There are no "Accidents"

You can look at providence through the lens of human autonomy and our idolatrous notions of freedom and see a mean God moving tsunamis and kings like chess pieces in some kind of perverse divine playtime.

Or you can look at providence through the lens of Scripture and see a loving God counting the hairs on our heads and directing the sparrows in the sky so that we might live life unafraid. “What else can we wish for ourselves,” Calvin wrote, ” if not even one hair can fall from our head without his will?”

There are no accidents in your life. Every economic downturn, every phone call in the middle of the night, every oncology report has been sent to us from the God who sees all things, plans all things, and loves us more than we know.

Whether it means the end of suffering or the extension of suffering, God in his providence is for us and not against us.

- Kevin DeYoung, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism

HT: Trevin Wax

Heidelberg Catechism Part 2

So far we've taken a few short looks at the Heidelberg Catechism. You can find those previous posts here and here. Our first post was an introduction to the catechism; while the second post was a look at the very first question. If you've never read or seen the catechism before, you can find a complete copy of it here.

If you're wondering where exactly Heidelberg is, here's a handy dandy Google map of Germany with Heidelberg marked appropriately.


View Larger Map

Today, we take brief look at the last question of the catechism and meditate on it just a bit.

Q129: What is the meaning of the word Amen?

A: Amen means: So shall it truly and surely be. For my prayer is much more certainly heard of God than I feel in my heart that I desire these things of him.

As the catechism wraps up, the writers walk through the various petitions of the model prayer from Matthew 6 explaining each petition as they go. And at the end they explain the meaning of "amen." "So shall it truly and surely be." This part sounds familiar to us, but the explanation may not be quite as familiar. To say "amen" is to acknowledge that God certainly has heard our prayers. His hearing of our prayers is certain, more certain than even our desires expressed in prayer. God hears our prayers, and He will accomplish His good ends, regardless of our fickleness of heart.

So often, I leave my time in prayer not "feeling" any different. I didn't get an emotional experience or the passion just wasn't there during my time in prayer. Did I really want what I asked for? I wonder: does God's response to my prayers change if my prayers are "lame?" The Heidelberg helps me think this through... no, thankfully, God hears our prayers, and His hearing is more certain than whether we really desire what we asked for. Notice where the emphasis is in this explanation. Prayer is about our sovereign and good God. In prayer we acknowledge our utter dependence upon God (because we aren't sure if we really want what we ask for), and we ask for more resources in the advancement of the kingdom (Mt. 6). Certainly, even when our prayers feel "flat" and we're not sure we really want what we're asking for, God hears them and will accomplish His ends.

Is this what we mean when we say "amen?"

Parting

Great thoughts from Owen as we approach Easter this Sunday.


"For a man to part with his glory, his riches, his life, his sense of the love of God in order to suffer loss, shame, wrath, being cursed and even death for another is clear evidence that he greatly values that person for whom he is willing to undergo such suffering. But that is exactly what Christ did for his saints... All that Christ parted with, all that he did, all that he suffered were all done because he loved and valued his saints. Christ so values his saints that he will never even lose one of them (John 17:11; 10:28-29).

Saints, on the other hand, rejoice to part with all things for Christ and his sake, that they might enjoy him for ever. But one thing saints will never do and that is part with Christ."

John Owen, Communion with God, pg. 109-111.

Mundee Morning

Well, I've been a little busy and a bit under the weather, so the blog has taken a back seat. But we're back on this week, and we'll start this week off with both the funny and the exciting.

Our first video is a classic sports press conference. Can you count the "practice's?"



Secondly, we take a look at Tottenham Hotspur's victory over Portsmouth on Saturday. Spurs appear to be the favorite to finish 4th in the premiership.


Tottenham Hotspur v Portsmouth
Uploaded by brandacier. - More professional, college and classic sports videos.

Pray for hard times?

Should we pray that God would make our lives hard? Should we ask Him to bring afflictions our way? Is it a good thing to have cancer, to have people mistreat you, and your plans for life not work out like you want them to? I'm beginning to think so, as hard as it is to say that. Robert Murray McCheyne has helped my thinking here.


"Your afflictions may only prove that you are more immediately under the Father's hand. There is no time that the patient is such an object of tender interest to the surgeon, as when he is bleeding beneath his knife. So you may be sure if you are suffering from the hand of a reconciled God, that His eye is all the more bent on you."

Then he says in another place...

"[Affliction is sometimes] sent for the conversion of the soul. Sometimes in health the Word does not touch the heart. The world is all. Its gaieties, its pleasures, its admiration, captivate your mind. God sometimes draws you aside into a sickbed, and shows you the sin of your heart, the vanity of worldly pleasures and drives the soul to seek a sure resting-place for eternity in Christ. O happy sickness that draws the soul to Jesus (Job 33, Psalm 107)!"

Sell out (not that kind)

Well, Together for the Gospel has officially sold out. It looks to be a wonderful couple of days spent reading about, thinking about, and talking about the Gospel. I'm looking forward to the fun and fellowship the 6 guys from our church will have together while we are there! If you haven't heard of T4G before, this video serves as a great intro to the conference.



Have I mentioned yet that I really like the bookstore at T4G as well?

The Saints' Delight in Christ

A Puritan meditation on Christ at its best. Do yourself a favor, read this slowly...

"Christ is their delight, their crown, their rejoicing, their life, food, health, strength, desire, righteousness, salvation and blessedness. Without Christ they have nothing. In Christ they shall find all things. Christ has, from the foundation of the world, been the hope, expectation, desire and delight of all believers."

- John Owen, Communion with God, pg. 104.

Boiler Up

It was a good sports weekend all around in the Franklin household. Boiler Up!

Big Win for Spurs

There's no doubt this was a big win for Spurs. They have cleared a 4 point gap between themselves and the next closest teams. The fight for the last Champions League spot is growing fierce.

Watch the highlight below -


Stoke City v Tottenham Hotspur
Uploaded by ishmail10. - Discover the latest sports and extreme videos.

2 Beautiful Goals.

A Day Off

Taking a day off with your family is always a good thing. I did that yesterday. Taking a day off with your family to visit the Childrens' Museum of Indianapolis is a very good thing. I think my kids could go there everyday. We did that yesterday. Spending 3 hours with 3 young boys in the Bob the Builder "Project: Build It" section of the museum was absolutely priceless.

What's not priceless is the parenting advice the Childrens' Museum passes along to its patrons. I thought my boys liked sand because it's fun (and dirty!).

The Pew Prayer

This may be a little late to be helpful for you as you head to church tomorrow, but I'd recommend you read it this week, meditate on it a bit, and prepare yourself for corporate worship next week. It's a helpful article called "The Prayer of the Pew."

Find the article here.

Here's one testimonial from the article to whet your whistle...
"The ‘Pew Prayer’ was a significant turning point in my understanding of what church is all about. It changed my reasons for going to church. The shift was made from being the ‘helpee’ to the helper, the served to the servant. Church is where we seek spiritual food and encouragement in order to become more godly; but church is also where we go in order to feed other people and encourage them. In God's mercy, we become more Christ-like in the process, as like him we deny ourselves for the sake of others. But our purpose in gathering with God's people is to strengthen them and build the body of Christ. We look for opportunities to assist the growth of the church in practical ways... There are numerous ways in which we can carry out the ministry of the pew."

Heidelberg?

If you've never read the Heidelberg Catechism, you should. It is a delightful record of the historic Christian faith. You can read it here. As a bonus, below is a sweet picture of Ursinus, one of the church fathers who helped write the catechism. I don't care what you say, that's a sweet beard.


As we discussed a few weeks back, we're going to be taking regular looks at the great creeds and catechisms of the church. These documents have stood through history as great teachers of theology. They do not stand authoritatively over the Bible (just as the Systematic Theologies of today don't!), but the historic creeds and catechisms have served the church by teaching sound doctrine for a long time. Also, in an age of short-lived emphases and "new-fangled" ministry ideas, these creeds and catechisms help us remember what has been important to the church historically. History isn't everything (and certainly it isn't always right!), but it does help us keep perspective in our ever-changing world.

What is a catechism you might well ask? Well, a catechism is nothing more than a teaching document. It's a way of teaching truth by way of question. So, catechisms all kind of look the same. They have questions, and then they have answers.

Today we'll just take a quick look at the first question of the catechism...

Q. What is your only comfort in life and death?

A. That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.

Meditate on this question & answer for just a minute... There is so much truth packed into such a short statement. What really is our only comfort? Think about all the other things we could take comfort in? When it comes down to it, those things are really no comfort at all. Our only comfort is that we truly are "not our own." We've been purchased by another, and we belong to Him. Jesus preserves Christians, and brings about their salvation. My assurance is not in anything I have done or will do, but it's in what Jesus has done. Amen. Praise be to God.

Rest... one more time.

A few weeks back, we concluded a series on rest. Check out that series here: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8.

Today, I stumbled upon this great quote about rest from our friends over at J.C. Ryle Quotes.


"The rest that Christ gives is an inward and spiritual thing. It is rest of heart, rest of conscience, rest of mind, rest of affection, rest of will. It is rest, from a comfortable sense of sins being all forgiven and guilt all put away. It is rest, from a solid hope of good things to come, laid up beyond the reach of disease, death and the grave. It is rest, from the well-grounded feeling, that the great business of life is settled, its great end provided for, that in time all is well done, and in eternity heaven will be our home." - J.C. Ryle

Old Paths, “Christ’s Invitation”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1999], 368.

T4G

In a little under 1 month, I plan to be joining 6,000 of my closest friends at the Together for the Gospel conference. To say that this conference 2 years ago was life and ministry changing would be an understatement. God has used these men and this conference to have a profound effect of my understanding of the gospel and my life in ministry. This video gives you a taste of what the conference is like.



If you want to listen to the full messages for yourself, click here.

Suffering is good?

John Newton seems to think so, and I agree with Him.


"Faith upholds a Christian under all trials, by assuring him that every painful dispensation is under the direction of his Lord; that chastisements are a token of His love; that the season, measure, and continuance of his sufferings, are appointed by Infinite Wisdom, and designed to work for his everlasting good; and that grace and strength shall be afforded him, according to his need." - John Newton

Assurance

John Owen summarizes well our assurance as Christians. Christians can say this confidently...
"So the soul can say, 'He has taken away the guilt of my sin by which I come short of the glory of God. The Word of God assures me that there is now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1). So being in Christ Jesus by faith, none can lay anything to my charge or condemn me (Rom 8:33, 34). And as one who is in Christ by faith, conscience no longer condemns me for sin (Heb 10:2).' This wisdom is hidden in Christ alone. But it is not enough to say that we are not guilty. We must also be perfectly righteous. The law must be fulfilled by perfect obedience if we would enter into eternal life. And this is found only in Jesus (Rom 5:10)... This must be my righteousness if I would be found in Christ, not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but the righteousness which is of God by faith (Phil 3:9)."

Amen.

John Owen, Communion with God, pg. 95-96

Monday, Monday

Other ministry opportunities have kept me out of the blog world the last few days, but Monday is always a great day to get back at it. This is such a great video!

Discipleship Triage

These are great thoughts from Deepak Reju at 9Marks...

Picking Fruit Off of a Tree by Deepak Reju
from 9Marks by Deepak Reju

One of the ideas I've learned on our staff is to be strategic about the men I disciple and invest in. One of our staff pastors has often talked about being deliberate in investing in low-hanging fruit---men who show a lot of potential, who demonstrate a teachable heart and desire to grow, and with a little investment will themselves be able to invest in others. These low-hanging fruit quickly become disciple-making disciples!

The nature of pastoral ministry is that you get all types of requests for help---bad marriages needing attention, wives struggling with depression, young men and women sorting through who to marry and what to do with their life, physical sickness and hospitalizations, etc. Pastors tend to spend most of their time investing in high-hanging fruit--those situations which take a lot of time, energy, prayer, love, and investment, and often reap very little fruit. Without trying, you'll get plenty of these situations come across your door.

Don't get me wrong---to be a pastor is to be a shepherd. A fundamental part of your job is to care for the sheep, both through their good and bad days. Yet, what often happens is that a pastor's schedule can get over-run with high-hanging fruit, and we rarely take the time to deliberately invest in the low-hanging fruit. We spend our days investing in that which reaps very little harvest, without spending any time picking the low-hanging fruit.

So, here's my question for pastors: How deliberate are you at investing in the low-hanging fruit?

Are there men in your congregation who are FAT (faithful, available, teachable) and with a little investment might also be reaping greater fruit for the kingdom? Are you strategically investing in men who might one day become elders and one day come alongside you to shepherd the flock? Look at your schedule and consider if you are always reacting defensively to the problems that arise in your church, or are you deliberately scheduling time with the members who seem to be low-hanging fruit?

Both parts of necessary for pastor ministry, and yet one (high-hanging fruit) tends to get much more attention in our schedule compared to the other (low-hanging fruit).

HT: 9Marks

Dever's Study

Last week I put up the video of Al Mohler's study from T4G. This video of Mark Dever's study is equally entertaining and equally inciting of my book lust. Enjoy!

Mark Dever - Study Tour from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

If you've never listened to a sermon by Mark Dever before, here's a helpful one that I listened to a few weeks back.

In Christ we learn of God's justice

"In the penalty inflicted on Christ for sin, God's justice is far more gloriously revealed than in any other way. To see a world made good and beautiful, wrapped up in wrath and curses, clothed with thorns and briers, made subject to vanity and in bondage to corruption; to hear it groan in pain under that burden; to consider legions of angels, the most glorious and immortal creatures, cast down into hell, bound with chains of darkness and kept for a more dreadful judgment, and that for one sin; to see the oceans of blood spilt on account of sin will give some insight into God's justice and righteousness. But what is all this to that which we see with the spiritual eye in the Lord Christ? All these examples of God's justice are but worms and of no value compared to God's justice in Christ.

To see Christ, the wisdom and power of God, always beloved of the Father, fear and tremble, bow and sweat, pray and die; to see him lifted up on the cross, the earth trembling beneath him as if unable to bear his weight; to see the heavens darkened over him as if shut against his cry and himself hanging between both as if refused by each; and to see that all this is because of our sins is to see clearly the holy justice and wrath of God against sin. Supremely in Christ do we learn this great truth that God hates sin and judges it with a dreadful and fearful judgment."

John Owen, Communion with God, pg. 82-82

What a thought! Only in Christ do we really understand the righteous and just judgment of God against sin. Scripture is filled with examples of God's justice against rebellious sinners, but those examples are just glimpses. In Jesus on the cross, we get a complete picture of God's just wrath against sin. Praise God! He bore the fullness of God's wrath in place of all those who would ever trust in Him. It reminds me of the words of one of our family's favorite hymns.

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Amazing Love indeed!

"Meet the Puritans" Book Giveaway

You could win a copy of the helpful book Meet the Puritans by Beeke & Pederson by entering the contest at Eric Kowalker's blog.

Muppet Monday

There's no better way to start a Monday morning than with the Muppets.


Check them out here.

Heaven

Tonight I get to preach briefly on Heaven from Revelation 21:1-4.

Here'a few quotes about heaven that I really like:


"If heaven were by merit, it would never be heaven to me, for if I were in it I should say, 'I am sure I am here by mistake; I am sure this is not my place; I have no claim to it.' But if it be of grace and not of works, then we may walk into heaven with boldness." - C.H. Spurgeon

"Every soul there [in heaven], is as a note in some concert of delightful music, that sweetly harmonises with every other note, and all together blend in the most rapturous strains in praising God and the Lamb forever." - Jonathan Edwards

"Oh, to think of heaven without Christ! It is the same thing as thinking of hell. Heaven without Christ! It is day without the sun, existing without life, feasting without food, seeing without light. It involves a contradiction in terms. Heaven without Christ! Absurd. It is the sea without water, the earth without its fields, the heavens without their stars. There cannot be a heaven without Christ. He is the sum total of bliss, the fountain from which heaven flows, the element of which heaven is composed. Christ is heaven and heaven is Christ." - C.H. Spurgeon

Rest for the Weary

In light of the conclusion of our recently concluded series on rest, I really appreciate this brief video by David Powlison.



As a bonus, if you can recognize the tune that opens the video, you win today's prize. Any guesses?

HT: Deepak Reju at 9Marks

Love the deliverance, hate the deliverer?

I came across this gem in Jonathan Edwards' sermon "The Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners" awhile back:

"There is a great deal of difference between a willingness not to be damned, and a being willing to receive Christ for your Saviour. You have the former; there is no doubt of that: nobody supposes that you love misery so as to choose an eternity of it; and so doubtless you are willing to be saved from eternal misery. But that is a very different thing from being willing to come to Christ: persons very commonly mistake the one for the other, but they are two quite different things. You may love the deliverance, but hate the deliverer. You tell of a willingness; but consider what is the object of that willingness. It does not respect Christ; the way of salvation by him is not the object of it; but it is wholly terminated on your escape from misery. The inclination of your will goes no further than self, it never reaches Christ. You are willing not to be miserable; that is, you love yourself, and there your will and choice terminate. And it is but a vain pretence and delusion to say or think, that you are willing to accept Christ."

His point: We must love Christ, worship Christ, rely on Christ, and submit to Christ. We can talk of a desire to be saved all we want, but unless we are willing to truly repent - stopping living as king and submit to king Jesus, then we don't really want to be saved. To be saved means to treasure Jesus above all else. Challenging huh?

Every page of Edwards' two volumes has zingers just like this one.

When you come to your deathbed...

“I charge you never to give up the old doctrine of the blood of Christ, the complete satisfaction which that atoning blood made for sin, and the impossibility of being saved except by that blood. Let nothing tempt you to believe that it is enough to look only at the example of Christ, or only to receive the sacrament which Christ commanded to be received, for which many nowadays worship like an idol.

When you come to your deathbed, you will want something more than an example and a sacrament. Take heed that you are found resting all your weight on Christ’s substitution for you on the cross, and His atoning blood, or it will be better if you had never been born.”

- J.C. Ryle, The Upper Room (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1970), 108.

HT: First Importance

Seminarian Heaven

I like Al Mohler. I like books. Therefore, I like this video.

Al Mohler - Study Video from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

Uncool People Need Jesus Too

This was a challenging and helpful post from Bill Streger via Justin Taylor. Check it out.

Uncool People Need Jesus Too

Through my work with the Acts 29 Network, I get the privilege of assessing a number of potential church planters each year. I also get to hear about dozens more from fellow pastors as well. When I guy comes in to get assessed, by the time he gets to the interview stage he’s already submitted a lot of paperwork. Resumes. Plans. Budgets. Demographic Analysis. Dental history. (Ok, just kidding on the last one).

And as I’ve looked at some amazing plans from church planters, I’ve started to notice a trend. They all sound the same.

It seems as the unique vision that God’s given so many church planters is almost identical. Phrases like “gospel-centered”, “missional”, and “cultural renewal” are littered throughout their proposals. It seems that the phrase “In the City. For the City.” or some variation of such has become church planting boilerplate.

