Ask Of God

(HT: Desiring God)

O Holy Night!

This is slowly becoming my favorite "Christmas" hymn of all time....and David Phelps lights into it like nobody else. Enjoy!

For Those Of You Who Love Jesus & Like Facebook!

Psalm 5.3

"In the morning, O LORD, Thou wilt hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to Thee and eagerly watch."

The Mission Of The Church

So what is the mission of the church?

"The mission of the church is to go into the world and make disciples by declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit and gathering these disciples into churches, that they might worship and obey Jesus Christ now and in eternity to the glory of God the Father."

~ Kevin DeYoung

(HT: C.J. Mahaney)

Romans 11.36

"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen"

Colossians 1.5-6

"because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel, which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth"

Ephesians 6.18-19

"With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel..."

1 Timothy 2.1-6

"Firs of all, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time."

Evangelical Hypocrite

Of all hypocrites, grant that I may not be
an evangelical hypocrite,
who sins more safely because grace abounds,
who tells his lusts that Christ's blood
cleanseth them,
who reasons that God cannot cast him into hell,
for he is saved,
who loves evangelical preaching, churches,
Christians, but lives unholily.

A Puritan prayer from the book Valley of Vision.

(HT: Josh Harris)

Acts 16.14

"And a certain woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshipper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul."

Romans 12.1-2

"I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Psalm 37.4

"Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart."

"In the persons in God, Father, Son, and Spirit; in the perfections of God, his power, goodness, faithfulness, wisdom, love, grace, and mercy; in his works of creation, providence, and redemption; in his word, his Gospel, the truths and ordinances of it; in his house, and the worship of it; and in his people, the excellent in the earth, in whom was all the delight of the psalmist; and each of these afford a field of delight and pleasure, to attend unto, contemplate, and meditate upon..."

~ John Gill

Psalm 42.1-2

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God..."

5,000 Hits!

Wow!

I can't believe I've gotten 5,000 hits on my blog. I just think its cool!

But let me be honest...some of my kindred-spirit bloggers...probably get 5,000 hits a day, so nothing to brag about, but it is cool that we can use this as a means to aim people's minds and hearts Godward! I hope that when you do read this blog this is what is coming of it.

May God keep us all faithful in our pursuit of the gospel advance and living the gospel and seeing it bear fruit and multiply in our lives!

Thanks to all of you who hit this blog regularly.

God bless!

Your Tutor

"The law can guide, but it cannot save. The law can expose, but it cannot transform. The law can restrain, but it cannot deliver. "

~ Paul Tripp

Why Do You Think?

“The main reason God has given us minds is that we might seek out and find all the reasons that exist for treasuring him in all things and above all things. He created the world so that through it and above it we might treasure him.”

- John Piper, Think: The life of the Mind and the Love of God (Wheaton, Ill.; Crossway, 2010), 15.

(HT: Of First Importance)

First Dallas Implodes!

I had the opportunity to serve a year as an intern in the Pastoral Ministries Department of First Baptist Church Dallas back in 1999-2000. I had previously served at another church in Dallas for 5 years as a student pastor and even though it was only for a year at First Dallas, it really was a sweet time in my life. It was while serving at First Dallas that my wife and I bowed our lives to the absolute Sovereignty of God over and in all things.

Stephanie and I had only been married for about 10 months when we received the invitation to minister at First Dallas. We enjoyed our time with the ministry staff and serving under then pastor, Mac Brunson, who arrived at First Dallas at the same time we did.

Recently First Dallas decided to enter into a new season of the church's history by tearing down and rebuilding its very old facilities in place of building new structures. Below is a short video of the demolition...it is a little weird to see something that has been around for many decades demolished in a moments time. It's weird b/c those were the very places that I taught Scripture, ministered to people, parked our vehicles, played basketball, etc.

