He is with us

"God’s people have no assurances that the dark experiences of life will be held at bay, much less that God will provide some sort of running commentary on the meaning of each day’s allotment of confusion, boredom, pain, or achievement. It is no great matter where we are, provided we see that the Lord has placed us there, and that He is with us." - John Newton

Great Cost

"The kingdom of heaven is worth infinitely more than the cost of discipleship, and those who know where the treasure lies joyfully abandon everything else to secure it."


D.A. Carson, Matthew, EBC, pg. 328

The World Cup

Kevin DeYoung posted this video to his blog on Monday. It's classic!



Have I mentioned on here recently that I'm looking forward to the World Cup starting in a few days?

Joy!

Packing to move to another country is busy... something had to give. I decided it would be the blog. I stumbled across this extended quote from John Piper on joy, and I think you might find it helpful!


What the Bible Says About Joy:

1. Jesus’ aim in all He taught was the joy of His people (Jn. 15:11).
2. Joy is what God fills us with when we trust in Christ (Rom. 15:13).
3. The kingdom of God is joy (Rom. 14:17).
4. Joy is the fruit of God’s Spirit within us (Gal. 5:22).
5. Joy is the aim of everything the apostles did and wrote (2 Cor. 1:24).
6. Becoming a Christian is finding a joy that makes you willing to forsake everything (Mat. 13:44).
7. Joy is nourished and sustained by the word of God in the Bible (Ps. 19:8).
8. Joy will overtake all sorrow for those who trust Christ (Ps. 126:5; 30:5)
9. God Himself is our joy (Ps. 43:4; 16:11).
10. Joy in God outstrips all earthly joy (Ps. 4:7)
11. If your joy is in God, no one can take your joy from you (Jn. 16:22).
12. God calls all nations and peoples to join in the joy He offers to all who believe. No racism. No ethnocentrism (Ps. 67:4; Ps. 66:1).
13. The whole Christian message from beginning to end is good news of great joy (Lk. 2:10; Isa. 51:11).
14. When we meet Christ at His second coming we will enter into his indestructible joy (Mt. 25:23).

Desiring God - Sermon Title: "Quest: Joy! Found: Christ!"

Drinking Tea

Since we're moving to England in a few weeks, I figured I had better brush up on the types of tea cups/mugs that are out there. Thankfully, Nathan W. Bingham did the leg work for me on his blog and pointed out this amusing breakdown of available mug options...


Click here to see the mugs that are out there.

I think all my Star Wars friends out there would like this mug from the "Dark Side."

Sons of Korah

A few days ago, I was introduced to the band Sons of Korah. Their idea is old and yet new (this is generally a great combination!). They take the Psalms and set them to modern music. I haven't heard much, but I like what I've heard so far. You can check out Sons of Korah with me by clicking here and here.

HT: Nicholas T. Batzig

Radical

It's June 1st, and in a few days I hope to be a seminary graduate. Please be praying for our family's transition to the UK. I've mentioned it on this blog before, but in a few short weeks time I will begin serving as the assistant minister at Eythorne Baptist Church.


In other news I've been reading Radical by David Platt, and finding it a mixed bag. In some ways it is convicting, challenging, and edifying. In other ways it not quite as helpful. I appreciate very much Kevin DeYoung's review of the book. As usual, Kevin is balanced, loving, and well-articulated. You can find Kevin's review here.

Here is one of the challenging quotes from the book.

"In this book I want to show you that, with the best of intentions, we have actually turned away from Jesus. We have in many areas blindly and unknowingly embraced values and ideas that are common in our culture but are antithetical to the gospel he taught. Here we stand amid an American dream dominated by self-advancement, self-esteem, and self-sufficiency, by individualism, materialism, and universalism. Yet I want to show you our desperate need to revisit the words of Jesus, to listen to them, to believe them, and to obey them. We need to return with urgency to a biblical gospel, because the cost of not doing so is great for our lives, our families, our churches, and the world around us" (pg. 19).

By the way, I got this copy of Radical as a free gift from Multnomah Books because I attended Band of Bloggers. Thanks Multnomah!