Monthly Archives: May 2014

Does What I’m Doing Matter?

Posted on by • Posted in Jesus, Life • Tagged , , , • Leave a comment

It has been one of those weeks. The kind of week where I feel really busy, but then wonder if any of what I accomplished really mattered. It has been a week without energy. A week that felt foggy. A week that lacked, a certain je ne sais quoi.

Maybe you have experienced that kind of week.

Currently, I’m reading Surprised by Hope, by N.T. Wright, an excellent book for the Easter season. In it, he writes the following passage–a passage which I should probably read every week.

But what we can and must do in the present, if we are obedient to the gospel, if we are following Jesus, and if we are indwelt, energized, and directed by the Spirit, is to build for the kingdom. This brings us back to 1 Corinthians 15:58 once more: what you do in the Lord is not in vain. You are not oiling the wheels of a machine that’s about to roll over a cliff. You are not restoring a great painting that’s shortly going to be thrown on the fire. You are not planting roses in a garden that’s about to be dug up for a building site. You are—strange though it may seem, almost as hard to believe as the resurrection itself—accomplishing something that will become in due course part of God’s new world. Every act of love, gratitude, and kindness; every work of art or music inspired by the love of God and delight in the beauty of his creation; every minute spent teaching a severely handicapped child to read or to walk; every act of care or nurture, of comfort and support, for one’s fellow human beings and for that matter one’s fellow nonhuman creatures; and of course every prayer, all Spirit-led teaching, every deed that spreads the gospel, builds up the church, embraces and embodies holiness rather than corruption, and makes the name of Jesus honored in the world—all of this will find its way, through the resurrecting power of God, into the new creation that God will one day make. This is the logic of the mission of God. God’s recreation of his wonderful world, which began with the resurrection of Jesus and continues mysteriously as God’s people live in the risen Christ and in the power of his Spirit, means that what we do in Christ and by the Spirit in the present is not wasted. It will last all the way into God’s new world. In fact, it will be enhanced there.

I pray you’re having a great week. But just in case your week, like mine, has felt a little futile, let us remember that nothing we do for the Lord is in vain. Our work matters.

What Puritans Can Teach Us About Family Worship

Posted on by • Posted in Discipleship, Family, Life • Tagged , , , , , , , , , , • Leave a comment

What can I do to help my kids grow spiritually?

For most of us, the first thing that comes to our mind is to teach our kids the Bible. This is great, but depending on the age and stage of our kids this can be rough. So what can we as parents do?

This week I came across a conversation between  Tim Challies and Dr. Joel Beeke on the family worship habits of Puritans.  In it, Dr. Joel Beeke points out that for Puritans reading the Bible was just one part of family worship. But it certainly wasn’t the only part.

Below is a part of the conversation between Tim Challies (TC) and Dr. Joel Beeke (JB). You can read the entire conversation here.

TC: To hear people talk about the Puritans, you would imagine they were harsh toward their children, making them endure endless hours of family worship. Is this accurate?

JB: Endless hours in family worship would have been impossible for most people in the seventeenth-century. In Puritan New England, many people were farmers who had to labor hard to produce food. Children also had much to do in school, household chores, and working alongside their fathers and mothers to learn a vocation. The Puritans also took time for recreation. They enjoyed hunting, fishing, shooting competitions, and wrestling—two New England Puritan ministers were famous amateur wrestlers. They enjoyed music in their homes, owning guitars, harpsichords, trumpets, violas, drums, and other instruments. There was a lot to do; family devotions were one part—albeit the most important part—of a busy daily schedule.

The Puritans aimed at pithy instruction and heart-moving prayer. Samuel Lee wrote that in all our teaching of the family we should beware of boring the children by talking too much. Long devotions overburden their little minds. It is best to hold the attention of children by using spiritual analogies with flowers, rivers, a field of grain, birds singing, the sun, a rainbow, etc.

 

What is clear from this brief exchange is that Puritan families were spiritually strengthened by at least three practices:

They worked together

Whether household chores or learning their parent’s vocation, children worked along side their parents. This provided plenty of opportunities to for parents and children to talk together about life, the Bible, and the Christian faith. It was a way of living out the principles of Deuteronomy 6:4-7.

They played together

As hard as it is to imagine, puritans families had fun together. Sports, music, and just good old fashion play was a regular part of the their household interaction. They understood that all activities could be done for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

They enjoyed God’s creation together

Notice when teaching the Bible, parents were encouraged to use spiritual analogies to help children understand. They used pictures of flowers, rivers, fields of grain, singing birds, the sun, and rainbows, to help explain the Christian life. They used such analogies because they took pleasure in these creations. Puritans understood that one of the purposes of creation is to lead us to worship of our Creator (Romans 1:20).

 

Helping you family grow spiritually doesn’t have to be boring. And it doesn’t have to just consists of a series of Bible studies. If you really want your family to grow spiritually, then take a lesson from the Puritans. Work to together. Play together. Enjoy God’s creation together. Knowing that such practices will enhance those times when you do read the Bible together.

Why Are There Martyrs?

Posted on by • Posted in God, Jesus, Life • Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , • Leave a comment

Chris asked, “If God provides for all of our needs, why are there martyrs? How are their needs being met?”

I love good questions. And these are good questions.

For this post we’ll have to work our way backwards. I’ll answer the second question first, because that will in turn answer the first question.

So let’s begin with the answer to the second question by focusing on the notion of “need”. For example, when the Apostle Paul writes, “And my God will meet all your needs” (Phil 4:19a), what is he saying?

Paul, appears to be saying, “With God, you will never be needy.” But that can’t be accurate because, in Philippians 4:12 Paul writes,

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

We see that for Paul there were times when he was clearly in need. So how can he write, “And my God will meet all your needs”?

The answer has to do with Paul’s “secret of being content in any and every situation”. What was Paul’s secret?  The answer is in the next verse,

I can do all this through [Christ] who gives me strength. (Phil 4:13)

Paul is saying that there have been times of need and times of abundance, but because he has Jesus, he has the strength to be content in all situations.

Now, understanding this is important because Paul uses the same logic in Philippians 4:19. The entire verse actually reads:

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Similar to Philippians 4:12-13, Paul is saying two things:

  1. God promises to meet your needs
  2. But, God will meet your needs through Jesus Christ.

What does all this have to do with our original questions about martyrs?

Everything.

The Apostle Paul understood that Jesus Christ is the only thing you need. If you have Jesus you have everything. Because, as he writes in Colossians, “Christ… is your life” (Colossians 3:14).

Paul knew that Jesus gives you life (John 14:6; 17:3). Jesus sustains your life (Colossians 1:17). Jesus directs your life (Ephesians 2:10). Jesus provides purpose to your life (Colossians 1:16). And Jesus demands your life (Matthew 16:25). Thus to have Jesus is to have no other need. Or as Pastor Tullian Tchividjian famously put it, “Jesus + Nothing = Everything”.

So now let’s apply this to Christian martyrs.

When Christians are killed for their faith (martyred), God actually supplies all their needs. Because God is giving them Jesus Christ. Paul knew this, when he wrote, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”(Phil 1:21). Paul looked forward to death because he knew that after death he would instantly enter into the full presence of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:8). Therefore, he would not lose anything, but instead gain everything.

There is no such thing as a needy martyr. Because Jesus Christ fulfills every need. When we die we get all of Christ. We therefore, lose nothing, and gain everything.

God allows Christians to be martyred, because their deaths proclaim one simple and glorious truth—to have Jesus Christ is to have everything.

Today You Can Be A Superhero

Posted on by • Posted in Life • Leave a comment

Put on your tights and break out your cape, because today is your day to be a superhero.  Today, you have the chance to save a real life. Or many real lives, if you choose.

You won’t need super powers, an arch enemy, or even some tragic back story. You won’t need to mutate, pursue martial arts training, or even possess enormous amounts of wealth. You won’t even need to travel far, or keep a secret identity.

Today, with very little effort,  you have the ability to save someone from facing certain death. You have the ability to give someone life.  Today, you have everything you need to rescue someone and be a real life superhero.

The number of people you save today is completely up to you.

Today, 19,000 kids under the age of five will die. Half of those deaths are from hunger-related causes.

But students at Fellowship Church are doing something about it. They are taking part in World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine in order to raise awareness and funds to save those dying kids. They are taking the small step of becoming superheros to children in need of rescue.

You can join them!

By clicking here, you can make a donation to their  team page.

$1 saves a child for a day.  $35 saves a child for a month. And $450 saves a child for well over a year. World Vision promises to use your funds to bring emergency food aid to disaster zones and equip families with the tools they need to overcome hunger in their communities. With your help today, lives will be changed forever.

And the good news is that the help is helping. Because of the work of other superheros just like you,  the number of children dying each day from hunger has, since the 1960’s,  dramatically been reduced.

Every $35 you raise can help feed and care for a child for a month. World Vision puts the funds you raise to work by bringing emergency food aid to disaster zones and equipping families with the tools they need to overcome hunger in their communities. With your help, we’re partnering with the poor and empowering them to change the direction of their lives. What does this change look like? Parents equipped to grow healthier, more abundant crops and livestock. Communities gaining access to clean water for nutritious harvests. Children receiving basic medical care. Kids going to school. Families getting on their feet — and standing strong – See more at: http://30hourfamine.org/learn-about-the-famine/famine-faqs-2/?cons_id=0&ts=1398879123&signature=c5c7818d0fd6068b149db3e41b500c7d#sthash.WaBneAU7.dpufEvery $35 you donate helps feed and care for a child for a month. World Vision puts the funds you raise to work by bringing emergency food aid to disaster zones and equipping families with the tools they need to overcome hunger in their communities.
Every $35 you raise can help feed and care for a child for a month. World Vision puts the funds you raise to work by bringing emergency food aid to disaster zones and equipping families with the tools they need to overcome hunger in their communities. With your help, we’re partnering with the poor and empowering them to change the direction of their lives. What does this change look like? Parents equipped to grow healthier, more abundant crops and livestock. Communities gaining access to clean water for nutritious harvests. Children receiving basic medical care. Kids going to school. Families getting on their feet — and standing strong – See more at: http://30hourfamine.org/learn-about-the-famine/famine-faqs-2/?cons_id=0&ts=1398879123&signature=c5c7818d0fd6068b149db3e41b500c7d#sthash.WaBneAU7.dpu

With your help, more children will be saved. And the number of deaths will continue to decline.

Any donation amount is significant to a child in need.

So don’t wait. Put on your cape, click on the link below, and become a superhero to a child today!

Click here, to make a donation to the team page.