At the end of the video you will be able to see the old historical sanctuary where the term 'expository preaching' was revived through the pulpit ministry of Dr. W.A. Criswell. I was a student at Criswell College and interned while Dr. Criswell was Pastor Emeritus at First Dallas shortly before his passing in 2002.

Why John Piper Memorizes Scripture

Biblical Thinking

To think is an effort; to think rightly is a great effort; and to think as a Christian ought to think is the greatest effort of a human soul. —Oswald Chambers

(HT: Tim Challies)

Does Christianity Have A Vision For Society?

Mark Dever's answer to the question....

"Mark began the message with a statement made one day by a Muslim friend: "That's the problem with Christianity: you have no vision for the state or for society as a whole."

"Does Christianity have a vision for the state or the society as a whole, or is Christianity—as my Muslim friend implied—so heavenly minded that it's of no earthly good? "

"I think visions like the one my friend had for the state are way too shallow. They're about swords and external conformity to laws. Jesus Christ comes to do something much deeper than any social revolutionary has ever been able to do. He's come to actually change our hearts, to change our natures. The Bible shows us that God has a wonderful vision for his world. We’ve all rejected that vision. And yet even after that rejection, God, in his amazing mercy and love, continues to pursue us. Jesus Christ, his own son, stood there teaching the very people that would in a few days' time seek his life, arrest him, beat him, have him put to death."

"Friends, it is the truth of Christianity, about God being holy and loving, and our being made in God's image, and yet fallen, and God's provisions and promises for us in Christ—it is all of these truths together that lead us to sufficiently respect the fallen governments of the world, and yet give us hope to endure them, and to work and hope for something infinitely better. So God gives us the peace that comes with such hope and the strength to get up another day, to continue following Jesus until he brings us home."

You can read the whole blog post by clicking here.

(HT: Sovereign Grace)

It Is Finished

“Let all that suffer for Christ and with Christ comfort themselves with this, that yet a little while and they also shall say, ‘It is finished.’”

Matthew Henry, Commentary, on John 19:30

(HT: Ray Ortlund)

New Life In The Death Of Jesus And Self

"Sin demanded a death, Jesus gave his life, now in grace he calls for your death so that you may know new life."

~ Paul Tripp / Twitter

My Favorite New Chair!

I have to thank Justin Taylor for posting this on his blog....excellent! I not only love it, but I think I want one and I don't know where I would put it, but I have about 50 books I have absolutely no place for and this would be ideal....sweet!

Basic Christianity

In Acts 14 Paul was stoned and left for dead outside the city of Lystra. He had been chased down from some opposing Jews from Antioch and Iconium. Why? B/c he and Barnabas had "spent a long time there and were speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord".

After being stoned and left for dead, Paul arose and entered that same city and on the next day left the city of Lystra and went to Derbe (just outside of Lystra). While in Derbe Paul and Barnabas once again "preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples", even after almost being stoned to death days before. They then returned yet again to Lystra (where he was stoned), and there began "strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith".

When I read Acts 14 and consider just some of the basic elements of how Paul and Barnabas lived the Christian life with one another and the disciples, God really keeps things very simple for us to understand. Things like...

* spending a long time there
* speaking boldly the Word of God to the city
* with reliance upon the Lord
* preaching the gospel
* making disciples
* strengthening the souls of the disciples
* encouraging them to continue in the faith

Although this seems like a very simple approach to Christianity...the truth is, it is rather difficult to fulfill b/c we often times do not think biblically about ministry nor do we have the patience to endure. I must honestly say that it is a challenge at times to patiently trust in the 'slow work of God'.

* Time seems to fly by so fast, yet we must spend a long time here planting ourselves as a means of God's grace to the people.

* People naturally do not want to hear the truth of God and the truth of their sinfulness, but we must speak boldly the Word of God to the people.

* Naturally I have the tendency to rely upon myself, but I must rely upon the Lord to use His people in His way.

* Regardless of what people think they need to hear from preachers, we must preach the true gospel of faith and repentance unto the Lord.

