropouts Loom Large for Schools," U.S. News and World Report, August 19, 2009.

Motivating Joy

Tony Reinke — Sat, 19 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

Puritan Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity:

If anything can make us rise off our bed of sloth, and serve God with all our might, it should be this, the hope of our near enjoyment of God forever.

(Design submitted by Jennifer Knight.)

Previous images —

Degree in Hand, More Desperate Than Ever

Jonathan Parnell — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:00:00 -0500

Graduation is a high moment. It's like a wedding of sorts. All the many investments — the questions needing answers, the costs needing to be weighed — rise together in a public crescendo of accomplishment. Congratulations, here's your degree.

Tonight I graduate from seminary. The page of official training closes, and the real-world chapter, so it seems, is opened. It will be a high moment, indeed, and it would probably be a "higher" one if I was going into anything other than vocational ministry.

It has been four years of intense training, of deep learning and wrestling and sharpening of gifts, and now it's finished. But I won't feel strong when I walk through the exit — and perhaps that’s a mark of a good seminary experience. In fact, tonight when I gather with my band of brothers to walk across the stage, shake hands, smile, and receive our degrees, I will feel quite weak.

Two years ago I didn't want it to be this way. Then, I hoped that come graduation I’d be stepping out into the world of local church ministry as an evangelical Rambo. I wanted to be an ecclesiological blue chip, trained with all the skills and ready to play. But, no, that's not how it is now. I feel worn out, a little like an old dog, the grad with the asterisk, more aware of my failures now than ever before.

I feel weak.

And here's the thing: It seems this is exactly how God wants it to be. Remember what Paul said? “God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27)

Presumption has been decimated. Yes, God give us godly ambitions, please — I have some and want more. But before I can set my sights on changing the world for the glory of God, I need to wake up tomorrow morning. And I can't do that on my own. And I need to not ruin my children’s lives by being an absentee dad under the same roof. And I can't get this right on my own. I need to continue seeking God himself for who he is before I skip to expounding his word for others. And I can't produce these affections on my own.

I am desperate for him. Degree in hand, and more desperate than ever.

I have learned so many really good things in seminary — too many to count — and above them all, as the summary banner, I have learned how to stay Christian. What I mean is that I have learned to follow Jesus and be satisfied in all that God is, amid the stress of due dates and assignments and responsibilities outside the classroom that make the other stuff seem like drivel. I have gotten to know God more. I have learned of his faithfulness, how time after time after time he comes through. How he keeps good on his promises. I have learned that ministry is about pleasure and the real joy isn't found in our achievement, but in God. And despite my weaknesses, despite my leadership foibles and occasional illegitimate totality transfers (HT: D. A. Carson), the obstacle that keeps me from this greatest joy has already been overcome. Jesus Christ, the righteous, suffered for us the unrighteous that he might bring us to God. (1 Peter 3:18). God has made me his, and he is enough.

So though I may not feel strong, give me more of this kind of weakness. I think this is what seminary is supposed to do to you.

"Fifty Reasons" eBook – Free in Eight Languages

Tyler Kenney — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:31:00 -0500

If you've explored our Resource Library, you've likely discovered our Online Books section, which contains over 60 John Piper titles available in English as free downloads.

What you may not have discovered is the tab that enables you to sort them "By Language," which ultimately reveals a list of 25 other languages in which you can find free ebooks.

One of the most popular titles between these languages is Piper's book Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die, which is currently available for download in 8 different tongues:

English – Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die
German – Fünfzig Gründe, warum er kam, um zu sterben
Hindi – पचास कारण की यीशु क्यों मरने आया
Hungarian – Ötven ok, amiért Krisztus meghalt
Persian – پنجاه دلیل چرا عیسی به دنیا آمد تا مصلوب شود
Russian – Пятьдесят причин, по которым Христу надлежало пострадать и умереть
Swahili – Je, Kwa Nini Kristo Alikufa Msalabani?
Telugu – [title doesn't paste well]

(A sample is available in Traditional Chinese – 基督受死的50個理由)

Offering free translated ebooks is just one more way we're aiming to reach the world with the life-changing message that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

Related posts:

A Romanian Version of Our Website (5/11/12)

Reaching the Muslim World — On the Web (5/4/12)

Reaching the World Through the Web (5/1/12)

A Celebration of Biblical Masculinity

Gloria Furman — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:45:00 -0500

I live in a culture that admires a man’s earning power, and his fertility, and his ability to rule his domain with an iron fist.

While Scripture certainly calls for a Christ-like masculinity that provides for and protects his family, the Bible takes a wrecking ball to the culture-based ideals of masculinity that are celebrated around the world.

By God’s grace, I enjoy the fruits of living with a man who demonstrates biblical masculinity. This is the kind of masculinity that emerges from the gospel, points back to the gospel, and celebrates the gospel in my home.

Unashamed

The masculinity I appreciate as a wife is of far greater value than wealth-earning power. It’s a masculinity that is unashamed of the gospel which is the power of God (Romans 1:16).

The unashamed masculinity I enjoy in my home leaves a legacy that is more enduring than prolific fertility. It’s masculinity that fervently loves others from a heart that has been born again, born not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable. True masculinity is reborn through the living and abiding word of God.

The unashamed masculinity I love to follow in my home is far more impressive than macho pride. It’s masculinity that is willing to take the painful shrapnel in the battle against his own sin, rather than run from sin and hide in the comfort of silence. It is a masculinity that willingly exposes its life to the iron-sharpening-iron of open and honest male accountability relationships.

The unashamed masculinity that guards the hearts in my home puts away rash, cutting words that pierce like a sword. My husband’s Christ-honoring masculinity understands the power of words, and he uses words to bring healing to me and our children.

The unashamed masculinity I cherish in my home is such that fixes its eyes on Jesus and turns its eyes away from all the vain things of this world that hold a potent charm over other men. My husband’s Christ-honoring masculinity flees from promises whispered by a hiss.

The unashamed masculinity I need in my home is concerned that others find their delight in God. Nothing quite says, “I love you” to me than when my husband is willing to humbly stand up to the things I pursue that obstruct my everlasting joy in God. His loving masculinity reassures me of Christ’s atonement made on my behalf, and of the privilege I have to boldly approach the throne of grace.

Unashamed masculinity has less to do with how many horses a man owns, or how fast he can run. Unashamed masculinity is about what a man does with the gospel.

Where can you see this unashamed masculinity? You see it whenever a man has peered into the empty tomb and found new motivation to lay down his own life to spread the gospel into the souqs of Casablanca, into the office spaces in Dallas, into the cafes in Geneva, into the shantytowns of Mumbai, into the barrios of Sao Paulo, and into the universities of Toronto.

My Unashamed Husband

My dear, godly, husband once explained to someone that he wasn’t able to shake hands because of the nerve disease in his arms. This person said, “That’s awful! Everyone can tell a real man by the firm grip of his handshake.”

I just smiled to myself.

I’ve watched my husband find his strength in the joy of the Lord. He has a firm grip on grace. And I can testify that he is “a real man” by his unashamed passion for the gospel.

When he cares for our family, our church, and our city with the gospel, he grabs hold of the gates of hell and shakes them without fear and without shame.

