I’ve linked to the first of these but be sure to follow the links. The whole series looks interesting.
I know the times when I’ve engaged in journaling it has greatly benefited my soul.
I appreciate Lore’s reflections on the strange math of marriage.
Top 10 Ways to Pray For Your Pastor
Good suggestions, here.
I’ve maybe linked to this before, but I love this version of a great song:
Well, it looks the Bible messed up my game plan once again.
Let me explain. I have a daughter. Some day she is going to be older and unless I act fast some boy is going to try to sweep her off her feet and romance her. I know teenage boys. I once was one. And so I don’t like this scenario at all.
My plan up until now has been to attach one of those castle towers to our house and lock her up there until she is somewhere around the age of 35. I figure that’ll be my only recourse once the government takes my shotgun away from me (that one I don’t own). Of course, I’m being just a little silly. But what I am not kidding about is my passion for my daughter’s purity. (And for my son as well). And I figure that the best way to keep her pure is to avoid the topic altogether. Right?!?!?
The Bible, unfortunately, disagrees with my plan. Consider these verses:
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. (Ephesians 5:3-4 ESV)
In the first three chapters of Ephesians Paul paints a beautiful picture of what God has done (and is doing) in redeeming a broken people and a broken world. Then in the next three chapters he helps us to see what it means to live out of redemption instead of rebellion. And he does this by following a pattern. Numerous times in those last three chapters Paul follows a formula: “don’t do this, but instead do this, because of this”. Ephesians 5 is no exception.
What I find interesting though is what Paul uses as the antidote to sexual immorality (whether in the form of words or actions). He says, “but instead let there be thanksgiving”. I’d have thought it would be something else there. Maybe a word like purity or holiness. Or maybe that he’d have went to the Proverbs and admonished us to “enjoy the wife of our youth”. But he doesn’t. He said, “let there be thanksgiving”.
So how in the world is thanksgiving the antidote to sexual immorality?
Consider for a moment what is happening when we fall into sexual immorality. Such a thing is always a selfish choice. Sex is meant to be a self-giving act. But any form of sexual immorality—when we choose our way over God’s way—is fundamentally self-centered. Though it might seem to be rooted in pleasure and love, it is destructive not only to ourselves but also our partner because anything which isn’t pleasing to God cannot further our joy.
This is why, I believe, Paul links sexual immorality with covetousness. Sexual immorality happens when we are not satisfied in God. We believe in that moment that disobedience will be more pleasurable than obedience. There is something we want and we will have it no matter the cost. So it isn’t shocking, then, that gratitude will sever the root of sexual immorality. Gratitude does just the opposite. It is an expression of our satisfaction in God. When we are thankful for what we do have the lure of the forbidden loses its luster.
All of this means that the way to help my daughter (and son, for that matter) pursue purity isn’t to lock her up in a castle. Instead, it is to help her walk in the freedom of the gospel. It is to cultivate a heart of gratitude. When she is satisfied in God she will have what it takes to say no to the fleeting pleasure of sin. She’ll believe that God’s way is better.
Looks like, I need to start tearing down my castle and start working overtime to cultivate a heart of gratitude in my little girl.
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Photo source: here
What Hate in Sports Really Means
Barnabas Piper does a great job here.
Is the Bible Foundational to Christianity?
One of the better responses to Andy Stanley that I’ve read.
Self-Styled Theologians and the Dangers of Blogging
I think applying this would be a bit difficult in practice but its worth considering.
I believe Lore is correct here.
This is a bit intentionally overboard but still fun:
It’s Monday morning and I’m slowly recovering from Sunday. I take a brief look at the text for the upcoming Sunday. What I say to myself in that moment will determine what type of steward I am of God’s Word. There are two types of stewards in the Bible. When we consider handling the Bible, only one of these types of stewards is faithful to the master.
Consider Matthew 25:14-30 and what it says about stewardship. The manager here gives out different talents to individuals. His task for them is to improve upon what he had given. If he gives you ten talents then he is expecting more than ten talents when he returns. This is why the dude who kept the talent safe—by burying it in the backyard—was considered a worthless servant. He didn’t improve upon what the manager had given to him.
Now consider 2 Timothy 1:13-14. This is the direct charge to Timothy to guard the good deposit. He has been entrusted with something precious. But in this case he isn’t to improve upon it. When the master comes back he isn’t expecting to see his investment has been reshaped and improved. What he wants to see is that it is unchanged—it has been protected. Dismissing for a second some horrible implications which could come from this, in this particular instance burying the treasure in the backyard would be being a faithful steward.
I’m convinced that many of us pastors have bought into the idea that our job on Sunday morning—and throughout the day to day administering of the Word to our people—is to be like that first steward. We’ve been given talents and God has given us brains to improve upon what he has given to us. When you have this view you’ll sit down with a passage of Scripture on Monday morning and think to yourself, “Now, how can I make this passage palatable for my hearers. What can I do with this passage? How can I improve upon these six or seven verses and create something beautiful for our congregation?”
But that isn’t the type of stewardship we are called to. We aren’t called to improve upon the word but to faithfully deliver it. We are stewards of a message. Proclaimers of truth. Ambassadors of the king. Our faithfulness isn’t depending upon whether or not we improve upon the message but whether or not we deliver the message as the King wants it delivered.
This changes my questions in sermon preparation. I’m not wondering how I can salvage or make beautiful the chunk of verses I’m given that week. Instead I’m asking myself, “what is the king saying and how do I put together words in our language to convey that message accurately?” I’m not called to spice it up. I’m not called to edit or tweak the message. I’m just called to stand before a people and say, “Here is what God is saying to us.”
A king who knows his subjects far better than I ever could has said, “Here is what I want you to tell them.” What chutzpah must we have to say, “But, I know how to communicate your message better. I know what they’ll like. I know what they’ll accept. I’ll give them the gist of your message—but I know what they’ll go for and what they’ll reject. So, I’ll take out my pen and do a bit of editing and give them a palatable message they can not only understand but also enjoy. O, glorious king, I’ve improved upon your writ!”
That isn’t a faithful steward. That’s an arrogant man who thinks his words are just as important and beneficial as the kings. He isn’t looking for you to improve upon His Word, but to faithfully proclaim it no matter the result. We aren’t driven by their response to the Word we are driven by the King’s commission to go and proclaim. We preachers need to put down our editing pens and start picking up our bullhorns and proclaiming the King’s message.
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Photo source: here