* As difficult as it is to impart our lives to people and wait patiently for them to be saved, grow, and mature in Christ, we must make disciples who will reproduce themselves into others and make disciples.

* Because of life, circumstances, and sin, it is difficult at times to consistently strengthen the souls of the disciples, nevertheless, we must strengthen the souls of the disciples with the Word of God.

* All of God's people are being torn between love for the world and their love for God, so we must encourage one another to continue strongly in the faith that God has called us to.

This sure seems simple to read and for some possibly too simple to actually be ministry worthy. But I think when we actually consider what our early brothers and sisters were engaged in, it quickly becomes the best possible means of living the Christian life in real life.

Is It The Enemy Or Grace?

"Things aren't always what they seem. It's possible, in a time of hardship, for the refinement of grace to look like the enemy's triumph."

~ Paul Tripp

9 Years Ago Today!

Well I didn't expect to begin a series of posts marking anniversaries of events over the last three days such as: my conversion (9/9/1990), being installed into the pastorate (9/10/2008), and now the day that our country was attacked by Muslims (9/11/2001).

Our oldest son Seth was only 3 weeks old and we were visiting some friends about 2 hours away from our home in Dallas when we first heard the news of that unforgettable moment in New York. We were actually visiting them in anticipation that God was leading us to move there and serve in my friend's church as their associate pastor. It very quickly became a bitter/sweet moment.

I really like how Kevin DeYoung exhorts us today at his blog...

"Today is September 11. Let it be a day where Americans give thanks for liberty and pray for their country.

Let it also be a day where we remember that while God has not promised America will last forever, he has promised his people an everlasting kingdom. Our God is a mighty fortress for all who trust in him."

AMEN!

The State Of Your Position Before God

“When thinking of my state before God the question is not, Am I perfect in myself before the law? but, Am I perfect in Christ Jesus?

That is a very different matter.

We need not enquire, Am I without sin naturally? but, Have I been washed in the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness? It is not Am I in myself well pleasing to God? but it is Am I accepted in the Beloved?”

- Charles Spurgeon, Morning & Evening, September 6

(HT: Of First Importance)

A Failure To Think, Is A Failure Of Faith

Tim Challies recently reprinted a quote from Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the relationship between faith and thinking. Lloyd-Jones is commenting on Matthew 6:30 in Studies in the Sermon on the Mount:

Faith according to our Lord’s teaching in this paragraph, is primarily thinking; and the whole trouble with a man of little faith is that he does not think. He allows circumstances to bludgeon him. . . .

We must spend more time in studying our Lord’s lessons in observation and deduction. The Bible is full of logic, and we must never think of faith as something purely mystical. We do not just sit down in an armchair and expect marvelous things to happen to us. That is not Christian faith. Christian faith is essentially thinking. Look at the birds, think about them, draw your deductions. Look at the grass, look at the lilies of the field, consider them. . . .

Faith, if you like, can be defined like this: It is a man insisting upon thinking when everything seems determined to bludgeon and knock him down in an intellectual sense. The trouble with the person of little faith is that, instead of controlling his own thought, his thought is being controlled by something else, and, as we put it, he goes round and round in circles. That is the essence of worry. . . . That is not thought; that is the absence of thought, a failure to think.

I read this morning a related thought from Augustine:

No one believes anything unless one first thought it believable...

Everything that is believed is believed after being preceded by thought...

Not everyone who thinks believes, since many think in order not to believe; but everyone who believes thinks, thinks in believing and believes in thinking.

—Augustine, Predestination of the Saints 5 (PL 44:962-63), cited by Wilkin.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

2 Years Ago Today...Hallelujah Amen!

Two years ago today God graced me with the privilege of serving Christ and His church by becoming the pastor and church planter of New Life Church. Serving the body of Christ in this way has literally changed my life and I am grateful to God for using the pastorate to sanctify my life and consecrate me more to Him.

I've been in the gospel ministry now for 15 years, but I've only been a pastor for two of those years. I remember reading Romans 10 for the thousandth time about six years ago, but it was that morning when I read Romans 10, that for the first time I realized that God was quickening my mind, my heart, and my will to serve in the kingdom as a shepherd, an overseer, a pastor, a preacher. It was truly a humbling moment to realize that I would serve in this new way.

Over the last two years I have experienced God's sustaining grace in my life, my ministry, and in the people, whom I have the joy to pastor and shepherd. God is so good to those of us who get to serve and live in this way. We are so underserving, but nevertheless, God works in us to will and to work in order to do the very things that pleases Him the most.

The aim of this ministry is to lift high the glory of Christ by proclaiming the full counsel of God's Word...period. Therefore we pray, that God will draw all men, women, and children to Himself by granting faith and repentance to those who hear the Word of Christ.

It is a good and spiritually noble thing to be a pastor...I appreciate your prayers!

20 Years Ago Today...Hallelujah Amen!

It's one thing to talk about the gospel. It is yet another, to talk about the gospel applied to my life.

20 years ago today, God granted me the gift of faith to embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ for salvation.

You see, I once was spiritually dead and I walked according to the course of this world and I lived in the desire of my flesh and was by nature a child of God's wrath, but on September 9, 1990, God being rich in mercy, b/c of His great love for me, made me alive together with Christ and by His grace, I was saved and given 'New Life' from the dead, in Christ, and to never walk and live the same again!

The gospel was and by His persevering grace is still being applied to my soul...to my mind, my heart, and my will.

20 years sounds like a very long time, but it feels like just a moment in time. They say that time flies when you're having fun and I guess it really does feel that way, but I am forever grateful for God's sanctifying grace. He not only saved me from His wrath, but He placed His Holy Spirit in my life to guide me in truth and to enjoy living the gospel of ongoing and growing faith and repentance in Christ.

I am His workmanship. I am created in Christ Jesus. I am created for good works, which God prepared for me to walk in. It is amazing to see God reveal to me, slowly, these good works that I am blessed to walk in.

May the next 20 years, Lord willing, shine brighter than the first and cause all people every where to behold these good works and then to glorify my Father in heaven.

Thank you Father for the gospel of Your Son Jesus Christ!

But thank you Father even more, for the gospel applied to my life, by giving me a 'New Life' in Your Son Jesus Christ!

Hallelujah...Amen!

The Gospel / Your Money / Your Treasure / Your Eternity

Over at Life2gether, Doug Wolter highlights from J.D. Greear that how we handle/give our money is a direct result of the gospel's effectual work in our lives.

We give generously b/c the gospel of God has transformed our hearts to give generously like God gives. If we do not give generously it is b/c the gospel has not transformed our hearts and therefore this is an indicator of whether or not we have been truly born again. Below is a quote from the article...

“If you are not generous, you’ve never really experienced the Gospel. If you
feel guilty about how little generosity you show, you don’t understand the Gospel.”

You can read J.D. Greear's short article by clicking here. It is worth your time.

Labor Day Reading

Today I'm spending much of my Labor Day reading The Trellis And The Vine. It is a pretty popular book written by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne. It is popular among pastors today and comes highly recommended, so my aim is to finish the book sometime this evening.

It's been both a challenge as well as an encouragement to read thus far.

The challenge comes b/c the aim is basically a very simple approach to ministry through speaking, teaching, and praying the Word of Christ into people (to non-Christians & Christians). The challenge is that there's nothing fancy about this approach to ministry. Another challenge is that it takes time to see the fruit from this kind of ministry. I'm not very patient, so it is a challenge for me to wait on God to bear fruit and set apart others to Himself.

Encouragement comes in reading this book b/c God has pretty much allowed me to be ministered to like this. As I was growing up spiritually, I was discipled/mentored in the faith for a couple of years by an older brother in Christ. He imparted his life to me and demonstrated both discipline and godliness in His walk for Jesus. He gave me something godly to imitate as I watched him live.

