Opening Day

Happy Opening Day! I realize that I may have all of zero Cleveland Indians fans reading this blog. We'll have to work on that. Not saying I need new readers -- the old ones can simply become new fans.














And how about that! First place already.
Cleveland Indians 10
Chicago White Sox 8

Go Tribe!

(Note: It is entirely possible that the recent surfacing of a Red Sox fan among my readers was a significant reason for this post.)

Reviewing Humble Orthodoxy, Week 6

Title: The Mission: Reaching the World Next Door
Speaker: Eric Simmons
Session: Main Session #6, Na06
Date: May 29, 2006

Main Text
Colossians 4:2-9

Some Opening Thoughts
Going to New Attitude 2006 had a big impact on my perspective on personal evangelism. This message—along with a book called Questioning Evangelism, which I bought at the New Attitude bookstore—challenged my fears, built my faith, and reminded of the importance of the Great Commission. I realize it may be getting old for me to keep talking about how fantastic these teachings are. If you aren’t doing so yet, please, instead of just reading my notes, listen to them for yourself.

A Brief Outline
At the outset, Eric asked this question: how can we ensure that we take this humble orthodoxy to people who do not know Jesus? His answer was two-fold.
1. We must think globally
–> What does “think globally” mean? We need the big picture. We need a bigger vision of Christianity than our little, isolated world.
–> We can get so caught up in the day-to-day details that we lose our vision. Why? Because our gaze is centered on ourselves, and not on Jesus and His mission.
–> What is this mission? Jesus clarified it to the twelve with the Great Commission (see Matt. 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16).
–> The Gospel is bearing fruit and it is growing (Colossians 1:6)
–> What is this kingdom? He has delivered us from darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in Whom we have redemption and the forgiveness of sin (Colossians 1:13).
–> Who is this king? He is the image of the invisible God, He is the firstborn over all creation. . . the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent (Colossians 1:15,18).
–> The kingdom is being further revealed day-by-day, and we get to be a part of it.
–> How do we participate? We take this global vision locally.
2. We must act locally
–> Have you ever considered that the most unreached people may be the ones next door?
–> To be effective missionaries. . .
–> (a) we pray
–> Our prayers should be steadfast, devoted, watchful, alert (Colossians 4:2).
–> The more alert and the more steadfast are our prayers, the more we start seeing and discerning God working.
–> How should we pray? Pray that the door would be open.
–> Pray for opportunities – every day.
–> Effective missionaries live a distinctly different life among a specific culture of people.
–> What kind of missionary would go to a foreign city, find a job and a place to live, and never hang out with the people he was sent to. We would call him a resident, not a missionary.
–> Sow the kingdom of God strategically: start by picking one friend to invest in.
–> Your conduct should match your message.
–> What about relevance? The truth is essential, relevance is just a nice package.
–> We need to relate to the culture, but we are not to be like the culture.
–> Godliness and the fruit of the Spirit are far more important than being relevant.
–> Packaging is important, but if people around us start opening the package, and they see nothing in there that is different, we’re compromising the mission.
–> (c) we talk
–> How can we be effective missionaries? Have conversations with unbelievers.
–> Boldness does not mean arrogance; be bold, humble, and gracious.
–> Grace should inform our apologetics, lest knowledge puff us up.
–> What does “seasoned with salt” mean? Witty and full of life.
–> We are primarily seed sowers more than reapers; let's do the next Christian a favor.

Some Application Questions
–> Do I just go to college, just go to work, just go a restaurant, just go to family get-togethers, or do I see that I am sent by God?
–> Do I pray that I will make the Gospel clear?
–> Do I pray daily for opportunities to share the Gospel?
–> Do I view myself as a resident or as a missionary? Do I live this way?

One Thing That Has Stuck With Me
Do the next Christian a favor. I had often struggled with the thought, “What’s the use if I’m not going to be able to invest in this person long-term?” Maybe I’ll never see some of these people again. Just do the next Christian a favor.

One Thing I Re-learned By Re-listening
I know I was challenged by this before; now I've been challenged by it again. Do I just go to college, just go to work, or do I remember that I am sent?

Discussion
–> What are one or two things that you learned in listening to this teaching?
–> If you were re-listening to it, what are some ways that God has used this teaching in your life over the last two years?
–> Also, feel free to give suggestions on the focus and format of these posts.
–> Finally, as great as it is to be able to talk about this online, talk about it personally with people you know. Use it as an opportunity to share with each other what God is teaching you, and how He has given (and is giving) you the grace to apply it.

This was Week 6 in the fifteen weeks of reviewing humble orthodoxy, leading up to New Attitude 2008 in Louisville, Kentucky on May 24-27. Listen to “Reaching the World Next Door” for free.

Next Week: The Family: Taking It Home To Your Local Church (Josh Harris)

Background on this series: Humble Orthodoxy

With Confidence Draw Near

Have you had the following experience recently? You are reminded of a truth, one that you know and firmly believe in, yet you are suddenly impacted by it in a fresh way.

As noted on my sidebar, I am currently reading Jerry Bridges' The Discipline of Grace. It is a good book, a very good book. Not wanting to speed through it too quickly, I've been doing some extra re-reading and reviewing of earlier chapters as I move forward. While doing this recently, I came across the following quote, which I had marked while reading from chapter one.

"God never intended that we relate to Him directly. Our own performance is never good enough to be acceptable to Him. The only way we can relate to God is through the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. It is only the blood of Jesus that will cleanse us from a guilty conscience and give us the confidence to enter into the presence of God (Hebrews 10:19-21)."

These words convey theological truths that I know very well in my head. My performance cannot make me acceptable to God, Whom I can only relate to by the blood and righteousness of Christ. Bridges speaks the truth so faithfully with these words. That's why I marked it the first time I read the chapter.

This particular sentence esecially caught my attention as I re-read it: "The only way we can relate to God is through the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ." As I thought about how we relate to God in prayer, and, in doing so, pray in Jesus' name, another passage from Hebrews came to mind.

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:15-16)

I realized that there are two ways to confidently approach the throne of grace. One is to be confident in approaching simply because we know we can--even knowing that it is ultimately Christ who makes it possible. The second is to be confident in approaching because I have complete confidence in efficacy of the blood and righteousness of Christ. We pray in Jesus' name not only because His once-for-all-time propitiation washed away the sin that would prevent us from coming to God, but also because His righteousness continues to make us worthy to approach the throne of grace.

All of this flashed through my mind in a second (possibly not in so many words, but you get the idea), and a question struck me: [Not just in theological acquiescence, but also in the reality of my attitude] Do I know the difference between boldly approaching the throne of grace and casually approaching the throne of grace?

Reviewing Humble Orthodoxy, Week 5

Title: The Power: Understanding And Experiencing the Holy Spirit
Speaker: Jeff Purswell
Session: Main Session #5, Na06
Date: May 29, 2006

Main Texts
Several, including John 14:16 and Ephesians 5:17-21

Some Opening Thoughts
When going to a conference and hearing sitting in on eight sessions in three days, it is easy to miss a lot of what is said. That is one of the reasons I am going back through and re-listening to these teachings. Quite honestly, I had forgotten how good this session was.

A Brief Outline
1. The Spirit’s empowering work reveals Christ’s presence and illuminates His work
–> We don’t just sing to a Savior who is seated at the right hand of God, we sing to a Savior who is with us through the person of the Holy Spirit.
–> The Holy Spirit was promised to the disciples to expand the disciples' capacity to know and understand Jesus.
–> Nothing is more central to the Holy Spirit’s work than to reveal the person and presence of Jesus.
2. The Spirit’s empowering work embraces all of life
–> Like breath and blood and brain waves to the physical life, so is the Spirit to our spiritual lives – there is no spiritual life apart from the Holy Spirit.
–> Survey your life for evidence of God’s grace. Where you spot it, there is evidence of the Spirit’s work.
–> Jesus’ work alone makes this possible; the Spirit’s work alone makes it actual.
–> Jesus died for us; but we’re not saved unless the Spirit gives us life.
3. The Spirit’s empowering work is ongoing and continuous
–> One of the most common misconceptions that people have about the work of the Holy Spirit is to define it merely in dramatic and experiential terms.
–> Another fallacy is to define the work of the Holy Spirit as a point-in-time event – “been there, done that,” “I got it.”
–> The unquestionable emphasis in the Scriptures is not isolated experiences of the Spirit but ongoing appropriations of the Spirit.
–> Ephesians 5:17-21
4. The Spirit’s empowering work aims at our personal sanctification, mutual edification, and evangelistic witness
–> Godliness, service, witness – if we are not pursuing these things, we are not going to experience the Spirit’s power.
–> (a) Walk [let your life be controlled by] the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galations 5:16)
–> (b) The focus of the spiritual gifts (1 Cor.12-14) is to build up and serve other people.
–> (c) “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8)
5. The Spirit’s empowering work should include a discernibly dynamic dimension
–> One thing is certainly clear: when believers encounter the Spirit, there will/can/should be a dynamic dimension to this.
–> When God’s Spirit is at work, He does powerful things.
–> We don’t want to have the WMD approach or the “crazy uncle” approach to the Spirit.
–> May we all have an increasing experience of the Spirit that demonstrates the reality of the Gospel in our lives.
6. The Spirit’s empowering work meets us as we passionately seek God and dependently serve God
–> The Bible doesn’t just tell us things to believe about the Spirit; the Bible also commands attitudes about the Spirit, enjoining us to postures of heart.
–> The Bible imposes upon us attitudes: desperate, grateful, hungry.
–> Desperate: aware of our absolute dependence upon God.
–> Grateful: grateful for the Spirit’s presence in all of life.
–> Hungry: ever asking for more, ever pursuing more of the Spirit’s work in our lives, ever trusting for more of God’s power in sanctification and service and worship.

Other Points
–> It is God’s desire for us to experience His Spirit in ever-increasing ways for His glory.
–> God didn’t just give us a new destiny, He chose to take up residence in our lives.
–> God doesn’t only save individuals, He is gathering for Himself a people among whom He can dwell.

Some Application Questions
–> Am I dependently seeking to serve God?
–> Does my soul thirst for God, and my very flesh faint for God? If not, what is satisfying me?
–> Am I hungry or am I reluctant?

One Thing That Has Stuck With Me
Jeff Purswell’s three words summing up our response: desperate, grateful, hungry.

One Thing I Re-learned By Re-listening
The fourth point, where Jeff Purswell describes the Spirit’s work as aiming toward our personal sanctification, mutual edification, and evangelistic witness. It’s not that I was unaware of any of these, but having heard him lay them out explicitly in those words will be helpful to remember.

Discussion
–> What are one or two things that you learned in listening to this teaching?
–> If you were re-listening to it, what are some ways that God has used this teaching in your life over the last two years?
–> Also, feel free to give suggestions on the focus and format of these posts.
–> Finally, as great as it is to be able to talk about this online, talk about it personally with people you know. Use it as an opportunity to share with each other what God is teaching you, and how He has given (and is giving) you the grace to apply it.

This was Week 5 in the fifteen weeks of reviewing humble orthodoxy, leading up to New Attitude 2008 in Louisville, Kentucky on May 24-27. Listen to “Understanding And Experiencing the Holy Spirit” for free.

Next Week: The Mission: Reaching the World Next Door (Eric Simmons)

Background on this series: Humble Orthodoxy

Reviewing Humble Orthodoxy, Week 4

Title: The Cross: A Meditation on Jesus’ Atoning Death
Speaker: C.J. Mahaney
Session: Main Session #4, Na06
Date: May 28, 2006

Main Texts
Isaiah 53:1-6,10a

Some Opening Thoughts
This message by C.J. is one of the finest sermons on the atonement that you will ever hear, and I am reminded again of how little I can effectively represent in one of these posts. My hope is that this will encourage you to listen to the message yourself and, more importantly, to find fresh joy and wonder as you consider the love of God manifested in the atoning death of Jesus Christ.

C.J. opens by reading the passage from C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe where Susan and Lucy Pevensie, having witnessed Aslan’s death, learn that he has risen. The excerpt ended with Susan’s question to Aslan, “But what does it all mean?”A more relevant question, C.J. says, could not be asked of Aslan – nor, more importantly, of the Savior he represents.

A Brief Outline
1. The Appearance (v.1-3)
–> One cannot discern the identity of the suffering servant without divine illumination (verse 3, “we esteemed him not”)
–>"Suffering observed and misunderstood" (Alex Montiere)
2. The Reality (v.4-6)
–> We transition from human expectations to divine revelation – we discover the purpose of His suffering.
–> We discover the divine reality: that He was crucified for our sins.
(A) Christ suffered for us and because of our sins
–> Our first reaction upon surveying this scene: “I didn't do it!”
–> Isaiah is aware that this tendency resides in each of us, but he portrays us as present. Why? Because we were morally present. Our sin necessitated this.
(B) He suffered and died as our substitute
–> Note the language of substitution: “borne,” “carried,” “wounded,” “crushed,” “chastisement,” “stripes,” “laid on him”
–> This is what it all means: He died in my place for my sin so that I might be saved from that punishment and spared the wrath of God.
3. The Significance (v.10)
–> The substitution of Jesus reveals the Father's love to guilty sinners like you and me.
–> “It was the will of the Lord to crush him”
–> Consider John 3:16 informed by Isaiah 53:10 – “God so loved the world that he crushed his only Son”

Other Points
–> “The Bible in miniature and the Gospel in essence” (Charles Spurgeon, speaking of Isaiah 53)
–> Human expectations of the Savior tend to be consistent through the ages – certainly not that of a suffering servant; as Paul said to the Corinthians, “the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18)
–> “We all walk around with His nails in our pocket.” (Martin Luther)
–> “When we behold the disfigurement of the Son of God – when we find ourselves appalled by His appearance, we need to reckon afresh that it is upon ourselves that we gaze, for He stood in our place.” (John Calvin)
–> This will be the mainspring of our joy in and throughout eternity
–> “Heaven is cross-centered, and quite blaring about it” (Jim Elliff, see Revelation 5)
–> If you are tempted to doubt God's love for you, consider the love of God for you as described in Isaiah 53:10: He crushed His Son for you.
–> “God does something to us as well as for us on the cross: He persuades us that He loves us.” (Sinclair Ferguson)
–> We should Take time each day to dwell where the cries of Calvary can be heard.
(Note: I may not have the correct spelling of the names of some of the men C.J. quoted.)

Some Application Questions
–> Do I take time to dwell each day where the cries of Calvary can be heard?
–> If not, how long has it been since I have?
–> When I am tempted, in some way, to doubt God’s love for me, what are my thoughts centered on? How might remembering this passage in Isaiah reinform and reform my attitude?

One Thing That Has Stuck With Me
Thinking specifically of John 3:16 in light of Isaiah 53:10.

One Thing I Re-learned By Re-listening
If you’re a Christian, you will find nothing new or surprising in this message. It’s the Gospel, articulated clearly and powerfully. That I (and we) know this message, however, does not mean that we should move on from it. I would do well to be more intentional in purposefully meditating on the cross each day; I would also do well to re-listen to this message periodically, to be both exhorted to that end and reminded of the centrality of the cross.

Discussion
–> What are one or two things that you learned in listening to this teaching?
–> If you were re-listening to it, what are some ways that God has used this teaching in your life over the last two years?
–> Also, feel free to give suggestions on the focus and format of these posts.
–> Finally, as great as it is to be able to talk about this online, talk about it personally with people you know. Use it as an opportunity to share with each other what God is teaching you, and how He has given (and is giving) you the grace to apply it.

