Today in Blogworld 10.02.12

Mike Leake

The Power of Overlooking an Offense

Trevin Wax, with help from Doris Kearns Goodwin, looks at the relationship of Abraham Lincoln and Edwin Stanton and the power of overlooking major personal offenses.

The Puritans Are Not That Precious

Thabiti Anyabwile steps into the discussion of Propaganda’s controversial song “Precious Puritans”.  I appreciate Thabiti’s reflections and they must be considered as we talk about the role of the Puritans in light of their acceptance of slavery. 

Preparing for Marriage Free-Ebook

This looks like something that might be beneficial to use in pre-marital counseling sessions.  I think it will help couples ask the hard questions and lay a solid gospel foundation for their marriage.  And you can’t beat free.

Speaking of Sweet E-Deals…

When Helping Hurts only $2.99
Wrecked: When a Broken World Slams Into Your Comfortable Life only $2.99
The Good Life by Trip Lee only $2.99
Politics by Wayne Grudem only $4.99 ($35.00 retail)
The Doctrines of Grace by Ryken and Boice only $4.99

How in the world…?!?!?

4 Reasons Base Hitters Are Better Bloggers

Mike Leake 3 Comments

Last inning.  Down two runs.  Two outs.  But the bases were full.  One of our better power hitters was at the plate.

I started packing up my gear.  I knew the game was going to be over.  No, not because I knew he was going to crush the ball into the left-field seats.  I knew it was over because homeboy would inevitably be dropping his shoulder and elbow and he’d either pop up to the second baseman or he’d end up striking out on a ball that bounced to the plate. 

You don’t need to hit a homerun when a base hit will do just fine.  That is sound advice.  But honestly, it’s not advice I need to heed.  With my wiry frame and level swinging, Boog Powell is more likely to beat out Usain Bolt in a 100 yard dash than me jacking a homer.  I never swung for the fences because it wasn’t my game. 

But you get me to preaching or writing.  For some silly reason I can sometimes think I’ve got some homerun pop in me.  And almost every time I start swinging for the fences I end up just hitting a little squiggler back to the pitcher.  Those 9Marks fellas have already told us why preaching for the “home run” isn’t a good idea.  The same applies to blogging and today I am going to give 4reasons why base hitters make better bloggers.

  1. When your goal isn’t helping the team you end up passed around like Manny Ramirez.  If your primary goal is not to further the kingdom of Christ and to feed the sheep eventually a large portion of your audience will be calling for your ouster.  Even if you get away with having a steady following of “Manny” fans you’ll eventually find yourself bankrupt for having built your whole ministry on a pile of straw. 
  2. It paralyzes you at the plate.  Rather than simply taking the pitch that you are given you start waiting for that pitch you can drive over the wall.  You end up down 0-2 still waiting for your pitch and then you have no choice but to foolishly swing at something in the dirt.  When you start blogging for homeruns you never write on the simple stuff.  You wait for that feeling of inspiration–your home run pitch.  You let a million good and helpful articles fly by you just because you are too prideful to take what is given you.
  3. You annoy people with your homerun trot.  If you do happen to get lucky and hit one out of the park you will annoy everyone with all of your RT’s and social media bragging. 
  4. If you do get your pitch you’ll probably just poop your pants.  If you aren’t practice your craft on those base hit pitches then you’ll end up getting so shocked at a home run pitch that you’ll swing right through it.  You will have a really good idea but because you haven’t been honing your craft you’ll swing and miss because you are so freaked out that you actually got your pitch that you don’t know what to do with it. 

It’s not wrong to hit homeruns.  Nor is it wrong to swing hard and celebrate if you do happen to crack one off the bat.  But don’t try to hit a homerun every time.  Just swing as hard as you can at the pitch you’re given. 