The fruit of his ministry in my life is being lived out in New Life Church. We too have placed a high premium on ministering in this way. We value this 'one anothering' for the Christian life. By God's grace we preach the Word of Christ to one another, we speak the Word of Christ to one another, and we pray the Word of Christ for one another. Our aim is to do ministry like this in the fullness of His Spirit and with much conviction.

There are a plethora of ministry truths, quotes, and strategies in this book, but Marshall and Payne have a pretty good statement on what discipleship is all about in Chapter 7 that really resonated with where I am in life right now...

"Christian discipleship is about sound doctrine and a godly life, and so to train or equip someone to minister to others means training and equipping them with godliness and right thinking, not just with a set of skills--because that in turn is how they will need to minister to others."

Well it's not fancy, but it is biblical. To impart, demonstrate, and reproduce ourselves into others with the gospel, the Word of Christ, is the biblical way. So far a really good word on what us pastors are to be doing in ministry today.

We're praying for God to bear fruit from the Word of Christ and for the Word of Christ to increase!

I've Been Away From Blogging!

I have been away from my computer over the last two weeks. We spent a week visiting friends and family in Dallas, Houston, and Lake Charles. I've been working with a friend from church this week. So my blogging time has been absent.

I hope to pick things up within the next two weeks or so.

Until then please stay tethered to God and His grace and by all means stay tethered to the gospel and live the gospel each day.

Please visit the links to the left and these brothers will help usher your soul to God in word.

God Bless!

Preached James 4.4-6 Tonight...

I preached James 4.4-6 tonight at church. After preaching this passage tonight, I read this quote from Francis Schaeffer on Ray Ortlund's blog. Very interesting...

“The Old Testament says that if God’s people turn away in spiritual adultery, it will not be long until the following generations are engaged in physical adultery, for the two things go hand in hand. . . . Our generation proves this with overwhelming force. Let there be spiritual adultery and it will not be long until physical adultery sprouts like toadstools in the land. In the 1930s liberalism took over almost all the churches in the United States, and in the 1960s our generation is sick with promiscuous sex. It is the same in Britain and other countries. These things are not unrelated; they are cause and effect.”

Francis A. Schaeffer, The Church at the End of the Twentieth Century (Downers Grove, 1970), pages 123-124.

Transformed & Transforming By The Power Of The Gospel

"Christ died for the impure sins of impure people so that we may live as new people testifying to the transforming power of the gospel."

~ Craig Cabaniss - Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World (p.56)

You've Been Set Free...To Be Free!

“Telling a slave to be free is to add insult to injury. But telling a liberated slave to be free is an invitation to enjoy his new freedom and privilege.”

~ Tim Chester -- You Can Change (p.49)

(HT: Of First Importance)

Our God - Unplugged!

Watch Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman explain how the song 'Our God' came about. A sweet testimony of God's faithfulness in writing music for His glory through His people.

"And He Received Him Gladly"

"And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, 'Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.' And he hurried and came down, and received Him gladly...And Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, 'Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.'"
~ Luke 9.5-6 & 8-10

There are plenty of sweet things in this passage, but Zaccheus reminded me of how much we should always strive to remember, in that beautiful moment, how we "received Him gladly".

This helps to renew the mind in Christ when we reflect often of our salvation and conversion to Jesus Christ.

Don't Flaunt Your Personal Convictions...Just Live The Gospel!

Maybe in some of the areas that Christians are different, from those who do not follow after Christ, we would be better off in our gospel witness if we didn't purposefully make it public knowledge.

Mike McKinley says,

"As believers, we are necessarily going to have a lot of distance between us and those who don’t follow Christ. We live differently, love differently, hope differently. We’re citizens of a different country.

But it might be helpful if we limit the distance between us and the world in a lot of other ways. We don’t have to flaunt our lack of a TV and be weird and preachy about grinding your own grain. That only serves to put unnecessary distance between us and the people we’re trying to reach. Instead, we should try to engage the world around us, know what our neighbors care about, and try to inhabit the same universe they do.

If they are going to persecute us, let it at least be for things that really have something to do with being a Christian."

For those of us who strive to live God-centered lives, everything revolves around Him. So even our personal convictions, we would probably ascribe to them as Christian convictions.

But maybe there are areas of our lives that are just plain weird to the world, but the enemy uses those weird things to blind them from seeing the true gospel lived out in our lives and hearing the gospel spoken from our hearts.

One way to assess this is to ask the question, "When was the last time someone really asked me about my personal convictions and why I choose to live this way?" If they are asking, then you're probably, more likely, living it before them in a righteous way and there seems to be a freedom behind it. If they are not asking, then maybe the opposite is true.

Maybe.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

A Modern Day Parable

"Two brothers were walking on their father's extensive, wooded acreage when they came upon a young tree heavy with fruit. Both enjoyed as much of the delicious fruit as they wanted. When they started back, one man gathered all the remaining fruit and took it home with him. His brother, however, took the tree itself and planted it on his own property. The tree flourished and regularly produced a bountiful crop so that the second brother often had fruit when the first had none.

The Bible is like the fruit-bearing tree in this story. Merely hearing the Word of God is to be like the first brother. You may gather much fruit from the encounter and even bring home enough to feed on for a few days, but in the long run it doesn't compare with having your own tree. Through the Disciplines of reading and studying, we make the tree our own and enjoy its fruit. Among the Spiritual Disciplines we also find the tools of memorization, meditation, and application, which bountifully increase our harvest of fruit from the tree."

~ Donald Whitney -- Spiritual Disciplines For The Christian Life (p.41)

UP TO or OUT OF?

"You don't live UP TO the Gospel, if you could you wouldn't need the Gospel. You live OUT OF the resources the Gospel has given you."

~ Paul Tripp / Twitter

The great (small 'g') Tom Landry

"Tom Landry, coach of the Dallas Cowboys football team for most of three decades, said, "The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don't want to do in order to achieve what they've always wanted to be."

"In as much the same way, Christians are called to make themselves do something they would not normally do--pursue the Spiritual Disciplines--in order to become what they've always wanted to be, that is, like Jesus Christ. 'Discipline yourself,' says the Scripture, 'for the purpose of godliness."

~ Donald Whitney (Spiritual Disciplines For The Christian Life, p.20)

Grace Is A Progressive Agenda

"Grace is not only a one time act of forgiveness, but also a progressive agenda of moment by moment rescue and transformation."

~ Paul Tripp / Twitter

Error & Tolerance vs. Truth & Scrutiny

"If anybody comes along espousing some message and asking for tolerance, you can be sure it's error because error demands tolerance, whereas truth demands scrutiny."

~ John MacArthur

(HT: Calvinistic Cartoons)

How Would You Have Asked?

Below is a snippet of Adoniram Judson's conversation with his future father-in-law concerning his daughter's hand in marriage...an amazing approach!

“I have now to ask whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next
spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her
departure for a heathen land, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings
of a missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of
the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every
kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a
violent death? Can you consent to all this for the sake of Him who left his
heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing immortal
souls; for the sake of Zion and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this in
hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with a crown of
righteousness, brightened by the acclamations of praise which shall redound to
her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and
despair?”

(HT: Life2gether)

The Epistle Of James And The Tongue/Words/Faith

Since December of last year I have been preaching through The Epistle of James. I'm now at James 3.5-12 and James is dealing with assessing the genuineness of our faith by the words that proceed from our tongues.

In my study I've come up with a little bit of trivia with regards to 'words' that we use.

One study online says that men use about 6,000 words a day and women use about 9,000 words a day. A different study online estimates that a total of 70-100 billion people have lived on the earth over the last 6,000 years.

Taking averages, let's say that each person uses about 7,000 words a day times 80 billion people since creation. Simply stated, you have a tremendous amount of words that have been spoken.

"Scientists maintain that once a sound wave is set in motion, it continues on a never-ending journey, and that, if we had sophisticated enough instruments, each wave could be captured and reproduced at any time. If that is true, every word spoken by any person who has ever lived could be retrieved!" (MacArthur, commentary on James p. 144)

Can you imagine how many sound waves of words are circling around us right now? Can you imagine how many words we could hear...even from the beginning of time? Who could possibly keep up with all of the words spoken?

Now consider Jesus' words, "And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." ~ Matthew 12.36-37

Our tongue/our words give an accurate assessment to the genuineness of our faith, whether it is living or dead. Our words come from "the overflow of the heart" (Matthew 12.34). We say what our hearts tell us to say. We respond with words that our hearts tell us to use. Our words will justify or prove that our faith is real and living. Or our words will condemn us b/c they prove that our faith is fake and dead.

God judges the heart. And God is keeping record of every word that proceeds out of our mouths. May God find our hearts to be tethered to the grace and mercy found only in Jesus Christ. And may our words always reflect where our hearts are...in Christ!

White Heart: Tales Of Wonder

God saved me back in 1990. I grew up in a musician's family, so I appreciated good quality music and one of the good things that God gave me was several really good Christian bands to listen to that I could honestly appreciate their talent and also aimed my life Godward.

I recently came across one of those "long time ago" albums....White Heart: Tales of Wonder. So I thought I would share with you one of those songs that just rocked hard for Jesus and about Jesus.

It makes for good sermon prep music on a Thursday afternoon!

And Yet One More....

Can you tell what decade this was in?

Self Control And The Barriers Against The Sinful Attacks Of Satan

"Like a city that is broken into and without walls...Is a man who has no control over his spirit." ~ Proverbs 25.28

"The good character of a wise and virtuous man is implied. He is one that has rule over his own spirit; he maintains the government of himself, and of his own appetites and passions, and does not suffer them to rebel against reason and conscience. He has the rule of his own thoughts, his desires, his inclinations, his resentments, and keeps them all in good order.

"a man who has no control over his spirit"

The bad case of a vicious man, who has not this rule over his own spirit, who, when temptations to excess are before him, has no government of himself, when he is provoked breaks out into exorbitant passions, such a one is like a city that is broken down and without walls. All that is good goes out, and forsakes him; all that is evil breaks in upon him. He lies exposed to all the temptations of Satan and becomes an easy prey to that enemy; he is also liable to many troubles and vexations; it is likewise as much a reproach to him as it is to a city to have its walls ruined."

~ Matthew Henry

Worship!

I had an incredible time in worship tonight. Stephanie and I and our two oldest boys, Seth & Micah, had the opportunity to go to Hope Presbyterian tonight and worship with Chris Tomlin. It was truly an amazing time of worship with over 5,000 brothers & sisters.

God really blessed us with His presence and I didn't want it to end. Truly a remarkable time together with the body of Christ aimed at the glory of Jesus Christ in all the earth!

Bring Forth Fruits Of Repentance!

"Therefore bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father,' for I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham." ~ Luke 3.8

Our repentance toward Christ is made evident in the fruit we bear. Fruits of generosity (v.11); Fruits of fairness (v.13); Fruits of kindness, truthfulness, and contentment (v.14).

What a declaration of genuine repentance unto Christ...to be generous, fair, kind, truthful and content.

A Working Definition Of Self-Righteousness

"Self-righteousness is being more aware of and irritated by the sins of others than you are conscious of and grieved by your own."

~ Paul Tripp

(HT: Josh Harris)

Seek All The Good You Can In Your Life....No Really, It's OK!

"He who gives attention to the word shall find good, And blessed is he who trusts in the LORD."

John Gill writes of the one that attends to the Word of God in his/her life...

