Read This Last

After you've done all your other web stuff, come back and read this quote from John Piper. Because after you read it, there's a pretty good chance it will be time to turn off the computer and talk to God.

See you soon.

Okay...

Here we go:

"One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time." - John Piper

O my God! (in you I trust)

This morning I was pondering Psalm 25:2 which says, "O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me."

On the one hand, this is a humble prayer of petition from a heart that loved God and trusted in his protection. I seek to have a similarly humble heart, to exercise similar faith, and for God not to let me be put to shame. In fact, the entire Psalm is both a wonderful song of praise and a sneak peak at a godly man's conversation with his Lord.

On the other hand, I can never get past any verse that says "O my God" without getting distracted and suddenly wondering if I've just broken the 3rd commandment. It's even worse when I have to read this verse out loud to others, whether in a small group bible study, or as a call to worship. As much as I try to enunciate as piously as possible, I still feel dirty. David, of course, is not taking the Lord's name (or title) in vain. He's not using the phrase as an interjection, or declaration of surprise. He's actually addressing a heartfelt statement to his God.

So today I did a little research. In the ESV, the phrase "O my God" appears 22 times. Mostly in the Psalms, but also in the prayers of Ezra, Nehemiah and Daniel (Notice that it appears in the prayers of the most Godly men in scripture, apparently the problem is just with me!).

So I did a little more research. The Hebrew for this phrase is only one word, meaning "my God." There is no corresponding particle "O" in the Hebrew. The English versions have added the "O" to help convey the directness with which the prayer is addressed to God. This is good news for me. I now feel that as long as I am aware that the verse in question is a prayer to the Lord, I am free to drop the "O." It's funny how such a small change can make such a big difference. "My God" sounds humble and dependent, I like it.

My wife says it's just me. It is just me?

The Religious Symbolism of "The Office"

I recently discovered this little show called The Office which airs…well, almost around the clock in reruns. It apparently has a pretty loyal following. Which is reminiscent of another TV show that is popular these days, Lost.

Unlike Lost, however, The Office is rich in religious symbolism. Whereas Lost is about being lost, which is slang for not possessing faith, The Office is bursting with Biblical metaphor.

For example, the show revolves around the creation ordinances: work, rest, relationships, marriage, and family. All this is part of God’s created order, as we see in Genesis 1 and 2. For those who believe humor is a creation ordinance, there’s plenty of that too.

Not to point out the obvious, but those in the “office” sell paper. Get it? The paper clearly represents the written word, a nod to the Protestant Reformation and the mass production of Bibles in the language of the people.

Thus The Office is a metaphor for American evangelicalism. The leader of the “office” is a guy who wears a suit, much like your average evangelical pastor. The “employees” have diverse gifts and backgrounds, as 1 Corinthians 12 describes. They are supposed to work together (see Ephesians 4), but of course this is a challenge as it is in any church—oops, I mean “office.”

And the reason they have such strained relationships, as the Bible tells us, is the Fall. This goes back to the creation account once again, in which sin entered the world and made our relationships a mess. Even as believers, we struggle with our relationships to one another and even to God. And as The Office so profoundly illustrates, we even make the distribution of God’s word merely a means to make a buck. Yes, we do need a new Reformation! Thank you, Office, for this clarion call.

It’s exciting that a show of such striking religious commentary made it onto the air.

Guidance as Big as God

“This is God, our God forever and ever,
He will guide us forever.” (Psalm 48:14)

This phrase caught my attention because, like many Christians I know, I’m pretty interested in God’s guidance. How often have you asked others, or been asked, to pray for “God’s guidance”?

Praying for God’s guidance is a big deal. We want to do the right thing, we want to feel like someone is in charge of the apparent chaos of life, and (perhaps more than anything else) we would really like things to work out well for us.

I think there are a few ideas in Psalm 48 that take God’s guidance to the next level, however.

First of all, God’s guidance is guaranteed: “This is our God, He will guide.” It’s not something we get if we are good, or pray hard enough, but it comes free. It’s the reason we pray with David, “The Lord is my shepherd.” (In fact, the Septuagint translates the second part of this verse, “He will shepherd us forever.”)

Also, God’s guidance is corporate: “This is God, our God.” If you ponder the entire Psalm, it’s a psalm about God being a mighty fortress to His people, plural—to faithful Israel, and by extension to His church. This shouldn’t make us feel as if we’re lost in a crowd, but it should encourage us that we are part of something bigger. God does provide guidance to us as individuals and families, but we’re part of something larger than our own lives.

And beyond all this, God’s guidance is staggering in its magnitude. “He will guide us forever.” This is amazing! We tend to think of God’s guidance—or at least I do—as an isolated event. And usually limited to a particular decision. But actually, God is working on a grand scale—on an eternal scale. You would think based on this that perhaps all things are working together for our good.

Incidentally, the ESV translation I’ve cited is following the Septuagint here, whereas most translate this along the lines of “He will guide us unto death.” It’s reminiscent of Psalm 73:24, “You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.” Or Psalm 23 again, “The Lord is my Shepherd…and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” God does not drop us off at death’s door and says goodbye, but He guides us in such a way that death is traversed and we enter into glory. And you know, God keeps on guiding us even then!

This is our God and guide. Pretty amazing stuff.

Even Paul digressed occasionally...

Particularly in Ephesians 3:1-13, which is, technically, a digression.

He starts the chapter saying "For this reason, I Paul...." but then he gets sidetracked recounting parts of his testimony and the way God had worked in his own life, calling him to be the apostle to The Nations. He doesn't resume the initial thought until verse 14 when he starts again, "For this reason I bow my knee before the Father."

This is what I think happened...

Paul had just finished writing chapter two, a thoughtfully crafted chapter about the effects of the gospel. The gospel takes us from dead in our sins to alive in Christ, from hostility and alienation to peace and fellow citizenship in the kingdom of God. His mind is entranced with the glory of God and the wonder of the grace that is ours in Christ. Now, he's getting ready to pray for the Ephesians. As an opening to his prayer he casually mentions his name and title as the one who is getting ready to intercede in prayer, "I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles."

But as his mind was already saturated with the new-creation-power of the gospel, his name caught in his mind, and caused him to remember how the gospel had worked in his life. He was, after all, one of the greatest examples of the gospel breaking down hostility and replacing it with gospel zeal.

He used to be Saul, now Paul.
He used to imprison those who loved Christ, now he is a prisoner of Christ himself.
He used to hate the Gentiles, now he loved them enough to suffer on their behalf so that some might come to Christ.

The wonderfully intricate theology of chapter two is not meant so that we can simply become intellectually informed. It is written so that we might worship, so that we might love Christ more. Paul moves from considering theology in the abstract, to marveling about how it had personally affected him, how he had been changed by the love of Christ, and how the power of the gospel had overcome even his own considerable hostilities.

What's your testimony? Have you worshiped God for the life changing power of the Holy Spirit working in your life? Have you taken time to digress from the routine details of life, and your routine prayers, to think personally about the life changing grace of God who loves you?

How to love the Sovereignty of God

Believing in God's sovereignty means believing that God is in complete control. That in his most holy, wise and powerful way he is preserving and governing ALL his creatures, and ALL their actions.

Most of the time, God's providence is mysterious. God is certainly under no compulsion to tell us why he is doing things the way he is. But occasionally we are able to look back and see just one or two of the possible reasons why God did things a certain way. And when we can, it is very encouraging. Most of the time, when bad things happen we simply have to trust the God has our good in mind, even though we can only see bad.

I bring this up, because when Ken and I were in NC two weeks ago, Ken pointed out that I had several stories of being able to look back and see good in what had originally been very difficult circumstances. I need to remind myself of these things during the other 99% of the time when God's providence remains mysterious.

Two stories are similar. Both in Charleston in '05 and in Greenwood in '07 I applied for pastoral jobs which I thought would be perfect fits for me. I was excited about both of them, and thought I had a good chance at being hired for each of them. I was wrong about both of them. And both times, especially the first time, I was extremely disappointed not to get the job. However, it is also true that I now look back at each job and am very thankful that I didn't get them. Both jobs would have been bad fits for me. And in both cases the person who did get the job became a good friend.

I'm thankful to be able to look back on these situations, and realize that although at the time I saw God's providence as only bleak, I can now see what he was protecting me from. And I'm particularly thankful that I now have a job that I love, even though I never saw it coming!

A few concrete examples from my own life can go a long ways in encouraging me when only bad things seem to be happening. I know that someday I'll be able to look back and see the good that God had in mind. It might happen in a few years, or more likely, not until heaven. But either way I am encouraged to love the doctrine of God's sovereign providence, not only in theory, but also in practice.

WADDLE!

Lately I've been having devotions with my 2 year old son. We use this book:



He really likes the book, and with it can easily coax out of him the "w" sound. I can also tickle him at the end when the "alligator's gonna getcha!" and that's important too. Since he likes the book so much, I'm hoping that I can use it to get him to put two sounds together--perhaps he'll say "wad" soon--or maybe say a whole word.

All this is a far cry from teaching him to say, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." But it's definitely a starting point.

Sometimes Christians debate whether we should "waste time" with people's physical needs, such as providing food for medical care, or whether our job is simply to focus on the "spiritual" needs--give them the gospel that saves their soul.

But when I'm with my son, it all seems very simple. If he's going to learn to praise God, he's going to need "w" and all the other letters of the alphabet too. He's going to need to put two syllables together. And come to think of it, providing food and medical care is fairly fundamental as well.

So I wonder, as we think about those around us who need the gospel: what other, fundamental needs must be addressed in their lives if they are to understand and praise God? And what kind of discernment and patience should we exercise if we are to truly do as Jesus said and "love our neighbor as ourselves"?

Why I love the Church

The best thing by far about the church, is that God dwells there.

There are many other excellent things about the church, but this surpasses them all. Ephesians 2:22 says "In [Christ] you (plural) also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."

• The God who revealed himself to his people as Yahweh.
• The One who was, and who is, and who is to come. God Almighty.
• God who is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.
• Whose Spirit hovered over the waters in creation, and spoke the universe into being by the word of his power.
• Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the heavens with a span.
• Before whom the nations are as a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as dust on the scales.
• The One who is worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!

This God dwells with his church. When we gather for worship on Sunday mornings it is not primarily a gathering of believers one with another, but before all else it is a gathering of the Triune God with his people. God speaks to us. We listen, we worship, we are changed.

God dwelt in the Mosaic Tabernacle...

Exodus 40:34-35 - Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

God dwelt in the Solomonic Temple...

I Kings 8:10-11 - And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

God now dwells in his people...

Acts 2:2-4 - And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

Do you not know that God's Spirit dwells in you?

I love being a part of the church.

Holding Pattern

There is a famous moment from Seinfeld in which Jerry is frustrated with a car rental representative. He made a reservation, but the car wasn’t there for him.

Jerry: I don't understand, I made a reservation, do you have my reservation?

Agent: Yes, we do, unfortunately we ran out of cars.

Jerry: But the reservation keeps the car here. That's why you have the
reservation.

Agent: I know why we have reservations.

Jerry: I don't think you do. If you did, I'd have a car. See, you know how to
take the reservation, you just don't know how to hold the reservation and
that's really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody
can just take them.

Recently when reading the psalms I was thinking about this episode (stranger things have happened). In Psalm 40:1, David says, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.”

David had to wait for the Lord. All of us go through times when we have to do the same.

So I was thinking, it’s often easy to shoot up a prayer to God. Sometimes these are broad prayers like "Lord, help me to love you more!" Sometimes they are more specific. But how often do we really hold on to that prayer in our heart, remaining in a prayerful frame of mind as we wait on him to answer?

Perhaps the most important part of prayer isn’t saying the prayer but holding on after we pray.

Just a thought.

Saving the Planet

“It’s easy to sleep at night when you’re saving the planet.”

That slogan was posted prominently in my hotel bathroom, accompanied by a word or two about reusing towels. I’m reminded of a woman who encouraged Americans to use “one less paper towel each day”—since it all adds up. But what is my daily allotment of paper towels, anyway?

I am all for being good stewards of what God has given us. I think Hummers are overkill. I believe black smoke billowing from trucks or factories cannot be God’s endgame, and that being wasteful is sinful.

But I must take issue with this idea that it’s easy to sleep at night when you’re saving the planet.
First of all, in all the great movies, those who are saving the planet get very little sleep. They are usually forced to work overtime to save the planet. And a lot of the saving tends to unfold at night-time.

Second, Jesus actually did save the planet—and he didn’t sleep well the night before. Do you remember Gethsemane? He sweat great drops of blood, praying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me—but not my will, but yours be done.”

And third, those who are trying to the save the planet these days—if they really mean business—are constantly worried about everything! My source for left-leaning news, Slate.com, is frequently asking questions like these:

“Which fruits, vegetables, and other crops have the smallest environmental footprints?”
“How bad should I feel about taking hot showers?”
“Is it a sin to leave your cell phone plugged in overnight?”

And more!

This is what the Bible means when it speaks about living by the law. We can never do enough. If we try to save ourselves (or, by extension, our own planet), one of two things will happen: we will either try really hard and land in despair, or we will not try very hard at all but still give ourselves a huge pat on the back for “saving the planet.”

My advice: Realize that you are not the savior. Trust Jesus as the Savior. And then, as you live for him, try to keep the place relatively clean.