That Which Captivates Angels

Mike Leake 2 Comments

It would not surprise you for me to point out that people are fascinated by angels. And I suppose they are quite fascinating.  But you want to know what is even more fascinating?  The gospel.

How crazy that angels long to “look into the gospel” (1 Pet. 1:12); we are bored with the gospel and long to look into angels.  What is even crazier is that this idiocy is probably part of what has the angels so baffled.  God redeems a humanity filled with idolaters, guilty of sin no less treasonous than the angels that he refuses to redeem.  The gospel indeed is precious.  If only we had the wisdom of angels to be enamored by all that Jesus Christ has done.

It’s no stretch to say that more people would probably attend a seminar on unlocking the mystery of the end times than they would one on unveiling the different facets of the gospel.  More people would probably take a class on angelology than they would on atonement.

Yet, this is really not surprising; angels are comfortable, the gospel isn’t.  You can talk to a stranger (even if he hates Christianity) about some angel named Gabriel.  Worse thing that will happen is that he will probably consider you a fruitcake and leave smiling.  But the gospel will get you killed.  I cannot remember reading of people getting persecuted to death for belief in angels.  And why would they?  Angels do not divide history.  Jesus does. 

Undoubtedly Satan, an angel himself, would be rather content with you spending your time concerned with angels instead of looking into what angels are concerned with; namely, the gospel of Jesus Christ.  What, then, is this thing that angels are concerned with?  “…that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures”.  This is what angels long to look into, and Satan longs to distract you from.

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I wrote something very similar to this a couple of years ago but because I am preaching on 1 Peter 1:3-12 on Sunday evening I thought it might be beneficial to pull this one out of the archives. 

Jarrod Dyson, Rollie Fingers, and How We View the World

Mike Leake 1 Comment

“That’s what speed do”.

Jarrod Dyson is one of the fastest players in MLB.  He was a 50th Round Pick.  That’s around the time when baseball teams start picking the guy with a wooden leg who lost his real one in a freak combine accident.  Guys that get picked this late do not make an influence in the game of baseball.  Or at least they aren’t supposed to.  But Jarrod Dyson is really fast. 

As a Royals fan I absolutely love watching Dyson play.  It’s exciting to see him slap a ball to the shortstop and then watch the usually sure handed shortstop get a little jittery because he knows if he makes one little mistake Dyson is going to beat out his throw. 

I read an article earlier today where a guy was looking at various statistics and wondering how much of an impact Dyson could really make in the league.  He cited Dyson’s typically low .OBP (on base percentage) and his somewhat sketchy outfield play.  He makes a valid point.  We don’t get to watch him run like a deer if doesn’t get on base.  And it really doesn’t matter how freaky fast the guy is if he runs towards right field on a ball hit to left field.  But still it’s annoying because I just love to watch Jarrod Dyson, because “that’s what speed do!”. 

This made me realize there are two ways to watch baseball.  One way is to view Jarrod Dyson with numbers over top his head.  This is the kid that liked the back of the baseball card better than the front.  He could tell you that Rollie Fingers had 37 saves in 1978 but he never stopped to marvel at Rollie’s amazing handle-bar mustache. 

The other way to watch baseball is to simply sit back and marvel.  Instead of numbers over Dyson’s head you simply say, “Dude, can haul”.  (That is if you talk like a frat boy, otherwise you’ll say something white and lame like “Homey sure is fast”).  This is the kid that memorized the front of the baseball card and rarely looked at the back.  He marveled at every curve of Rollie’s beautiful masterpiece—this of course referring to both his mustache and his pitching greatness. 

Dropping the Gospel Bomb

As I think about how this relates to baseball it occurs to me that this way of viewing the world extends far beyond the diamond.  This applies especially to the gospel and theology.  There is a type of theologian that reads the Bible only in its original language, parses all the verbs correctly, masters systematic theology, debates unbelievers, places every thought within a deep knowledge of church history, and beats his wife and rages at his children.  Or it may not be that extreme.  He may have just lost his sense of wonder.  He knows the back of the card but has lost the wonder of the glossy front. 

There is a way of dissecting the gospel and asking questions about the nature of the gospel ad infinitum that does much to spark debate but little to induce worship.  God and His gospel make angels marvel not necessarily dissect.  If your theology doesn’t stir up doxology it is wrong-hearted and probably more akin to the theology of devils than the Savior. 

Of course we need the guy that notices Jarrod Dyson usually has a low .OBP.  It would make for a pretty bad team if the GM forced the coach to start a guy that batted .187 for 10 straight seasons just because he really liked to watch him swing.  We need the nerds that look at the back of cards as much as we need the kid that just marvels at Dyson running like a highly-caffeinated cheetah. 

If you’re a look-at-the-back-of-the-card type of guy know that about yourself.  Plead with God to also open up your heart to the wonder of the sweaty tilt-a-whirl that is the mustache of Rollie Fingers.  More than anything plead with him to enliven your heart with not only the truthfulness of the gospel but also it’s beauty. 