Not only is the language the same, but so is the target group. It’s amazing how many young pastors feel that they are distinctly called to reach the upwardly-mobile, young, culture-shaping professionals and artists. Can we just be honest? Young, upper-middle-class urban professionals have become the new “Saddleback Sam”.

Seriously, this is literally the only group I see proposals for. I have yet to assess a church planter who wants to move to a declining, smaller city and reach out to blue collar factory workers, mechanics, or construction crews. Not one with an evangelsitic strategy to go after the 50-something administrative assistant who’s been working at the same low-paying insurance firm for three decades now.

Why is that? I can’t offer a definitive answer. It could be that God is legitimately calling an entire generation of young pastors to turn their focus to a small segment of the population that happens to look very much like they do.

Or it could be that we’re simply following in the footsteps of the church growth movement that we’ve loved to publically criticize while privately trying to emulate – we’ve just replaced Bill Hybels and Rick Warren with Tim Keller and Mark Driscoll.

Just thinking out loud…

Creeds & Catechisms

For awhile now I have been growing in my love for the historic creeds and catechisms of the church. While they are not perfect (let alone inspired or inerrant), I think there is tremendous value in being aware of and wrestling with the creeds and catechisms written by the church fathers who have gone before us. At a bare minimum, many of the creeds and catechisms serve as wonderful and insightful teaching of the God's Word. Not to mention, the creeds and catechisms provide us with a wonderful historical tradition of theological faithfulness (e.g. it's cool to think that men 500 years ago held to same theological truths that we do today!). It's just one more evidence that Jesus is building His church, and in spite of cultural, technological, intellectual, philosophical, and scientific changes in the wider world, the church still stands as "the pillar and foundation of truth" (1 Tim 3:15).

So how have the creeds and catechisms impacted I and my family? I'm glad you asked! Personally, I've been reading through the catechisms (such as the Heidelberg) as seminary and ministry responsibilities allow. If you are keen to catechisms, you may have seen the influence the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism had on my blog bio. Then as a family we've been working through the Introduction to the Westminster Shorter Catechism with our 4 and 2 year old at mealtimes as time allows. There is something sweet about your children knowing and being able to recite back to you theological truth! It's especially fun when your answers the question: "Are there more Gods than one?" with "NO! There's only one God!" (exclamation marks and all caps are original).

So, what's the point? Here it is. Over the next few weeks, I am going to try to introduce you to some of the historic creeds and catechisms of the church. These introductions may come through a brief meditation on a snippet of a catechism or a longer section of a confession... We'll see! I don't agree theologically with everything in every one of them, but I believe it will profit you to be familiar with these creeds and catechisms. More than that, I think they can be a tremendous encouragement to your (and my) spiritual growth.

Today, we'll start off with a brief introduction to the Heidelberg Catechism from Kevin DeYoung. Kevin has a book coming out soon that discusses the helpfulness of the catechism. Below is a portion of a post from Kevin's blog. I believe Kevin to be spot on. Enjoy!

----------------------------

The Good News We Almost Forgot
I’ve written before about how awkward it can feel to plug your own books. But I press on nonetheless, because you all are kind and I believe this book is important. My newest book, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism will be available at the end of March. If the topic itself doesn’t thrill you, just look at the sweet picture of Ursinus. He’s part professor, part Santa Claus, part back-from-Davy-Jones’-Locker Pirate of the Caribbean.


Needless to say, I’m a huge fan of the Reformed confessional tradition in general and of the Heidelberg Catechism in particular. But even if you are not Reformed or have a “no creed but the Bible” aversion to catechisms and confessions I encourage you give the Heidelberg a try. It is better than you think.

And for those of you who grew up with the Catechism and would like to forget the experience, I assure you: the Heidelberg is better than you remember.

Here’s a few paragraphs from the opening couple pages.

**********

The only thing more difficult than finding the truth is not losing it. What starts out as new and precious becomes plain and old. What begins a thrilling discovery becomes a rote exercise. What provokes one generation to sacrifice and passion becomes in the next generation a cause for rebellion and apathy. Why is it that denominations and church movements almost always drift from their theological moorings? Why is it that people who grow up in the church are often less articulate about their faith than the new Christian who converted at forty-five? Why is it that those who grow up with creeds and confessions are usually the ones who hate them most?

Perhaps it’s because truth is like the tip of your nose—it’s hardest to see when it’s right in front of you.

No doubt, the church in the West has many new things to learn. But for the most part, everything we need to learn is what we’ve already forgotten. The chief theological task now facing the Western church is not to reinvent or to be relevant, but to remember. We must remember the old, old story. We must remember the faith once delivered to the saints. We must remember the truths that spark reformation, revival, and regeneration.

And because we want to remember all this, we must also remember—if we are fortunate enough to have ever heard of them in the first place—our creeds, confessions, and catechisms.

Your reaction to that last sentence probably falls in one of three categories. Some people, especially the young, believe it or not, will think, “Cool. Ancient faith. I’m into creeds and confessions.” Others will think, “Wait a minute, don’t Catholics have catechisms? Why do we need some manmade document to tell us what to think? I have no creed but the Bible, thank you very much. I thought catechisms were for Catholics.” And yet others—the hardest soil of all—want nothing more than to be done with all this catechism business. “Been there, done that. Bor-ing. I’ve seen people who knew their creeds backward and forward and didn’t make them missional, passionate, or even very nice.”

To all three groups I simply say, “Come and see.” Come and see what vintage faith is really all about. Come and see if the cool breeze from centuries gone by can awaken your lumbering faith. Come and see if your church was lame because of its confessions and catechisms or if your lame church made the confessions and catechisms lame all on its own. Whether you’ve grown up with confessions and catechisms or they sound like something from another spiritual planet, I say, “Come and see.”Come and see Christ in the unlikeliest of places—in a manger, in Nazareth, or even in Heidelberg.

HT: Kevin DeYoung

Comparing Jesus to other Beloveds

So I've been working my way slowly through John Owen's Communion with God. In case you're really interested, I'm reading the abridged version put out by Banner of Truth. The full scale version can be found as a part of a collection of Owen's Works. In the Banner of Truth edition of Owen's works, Communion with God is found in Volume 2. If you have an extra $400.00 sitting around, I would go all out and buy the full 16 volume set (but that is just me!). If you're looking for another more accessible (digestible?) version of this book, I'd also recommend the abridgment that Justin Taylor and others put together. You can find that here.

This book is a goldmine. Owen clearly wrestles with God's Word in order to understand it, but he also has such keen sensitivity and Biblically-informed awareness of the human heart. I find myself being challenged, encouraged, and convicted on just about every page. I just finished the chapter discussing how believers hold communion with Jesus through grace, and the chapter closes like this:

"Let us then, receive Christ in all his excellencies and glories as he gives himself to us. Frequently think of him by faith, comparing him with other beloveds, such as sin, the world and legal righteousness. Then you will more and more prefer him above them all, and you will count them all as rubbish in comparison to him" (pg. 60).

Think about this with me. When was the last time you stopped and compared Jesus to everything else that clamors for your affections? If it's been awhile, stop and do it now. Compare Jesus to everything else you love, desire, enjoy, etc. Maybe you'll compare him to your favorite pastime, your spouse, your job, that thing that you want but just don't have. The more you make these kind of comparisons the more you will prefer him above everything else. The more we engage in comparing him to others, the more excellent he will appear to us, and the more like rubbish the rest of our "beloveds" will appear. It seems from Philippians 3:7-11, that this was the apostle Paul's regular practice.

Paul says, "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

29 years

29 years ago one of my heroes of the faith went home to be with the Lord.

Watch a great biographical sketch of D. Martyn Lloyd Jones below:



HT: Justin Taylor

Spurs 2 Everton 1 (barely).

Spurs: sensational in the first half, hang on in the second.