A Few Thoughts For My Friends in the Gospel Coalition
That last paragraph is gold after “Let me close with…” is why I’m linking to this. Amen.
33 Funniest Signs on the Simpsons
I really respect the subtle humor of the Simpsons.
What We’re Really Looking For on Facebook
It isn’t too create a super awesome fake farm…
3 Ways to Be a Friend of Sinners
My fellow Royals fan, Micah Fries, gives us a helpful post here on being a friend of sinners.
Some might say this is taking Frozen a bit too far…
Andrew Bonar once wrote in his diary:
“This day 20 years ago I preached for the first time as an ordained minister. It is amazing that the Lord has spared me and used me at all. I have no reason to wonder that He used others far more than He does me. Yet envy is my hurt, and today I have been seeking grace to rejoice exceedingly over the usefulness of others, even where it cast me into the shade. Lord, take away this envy from me!”
After reading 1 Samuel 18, I wrote something similar. I wish I could see myself as more like David and less like Saul, but alas I see envy entangling my heart.
John Owen rightly pointed out that “Sin always aims at the utmost: every time it rises up to tempt or entice, might it have its own course, it would go out to the utmost sin of that kind…” Sin never seems all that terrible when we see it in its first motions, but if given full vent it will aim to destroy us and dethrone God. As such, it is often a wise practice to pull sin out and consider where it aims to take you.
Because God has opened my eyes to envy I thought it’d be wise to look at where it aims to take me. Here are 7 things (from 1 Samuel 18) I’ll sacrifice if I succumb to envy.
1. I’ll sacrifice satisfaction in the work God is doing in my life
Saul couldn’t celebrate his thousands because he was fixated on David’s ten thousands. In the same way if I succumb to envy I’ll lose sight of the good things God is doing in my life.
2. I’ll sacrifice gentleness and replace it with anger
Immediately after hearing the little ditty about David’s success Saul was moved to anger. When I am envious of someone it is unlikely that I’ll have a posture of gentleness towards them. In fact my whole posture towards life will be one consumed with anger.
3. I’ll sacrifice protection from a host of others sins
Once anger filled Saul’s heart the door was open for a host of others sins. I don’t doubt that this “harmful spirit” was a response to his anger. Likewise in the New Testament we see that the love of money (which is like envy) is the root of all kinds of evil. Envy will cause me to do things that I’d never think of doing.
4. I’ll sacrifice joy and relationships and replace it with fear
David was a great asset to Saul. From all appearances he had little thought of being made king. Saul could have gotten great joy and a helpful relationship from this young man. Instead he was consumed with fear. The same will happen with me. Rather than embracing people I’ll fear them and distance myself.
5. I’ll sacrifice joy in God’s good plan
Saul knew better than to overtly kick against God’s plan. But he foolishly thought he could get around God’s favor of David—he’d use his enemies to kill this young man. When I’m envious of someone else I’m telling God that his plan stinks. Rather than enjoying God’s good plan I pout. That’s a terrible exchange.
6. I’ll sacrifice existing relationships
Saul was so consumed with his hatred of David that he ended up losing a son and a daughter in the process (and eventually the whole kingdom). Being so consumed by something—and opening the door to a host of other sins—will take a toll on my relationships. If I succumb to envy I’m sacrificing my family.
7. I’ll ultimately sacrifice even the things that I do have now.
Ultimately, the favor of God left Saul and he lost the kingdom to David. He wasn’t content with God’s gift to him and so God gave it to someone else. If I succumb to envy eventually those things that I so despise now (the blessings I have at present) will be sacrificed.
Everything was taken from Saul and he ended up falling on his own sword (or killed by an Amalekite). That is where envy got him. It aimed to dethrone God in the life of Saul and to ultimately destroy the man.
Lord, I don’t want this foolish envy. Make me happy in you. Make me so happy in you that the joy of others becomes my joy. Cause me to be a man who is so satisfied in you that I give my life to making others happy in you.
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Photo credit: here
It’s sometimes tough to know how to measure the success of a local church. Phil Newton gives us a look at the biblical measure.
The Difference Between Outrage and Accountability
This is so good. As believers we are called to accountability but such is not equated with the outrage of our day.
Interesting write up on Blue Jays prospect Daniel Norris.
Is sloth even possible in our busy society? You bet.
This is why thinking that ‘Sneeky’ is one of the 7 Dwarfs could cost you some change:
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His eyes can barely stay open. A graven look overwhelms his thin face. You can tell that this young man hasn’t eaten for days. He is starving to death.
You, being the good chap you are, offer this dying man a bit of bread and water. You know that he needs to eat and wonder why in a land flowing with milk and honey he hasn’t eaten in awhile.
Much to your surprise this pitiable lad refuses your bread and water. He says, “No thanks, man. I tried those once and they didn’t work. I found myself hungry again after a few hours. I’m looking for something that lasts a bit longer. But it’s starting to look hopeless man. I’ve tried everything. Nothing seems to work.”
Such are the irrational thoughts of those with depression.
If you’ve watched any of those depressing commercials trying to sell meds, then you’ve heard that one of the symptoms is a feeling of hopelessness. When we have feelings of hopelessness it means that we think this terrible state we are in is going to last forever. And it also means that we feel unique in our suffering. We’ve convinced ourselves that nobody understands. And because of this nothing will work. Ever.
When you are attempting to counsel with God’s Word a depressed person will tell you, “I’ve tried that man. It didn’t work. I’m still back here in the pit”.
And they are correct. In part.
The Scriptures don’t work if we are expecting them to be a panacea or talisman. That’s a fancy way of saying if we expect the Scriptures to magically fix-everything in such a way that we’ll never be back in a valley, then we are going to be sorely disappointed.
It is also true that you cannot reason with someone from the Scriptures when they no longer have the capacity to reason. But does this mean we should put our Bible on the shelf and begin a search for other means of help?
I don’t believe so. While pondering the life of William Cowper, John Piper had these words to say:
Let us rehearse the mercies of Jesus often in the presence of discouraged people. Let us point them again and again to the blood of Jesus…Don’t make your mercy to the downcast contingent on quick results. You cannot persuade a person that he is not reprobate if he is utterly persuaded that he is. He will tell you he is deaf. No matter. Keep soaking him in the “benevolence, mercy, goodness, and sympathy” of Jesus and “the sufficiency of the atonement” and “the fullness and completeness of [Christ’s] justification”…Pray that in God’s time these truths may yet be given the power to awaken hope and beget a spirit of adoption. (Piper, The Hidden Smile of God, 117-19)
Piper is correct. We cannot shelve the Bible just because the person we are speaking to doesn’t have the capacity for sight. It’s the same thing with an unbeliever—we don’t stop preaching the gospel because they don’t believe it. We know that this is the means that God uses to save. Likewise, we know that God’s Word is powerful to rescue us from the pit of despair.
Now, don’t hear what I’m not saying. I’m not intending to say that Scripture is the only means that God uses. But what I am saying is that most depressed people will let their Bibles collect dust. If you are living with someone who is depressed they cannot afford for you to put your Bible on the sidelines too. They need God’s Word they just don’t know it. So keep lovingly, soaking them in the beauty and worth of Jesus.
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Photo Source: here