That is the kind of gospel-centered masculinity that I thank God for, and it’s the masculinity that I want to celebrate.

_______________

Other posts by Gloria Furman —

The Only Thing We Have to Fear

Jon Bloom — Fri, 18 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied. (Proverbs 19:23)

Franklin D. Roosevelt coined one of America’s iconic maxims in his first inaugural address: “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” It’s not true.

Roosevelt was trying to quell the national panic of financial crisis, urging Americans not to succumb to “unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts.” It is true that irrational fear must be resisted. But it’s not true that fear is the only thing we need to fear.

In fact, fear itself is not wrong. God actually designed us to be fearers. Fear is a faith-revealer. What we fear reveals what we trust. It’s a strong response to a perceived threat commanding us to protect our hope. In that way it governs our behaviors.

That means fear really isn’t our problem. If we fear the wrong things it’s because our faith is in the wrong things.

There’s the real issue for you and me. We have a lot of fears because we have a lot of unbelief.

Every time we are sinfully fearful — fearful of something God tells us not to fear — it is a moment of unbelief exposure. It is a place in the kingdom of our souls that has not yet been conquered; not yet fully under the rule of Jesus Christ.

Israel’s conquering the Promised Land is God’s metaphor for us in fighting unbelief. In the face of Canaan’s fortified cities and giants the Israelites were told:

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

They were called to face their fears because it would train them to put their trust in the right Hope. “It is the Lord your God you shall fear” (Deuteronomy 6:13). Learning to fear the One Right Thing would free them from the tyranny of fearing a myriad of wrong things. The same is true for us.

Today, if the Lord has you facing fortified cities and giants of unbelief and you find yourself fearful, hear his words and be encouraged to press on:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
“The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28).
“Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack” (Psalm 34:9)!
Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God… He will come and save you” (Isaiah 35:4).
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:32)?
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
“Do not fear, only believe” (Mark 5:36).

There is only One Thing we have to fear, and it is not fear. It is the Lord. Through fear he will teach us faith.

________

Previous posts from Jon Bloom —

Behind the Blog: We Have Thor

Jonathan Parnell — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:00:00 -0500

Josh Etter joins today's episode of Behind the Blog for the background of how we learned about the amazing story of Ian & Larissa. Tony talks about why superheros matter, I discuss tweeting through 1 Corinthians, and David gives the rundown on our upcoming National Conference in September.

"Five-minutes or less" turned into seven minutes this week.

You can also listen here.

Blog posts mentioned in this episode:

The Story of Ian & Larissa by John Piper
The Avenger by Tony Reinke
The Book of 1 Corinthians in 40 Tweets by Jonathan Parnell
Announcing Our 2012 National Conference by Scott Anderson

________

Recent episodes —

Far Too Easily Pleased

Ken Myers — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:50:00 -0500

Americans, Daniel Boorstin once observed, suffer from extravagant expectations. In his much quoted 1962 book The Image, or What Happened to the American Dream, Boorstin observed that Americans “expect the contradictory and the impossible. We expect compact cars which are spacious; luxurious cars which are economical. We expect to be rich and charitable, powerful and merciful, active and reflective, kind and competitive. . . . We expect to eat and stay thin, to be constantly on the move and ever more neighborly, to go to a ‘church of our choice’ and yet feel its guiding power over us, to revere God and to be God.”

Boorstin argued that “ever enlarging our extravagant expectations we create the demand for the illusions with which we deceive ourselves. And which we pay others to make to deceive us.”

Having, Consuming, Achieving

The Image was about the way the American entertainment, journalism, and advertising industries create and sustain our illusions (usually with our implicit consent). Everything from the meaning of the universe to the deep well-being and confidence we can expect from eliminating various unpleasant (if natural) odors emerge from the mist. The grand pattern of illusion fostered by the media magi is that ultimate satisfaction is obtainable by having (the right car, the trophy wife), by consuming (the smoothest liquor, the sexiest movie), or by achieving (the perfect body, the corner office).

But in reflecting on the shape and substance of American Who-Says-You-Can’t-Have-It-All-ness, I wonder if Boorstin doesn’t have it wrong. I wonder if we actually have been conditioned to expect too little from life, not too much. In the exhausting pursuit of happiness acquired, we miss the greater possibility of happiness of being. Living in a culture which insists that something we do will finally fulfill us, we are distracted from the truth that what we are (as created and redeemed) matters much more. We may reject belief in works-righteousness while unknowingly we have embraced a sad sort of works-happiness.

We expect too little, not too much. John Piper, in his bracing book Desiring God, reminds us that our problem is not that we are hedonistic, but that we are not hedonistic enough: we are not seeking the greatest of pleasures, the truest of joys.

Faux-Joy

Worldliness atrophies our pursuit of joy. Clutching our shabby stake in the city of man, we cannot lift our sights high enough to take in the glories of the City of God. We are really pathetic figures, heirs to heavenly wonders, scrabbling about in the bargain basement for some tawdry scrap of faux-joy.

Can a society such as ours possibly have any idea what joy is? James says that joy is known when we encounter suffering. Suffering produces perseverance, and that makes us mature and complete. Joy is the prospect of spiritual maturity before God. Joy is the anticipation of a new mode of being-in-Christ. For our culture, something called joy is more often associated with the immediate, happy-face experience of materialistic immaturity.

The deepest source of Christian joy is neither in what we can obtain or accomplish, nor even in what God obtains and accomplishes on our behalf. Our call is to enjoy God forever, not just His blessings for us. The blessings, like the gifts of any lover, are not ends in themselves.

God Is the Gospel

Surely one of the reasons that deep, abiding Christian joy is such a rarity is because we haven’t progressed from taking delight in what God has done to taking delight in who God is. Our culture stresses doing more than being, and the church follows its lead. Sermons typically stress what God can do for us, instead of preaching about who God is. This is often done with the good intention of making preaching “practical.” Of course, we need to put the Word into practice. But surely we need practice in being still and knowing that God is God. Without this discipline, we will almost certainly be tempted to use God.

Some may suggest that all this talk about reflecting on the being of God is far too esoteric, and may be fine for obscure mystics, but not for modern Christians with full schedules. John Piper, however, insists: “The pursuit of joy in God is not optional. It is not an ‘extra’ that a person might grow into after he comes to faith. Until your heart has hit upon this pursuit your ‘faith’ cannot please God. It is not saving faith. Saving faith is the confidence that if you sell all you have, and forsake all sinful pleasures, the hidden treasure of holy joy will satisfy your deepest desires.”

Of course, we could always insist on being satisfied with less, on being much more easily pleased.

_____________

From Ligonier Ministries and R.C. Sproul. © Tabletalk magazine. Website: www.ligonier.org/tabletalk. Email: tabletalk@ligonier.org. Toll free: 1-800-435-4343.

Announcing Our 2012 National Conference

Scott Anderson — Thu, 17 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

We invite you to join us for our 2012 National Conference, September 28 - 30 in Minneapolis. The theme of the conference this year is “Act the Miracle: God’s Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification". You can read lots more about the conference theme, speakers and schedule here.

The conference will feature the following speakers: Kevin DeYoung, Elyse Fitzpatrick, R W Glenn, Sally Lloyd-Jones, David Mathis, Carolyn McCulley, Russell Moore, John Piper, Ed Welch, Jarvis Williams.

This year we're also excited to welcome Fernando Ortega, who will lead a seminar on corporate worship. He will also lead us in "An Evening of Worship" on Friday night after Pastor John's first message.

In the following preview video, Pastor John states: "Few things, it seems to me, are more crucial than that we discern the relationship between human effort in the Christian life and a deep, profound reliance upon the sovereign, gracious, decisive work of God. I'm eager to wrestle this through with you."

Find more information and register here.

Letter to a 12-Year-Old Girl About the Eternal Destiny of Those Who Have Not Heard the Gospel

John Piper — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:00:00 -0500

Dear [Sarah],

You asked what happens to people who live far away from the gospel and have never heard about Jesus and die without faith in him.

Here is what I think the Bible teaches.

God always punishes people because of what they know and fail to believe. In other words, no one will be condemned for not believing in Jesus who has never heard of Jesus.

Does that mean that people will be saved and go to heaven if they have never heard of Jesus? No, that is not what God tells us in the Bible.

The main passage in the Bible that talks about this is Romans 1:18–23. Here is what it says. Then I'll make a comment or two.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Notice several things:

All people "know God," even if they have never heard the Bible. "What can be known about God is plain to them" (verse 19). "Although they knew God..." (verse 21).
The way they know God is by the way God has made the world and their own consciences (verses 19–20).
Even though they know God, no one who knows God anywhere in the world "honors God as God or gives him thanks" (verse 21). Instead, they "suppress the truth" (verse 18). That is, they resist the truth deep in their hearts and "exchange it" for other things that they would rather have (verse 23).
Therefore, they are "without excuse" (verse 20). That is, they are guilty and deserved to be punished.

So I don't think the Bible teaches that people can be saved without hearing the gospel. Look at what Paul says in Romans 10:13–17. You need to hear the gospel to be saved.

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” ¹⁴How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” ¹⁶But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” ¹⁷So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

So let's pray for missionaries and ask God if maybe we should be one. The world really needs more people to tell all the lost people in the world about Jesus and the amazing good news that he died for sinners so that whoever believes will be saved.

Thank you for your good question.

Keep praying and reading your Bible. God will give you growing understanding.

Pastor John

________

Josh Hamilton, Relapse, and the Means of Grace

David Mathis — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:45:00 -0500

In case you missed it, Texas Ranger Josh Hamilton hit four home runs in one game last week.

In case you don't know baseball, that's a big deal. Only 15 other players in Major League history have accomplished the feat.

But what's impressive about Hamilton is that it's not just one good game. It's now several outstanding seasons, and an unusual career. An unashamed evangelical, Hamilton is one of the more amazing sports stories of our time as he has recovered from drug addiction and alcoholism, with God's help, to become one of the game's elite players. Not only is he a four-time All-Star, and the 2010 Most Valuable Player, but he currently leads the American League in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in.

ESPN's Pardon the Interruption interviewed Hamilton the day after his four-home-run performance, and in the course of the interview, he was asked about his recent "relapse" (he admitted in February to over-drinking at a bar in Dallas). Hamilton responded with depth and authenticity about his faith and that he's been learning to evaluate the weeks and months that lead up to temptations to relapse. In particular, he says he's learned to ask, "Did I stop praying? Did I stop getting into the Word? Did I stop fellowshipping and allowing people who care for me into my circle?"

What he's talking about are the so-called "means of grace." In fact, John Frame (who explains the means of grace as "certain channels by which God gives spiritual power to his church") categorizes the various Christian means of grace under the three precise headings Hamilton mentions: Word, prayer, and fellowship.

So how do we Christians, recovering sinners as we are, avoid relapse, grow in our faith, and continue to avail ourselves of the grace of God for everyday life? Here's Frame:

Without God’s grace, we are lost. And we need God’s grace not only at the beginning of the Christian life but throughout. So, naturally we ask, where can we go to find God’s continuing grace to us? Where do we go to get the resources for sanctification, for continuing spiritual growth? The short answer is that there are three places: the Word, fellowship, and prayer.

Except for the second, we can find those resources either privately or publicly. The second, fellowship, is by definition public. But we can receive the Word either by individual Bible study or through the public preaching and teaching of the church. And we can pray, of course, either privately or publicly. In our private use of the means of grace, we come to God as members of the church, the body of Christ. Apart from Christ, our Bible study and prayer will not help us. Indeed, we need other members of the church to help us understand the Bible and to teach us how to pray. So, in an important sense, even the private means of grace are within the church. . . .

It is not typical in Reformed theology to regard fellowship as a means of grace. But I think it clearly is. Remember all the passages . . . on one-anothering? Those make it plain that our spiritual health depends on one another — both what other believers do for us and what we do for them. The larger concept that includes all those one-anotherings is the concept of fellowship.*

This is the stuff of healthy Christianity — for superstars and unknowns alike. The ground is level at the cross, not just at conversion, but for everyday spiritual wherewithal. We're all invited to avail ourselves daily of God's means of grace in the Word, prayer, and fellowship.

________________

* John M. Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord (P&R, 2006), 260–261.

The Avenger

Tony Reinke — Wed, 16 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

Four superheroes unite in "The Avengers Initiative" — Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, and the Iron Man — a collaborative of the world's greatest powers, called together when cosmic evil threatens the planet.

This is the storyline behind the The Avengers (2012), a movie that brought together these superheroes into one allegiance. And audiences have responded. In its first three days in U.S. theaters, the movie earned a record-smashing $200.3 million in box office revenue.

We are attracted to this team of superheroes because they are a response team called on to suppress evil. But when we walk out of the movie theater, we are faced with questions. Why don't we see God destroying evil with sword and hammer and fists? Where is God when it hurts? Where is God when the helpless are abused? Where is God when evil dictators are followed? Where is God when orphans are trafficked? Why does God not break into history and push back the dark forces?

We long for God to enter this world, to grab the proud, self-centered dictators, the false messiahs, and the abusers. We want God to take evil by the feet, like Hulk with the self-proclaimed savior Loki, and whip him violently to the concrete like a rag doll. "Puny god," is The Hulk's one line in the movie, and it rings true. Loki is a puny god in the hands of a living Hulk.

Avenge

"Revenge" is a noun, "avenge" is a verb, and the Avengers are especially active in their defense against evil. They are the good guys, but they are the ones who remind us that the act of violence is right — sometimes. But when, and by whom?

When necessary the government can unsheathe the sword and avenge as a servant of The Avenger (Romans 13:4). But this is never true for the Church.

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

Instead of vengeance, Christians are called to offer both sides of the jaw, to forgive 70-times-7 times, to repay no evil with evil, to avenge nothing. We are free to live with forbearing gentleness because, as Paul mentions, God is the Avenger.

God is the one who repays every evil act of sin and rebellion with his righteous vengeance. For those who have humbled themselves at the cross, the wrath of the Avenger for our sins — past, present, and future — has fallen upon Christ. For the unrepentant and for those who live in continued rebellion against God, the eternal fires of hell will reveal the wrath of the Avenger.

The Avenger

In either case, in the cross or in eternal judgement, God’s vengeance is revealed against every act of rebellion, every act of sin. Ultimately his vengeance is a revelation of himself.

"There's only one God," said Captain America.

"God alone is the Avenger," wrote Martin Luther.

"O Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!" sang the Psalmist (Psalm 94:1).

This is not the Hulk-like rage of retaliation. God's shining vengeance is his level-headed, righteous response to sin. It is his holy sanity. It is a revelation of himself that Christians are called to worship.

And while the Avengers are called on to restrain evil forces, they are a faint echo of the One who has, and will again, break the evil, and break it forever.

God’s vengeance reminds us that none of us escape the power of sin and its just consequences. We would like to shift the focus over to evil galactic dictators, but we cannot escape the reality that we are all guilty of Christ-ignoring rebellion. And God is the Avenger of all rebellion, not least of which is our self-centered mutiny that belittles his well-pleasing Son. The Avenger will "inflict vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus" (2 Thessalonians 1:8).

That judgement is coming. Soon. By faith we see the coming righteous vengeance of God and we flee to the Blood of Christ, to find in Christ the place where the vengeance of God’s holy wrath has been poured out and extinguished so that our joy might be full and complete forever.

____________

For more on the theme of God’s vengeance, see:

John Piper, sermon, Do Not Avenge Yourselves, But Give Place to Wrath (February 20, 2005)
John Piper, sermon, God’s Wrath: “Vengeance Is Mine, I Will Repay,” Says the Lord (February 27, 2005)
John Piper, article, Deciding What We Deserve, Christianity Today 12:2 (October 21, 1977)

Standing Against a Vicious "Gospel"

John Knight — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:00:00 -0500

I recently had the pleasure of joining a group of people that included a Christian man from Ghana. He loves Jesus and holds tightly to the promises of God in ways that are beautiful and humbling. He has been evangelizing, mentoring, and teaching for years in Western Africa, including some very dangerous places.

Last year he lost his daughter to an illness. She was a beautiful 21-year-old young woman about to finish college. He and his wife have suffered greatly. The response from some of the Christian "leaders" he knows made me sick. Confess your sins, they told him. "If you confess your sins she will be made well." Others even said they had received a prophetic word that God had heard his prayers and she would leave the hospital. There was so little compassion, so much presumption. And where was the Bible?

Yet, this brother knows that God is sovereign and good.

In fact, he spent most of the time talking about the dangerous advance of the health, wealth and prosperity "gospel." Too many "pastors" are selling God as little more than a robot programmed to respond to human requests. Stuff like "if you need money, give the church more money and it will be returned to you in blessings" and "if you experience sickness, it is your fault because you don’t have enough faith."

There is no talk of the suffering Jesus told us to expect. No talk of Jesus being a greater treasure than all earthly goods. No mention of seeking God above all things. No hope in future grace.

He told me that disability was presented as God’s curse on families. Prosperity preachers don't talk about disability serving the greater purpose of God's glory. They say nothing about the good God intends for his church. They don't say what the Bible actually says about God's sovereignty in disability within this present age.

Yet, this brother stands on God's promises and clings to Jesus. He talks of God’s mercy and grace and peace even in the hardest of circumstances, like the death of his precious daughter. I want to be like him.

And I want the cruel, viciously unbiblical, Satanic prosperity gospel to go away, forever.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

________

Recent posts from "The Works of God" —

God Made the Maternal Instinct to Magnify Himself

Gloria Furman — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:30:00 -0500

“She’s eating her baby!” my 5-year-old shrieked as we were watching an episode on Animal Planet. The narrator coolly explained that when threatened, the mothers in this species of the animal kingdom eat their young.

I comforted my daughter. “Don’t worry, Sweet Pea. I would never eat you. If I felt threatened then I would turn to Jesus instead of chewing on you. Even though your little toes look just so tasty . . .”

More shrieking ensued as I pretended to eat her toes.

You may have felt like a “mother bear” at times when protecting or defending your children, but your instinctive motherhood is different than that of a brute animal.

Richard Baxter described how God created the maternal instinct to the praise of his glory:

Women especially must expect so much suffering in a married life, that if God had not put into them a natural inclination to it, and so strong a love to their children, as maketh them patient under the most annoying troubles, the world would ere this have been at an end, through their refusal of so calamitous a life.

Their sickness in breeding, their pain in bringing forth, with the danger of their lives, the tedious trouble night and day; which they have with their children in their nursing and their childhood; besides their subjection to their husbands, and continual care of family affairs; being forced to consume their lives in a multitude of low and troublesome businesses: all this, and much more would have utterly deterred that sex from marriage, if nature itself had not inclined them to it.*

Above and beyond the animal kingdom in which there are numerous displays of “mother bear” traits, as humans we have a redemptive goal and purpose for our maternal instinct.

All of our instinct to suffer, to love, to exercise patience, to endure pain, and to work for the good of our children is a reflection of the image of God.

The image of God is most gloriously displayed in Jesus, who is the exact image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).

Jesus’ “instinct” compelled him to set his face toward Jerusalem where he would allow himself to be crucified to redeem and sustain mothers whose hope is in him.

Jesus offers his power to mothers who would live in their mundane as suffering, loving, patient, enduring, hard-working daughters of the King.

Christ’s power is available to us as we have received Christ Jesus the Lord. We are to walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as we were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. We take care so that no one might take us captive by philosophy and empty deceit that is not according to Christ. Jesus is sufficient: “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority” (Colossians 2:9–10).

Jesus defies the jaws of death as mothers choose to nurture human life by God’s common grace.

Jesus is pushing back the gates of hell as mothers glory in God’s particular grace of the cross in their mothering endeavors.

From labor and birth or persevering in adoption paperwork and fundraising and all of the wearying troubles we experience — Jesus sustains mothers.

May the God who created the maternal instinct receive all praise and glory in Christ Jesus through mothers made alive together with him.

_______________

Other posts by Gloria Furman —

* The Practical Works of the Rev. Richard Baxter (London: Paternoster, 1830), 4:18.

The Book of 1 Corinthians in 40 Tweets

Jonathan Parnell — Tue, 15 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

Crosses were dark in First Century Rome. Crucifixion was a horrific execution method reserved for the lowliest criminals. And yet, Paul writes his letter to the church in Corinth and organizes his theology and entire ministry around this object of shame.

In God's wisdom the cross has become the place, as D. A. Carson explains, where "God has supremely destroyed all human arrogance and pretension." (The Cross and Christian Ministry, 15). Indeed, this message is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who believe, the cross is the power of God.

1 Corinthians is a book about the cross. And like with Romans, we've tried to summarize the book in a series of tweets that we'll be posting on Twitter throughout the day. As long as we've got social media, let's use it to help one another live in the power of the cross, a day at a time.

Here's one shot:

1 Corinthians 1

The church is those in every place who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (#1Cor 1:1–3)

We're waiting for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. God will sustain us to the end, guiltless. He will. He is faithful. (#1Cor 1:4–9)

By the name of Jesus, agree with one another. Don't have divisions. Be united in the same mind and same judgment. (#1Cor. 1:10–17)

The word of the cross is folly to those perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (#1Cor 1:18–25)

Our life in Christ's is God's doing. There's no room for boasting. He made Jesus our everything. (#1Cor 1:26–31)

1 Corinthians 2

Our message is Jesus and him crucified. Here's where the Spirit's power is seen and why our faith is in God, not man. #1Cor 2:1–5

We have received the Spirit of God so that we understand his word. We have the mind of Christ. #1Cor 2:6–16

1 Corinthians 3

Some servants plant the word, some water, but only God gives the growth. Only God brings people to life. #1Cor 3:1–15

Why would you ever boast in man? All things are yours. The whole world, life, death, present, future. Yours! And you God's! #1Cor 3:16–23

1 Corinthians 4

What do you have you did not receive? And if you received it then why would you ever boast like you did it yourself? #1Cor 4:1–7

The kingdom of God isn't made up of endless chatter and grumbling. It consists of power. Power. #1Cor 4:8–21

1 Corinthians 5

The church is a body of regenerate believers who walk in step with the gospel, together. #1Cor 5:1–13

1 Corinthians 6

We were all immoral pagans. Lost. But God washed, sanctified, and justified us in the name of Jesus and by his Spirit. #1Cor 6:1–11

God made us the temple of his Spirit. We're not our own! We were bought with a price! So let us glorify him with our bodies. #1Cor 6:12–20

1 Corinthians 7

God has gifted his people in different ways. If you're single, it's good to be single. But it might be best you marry. #1Cor 7:1–9

Be intentional for Jesus' sake in whatever situation the Lord has called you. #1Cor 7:10–24

Stay single if you can. Marry if you must. The present form of this world is passing away. #1Cor 7:25–40

1 Corinthians 8

There is one God, the Father, from whom and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things exist. #1Cor 8:1–6

To sin against your brother or sister is to sin against Jesus. Do not make them stumble. Jesus died for them. #1Cor 8:7–13

1 Corinthians 9

Comfort is worth sacrificing if it means tearing down obstacles out of the way of the gospel. #1Cor 9:1–14

It is our reward to freely proclaim the gospel. For the gospel's sake, for our joy, we make ourselves everyone's servants. #1Cor 9:15–27

1 Corinthians 10

Don't desire evil. Realize that OT stories were written for our sake — we on whom the end of the ages has come. #1Cor 10:1–12

God is faithful and he always provides a way of escape. He makes you able to endure temptation. So flee idolatry! #1Cor 10:13–22

In everything you do, eating or drinking or whatever, do all for God's glory, giving up your comfort so others may be saved. #1Cor 10:23–33

1 Corinthians 11

God made men and women dependent on one another. Woman was man from man and man is born from woman. #1Cor 11:1–16

The Lord's table is to remember him. When you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim his death until he comes. #1Cor. 11:17–34

1 Corinthians 12

There are lots of gifts, but the same Spirit, the same Lord, the same God—gifts given to the body for the common good. #1Cor 12:1–11

The members are together. If one suffers, all do. If one rejoices, all do. #1Cor 12:12–30

Yes, earnestly desire the higher gifts. But there is still a more excellent way... #1Cor 12:31

1 Corinthians 13

We can have the most amazing gifts imaginable, but if we don't have love, we gain nothing. #1Cor 13:1–3

Church, this is what we're called to: Love. It bears and hopes and endures all things. It never ends. #1Cor 13:4–13

1 Corinthians 14

The point of spiritual gifts is building up the church, not drawing attention to yourself. Strive to build up the church! #1Cor 14:1–40

1 Corinthians 15

First importance: Jesus died for our sins, was buried, then raised on the third day. All in accordance with the Scriptures. #1Cor 15:1–11

Church, if Jesus has not been raised from the dead then we are all wasting our time. #1Cor 15:12–19

The end will come. Jesus will reign over all and deliver the kingdom to the Father. God will be all in all. #1Cor 15:20–34

Just like we've borne the image of the man of dust (Adam), we will one day bear the image of the man of heaven (Jesus). #1Cor 15:35–49

Death, where is your victory? Where is it? Thanks be to God! He has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. #1Cor 15:50–57

Because of this victory in Jesus over death, be steadfast, immovable. Abound in your work in the Lord. It's not in vain. #1Cor 15:58

1 Corinthians 16

Be watchful. Stand firm in the faith. Men be men. Let all you do be done in love. #1Cor 16:1–20

Maranatha, Lord Jesus! May his grace be with you all. #1Cor 16:21–22

________

The Book of Romans in 45 Tweets

The Gospel Is Big Enough to Fight for Itself

Jonathan Parnell — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:00:00 -0500

Russell Moore:

Sometimes believers will throw up their hands in frustration with non-Christian people they know. “I have said everything I know to say to her about the gospel,” one might say. “She already knows it all and doesn’t believe.”

Often what we seek is another argument, a hidden angle that our interlocutor hasn’t thought through before. But that’s rarely how the gospel is heard and received. Think about it in your own case. Did you believe the gospel the first time you ever heard it? Perhaps you did, but if so, you’re quite unusual. Most of us heard the gospel over and over and over again until one day it hit us in a very different way.

And what was different about it? Was it a new argument? Did you say to yourself, “Wait, you mean there’s archaeological evidence proving the historical existence of the Hittites?” or “Hold on, there were five hundred witnesses to the resurrection? Well, what must I do to be saved?”

No, in most cases what we heard was the same old gospel — Christ crucified for us, buried, raised from the dead — and suddenly there was light (2 Corinthians 4:6). Suddenly what had seemed boring or irrelevant to us now seemed quite personal. We heard a man’s voice in that gospel, and we wanted to follow that voice (John 10:3, 16). We saw a light of glory that overwhelmed us (2 Corinthians 4:6). The same is true with the as-of-yet unbelieving world around us or the as-of-yet unbelieving relatives we have waiting for us at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

You need not be intimidated by unbelievers, as though what you need is a more nuanced “worldview” to protect the kingdom of God from their threats. Yes, we engage in apologetic arguments, but those aren’t at the hub of our mission. By talking with unbelievers about arguments against the existence of God or scientific evidence for blind natural selection or whatever, all we’re doing is listening to the defense mechanisms of those who are, as we were, scared of the sound of God’s presence in the garden. We should talk about those things lovingly, but not so we can defend the faith. We engage others only so we can get to the only announcement that assaults the blinding power of the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4).

The gospel is big enough to fight for itself.

Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ, 110–111, paragraphing added.

Workloads, Busyness, and Time-Hoarding

Tony Reinke — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:15:00 -0500

From Lydia Brownback's new book, A Woman’s Wisdom: How the Book of Proverbs Speaks to Everything (Crossway, 2012), pages 170–171:

The way we use our time is always going to be shaped by how we view our time. Do we see it as a gift or as a right?

Those who view time as a gift can echo the psalmist who said, “Teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90:12). They realize that their time is actually a God-given asset that they are to invest for God’s glory. They are cognizant of the fact that an hour gone by can never be relived.

Conversely, those who view time as a right tend to hoard their hours for selfish pleasure and often resent having to invest energy serving others — including God.

I wept with remorse some time ago when I realized what a guilty time-hoarder I can be. I’d been living through an exceptionally busy speaking season, and on top of this a book deadline loomed. Additionally, I had growing responsibilities at my place of full-time employment. I felt utterly overwhelmed. But rather than casting myself upon Christ and resting in the strength he so willingly supplies, I began to grumble. Grumbling led me to where it always leads — straight into a brick wall.

I was paralyzed by the volume of projects on my plate and found myself unable to make headway with any of it. I came home one day and cast myself onto my bed and cried out to God, “I just can’t do this anymore, Lord!”

Over the next day or so he answered my cry with the conviction that my trouble had more to do with my attitude than with my workload. It wasn’t his enabling that I’d really wanted. It was free time. In my desire to fill up more hours with relaxation and personal comforts, I had ceased to see that the work on my plate was a gift, as all kingdom work is. In writing and speaking, I’m not doing God any favors; he is blessing me with the privilege of getting to do it.

Resources for Upcoming Graduates

Josh Etter — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:41:00 -0500

With the graduation season quickly approaching, you might consider purchasing a case of Don't Waste Your Life (52 copies) for a graduating class. Available for a donation of $150. Shipping is free within the Continental United States. To order, please call 888.346.4700.

A few other graduation resources...

1. Pastor John's 2006 graduation address to The Bethlehem Institute, How a Dead Dog Loves a King.

2. Pastor John's 2007 graduation address to The Bethlehem Institute, Four Mistakes I Hope You Don't Make.

3. Pastor John's 2009 graduation address to The Bethlehem Institute, Remember the Rich Young Man.

________

Other case specials —

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ (48 books for $79)
This Momentary Marriage (24 books for $75)
Finally Alive (60 books for $160)

Are You Cynical About Prayer?

Jonathan Parnell — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

Paul Miller, author of A Praying Life, explains cynicism and its danger in our day:

Listen to Paul Miller talk more about prayer in this episode of Theology Refresh and stream or download his message from the 2011 Conference for Pastors.

Mothers for Whom Jesus Died

Jonathan Parnell — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:00:00 -0500

As Mother's Day comes to an end, the tides of shame recede for millions of women.

Being a mother (or father) doesn't depend on whether your children are living. And that includes adults behind the nearly 55 million abortions reported in the United States since 1973. The second Sunday of May can be a painful reminder.

Jesus hates abortion. But there's something about him we must understand: he didn't come to this world mainly to stop abortion. He came to die. John Piper explains,

God is not only a God of terrible holiness and wrath; he is also a God rich in mercy. And so he sent his Son into the world, not condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him from God’s own wrath (John 3:17). He came not to be served but to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). To lay down his life for the sheep (John 10:15). To bear our sins in his body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24). To provide us with a righteousness that comes, not from our law-keeping, but through faith (Philippians 3:9). And to reconcile us to God (2 Corinthians 5:18; 1 Peter 3:18).

All the children of wrath may become children of the Father through Jesus Christ. An aging abortionist, a few blocks from our church, after 3,000 abortions, can become a child of God. She could hear Jesus say, on her death bed, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” The same is true for the mother of five aborted children. And for the selfish, responsibility-shirking boyfriend. And for the secretive, shame-fearing, overbearing parent. And for the desperate 14-year-old girl.

Jesus did not mainly come to stop abortions in this world. He came mainly to die for abortion-committing sinners. “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).

There is one way to know God as your Father. And it’s the same for the people at Planned Parenthood, and the people at Pro-life Action, and the people at Bethlehem Baptist Church — Come to Jesus.

Excerpted from Abortion and the Narrow Way That Leads to Life (2011).

Your day of shameful pain could become the day of mercy's triumph. Come to Jesus.

"My Mama Told Me It Was So"

Jonathan Parnell — Sun, 13 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

Why does John Piper believe the Bible is true? When recently asked this question he responded that it is first because his mother had taught him it was so.

Grateful for his mother's influence, Pastor John gave a message last month at the Bethlehem Women's Conference on the indispensable priority of the Bible. He explained, "Nothing is more crucial for being the woman God made you to be and knowing how to make your life count than being saturated with the Bible."

Stream or download the hour-long message, The Sum of God's Word Is Truth.

Motherhood Is Victory

Rachel Jankovic — Sat, 12 May 2012 11:00:00 -0500

Jewish women waited for a messiah. They hungered to be the mother of the Savior. They bore children in the hope of a messiah. They raised, nourished, taught, and sheltered their children in anticipation. Anticipation of salvation. Hope for a victory. Faith in God’s promises.

And so many years later — here we are, doing many of the same small tasks. Aching bodies growing new life. Nursing babies waking us through the nights. Small children with small needs. Mouths to feed, over and over. Floors to clean, clothing to tend to, physical needs to meet.

Victory

But we are in a different place in this story. We are not mothering in hope anymore. We are mothering in victory. We are not bearing children to clear a field for planting, we are bearing children to work the harvest.

It can be so easy for us to get caught up in the details of mothering. The details of lost sippy cup lids, and watercolor messes. The demanding work of keeping the fridge full, and the laundry empty. The worry over high school grades and college scholarships. The work of buckling people in and out of our cars, spending the days in the details, and forgetting to see what the big story is.

The sacrifices we make every day are not made in a losing battle. They are the sacrifices of the victorious. They are the cost of a winning war.

Arrows

God does not share our sentimental view of motherhood. While he delights in children, he does not speak of them in some cutesy photo shoot kind of a way. He compares them, not to tiny fairies, or dewey flowers, but to arrows. To weapons in the hand of a mighty man.

God does not tell us to desire the blessing of children because their cheerful voices will make our houses feel cozy. He tells us to desire children who will contend with the enemy in the gate.

It is natural and good that we delight in the little things with our children. God didn’t command mothers to rejoice over elbow dimples and the smell of a new baby’s head. He didn’t tell us to smile over them while they sleep, or to love the way they look in footie pajamas. He didn’t tell us these things, because He didn’t have to. That is the natural love of a mother for her children.

But the love that we need, the reminders we need, is to love them, not for our own sake, but for what God is doing through them. We need a supernatural love. We need to believe in the victory, to mother in faithful confidence.

“Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies. That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger" (Psalm 8:2).

These mouths we are feeding — these are the mouths that God has ordained to use to silence the enemy.

The victory is ours, because the Savior is ours.

________

Posts from Rachel Jankovic —

Motherhood as a Mission Field
Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)
Motherhood Is Application
Motherhood Is Victory

O Mother, Great Is Thy Power

Tony Reinke — Sat, 12 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

Charles Spurgeon, The Sword and Trowel (September, 1873):

The devil never reckons a man to be lost so long as he has a good mother alive. O woman, great is thy power!

(Design submitted by Jennifer Knight. Follow DG on Pinterest here.)

A Romanian Version of Our Website

Tyler Kenney — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:44:00 -0500

Last Friday was the first public announcement of the Romanian version of the Desiring God website. But it didn't happen here. Cristi Chivu, our translation partner, presented it to the Romanian crowd who had just heard John Piper give his second message at the God Is the Gospel conference in Bucharest.

The Romanian version of our website, like the other versions (see the list at the top right of our homepage), hosts John Piper's writings in a fully-translated web environment. So things like the site's navigation, the resource topic names, and the content of the About Us page are all translated, in addition to the resource itself.

The goal with these sites is to remove as many barriers as we can for non-English speakers to access, understand, and — Lord willing — be changed by the God-centered teachings of John Piper. They are part of our mission to reach the world through the Web.

Among the resources on the new Romanian site are translations of God Is the Gospel (Dumnezeu este Evanghelia) and For Your Joy (Pentru bucuria voastră) available for free download, as well as an increasing amount of sermons from John Piper's Romans series (55 so far).

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. And it is through your support that we can reach Romanian speakers with this message through the Web. Thank you for your partnership.

Related: Reaching the Muslim World — On the Web (5/4/12)

He Must Increase, But I Must Decrease

Jon Bloom — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:00:00 -0500

All of us want to finish well. But so many of us do not. Why? Because we too easily cherish our roles in the Great Wedding more than the wedding itself. Which is why John the Baptist¹ must become our mentor.

________

It was all a bit hard to comprehend.

John’s disciples had understood his mission. He had come to prepare the way for the Hope of Israel. It had been thrilling. The long-expected time was so close — that climactic day when Jesus appeared and John publicly proclaimed him the Messiah. The wonder could yield no words.

But they hadn’t expected to feel marginalized by it.

The past year had been a heady one. John had blazed across Judea like a shooting star, the first real prophet in Israel for four centuries. All eyes had been on him from king to peasant. And he called them all to account, including the self-righteous Pharisees. When John spoke God moved and people repented and were baptized. No one had spoken like this man. From all over Palestine people had flocked to hear him. The oppressed, weary people of God, living under Tiberius’s thumb and Antipas’s corruption, had hope again. These disciples had seen revival. And they had been in the middle of it.

Then abruptly they weren’t. The surge had moved past them toward Jesus. Of course, it was wrong to be envious of the Messiah. But still, how could their beloved rabbi — and they with him — suddenly be relegated to the periphery after all that God had done through them?

They couldn’t help but express their perplexity to him: “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness — look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.”

John, who had been staring at the water, turned his intense eyes to them. They were filled with joy.

He said nothing for a moment. He felt compassion for them. He understood. He knew their inner conflict. He knew their sincere godly ambition for the kingdom. And he knew their selfish ambition to have prominent roles in it. He knew how the latter insidiously wove itself into the fabric of the former and how difficult it could be to discern one from the other. This was a moment of sifting for them, of heart-exposure.

He had spent a lifetime being prepared for his brief ministry of introduction. Those years in the wilderness God had worked him over, ruthlessly laying bare his deeply entrenched and multifaceted pride and training him to die to it. This discipline had brought about the peaceful fruit of the righteousness of faith. He had learned to anticipate his Replacement more than his own prophesied prophetic role. He had learned to love the Bridegroom’s appearing and not love the celebrity of being the Bridegroom’s best man. But that had not come easily.

Learning to love the Great Wedding more than their part in it would not come easily to them either. He knew they loved the Bridegroom. But they were just learning that when the blessed Lord grants one a role to play, one must perform it faithfully, but never grasp it. For the Lord also takes away. The role is not the reward. The Lord is the Reward.

With affectionate empathy John replied, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.” He waved them to sit down beside him. “You yourselves bear me witness that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but have been sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

________

We must remember that our role is not our reward. Jesus is our reward. Roles will begin and they will end. And the only way for us to end well is if in our heart Jesus has increased and we have decreased.

What rises in your heart at the thought of Jesus giving another a more prominent role in his wedding? How much do you long to have a more prominent one? How well are you prepared to end the role he has given you? What if he gives your role to someone else?

The wedding is not about us. It’s about him. And we never want to compete with the Bridegroom for the bride’s attention and affection.

¹This narrative is taken from John 3:25–36.

________

Previous posts from Jon Bloom —

A Daily Disabled Life

Larissa Murphy — Fri, 11 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

Related: We will be hosting our first Disability Conference this fall in Minneapolis.

Intro: Letter from John Piper
Part 1: Why We Got Married
Part 2: Learning Contentment in Suffering

“Ian, you really need to pick your nose,” I said, as I started doing it for him. He pulled his head away.

“Thatʼs weird and gross,” he said.

Iʼll admit it — that is weird and gross that I would willingly help Ian in that way. But when youʼre used to doing everything for someone, that action is nothing.

Ian says that itʼs how much I love him that makes me do weird things like that. I canʼt say that I would do it if he were healthy, though. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

A Daily Life

Weʼre not sure what our life would look like if Ian could walk, or drive himself to work, or put his socks on. Sometimes I let myself imagine what it would be like to see a couple on the sidewalk holding hands and wonder what that would feel like. Or what it would be like to come home and see Ian doing simple things like sitting at the computer, checking his email and ESPN. He canʼt. Ian says he doesnʼt day dream like me though because it doesnʼt change anything.

Thatʼs where I end up getting stuck. Itʼs the not-daydreaming that I find hard. Getting through a day with a brain injury is hard. If Ian wants to move from the couch to the wing back chair, I have to move him. If he wants a drink, I have to hand him the cup and take it back from him after he swallows. If he wants something to eat, I have to plan out whether or not it will make him choke and then deliver the bad news if he shouldnʼt have it.

“A hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12).

Those are some of the practical things. Then there are the seemingly meaningless daily losses that run much deeper. Watching Ben, our brother, pick up his little girl when sheʼs crying, listening as our other brother Caleb works on his song for Beth, looking at the picture David, Ianʼs best friend, posted on Instagram of his first little baby. They are all beautiful gifts that are worthy of stirring praise. But for us, and mainly me, they all serve also as reminders that Ian will probably never do those things. Itʼs those tiny things that health allows us to do that act like a megaphone in my heart, reminding me of what Ian has lost, again and again.

It Is the Best Medicine

In the middle of these losses, though, sometimes weʼre given little glimpses of the beauty God has designed in disability, and in Ianʼs in particular. Ian is the happiest and funniest person that I know.

When I ask Ian how his day was, he usually says, “I donʼt remember, so it mustʼve been good.” When I drive his wheelchair into a door frame, he tells me that Iʼm a horrible driver. When I ask if he trusts me during a really awkward transfer into a chair, he laughs and says no. When I tell him that I spent too much money at a yard sale, he asks if I like what I bought and then moves on, knowing that in five minutes heʼll forget I even confessed it.

Usually his first words in the morning have something to do with food. Like the morning that he awoke by saying, “Put some food in my mouth right now.” It is a true gift, because it is amazing that Ian can still talk and that God kept his humor, in the long list of what he lost.

I Shall Look Upon

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage, wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:13–14).

We know that God will not forsake us and that even though we grow sadder with each disabled day, we know that the sadness we now have will be compounded by multiplied joy in heaven. And in heaven, Ian will never even need to ask for food, because he will always be filled.

Watch the video with Spanish subtitles. Download the book as a free PDF.

La historia de Ian y Larissa

John Piper — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:00:00 -0500

Estimados amigos,

Deseando a Dios existe para ayudar a gente de todas partes a comprender y aceptar la verdad de que Dios es más glorificado en nosotros cuando estamos más satisfechos en él. Y yo agregaría, sobre todo en el sufrimiento.

Estar satisfechos en Dios (o en cualquier otra cosa) siempre parece más fácil cuando todo va bien. Pero cuando las cosas que usted amas están siendo despojadas de sus manos, entonces la prueba es real. Si Dios sigue siendo precioso en esos momentos, entonces su valor supremo brilla más. Él es más glorificado.

Los testimonios más significativos que recibo es cuando la gente me dice que fue una visión de la soberanía y la bondad de Dios la que los sostuvo a través de los momentos más difíciles de su vida.

Aquí está uno de esos testimonios. Tiemblo con la grata responsabilidad de introducir a Ian Murphy y Larissa en este video. Tiemblo, porque es “su” historia y de modo muy personal. Tan delicada. Puede ser fácilmente abusada. Tan incompleta. Y me alegro, porque Cristo es exaltado sobre todas las cosas.

Nosotros tenemos una gran visión en Deseando a Dios: queremos llegar a la mayor número posible de gente con nuestro mensaje de hedonismo cristiano- La alegría de Dios en ser Dios y en hacer que la gente sea feliz en él. Tenemos a nuestra disposición el asombroso poder de la Web. Esa es nuestra principal forma de difundir.

Pero las estadísticas del Internet pueden ocultar, así como revelar. Estas son personas. Cada visita al sitio web representa una persona real con un alma eterna. ¡Qué responsabilidad! Ore por nosotros que podamos tener una buena mayordomía de nuestra influencia. Y gracias por su colaboración para hacer posible este ministerio.

Ame a Ian y Larissa mientras usted mira esta increíble historia. Ore por ellos. Y por nosotros.

Su asociado en la principal causa,

John Piper
Con Josh Etter

Watch the video in English. Download the book as a free PDF.

Posts from Larissa...

Part 1: Why We Got Married
Part 2: Learning Contentment in Suffering
Part 3: A Daily Disabled Life

Flee to the Cross

Rachel Pieh Jones — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:31:00 -0500

Sometimes I like to think of myself as a refuge for my kids, a safe place they can run to from the storm of the world. I can hold them while they cry for friends back in Africa, or back in Minnesota, depending. I can kiss skinned knees and pray when the words of bullies sting. I hold the soothing power of band-aids and hot chocolate and tickles at the tips of fingers.

But I am not, ultimately, the safe place they need.

Sometimes it is also easy to seek refuge in my kids, a safe place where I can find hope and meaning and love. They snuggle in the crook of my neck, warm and damp after a bath, and I think everything is right in the world. They run to me so I will be the first to hear their victory story and I know I matter. They say, “Mommy, I wish I could cut off your arm and carry it with me so we would always be together,” and I know I am loved.

But they are not, ultimately, the safe place I need.

The Storm

My failure to be their refuge was evident from the beginning. I remember one particular, early, dark day. I was a twenty-two-year-old mother of infant twins. They were screaming and stinky and hungry and tired. I was screaming and stinky and hungry and tired. I couldn’t make them do what I wanted. I was angry, and struggling under a cloud of postpartum darkness. I found myself behind the firmly locked window of our 22nd floor apartment in downtown Minneapolis looking down, down, down. A thought, a fleeting split-second and wicked thought jagged like lightning across the storm in my mind. What if . . . (I wish I could write these words in a whisper) . . . what if I tossed them out?

By grace, I would never have acted on this impulse, but the thought itself, the epitome of selfish rage against my own children, haunts like a shadow, a thundercloud. It is a vivid reminder; in that moment I was not the eye of the storm, the refuge. I was the storm.

And eleven years later, I continue to occasionally be a storm for my children in other, non-window-related ways. Unfortunately, a solid night’s sleep, an uninterrupted shower, and the ability to sit down for an entire meal without wiping mouths or spilled milk hasn’t eliminated my sinful tendency toward storming.

The only place where I can find hope in my struggles with sin, and the only true refuge for my children, the eye of their storm, is the cross.

The Eye

“The cross is the one safe place for sinners because the wrath of God fell there once and it will never fall there again” (Jason Meyer, sermon).

When I see the raging winds of anger, my failures as a mother, and my idolizing efforts turn my children into a refuge, there is only one thing to do. Run. Flee to the cross.

When I see the sin in my kids, their failures, there is only one place to send them. Run, Henry and Maggie! Hurry Lucy! Flee to the cross!

May my voice urge them on, my hands pull them forward as we run together. Faster, faster, hurry to the refuge of the cross. It is there and only there, bursting through the curtain torn in two, that we will discover the heart of God.

Here, with my children, I find peace while all around the storm rages, sin tempts, terror reigns. Here at the cross is quietness and confidence, joy and forgiveness. Here, at the cross, with the centurion who recognized in Jesus’ dying breath the victory he purchased, is our final and ultimate safe refuge.

________

Learning Contentment in Suffering

Larissa Murphy — Thu, 10 May 2012 04:00:00 -0500

Intro: Letter from John Piper
Part 1: Why We Got Married
Part 3: A Daily Disabled Life

We were riding in our car, the quick two-hour trip to my sisterʼs house. I, in particular, was struggling with our lot that morning, a fairly common struggle for me. I asked Ian if he is often tempted to curse God, a question that may have put me dangerously close to Jobʼs wife:

“Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die” (Job 2:9).

Ian, who to me is just like that tree planted by streams of water (Psalm 1), answered easily, “No, because God has been nothing but good to me.”

A Strength Not Our Own

“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11–13).

One thread of consistency over the past nearly six years since Ianʼs accident is the secret that Paul spoke of. For me, watching Ian, contentment has often felt elusive and like it was always two steps ahead, never allowing me to catch up. Soon after Ianʼs accident, I often deceived myself into thinking that situational changes would move me up a few on the contentment scale. But as our situation continued in pain, God was teaching me, little by little, what this secret means.

I didnʼt know contentment in my prosperity — contentment then meant health and ease, not God. God has not given us an indication that Ian will be fully healed here, which means that we have needed to enlist ourselves in our suffering. We still pray for complete healing, but we also pray for strength to endure a life-long disability. We are learning that contentment is produced as we obey and act on His promises, like the one mentioned above, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

Recently, this has meant believing I can do all things when Iʼm woken up by the sound of Ian throwing up at 4:00 a.m. He canʼt move his body fast enough to not choke, and so my body and mind must jolt from my dreams and spend the next hour cleaning up a man who is too tired and sick to hold his own head up. Yet somehow, in a moment so mysterious that it must be of God, I am filled with peace, in the quiet of our house, throwing filthy bedding down the laundry chute.

And I think that itʼs in those tiny moments of serving and obeying that contentment abounds. Often they are just that, tiny and passing, but they must be building toward a greater joy.

We Shall See God

“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another” (Job 19:25–27).

Ian has been the best at teaching me that even though we are given mercy to grow in contentment here, ultimately we are built for heaven. On mornings when I wish we would just wake up without a brain injury, after saying, “you and me both, sister,” he points me to heaven and that it is so near. Coming from a man who canʼt sit up in bed on his own, but who does not even want to curse God, Iʼll humbly follow his direction.

Watch the video with Spanish subtitles. Download the book as a free PDF.

Four Filters for Praying in Jesus' Name

Tony Reinke — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:00:00 -0500

Praying "in Jesus' name" is more than attaching the phrase to the end of each prayer. So what types of prayers are prayed "in Jesus' name"? In this three-minute clip from his latest sermon, Pastor John says it has more to do with our prayer’s content than in its closing. He provides us with four prayer-filters.

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