Pray For Your church: 31 Day Challenge—Day Two

Mike Leake

Day Two: that our aim would be to please God (2 Corinthians 5:9)

So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. (2 Corinthians 5:9 ESV)

Church can be foggy. And that’s not surprising when you consider the nature of the church. God draws diverse people who are sinners into a relationship with Himself, which by necessity also puts redeemed sinners in close proximity to one another. That’s diverse people put together who are all likely at a different spot in their growth in the Lord. When these people try to make decisions together things can get foggy. The needs around us, the needs within our own body, the dreams and passions that we have for serving the Lord, the whole lot of things can create a fog. There is one thing which can clear the focus; namely, every member make it his/her life’s aim to please God. Focus there and the fog has a tendency to lift.

Father, we thank you for your work of drawing diverse peoples to yourself. And yet we are broken people, living in a broken world, who are being redeemed by you. We acknowledge that we are still sinners and as such when we relate to one another things can sometimes get foggy. Lord, help it to be our aim to please you. No matter where we find ourselves serving within your church help our singular aim be your pleasure. Thank you that your ultimate pleasure in us has already been satisfied at the Cross. Help us live out what you’ve already purchased. Amen.

Bible-Only Man

Mike Leake 5 Comments

“Hey, bro, would you like to meet together on occasion and work through something like Calvin’s Institutes with me?”

“Nah. I don’t follow men. I follow Christ. I’ve barely got time to read and so I just stick to my Bible reading. I don’t have time for the words of men.”

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I could have replaced Calvin’s Institutes with any other Christian book and the point would be the same. On occasion I’ll encounter a superhero, whom I call Bible-Only Man. This superhero can quote Scripture like a champ. His knowledge of Old Testament stories could rival any OT scholar. You don’t dare play this guy at Bible trivia.

I’m always a bit concerned when I meet a Bible-Only Man. In part because his life is usually falling apart. 

You’d think the two wouldn’t be together.

After all, it is generally true that a person whose Bible is falling apart usually is living a life which isn’t. And so why is Bible-Only Man about to make shipwreck of his marriage?

I think his inability/refusal to read good solid Christian books is a symptom of a much greater problem. And it’s why I’m immediately concerned for someone who, in an uber-spiritual tone, tells me they only read the Bible. That bigger problem is the failure to properly apply and live out what is written in the Scriptures.

Reading through the Institutes (or other Christian books) helps me in application of the Scriptures. It also grounds me in a historic community. When I only read the Bible I’m shielding myself from the application of the rest of the church.

Of course if you’re ever at a spot where you have to decide between the Scriptures and other books, you choose God’s Word every time. The Bible cannot be replaced. But at the same time the best Bible study is done in community. Good solid Christian books are part of that Bible study within community. Forsaking that is usually an indication that the tangible local community is also being forsaken. This is why I’m concerned for Bible-only man.

Besides if Bible-only man were really reading his Bible then he’d know that sheltering himself from the community isn’t all that biblical. 

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Photo source: here

Today in Blogworld 11.09.15

Mike Leake

The Needless Complexity of Academic Writing

Amen.

Why Study Hebrew (or Greek)

I like David’s point here. There are others ways to accomplish this but studying Greek or Hebrew is one of the better ones.

3 Reasons Those Who Are Unbiblically Remarried After a Divorce Should Not Leave Their New Spouse

Justin Taylor tackles a really tough topic.

How to Marvel at Your Wife’s Creativity

Your wife’s Pinterest board is likely a reflection of the glory of Christ. Enjoy that.

Stephen Colbert is intending this to be funny…but with the cost of our electric bill I’m wondering if one of these would work:

Pray For Your church: 31 Day Challenge—Day One

Mike Leake 1 Comment

Day One: That we would be satisfied in God alone

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. –Psalm 16:11

To my knowledge I have started every prayer challenge with this passage and with this theme. That is intentional. I believe the greatest thing we can pray for people—and ultimately for our church is that we will be eternally satisfied in God alone. The promises of Psalm 16 are vast. It is easy for churches and individuals to get distracted and wooed away by lesser loves. It is only in the Lord that we will find fullness of joy which is without bottom and pleasures which are without end. So pray today that those in our church would find satisfaction in God alone.

Father, in you alone is eternal satisfaction. I confess that so often my heart is drawn to things that do not satisfy. Rescue my heart—and the hearts of my brothers and sisters in Christ—from looking to other things to find satisfaction. May our passion be to help others find their satisfaction in God alone. Only you can satisfy. Help us believe this with all of our being.