The Quiddity of Redemption

Mike Leake

    You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
        and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,
    but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
        and your land Married;
    for the LORD delights in you,
        and your land shall be married.
    For as a young man marries a young woman,
        so shall your sons marry you,
    and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
        so shall your God rejoice over you.
(Isaiah 62:4-5 ESV)

This passage of Scripture is rocking me today.  I’ve been camping out on it for near an hour now and chewing on it’s splendor.  I’m thinking about the exuberant joy that I had on my wedding day.  I know what it is to rejoice over a bride.  (I still do 8 years later)

What made me so joyous on that day?  Was it the culmination of a 20 year search for deep and abiding love?  Yeah, that probably had something to do with it.  Perhaps it was just the sheer shock of how much I was marrying up.  The realization that I had actually tricked my beautiful bride into marrying me.  Too late to back out now, honey.  It was more so just the sheer joy of the thing itself.  The fact that I now had permission to fully and without reserve to give myself completely to her and to just flat out enjoy her. 

What then about the Lord’s “rejoicing over us”?  Is it as if He’s rejoicing in a job well done?  That finally we’ve been made righteous, our sin and unbelief has been obliterated by the cross work of Jesus. Is it a rejoicing in the work of the Son?  Those are certainly included in this rejoicing. 

But I think the rejoicing of Isaiah 62 is more than just the Lord popping his knuckles and standing in awe of a job well done.  Though that is certainly true.  I think this joy here is what C.S. Lewis referred to as quiddity.  My favorite chapter of Jared Wilson’s new book is Chapter 4 which is entitled, At Play in the Fields of the Lord. Jared reflects on quiddity and how C.S. Lewis spoke of how a friend had cultivated it in him:

“…a serious, yet gleeful, determination to rub one’s nose in the very quiddity of each thing, to rejoice in its being (so magnificently) what it was.”  John Piper echoes this sentiment of quiddity, commenting on this kind of awareness: ‘To wake up in the morning and be aware of the firmness of the mattress, the warmth of the sun’s rays, the sound of the clock ticking, the sheer being of things…’  (Gospel Deeps, 90)

Wilson goes on to show how the gospel alone “frees us to enjoy things as they truly now are and as they someday will be”.  That is what is so shocking to me about Isaiah 62:5.  If anyone is able to enjoy the quiddity of a thing it’s the Lord Himself—the very author of Lewis and his quiddity.  This phrase “so shall your God rejoice over you” is simply an enjoyment of the thing itself.  He’s delighting in Himself as he delights Himself in us.

It’s worthy of great delight and worship to think of the Lord rejoicing over His workmanship in my redemption.  It’s quite another to think that He is rejoicing in heaven over the very thing itself.  Yet this is what Christ has secured through His mighty cross work.  We have become “a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD”. 

It’s one thing to say that the Lord forgives me.  That’s enough to dance for eternity.  To know of His protection, His healing, His provision, and His rescue is cause for continual praise.  To be reconciled to Him and also to others is a deep well of delight.  To be transformed so that I’m holy, so that I can enjoy what I ought to enjoy, and to be found in Him without a righteousness of my own, these are part of the pleasures evermore.  But for the Lord to say, “I delight in you”.  That causes my jaw to drop to the floor. 

It’s one thing to be forgiven quite another to be delighted in.  Yet this is how deep the Lord’s redemption flows. 

Today in Blogworld 10.01.12

Mike Leake 1 Comment

Happy October!  Feels like just yesterday I said Happy September.

At Least 5 Things Scripture Teaches Us About Governments

In this political season it’s a good idea to keep our nose in the Word and our hearts fixated on our heavenly citizenship.  Tim Challies helps us by outlining at least 5 things that the Bible says about governments.

5 Types of Critics in the Church

Thom Rainer, who has dealt with a fair share of criticism, lists and explains the five different types of critics within the church.

Making Disciples by Planting

I really like the stuff put out by Matthias Media.  Here is one very intriguing article on why planting churches is good for making disciples.

The Science of the Cinnamon Challenge

I’ve never tried it.  Probably never will.  This video on Abraham Piper’s blog explains what the cinnamon challenge is and why it’s not only impossible it’s also dangerous.  (Though I’m not sure impossible is the right word because I believe I saw a dude from Mythbusters do it). 

Impressive: