Don't hem and haw

I needed to read these words from Jared Wilson today. 

What does the repentance unto faith look like?

Fleeing. Continually from sin. The jail bars are broken open. Don’t just stand there, make a break for it!

Pursuing. Continually the things of God. They won’t happen by accident. People don’t, as Carson says, “drift into holiness.”

Fighting. Not with fists but with the armor of God against every force of wickedness within and without that would distract or delay you from Christ-fixation.

Taking hold. Of the only source of power for fleeing, pursuing, and fighting — the gospel of Jesus Christ that makes the dead eternally alive. If you would be righteous, godly, faithful, loving, steadfast, and gentle, you must in faith lay hold of Jesus. Put him on, and the qualities that are his are yours.

Read the whole thing here.  

Hitler Youth Song

At the National Review Online, Jonah Goldberg writes about how Hitler's politics degraded historic Christianity in the country, forbidding prayer in schools and public displays of the nativity, replacing it with his own worship.  Goldberg shares a Hitler youth song that was taught to the children and sang around the campfires.

We are the happy Hitler Youth;
We have no need for Christian virtue;
For Adolf Hitler is our intercessor
And our redeemer.
No priest, no evil one
Can keep us
From feeling like Hitler’s children.
No Christ do we follow, but Horst Wessel!
Away with incense and holy water pots.
Meanwhile, the orphans were given new lyrics to “Silent Night”:
Silent night! Holy night! All is calm, all is bright,
Only the Chancellor steadfast in fight,
Watches o’er Germany.

HT: JT

His words, my strength in the battle

There are some days when battling my sin seems overwhelming. I feel drained by it. Sometimes I follow the wide path, sometimes the narrow.  Yesterday was one of those days when the battle was difficult.  It's days like that I seem to particularly cherish how God's word speaks to me. Here are the verses that stood out today.

•  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.-Mark 11:24
• And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.’Deuteronomy 6:25
• How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
          How long will you hide your face from me?
      How long must I take counsel in my soul
          and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
      How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
      Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
          light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
      lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
          lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
      But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
          my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
      I will sing to the LORD,
          because he has dealt bountifully with me.-Psalm 13
• For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”-2 Chronicles 16:9
• Sow for yourselves righteousness;
          reap steadfast love;
          break up your fallow ground,
      for it is the time to seek the LORD,
          that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.-Hosea 10:12
• I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies.-Psalm 119:146

Daily Reading: Mark 11, Deuteronomy 6, 2 Corinthians 9, Revelation 22, Job 16, Psalm 13, Proverbs 13, 2 Chronicles 16, Hosea 10, Acts 23, Psalm 119:145-152

Our deliverer from trouble

I have been turning a couple of verses over in my mind this morning, but I haven't figured out exactly what to say about them. Proverbs 11:8 reads "The righteous is delivered from trouble, and the wicked walks into it instead." One thing to say is that I find this verse convicting today. All too often, I still find myself walking into trouble. I pretend like I don't see the dangers, but I know what they are. Sometimes, I will reflect on a situation later and then realize that I walked right into sin. Yet this verse says, "the righteous is delivered from trouble."  What does it mean to be delivered from trouble? That God provides a way out? That we are saved from our trouble? Whatever the case, I have been praying that God would continually deliver me from my sin. 

Every morning, I read a section from Psalm 119 as well.  This morning, my reading included verse 133, which reads "keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me." God is the keeper from sin. He is the deliverer from trouble. Our only hope is by calling upon him. 

Daily Reading: Mark 9, Deuteronomy 4, 2 Corinthians 8, Revelation 20, Job 14, Psalm 11, Proverbs 11, 2 Chronicles 14, Hosea 8, Acts 21, Psalm 119:129-136

Is tattooing Christian?

When I was in college, I wanted an earring.  Thankfully, my friends Jack and Kurt on the football team talked me out of it.  Over the past few years, I have toyed with the idea of a tattoo.  My wife talked me out of it. 

My former pastor, Wayne DeVrou, shares insight into the idea of tattooing. He comes down on the side of tattooing as non-biblical and provides fairly convincing evidence for his viewpoint. He discusses things I have not considered before.  He points specifically to Leviticus 19:28, which specifically condemns tattooing, setting it in the context of forbidden pagan practices.  The Israelites were to be set apart.  He also shows how, even in modern society, there are pagan tendencies with tattooing as revealed by books written about it. 

I also wonder how Paul's words 1 Corinthians 10 apply. Paul says, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor" (1 Cor 10:23-24). Under the new covenant, it would seem that tattoos would now be permissible as included under "all things", but are they helpful?  

I also wonder where Paul's admonition to the Galatians fits in.  He tells them, "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?"  Paul is clear that it is neither circumcision, nor its absence, but Christ that saves us. Can the same be said for tattooing? 

I don't know where I stand, but I think Wayne brings up many points worth considering carefully. Don't do something, like getting a tattoo, thoughtlessly. Submit your ideas to scripture and live accordingly.  As for me, I'll keep the ink out of my skin for now. 

I would appreciate dialog on this.  What are people's thoughts? 

Proverbs are not promises

I often hear people talking about the Proverbs as if they were assured promises.  So what is a person to do if he follows the teaching of a proverb and the outcome fails to arrive? 

From the Desiring God website, "Passages like these have been taken as indicating that Christian families experience blessings and loss from God, quid pro quo. We believe that God promises a wonderful family life to those who obey his commands.

"Now, we need to be clear here. The proverbs commend certain paths to family members because they reflect the ways God ordinarily distributes his blessings. But ordinarily does not mean necessarily. Excellent wives have good reason to expect honor from their husbands and children. Fathers with integrity often enjoy seeing God’s blessings on their children. Parents who train their children in the fear of the Lord follow the path that frequently brings children to saving faith.

"But excellent wives, faithful husbands, and conscientious parents often endure terrible hardship in their homes because proverbs are not promises. They are adages that direct us toward general principles that must be applied carefully in a fallen world where life is always somewhat out of kilter."

Friends don't let friends homeschool?

Matthew Hennessey at First Things addresses how his friends have responded to their decision to homeschool. He captures the response colorfully when he quips, "Opting out of the public education system feels a bit like jumping off a moving train. As you tumble down the side of the embankment and struggle to gain your footing, passengers on the still-moving train crane their necks and crowd to the windows to stare at you with wide eyes and slack jaws. They jumped? What are they, nuts? This train is so nice."

The people we know have been generally supportive, but we have certainly heard the concerns about socialization.  I can resonate with Hennessey when he writes, "Socialization is education school code for, 'Give your kid to us. Let us raise her.' I’m not much interested in having the talent, creativity, and faith socialized out of my daughter, so I am happy to play a small part in frustrating the system’s designs on her."

We have chosen to homeschool. We have our reasons. If it means that our children turn out different than the majority of kids coming out of public schools...well...good. 

Gospel + Safety + Time

"It’s what everyone needs.  Everyone.  Gospel + safety + time.  A lot of gospel + a lot of safety + a lot of time" writes Ray Ortlund. Read why here. 

He could not be hidden

And from there he arose and went to Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden.--Mark 7:24

This morning, I was pondering the question "was Jesus an introvert?" I am not sure that is the right question, though scripture seems clear he appreciated being away from the crowds at times. One of my favorite passages of scripture comes from Mark 1:35-37, "And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, 'Everyone is looking for you.'"  Jesus was not constantly ministering to large crowds. He was not always in the public eye. Sometimes, it appears he just liked to be alone.  In the Mark 1 passage, he went off by himself to pray even though, "everyone was looking for him." 

We certainly do not know all of the context with this passage from Mark 7, but I wonder if Jesus and the disciples had been ministering for a while and he wanted to take a break from it to recharge. They probably went to the house of someone they knew in Tyre and Sidon, hoping to take a breather and recuperate before resuming ministry. I like to imagine that he just wanted to hang out with his friends--a retreat of sorts.  

No sooner had the come to the house than a woman, a Gentile woman, found him and pleaded with him to heal her daughter. I doubt that he was exasperated. I doubt that he was impatient. Rather, he questioned her and then tells her that her daughter has been healed. 

I wish my response would be that way more often. The older I get, the more I appreciate being alone or being just with family and close friends. When people show up at my door, my initial response is not always compassion, but exasperation. Just this week, I had someone show up and was initially irritated, but I pondered my reaction and was not pleased with it.  I have been praying, asking God for a compassion like Christ's. 

Daily Reading: Mark 7, Deuteronomy 2, 2 Corinthians 6, Revelation 18, Job 12, Psalm 9, Proverbs 9, 2 Chronicles 12, Hosea 6, Acts 19

It's the promise that sustains the love

Jefferson Bethke with another spoken poem, this time on marriage.  Good stuff here.