It is an encouragement to hear of many churches who are feeding people both the milk and meat of the Scriptures. People are waiting to go deeper no matter where they are at currently. A proper understanding of the purpose of theology helps us to see that theology leads to a deeper affection for God and people. It leads to a greater concern for living out what is known to be true by means such as service and social justice.

The goal for pastors is to feed the sheep. If theology is omitted from the foundations and practices of the church, the sheep will go hungry. One the primary and most loving ways we can protect and serve our brothers and sisters is to teach them the depths of the riches of God’s Word.

If we lack assurance, one remedy is being with and loving God’s people.  It’s another argument for the centrality of the local church and the necessity of our meaningful involvement in her.  As Mark Dever sometimes puts it, “The local church is like an assurance of salvation co-op.”  I think he stole that from the Bible.

Do you lack the assurance of salvation?  Here’s one remedy: Join a church.  Love the people.  Receive assurance.

You can read the whole post here.

The Big Red Tractor from Jacob Lewis on Vimeo.

God follows this statement of his unchanging love by bringing two charges against Israel. It is a strange way to follow such a merciful act. Why tell Israel that they will be shown mercy and then follow that up by charging them with their sin? In order for the Israelites to return to God, they must be aware of their sin so that they might turn away from it. Repentance is needed in order to reestablish that close relationship that Israel experienced in previous generations. Israel has not honored God for the provisions that have been received (i.e. Israel has not tithed) nor has trusted in the words of God to take care of them. Their faith has dwindled because of the prosperity of non-believing people. But again, despite Israel’s lack of faith and negligence in worship, God never abandons them. He disciplines his children by sending them into exile but then delivers them as an act of love. This exile occurs in order to open the eyes of his people to the sins they have committed against Yahweh. Even God’s discipline is an act of love.

So this week, think about the love of Christ that has been lavishly poured out on you. When you start to lament your situation or find yourself extremely discouraged, remember what Christ has done on the cross so that you might have new, eternal life. It came at a great cost. But that just goes to show you how great the Father’s love is for us.

I’ll leave you with this quote from Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer (one of my favorite authors).

What peace it brings to the Christian’s heart to realize that our Heavenly Father never differs from Himself.  In coming to Him at any time we need not wonder whether we shall find Him in a receptive mood.  He is always receptive to misery and need, as well as to love and faith.  He does not keep office hours nor set aside periods when He will see no one.  Neither does He change His mind about anything.  Today, this moment, He feels toward His creatures, toward babies, toward the sick, the fallen, the sinful, exactly as He did when He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to die for mankind.

Below is a video from Tim concerning the aspect of shepherding in pastoral ministry.