If you’re the marvel-at-the-front-of-the-card type of guy know that about yourself.  Plead with God to also drive you deeper into the back of the baseball card.  Knowing that Rollie Fingers also got 37 saves in 1978 can actually strengthen your admiration.  Plead with God to enrich your heart with not only the beauty of the gospel but also its absolute truthfulness. 

Proverbs for Christian Blogging: How to Tell If I Really Desire Wisdom

Mike Leake 2 Comments

    Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
        and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
    Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
        reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
    Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
        teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
(Proverbs 9:7-9 ESV)

“You really shanked this article.  I’m surprised that the folks at your church aren’t gathering sticks as pyre for torching you for heresy”. 

“You know I’ve read through this article and either it is not making sense to me or I just cannot agree with it.  I think you are wrong and here are 74 reasons why…”

“Your comment is absolutely ignorant.  I can’t believe someone that calls himself a Christian and would say something so asinine” 

“Thanks for your comment.  I believe you have misrepresented my position and here are 5 reasons why.  Nonetheless, thanks for the comment.  I look forward to your response.  Grace”.

Regardless, of the level of truthfulness within or the tone underneath each of these statements how I respond to them has much to say about my desire for wisdom.  If I respond with intent to injure, hatred, and defensiveness then it is quite likely that I do not really desire wisdom.  I only want to be right.  I want to be worshipped not used as a humble servant of a King. 

Yet, if I respond (and not just pretend to respond because that’s what Proverbs says I’m to do but truly respond) with a desire to learn, grow, and a thankfulness for being sharpened there is a good chance that I really am pursuing wisdom. 

So, check your heart.  What does your response to other peoples response (whether a good rebuke or a jerky one) tell you about your desire to pursue wisdom? 

Now be nice in the comments…I couldn’t bear an insult. 

A Disciple, Husband, Daddy, Pastors Confession of Need for Gospel Joy

Mike Leake

…how greatly would they prize the gospel, which alone can support us in the day of trouble, or even enable us to find satisfaction in a state of prosperity!  (John Newton in a Letter to the Rev. William Howell)

It takes the gospel to sustain you in a day of trouble.  You passed over that statement didn’t you?  It’s a duh.  It’s a sentence that you skim.  You may forget that at times, but for the most part in the midst of “trouble” you know that the only thing that will sustain you is the gospel. 

It takes the gospel to enable you to find satisfaction in a state of prosperity.  If you are like me, this statement causes you to pause.  Maybe I am extra sensitive to this statement because of something the Lord is doing in my life right now.  At present I am feeling some of the bitter fruit of a self-absorbed and cold heart. 

My legalism, techniques, and biblical principles only last for so long.  I’ve been exposed.  It is with great pain that I have had to confess something that has long bubbled in the darkness.  I do not love my wife and children, as I ought.  They know this.  They feel this.  I know this.  I feel this. 

Of course I do love my wife and children more than I do anyone else.  But they do not need me to love them more than grapefruit or some drunken uncle.  I am called to love my kids with a God the Father type love and to love my wife with a Jesus sacrificing type of love.  I’m called by God to delight in my family. 

And that is where I am broken.  I could do duty.  I can buy flowers.  I can follow the 10 steps to discipling your children.  I can tell them about Jesus.  I can read the Bible with my wife.  I can hang out and watch television.  I can, for the most part, fake it.  But what I cannot make myself do is truly delight in them the way the Lord calls me to.   

That stinks. It exposes my heart.  Part of the consequence of my rebellion is that I have a numb heart that seems to only be slowly growing in Jesus.  I have a really hard time enjoying sunsets.  You show me a rose and my eyes gravitate to the thorn.  I want this redeemed. 

All of this is why Newton’s words here stopped me dead in my tracks.  I’ve been battling this for a long time.  I cannot seem to make myself have joy and to treasure and enjoy the things that I ought.  I try to do stuff but I know in my heart that I’m not really being a joyful giver.  It’s empty. 

I daily feel these words of Augustine.  Not only as it relates to God but also to my family:

I was astonished that although I now loved you…I did not persist in enjoyment of my God.  Your beauty drew me to you, but soon I was dragged away from you by my own weight and in dismay I plunged again into the things of this world…as though I had sensed the fragrance of the fare but was not yet able to eat it.

And so I pray…

Lord, captivate my heart.  I want to enjoy Your roses.  I want to enjoy Your sunsets.  I want to enjoy the children that You have given me.  I want to enjoy the wife that You have given to me.  Not with some vague worldly love like a drunken guy with mustard stains on his wife-beater cheering for the Red Sox, but with a love that springs from your radiant love.  Make my love beautiful.  I know the gospel sustains me in darkness, open my eyes to the gospel provision of joy.  Awaken my dullness.

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When this article posts I will be in TN with my wife celebrating our anniversary.  I realize the “irony” of posting this on my anniversary.  But it actually shows the value of marriage.  I doubt this would be a battle that I was fighting if I lived in my mom’s basement playing XBox 360 all day.  This is a battle because of love.  This is part of the reason God gave me my wife to enjoy.  He uses her for my holiness (and vice versa).  I am eternally grateful for her in my life.  God is using her to root out sin and unbelief and replace it with real God-honoring joy.