This was Week 4 in the fifteen weeks of reviewing humble orthodoxy, leading up to New Attitude 2008 in Louisville, Kentucky on May 24-27. Listen to “A Meditation on Jesus’ Atoning Death” for free.

Next Week: The Power: Understanding And Experiencing the Holy Spirit (Jeff Purswell)

Background on this series: Humble Orthodoxy

Seventy Inches

My mom was right. She insisted that I'd grown, evidenced by the fact that my dress pants were coming up a bit too high around the ankles. "But mom, I wore these pants to work all last summer. They fit fine. And I've been 5'9" since I was sixteen." My mom reminded me that she has friends whose sons continued to grow through college. Such did not seem to be my experience. [Mind you, careful measurements over the years have shown that I had picked up an eighth of an inch here and there, but still not enough to make another full inch; and when a person is past, say, twelve years old, he stops identifying himself (height, age, shoe size) with mixed numbers. Telling people that I was 5' 9 5/8" would've been equivalent to saying -- Warning! Engineer! Be on the alert for hyper-analysis!]

I reluctantly shelled out the money for some new dress pants and went back to re-work my clothing budget. [Killing 75% of the annual allocation in the second week of January did not bode well.] Thus, January came and went, taking a chunk of my money with it.

As February rolled by, I realized that a momentous occasion was fast approaching: the day when I would receive a horizontal driver's license. [Some people think that this benefits them by gaining their entrance into certain establishments where they can lose the ability to read their own writing. The main reason I welcomed this event was that I figured the new design would display better in my wallet -- that and the fact that my old one was expiring.]

Now, these licenses carry several personal statistics. Naturally, I needed to ensure that I would be giving accurate information. My personal address (and, of course, birth date) was unchanged, and I was prepared to round my weight off to the nearest five pounds, but some untold months had passed since I had received any form of accurate measurement. [The accurate hair color description remains problematic. I've had to choose between (a) lying, (b) dyeing, and (c) calling it red. I've gone with (c) merely because it is the least disqualified. I'm not a typical redhead, but neither can I rightly classify it as anything else that is acceptable to the BMV. It's sometimes very red -- enough to make people who have known me for years ask if I've resorted to (b).]

With the patient assistance of one of my kind sisters [or the kind assistance of one of my patient sisters -- I can't decide which reads better, and both are true] I completed my pre-measurement rituals: taking a few deep breaths, postponing my scheduled haircut, and immediately improving my posture. What should we discover, to my utter shock and exhilaration [the exhilaration may be exaggerated slightly for literary effect, and the shock should have been preempted by my mom's previous observations (my pants weren't shrinking, after all)], but that I stood at 5' 10"! Nothing more to be sure, but nothing less either, a fact which I was certain to verify in order to ensure that my soon-to-be-official new height would not be the beneficiary of that mathematical sleight-of-hand commonly known as "rounding."

My ensuing joy seemed to amuse the rest of my family, with the possible exception of my dad, who only reached 5' 9". I've always wanted to be 5' 10" -- at least, ever since I came to a screeching halt at 5' 9", which would have seemed the ideal height had I been 5' 8". I won't ask for another inch, though -- I did, after all, just buy three new pairs of dress pants.

WAGW? (Part 2)

Rather reminiscent of last year.























Maybe Napoleon would have fared better in Russia if he'd had a few of these babies to help clear the way.

























(After concluding that this is a rather stupid-looking photo, I realized that one can expect no less when imitating Napoleon.)

Special thanks to DeAnna for photographic assistance.

Reviewing Humble Orthodoxy, Week 3

Title: The Life: Applying the Gospel to All of Life
Speaker: Mike Bullmore
Session: Main Session #3, Na06
Date: May 28, 2006

This is almost a whole week late, so I'll have to catch up in the next few weeks. Oh well, I was busy last weekend.

Main Text
1 Corinthians 15:1-3 (among others)

Some Opening Thoughts
Even if you are not listening through the New Attitude messages, let me strongly encourage you to listen to this one. There is so much that is communicated that I haven’t been able to include – and even for what I have included, bullet points cannot suffice. Download it. Listen to it. You won’t regret it.

A Brief Outline
1. A Biblical Paradigm: God’s Word speaks about the Gospel not just as an abstract truth – it speaks of it in terms of its functioning in our lives
A. The functional centrality of the Gospel (see 1 Cor.15:1-3, Rom.1:16)
B. The Implications of the Gospel (see Rom.5:1, Rom.8:32)
C. The Behavioral implications of the Gospel (see 1 Cor.6:18, Eph.4:32)
2. Practical Suggestions for Application
A. Start with your own life first
B. Let Gospel connections inhabit your conversation with others (see Is.50:4)
C. Remember, the greatest good of the Gospel is that God gives Himself to us

One aspect of this message that has continued to impact my thinking is the imagery of three concentric circles that Mike Bullmore spoke of. While we know that the Gospel is central, we can tend to operate with a disconnect between “other” Biblical truths and Biblical conduct. All truth, however, flows out of the Gospel, as do all areas of Gospel conduct.

Other Points
-->What will make the difference in each one of these areas where we spend the energy of our lives? Answer: Whether or not the truth and reality of the Gospel is actually functioning in our lives – in every area.
-->The Gospel speaks to everything – every dimension of our lives.
-->One of the marks of growing maturity is the ability to see these connections.
-->All of our problems come from a failure to apply the Gospel.
-->We need to be reading our Bibles with a special eye to detecting the connections it makes between the Gospel and specific behavior.
-->Making these connections is not just leveraging the logic of the Gospel, but harnessing the power of the Gospel.
-->Ultimately, all Christian behavior should flow from the Gospel.
-->A big part of a God-honoring interaction is helping others to believe Gospel truths and to make Gospel connections so that they can see how the Gospel functions in their lives.
-->Don’t just pick up the Gospel vocabulary! “There is nothing so deadly to the divine as an habitual dealing with the outsides of holy things.” (George MacDonald)
-->Let the ultimate truth of the Gospel be what ultimately defines us .

Some Application Questions
-->Am I cultivating a deep personal understanding of and appreciation for the Gospel?
-->Am I faithfully reading God’s Word with that purpose in mind?
-->Am I becoming increasingly familiar with the richness of the language of the Gospel?
-->Am I rehearsing the truths of the Gospel?
-->Am I reading and thinking about things that help me meditate on the Gospel?

One Thing That Has Stuck With Me
Looking for Gospel implications as I read the Bible. This message has had a huge impact on the way I read the Bible. Mike Bullmore gave a few Scriptures to illustrate different Gospel implications; but, as he said, there are countless others.

One Thing I Re-learned By Re-listening
I’ve re-listened to this message multiple times since I first heard it, so I don’t know that there was anything that I had totally forgotten. I find this statement challenging, however: “ultimately, all Christian behavior should flow from the Gospel.” Why is that challenging? Because I know that there are areas of my life where fuzziness does persist in my understanding of how to apply the Gospel.

Discussion
-->What are one or two things that you learned in listening to this teaching?
-->If you were re-listening to it, what are some ways that God has used this teaching in your life over the last two years?
-->Also, feel free to give suggestions on the focus and format of these posts.
-->Finally, as great as it is to be able to talk about this online, talk about it personally with people you know. Use it as an opportunity to share with each other what God is teaching you, and how He has given (and is giving) you the grace to apply it.

This was Week 3 in the fifteen weeks of reviewing humble orthodoxy, leading up to New Attitude 2008 in Louisville, Kentucky on May 24-27. Listen to “Applying the Gospel to All of Life” for free.

Next Week: The Cross: A Meditation on Jesus’ Atoning Death (C.J. Mahaney)

Background on this series: Humble Orthodoxy

March's Quote to Ponder

"When we pray to God for His blessing, He does not examine our performance to see if we are worthy. Rather, He looks to see if we are trusting in the merit of His Son as our only hope for securing His blessing."
--Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace