Idol factories

“The human heart is a factory of idols…Everyone of us is, from his mother’s womb, expert in inventing idols.” John Calvin

Idolatry has come up quite a bit in my conversations with Katie recently. As we read in her children's Bible, she is quick to point out when people are worshipping "fake gods." She says, "That's silly...there's only one real God." We've also gotten into the 10 commandments part of her catechism, so the two questions we've worked on this week were: "What is the first commandment?" and "What does the first commandment mean?" (Answers: "You shall no other gods before me." and "Worship God only.")

But our conversations have not been mainly theoretical. No, unfortunately, idolatry has become a rather personal issue. We've recently had a lot of battles over Katie throwing a fit when we have to turn off a movie she's watching...even when she's been given fair warning and we've reminded her not to throw a fit when we have to turn it off. I've tried to help her identify the heart issue at hand: "When you throw a fit when we turn off the tv, you are being like the people in the Bible who love fake gods more than the real God. You are choosing to love a movie more than you love God. God wants us to love Him by obeying Him and one of the ways you obey God is by obeying Mommy and Daddy with a happy heart." It's scary to see the truth of what John Calvin said so clearly in the life of my own daughter. I am praying that God would give her a heart for Him SOON and so save her many years of pursuing broken cisterns.

But I've not been observing the truth of Calvin's assessment of the human heart in Katie's life alone. No, the issue of idolatry has hit home even more personally as it's come to the surface in my own life. For several days I had been experiencing great anxiety and sadness as I thought about the life change we are about to experience. I cried on Saturday morning thinking of how it was the last normal Saturday I would have in a while. I've been anxious about the difficulties we may face in the coming weeks, and I fear the freedoms I will have to relinquish. Clearly, there is much selfishness and unbelief at play here. But what I failed to see at first was the underlying issue of idolatry. I had been finding my joy in many things besides God (things like orderliness, sleep, predictability, my own agenda). I was feeling anxious and sad because my ability to possess and enjoy these other things was being threatened by Caroline's arrival. If I were truly finding my hope and joy in God, I would not be anxious because, even when she does arrive, He's not going anywhere and He's not changing! Plus, the hardships that I fear are the very means He wants to use to draw me closer to Himself, to experience more joy in Him. He is not content to let me sit back and "play with mud pies." No, He wants to use the birth of this child to restore REAL joy to me, joy that is in Him and that exists even when all other crutches are removed.

One of the main ways He revealed that all this was going on in my heart was by bringing to mind a song from my college days, "Enough" by Chris Tomlin. I am making that song my prayer now and longing to return to the place where I can sing these words from my heart.

You are my supply, My breath of life

And still more awesome than I know

You are my reward, worth living for

And still more awesome than I know

All of You is more than enough for all of me

For every thirst and every need

You satisfy me with Your love

And all I have in You is more than enough

You're my sacrifice Of greatest price

And still more awesome than I know

You're the coming King, You are everything

And still more awesome than I know

More than all I want, More than all I need

You are more than enough for me

More than all I know, More than all I can say

You are more than enough for me

Preparing to Depend

So how does a Christian "prepare to depend?" I'm still trying to figure that out, and I suppose that will continue to be my occupation for the rest of my life. And not only preparing to depend, but actually depending! I'd love for you all to comment about practical ways you develop dependency on the Lord in daily living.

As I've prayed about this question and asked God to show me how I can prepare to depend on Him, I think I've been half-expecting some amazing new revelation or insight into the Christian life. Really, it came down to three familiar things: pray, know and trust God's word, and lean on others. God keeps it simple for us, doesn't He?

I know that, for a lot of Christians, leaning on other people is a challenge. At this stage in the game, I like to think that I don't have a problem with this, but we'll see what happens when the rubber hits the road! For now, one way I'm preparing to depend on Jesus is by relying on the generosity and help of family and friends. I have not shirked back from welcoming grandparents to come to Louisville to help out during the transition. I already have formed in my mind a list of willing friends I can call who can watch Katie for a couple hours or just speak words of wisdom and hope on rough days. God is honored when we humble ourselves and seek His help through the people He has placed in our lives. Plus, it gives other people the opportunity to experience joy through sacrificial service...don't steal that chance from those around you!

It's funny that something as central to the Christian life as prayer can easily be sidelined when life gets tough. In fact, it's quite silly (foolish, stupid, etc) how quick I am to turn to my own feeble resources instead of to my almighty, kind, and gracious heavenly Father. God Himself has invited us to come to His throne of grace about absolutely anything (Hebrews 4:15-16, Philippians 4:6, 1 Peter 5:7)! We are fools if we do not take Him up on this invitation that was purchased for us by Jesus' own precious blood. I know that the Lord wants me to depend on Him during this season (and every day) by coming to Him regularly and frequently, at planned times and spontaneously, pouring out my heart to Him, asking Him to do for me what I can't do for myself.

As for knowing and trusting God's word, this entire series on motherhood has been a sort of exercise in reminding myself what God has said in order that I might cling to His truth in dark times. I will need to know and trust His promise that His grace is sufficient for me on days when my emotions are wacky and I'm on the verge of losing it. Even more, I will need to know and trust His promise of lavish forgiveness in Christ when I actually lose it and sin against my family or wallow in anxiety.

One other thing I've been doing is imagining likely scenes of future failure and rehearsing what a Christ-dependent response would be. So, for example, let's say that Caroline is 3 weeks old (which means I'm sufficiently sleep-deprived and starting to feel the effects) and she is not falling back asleep after her 2am feeding. How do I depend on Christ when I feel myself start to slip over the edge? Depending on Jesus might look like depending on people...waking up Adam to pray with me or letting him stay up with the baby so I can get some rest. Depending on Jesus would be praying and asking Him to help Caroline fall asleep, to give me wisdom about what to do, to encourage my heart and bolster my thoughts and emotions. Depending on Jesus would mean remembering Romans 12:1 about being a living sacrifice or Hebrews 13:5 and finding comfort in the reality of His presence with me at all times.

But the beautiful thing about Jesus Christ is that even if I fail to do any of those things, and I run headlong into despair and selfishness, His love for me and His promises of grace do not cease to be real and active on my behalf. The good news about Jesus is that He holds onto His own when they lack the strength to hold Him.

Sleeplessness and Sanctification

For me, one of the greatest challenges of motherhood was waking up in the middle of the night for feedings. This became a huge thorn in my flesh since Katie persisted in waking up at night months beyond when she was “supposed” to be sleeping through the night. I became obsessed with sleep and fell into many sins as a result (bitterness, anxiety, anger, self-pity, etc.). Thankfully one morning, God intervened. I had been reading through the book of Hebrews, and I came upon this:

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:5-11)

Through this passage, God reminded me that He was doing serious work in me through the unique trials of early motherhood. Inspired, I decided to make a list of all the ways that God could be sanctifying me through Katie’s sleep issues. In His mercy, God changed my perspective and provided me a way to hope when I was tempted to despair. So, when you are facing yet more laundry to do because of a baby who spits up, or when you have to get out of bed to soothe your child for the fifth time since 2 a.m., be encouraged. God is treating you as His child and is working so that even the mundane, draining demands of motherhood will lead you to share in His holiness and will produce the peaceful fruit of righteousness. And how kind is He that the “rod” of choice is nothing less than your own precious child.

By having to get up in the middle of the night to feed my child, God is training me…

…to trust His sovereignty over my child

…to trust His good purposes in difficulties

…to love sacrificially, considering another’s needs above my own

…to rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, constant in prayer

…to give thanks in all circumstances

…to not love sleep more than God and others

…to depend on Him for strength, energy, faith, and endurance

…to be humble (I can’t do everything right or control the world)

…to not complain against Him

…to sympathize with others

…to apply His Word to my life

…to not sleep and still function (which can be a very helpful skill!)

Motherhood by faith

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen.” Hebrews 11:1

In this familiar “definition” of faith and in the examples that follow in Hebrews 11, God makes clear that living by faith involves believing (trusting) what you don’t see over and against what you do see. Christian motherhood is most definitely an area of life in which we must exercise great faith.

For example, look at what is readily seen in the task of mothering—endless routine, waking up day after day and doing the very same things you did the day before (feeding picky children, wiping bottoms, cleaning up messes, repeating yourself over and over again, disciplining for the same offenses, reading the same books multiple times in a row, and the list goes on). On the surface, it looks like nothing supernatural, important, influential, or eternal is happening in the midst of such mundane activities. This is certainly how the world often views the tasks of motherhood. As feminist Linda Hirshman so bluntly put it, stay-at-home moms are “letting down the team,” wasting the best of their physical, mental, and intellectual energies. This is even how we as Christian mothers can view our own lives at times—we can feel bored, worthless, depressed at the “smallness” of our lives. This is how life can feel if we are only looking at what we do see. But God has called us to live by faith—to live trusting not in what we see but in the exact opposite, what we do not see.

So what are these unseen truths we are to trust in our roles as mothers? What are the invisible realities that are so easily overshadowed by the visible?

I would encourage you to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the specific truths that you need to see with the eyes of your heart. But let me share a couple of the unseen realities that I too often miss in the day-to-day busyness of motherhood.

First, loving my husband and children and working at home are activities esteemed by God (Titus 2:4). I too often listen to the loud voices of our culture and of my own pride and ambition that tell me that loving and serving my family are not significant. But these are not the voices to which our Father wants us to tune our ears! Rather, let us listen to the voice of our Good Shepherd who tells us instead that He highly values the very activities that we view as mundane and ordinary. Trusting that God rejoices over a mother wiping a snotty nose in His name can completely transform such a “lowly” activity. After all, did Jesus Himself not say that he who offers a cup of water to a child in His name would not lose his reward? Such a transformation of daily life can only come by faith—by trusting in what we cannot see. We must seek to improve our spiritual eyesight and rely less on our physical eyes, ears, and emotions. How do we do this? By saturating our minds and hearts with the truth of God’s Word.

Galatians 6:9-10 conveys another unseen reality that must be ours by faith. “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” What is motherhood but an endless supply of opportunity to “do good” to others? And how good is God to give us the promise of Galatians 6:9 to cling to as we seek to obey 6:10, “And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Doing good, especially to our children who can be so needy, can be wearisome! But God gives us this unseen truth to trust on the days when we are tempted to give up. We will reap a harvest in due time. And let’s not forget what kind of harvest this is—

“Here is a soul to train for God; and the body in which it dwells is worthy all it will cost, since it is the abode of a kingly tenant. I may see less of friends, but I have gained one dearer than them all, to whom, while I minister in God's name, I will make a willing sacrifice of what little leisure for my own recreation my other darlings had left me. Yes, my precious baby, you are welcome to your mother's heart, welcome to her time, her strength, her health, her tenderest cares, her life-long prayers! Oh, how rich I am, how truly, how wondrously blest!” Elizabeth Prentiss

“I seldom feel like much of an adventurer—standing in this kitchen, pouring cereal into bowls, refilling them, handing out paper towels when the inevitable cry comes: ‘Uh oh. I spilled.’ But sometimes at night the thought will strike me: There are three small people here, breathing sweetly in their beds, whose lives are for the moment in our hands. I might as well be at the controls of a moon shot, the mission is so grave and vast.” Joyce Maynard

“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would strongly be tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” C.S. Lewis

Somewhere in the midst of the picking up, putting down, cleaning up, and repeating ourselves, God is actually at work. The very One who will one day transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body is the One who is working through our rough, imperfect attempts at caring for and instructing our children in order that they might be brought from death to life and have the very life of Christ formed in them! What more significant, influential, and important task can you imagine? But as in most things in the Christian life, its significance can only be perceived by faith (think Matthew 13:31-33 and the parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven). Let us fix our eyes, therefore, not on what is seen but on what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Motherhood as metaphor

Because the Lord knows our frame and remembers that we are dust, He has so kindly filled His Word with images and pictures to help our small minds grasp vast realities. Jesus’ parables, many proverbs, and much of the Prophets’ writings exemplify this merciful condescension. I remember appreciating God’s use of metaphor as I approached marriage. As I reflected on the feelings, desires, longings, and activities that filled my time of engagement, I understood in a new way how we are called to long for Christ our Bridegroom and the joy that will be ours at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

The experience of motherhood offers a similar opportunity to experience in fresh ways many truths that God longs for us to understand and believe. What follows is a collection of moments that will become a familiar part of your life as a mother. I pray that by singling out these experiences in this way, God will prepare and enable your heart to recognize the spiritual treasures He wants to give you as you walk through them yourself. May He bring these Scriptures to mind as you go about your tasks as mother and may the remembrance of what God wants to teach you deepen and transform your experience of each activity.

The groaning of labor pains

John 16:21-22
“A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”

Galatians 4:19
“My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!”

Nursing

Isaiah 49:15
“Can a woman forget her nursing child,

that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?

Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”

1 Thessalonians 2:7
“But we were gentle among you,

like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.”

1 Peter 2:2
“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk,

that by it you may grow up into salvation.”

Caring for small children

Isaiah 66:13
“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you;

and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”

Psalm 131:2
“But I have stilled and quieted my soul;

like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.”

Hosea 11:1-4
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son…

It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms;

but they did not realize it was I who healed them.

I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love;

I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.

Discipline

Hebrews 12:9-10
“Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!

Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best;

but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.”

Easter Song

Last Easter I shared a song that is always on my heart this time of year. This year I thought I would share another one of my favorite Easter songs, actually entitled "Easter Song." Like the Sandi Patti song I shared last Easter, I was also introduced to "Easter Song" by my mother. The version I knew as a child was sung by a great band from the 70s and 80s called 2nd Chapter of Acts. You can listen to that version here. My favorite rendition these days is the Keith Green version.

Listen to both samples and tell me which one you like better. I realize that both are musically dated, but I find myself able to overlook that aspect because of the role the song played in teaching me how to worship the Risen Lord. Also, I think knowing the history of these two artists can also help you appreciate their work in spite of how cheesy it might sound to our ears. Both Keith Green and 2nd Chapter of Acts were used mightily by God in their time to influence a generation for Christ.

Here are the lyrics to "Easter Song." Enjoy!

Hear the bells ringing, They're singing that you can be born again
Hear the bells ringing, They're singing, "Christ is risen from the dead!"

The angel up on the tombstone said, "He has risen, just as he said.
"Quickly now, go tell his disciples that Jesus Christ is no longer dead!"

Joy to the world! He has risen, Hallelujah! He's risen, hallelujah! He's risen, hallelujah!

At the laundromat

Once a week we go to the laundromat down the block to do our 4 loads of laundry. (Don't ask me how the 3 of us produce that much stuff!)

Adam has actually been the one doing the laundry for the past several months (Thanks, honey! ). Last week, however, I ventured out to do our laundry there with Katie for the first time. The experience wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be(I was having nightmares about sitting with a toddler for hours waiting for the laundry to finish). Thanks to this laudromat's industrial dryers, however, it only took about 1.5 hours! Katie did wonderfully as well since there was a lot to explore and people to watch. Which is what this post is all about....

About 20 minutes before we were done, a middle-aged man and his father (?) came in. I'm not exactly sure why they were there--I never saw him doing any laundry, maybe he was just visiting the attendant. Nevertheless, within minutes of arriving, he was engaging another woman in a conversation about the gospel. Several things struck me as I observed this interaction.

First, the negative things. This man did not appear to be particularly gifted in interpersonal skills. He seemed a little loud and preachy, and I'm not sure if he ever took time to really listen to the woman to whom he was speaking. These are not insignificant faults, and they are surely areas in which the Lord desires to sanctify all of His children.

Despite this man's weaknesses, however, I walked away from the laundromat, not feeling critical and judgmental, but rather deeply challenged. At one point in the conversation, I heard the man say, "I love Jesus--He is the only thing I want to talk about! I don't care about talking about football or sports or tv. Jesus is all that matters." Here was a man captured by Jesus Christ. Here was also a man who was truly making the most of every opportunity. I, on the other hand, had been sitting at the laundromat for over an hour, surrounded by immortal souls created in the image of God, but had not made one effort towards having a conversation with any of them about eternity. This man, however, recognized the truth C.S. Lewis spoke of in A Weight of Glory:

"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you may talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and corruption such as you now meet if at all only in a nightmare. All day long we are in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in light of these overwhelming possibilities it is with awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never met a mere mortal..."

Oh, to walk in light of this reality!

On reading the story of Jonah for the 342nd time

Adam and I are incredibly thankful that our child loves books. Katie loves to grab a book and plop down in our laps or sit "beside you" on the sofa (as she likes to say). Some of her favorites include "George" (as in the Curious one), Madeline, and Cordoroy. She also enjoys reading out of her different children's Bibles and has some definite favorites from those (Zaccheus, Noah, and, oddly enough, Jesus turning the tables over the in the temple).

None of these even begin to compare, however, to her love for the story of Jonah. I'm not really sure when it began, sometimes around her birthday, I think. During Christmas, Katie's Grammy happened to have several book versions of the story around the house, and countless times a day Katie would grab one, find an adult, and say, "Read Jonah" in a very emphatic voice.


Her love for the story of Jonah stuck, and even now she mentions Jonah at least once a day. The funny thing to me is that it's not even the story of Jonah from one particular story book. She likes them all! The one she prefers right now though is from the Rhyme Bible Story Book. This is a great children's Bible...it contains many, many stories from the Old and New Testament and is theologically faithful unlike many other children's Bibles. Best of all, every single story is written in rhyme! This makes the stories easy to remember, fun to read and easy to turn Bible stories into raps (which is why Adam likes it). It's pretty darn amazing that someone could actually rhyme much of the Bible!

All that to say, in the last three months, I honestly think I've read the story of Jonah (in various forms) at least 300 times. While having a diet that consists mostly of children's literature can sometimes become a mental drain, there is something to be said about the value of repetition. The fact that I read every book of hers ad nauseum encourages me to pick good books for her! Plus, when it's Bible stories I'm reading over and over again, it can become a form of meditation and reflection.

For example, after reading about Jonah 232 times, I know for certain that God is God of mercy.

-God wanted to have mercy on the people of Nineveh. That's why He sent Jonah to preach...and why Jonah didn't want to go!

-When Jonah told the crew to throw him overboard, I'm not sure if he was expressing repentance. I think he was still trying to escape from God...even at the cost of his life!

-In spite of all that, God prepared a fish to swallow Jonah...an act of mercy!

-God mercifully gave Jonah a second chance to obey His command. And as the Rhyme Bible Storybook puts it,

"Jonah was relieved

When he saw what God had planned.

The fish threw him up

And tossed him on the land.

God said to Jonah,

'I want them to repent,

So go preach to Nineveh.'

And this time Jonah went!

One final note...it's always interesting to do a Goggle image search for a famous Bible story...

Are you a Christian?

As a tangent off my last two posts regarding why the gospel is good news, I want to point you two other posts written by my fellow church member Owen Strachan (here and here). Just as John Piper's question exposes our heart of hearts, so Owen's posts list other questions that can help discern our hearts' true condition.

Owen intended these questions to be a resource for Christians as they seek to help friends and family members discern whether or not they are in Christ. I want to encourage all 10 people who read my blog (yes, the number has doubled since July!) to go to Owen's blog and ask these questions of yourself. May God use them in your life--to encourage you as you see evidences of His grace at work in your life, to convict you to pursue God with your whole heart, or to reveal your need to turn away from your sin and cast yourself on Christ's mercy.

God is the Gospel

The question I posed yesterday was not original with me. In fact, I completely hijacked it. It is actually the central question posed by John Piper in his book God is the Gospel.

I was reminded of this book this summer when some friends from church and I were meeting with some Chinese friends to discuss the gospel. That night we were discussing heaven and hell, and we tried to explain why heaven is such a desirable place (as opposed to annihilation or an endless cycle of death and rebirth). We spoke of the absence of sin, pain, sorrow, sickness, and death. We spoke of beauty, eternity, peace, and rest. While these characteristics of heaven are wonderful and true, they are not what make heaven heaven. GOD is what makes heaven heaven. It is because HE is there that we want to be there.

Piper's book God is the Gospel was what first alerted me to the importance of making clear that GOD Himself is the point of Christianity. So often we describe the Gospel in terms of forgiveness, atonement, justification, freedom from sin and death, eternal life, etc. To be sure, all of these are essential to the gospel. But the only reason that any of these things are good news is because they get us to God!

I urge you, Christian and non-Christian, to read this book. You can read it online here or you can purchase it here. Or you can listen to this sermon that was the basis for the book.

I'll leave you with these quotes for your consideration:

"When I say that 'God Is the gospel,' I mean that the highest, best, final, decisive good of the gospel, without which no other gifts would be good, is the glory of God in the face of Christ revealed for our everlasting enjoyment."

"The saving love of God is God’s commitment to do everything necessary to enthrall us with what is most deeply and durably satisfying, namely himself."

Would you be happy in heaven if Jesus were not there?

Imagine heaven. No pain. No sickness. No sorrow. No death. No sin. Glorious beauty. Eternal life. Reunion with loved ones.

What if you could have all of that, without Jesus being there? Would you still want to go?

I encourage you think hard about your answer to this question. If your answer is 'yes' and you believe yourself to be a Christian, may I gently challenge that you may be missing the whole point of Christianity.

This question cuts with laser precision to the heart of what the Bible teaches about heaven, about salvation, about God. It is the question that John Piper asks in his excellent book God is the Gospel, which I'll talk more about tomorrow.

Until then, I pray that this question provokes you--both Christian and non-Christian alike.

"Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow"

This line from the third verse of "Great is Thy Faithfulness" was echoing in my mind as I got up from my quiet time this morning.

I'm beginning a study with a friend on 2 Corinthians, so I had just read through chapter 1. There are many awesome promises and truths in that chapter, but what stuck out to me this morning was verses 10-11. In verses 8-9 Paul describes how a recent affliction had caused him to "despair of life itself" yet God had used this trial to teach him to rely on God and not himself. In the first part of verse 10, Paul reports that God had delivered him from the "deadly peril."

What he says next is what caught my attention this morning: "He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again."

Scripture often comforts those in affliction by exhorting them to put their hope in heaven, in eternity, in our sure salvation, and in Christ's return. Just last Sunday, for example, our new pastor(!!!!) preached a great sermon on 1 Peter 1 in which Peter comforts persecuted Christians by reminding them of their "imperishable, undefiled, and unfading" inheritance, kept for them in heaven.

In 2 Corinthians 1:10, however, Paul says that he has hope in God's ability to deliver him in this life. I know that Christians are not promised deliverance or "happy endings" in this world, but it was very encouraging for me to see this testimony that we can have hope for God to deliver and redeem in this life as well.

Verse 11 also adds an interesting element to Paul's hope: "You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many." Here we see the crucial importance of intercessory prayer. God has ordained prayer as a means of calling forth God's deliverance SO THAT thanksgiving to God will result.

I pray that in whatever circumstance you find yourself in today, you will set your hope fully on God and in his ability to save us in this life and the next.

The Lord's Day

When I started this blog, one of my intentions was to write about ways I've grown and changed since college, as a way of "catching up" with friends with whom I've lost contact. One of the ways my thinking has changed the most is in my understanding of the importance of the local church in the life of a Christian. I'm *hoping* to flesh that out more in some blogs this week, but for today I thought I would post this great prayer from Valley of Vision:

The Lord's Day

O Lord my Lord,
this is thy day,
the heavenly ordinance of rest,
the open door of worship,
the record of Jesus’ resurrection,
the seal of the sabbath to come,
the day when saints militant and triumphant unite in endless song.

I bless thee for the throne of grace,
that here free favor reigns;
that open access to it is through the blood of Jesus;
that the veil is torn aside and I can enter the holiest
and find thee ready to hear,
waiting to be gracious,
inviting me to pour out my needs,
encouraging my desires,
promising to give more than I ask or think.

But while I bless thee, shame and confusion are mine:
I remember my past misuse of sacred things,
my irreverent worship,
my base ingratitude,
my cold, dull praise.
Sprinkle all my past Sabbaths with the cleansing blood of Jesus,
and may this day witness deep improvement in me.

Give me in rich abundance
the blessings the Lord’s Day was designed to impart;
May my heart be fast bound against worldly thoughts or cares;
Flood my mind with peace beyond understanding;
may my meditations be sweet,
my acts of worship life, liberty, joy,
my drink the streams the flow from they throne,
my food the precious Word,
my defence the shield of faith,
and may my heart be more knit to Jesus.

Beautiful truth

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.

I wait for the Lord,
my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Changing things up

Yesterday, I wrote about what I do for my devotional time, and I commended to you the One Year Bible.

While I have definitely enjoyed the variety of this plan as well as reading extended passages, I've been wanting for some time to go through a little booklet called A Gospel Primer. You can order it from this website or download it for free. The pastor that wrote this booklet was motivated by reading Jerry Bridges' The Discipline of Grace (which coincidentally we are reading right now for our women's book study!) In DoG (which is my affectionate abbreviation for the Bridges' book), Bridges challenges Christians to preach the gospel to themselves every day. It seems that over the last 5 years of my life, I have heard this exhortation again and again, with increasing intensity. Going through this Gospel Primer is a practical way for me to become more disciplined in this vital spiritual discipline.

My hopes are to post a nugget from this booklet every day for as long as it takes me to get through it. The first section of this book focuses on reasons why we need to preach the gospel to ourselves every day. He gives 20 reasons. Today's were: the New Testament model and my daily need.

Today's quote comes from the section, "My Daily Need:"

"There is simply no other way to compete with the forebodings of my conscience, the condemnings of my heart, and the lies of the world and the Devil than to overwhelm such things with daily rehearsings of the gospel."

On "Quiet times"

For the third year in a row, I am attempting to read the Bible in one year. I'm ashamed to admit that in the 16 years I've been a Christian, I've never read the Bible all the way through. I really think I'm going to make it all the way this year; by God's grace I've already persevered longer than the previous two years and I think my past failures have strengthened my commitment this third time around.

There are several different plans for reading the Bible in one year. I've opted for The One Year Bible. I was inspired to use this plan by my friend Jenny...who ended up marrying the guy that suggested they read the One Year Bible together! How's that for motivation? "Read the Bible in one year and get a husband!" I love you, Jenny and Mark!

I like the One Year Bible because it takes you once through the OT, once through the NT, and twice through Psalms and Proverbs. Each day's reading is laid out by date. For example, yesterday I read 1 Samuel 15:1-16:23, John 8:1-20, Psalm 110:1-7, and Proverbs 15:8-10.

After I read, I try to make a few comments on each thing I read and then meditate on one verse that stuck out to me. (Note: Christian meditation is a completely different animal than Eastern meditation. Hopefully a future post will discuss this.) I also try to integrate what I read into my prayer time. So, yesterday I meditated on Proverbs 15:8-10:

The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.

The Lord detests the way of the wicked but he loves those who pursue righteousness.

Stern discipline awaits him who leaves the path; he who hates correction will die.

It's neat how sometimes the different Bible passages relate to each other. In 1 Samuel, God took his Spirit away from Saul after Saul totally disobeyed the Lord. "To obey is better than sacrifice," Samuel told Saul. Then to read this same truth in the Proverbs! After meditating on these verses, I incorporated them into my prayer time, asking God's forgiveness for times I attempt to offer him my own sacrifice of self-righteousness instead of approaching Him trusting in Christ's righteousness. I thanked Him that Jesus' upright prayer pleases him and praised Him for His constant intercession for me. I acknowledged to God that He detests wickedness and that, were it not for Christ, I would be worthy of his rejecetion because of my own unrighteousness. I thanked Him that He loves his children enough to discipline them when they leave the path and prayed that I would be open to His correction. I prayed for Katie that she would not despise correction but would have a humble, teachable spirit and so find life in Christ. You get the picture.

All that happens, however, only if I wake up when I'm supposed to. If I get up late or am falling asleep, I just read the psalm and then try to read the other passages before I go to bed that night.

So that's my plan. Some days it works out better than others. The good news is that my success or failure in no way affects my acceptance before God! Praise God for a righteousness that comes from God and not myself!

"A deep breath of the righteousness of Christ"

I meant to point you all to this great post by my husband, back when my blogging had almost flat-lined. Adam quotes a letter from Martin Luther, and the truths it contains are precious.

For my non-Christian readers, please go to my husband's blog and read Luther's letter. It contains such a clear presentation of what God calls us all to believe. "You will find peace in Christ only through a confident despair in yourself and your works. Then, in addition, learn from Christ himself how in accepting you he has made your sins his and also made his righteousness to be yours."

And to my Christian readers, have you taken "a deep breath of the righteousness of Christ" lately?" If not (or if so!), please go read Luther's letter and breathe deeply.

What's so good about Good Friday?

That's the question that was at the top of my mind when I sat down for my devotions this morning. So, I spent my time seeking the answer to it. I read through the account of Jesus' trial and crucifixion in Luke (22:39-23:56). As it turns out, there are a lot of reasons why Good Friday is good. I'd like to focus on one. We call the day that Jesus died 'good' because what God accomplished through it was for my greatest good.

If Jesus had not died (and risen!), I (and you) would face God's perfect justice. Given the fact that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (which almost seems euphemistic sometimes when you think about how evil it is to rebel against a completely good God), facing God's perfect justice would mean nothing less than facing His holy wrath. (For those of you who might have trouble with what I just said, think about the fact that justice cannot exist without wrath. And by wrath I simply mean punishment that fits the crime.)

Amazingly, however, the fact that I (and you) completely and justly deserve God's righteous judgment, is given a caveat through Good Friday. Good Friday is good for us because when Jesus died, God poured out on him the punishment that I (and you) deserve. On the cross Jesus absorbed God's wrath completely and I can now stand before God without fear--not because I am any less sinful (though by His grace He is changing me bit by bit so that I am less sinful), but only because Jesus lived the perfect life that I could never live and died the death that I deserved. That is one reason why Christians call Good Friday 'good.'

So, to my Christian reader, I pray that you will praise the God who accomplished such good for you at such a great cost to himself. I pray that you will realize that the greatest gift has been given to you--not solely forgiveness, escape from hell, etc. But (as John Piper so beautifully explains in his book God is the Gospel), these things are good only because they get you to GOD--who is the most beautiful, glorious, heart-satisfying Being imaginable.

And to my non-Christian reader, the goodness of Good Friday is available to you as well. What is keeping you from receiving this great gift? Do you stumble over the facts of the crucifixion and the resurrection? Or do you have trouble with what these facts mean and what they are said to accomplish? I'm pretty sure that the only people who read this blog are people I know, so please, as one who loves you, hear my heartfelt request and consider the offer God makes to you this Good Friday. What is so worth hanging on to that you would turn down such an invitation from such a gracious God?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to email me directly if you don't want to post your thoughts publicly (marymmcculloch@hotmail.com).