"but a diligent and attentive one whose heart is opened by the Spirit of God to attend to what is spoken in it; who lays it up in his heart, and makes it the rule of his conduct in life: such a man finds good things; things which are for his profit, edification, and instruction; good truths, good doctrines, good counsel and advice, good directions and instructions; promises of good things, things for his present comfort and future happiness;"

Let us find and discover all the good in Christ that we can as we 'give attention to the Word'.

Should Christians Care For The Environment?

Below is a really good answer to this question from John Piper.

Proverbs 14.23

"In all labor there is profit, But mere talk leads only to poverty."

In all of our defenses of sound doctrine, biblical approaches to ministry, God-centered evangelism, Holy Spirit filled preaching, Christ-centered families, and many others....let us always labor more in those areas and gain a profit in Christ, than just talking of those things and gain poverty outside of Christ.

Lloyed-Jones Says What I Gathered On My Retreat

At Desring God they have a word from Lloyd-Jones on how we should think. This really coincided with what I resolved in my retreat time with God.

Faith, according to our Lord’s teaching in this paragraph [Matthew 6:25-34], is primarily thinking; and the whole trouble with a man of little faith is that he does not think. He allows circumstances to bludgeon him.

That is the real difficulty in life. Life comes to us with a club in its hand and strikes us upon the head, and we become incapable of thought, helpless and defeated. The way to avoid that, according to our Lord, is to think. We must spend more time in studying our Lord’s lessons in observation and deduction.

The Bible is full of logic, and we must never think of faith as something purely mystical. We do not just sit down in an armchair and expect marvelous things to happen to us. That is not Christian faith. Christian faith is essentially thinking. Look
at the birds, think about them, and draw your deductions. Look at the grass, look at the lilies of the field, consider them.

The trouble with most people, however, is that they will not think. Instead of doing this, they sit down and ask, What is going to happen to me? What can I do? That is the absence of thought; it is surrender, it is defeat. Our Lord, here, is urging us to
think, and to think in a Christian manner.

That is the every essence of faith. Faith, if you like, can be defined like this: It is a man insisting upon thinking when everything seems determined to bludgeon and knock him down in an intellectual sense.

~ Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, p. 399.

Retreat Resolve

I have just spent the last four days in a personal retreat. This was something that my wife and I agreed upon that I needed to do in order to seek God in a fresh way in my life as a Christian, husband, father, and pastor. There are a few significant things going on in my life and world where I desperately needed to get away with God and sort of detox from human and worldly influences and pursue the mind of God.

Honestly, I have never taken a retreat alone by myself and so I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I went into this weekend very excited, nervous, anxious, and ready for God to do a good work of grace in my mind, my heart, and in my will. It may sound funny, but although I had no idea what to expect, my expectations were high.

Genuine questions followed like: Should I expect a 'charismatic' moment? Will this only be a time of confession and repentance? Will it be very emotional? Is God going to lead me in a completely new direction in my life? Should I have a strategy going into this thing or just show up and let God lead me as He desired?

I opened up the Scriptures and began to read. I knew that I must aim my mind as high as I could concerning God and His nature and character, so I also began to read The Attributes of God by Pink, knowing that he would highlight those Scriptures for me.

In his introduction he says, "Something more than a theoretical knowledge of God is needed by us. God is only truly known in the soul as we yield ourselves to Him, submit to His authority, and regulate all the details of our lives by His holy precepts and commandments. "Then shall we know, if we follow on (in the path of obedience) to know the Lord" (Hosea 6.3).

Jeremiah 9.23-24 "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty boast of his might, let not the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindess, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things", declares the LORD.

The whole weekend was built on this one verse for me. And in regards to my personal and family life I was able to walk away with about 10 Resolves on how God is leading me to live in these areas.

The spiritual impact of this retreat for me was a "spiritual alignment" in areas of my life as I looked to Christ and His Word in worship for wisdom and direction. Much more can definitely be said. I have pages upon pages of notes that will help to remind me of the impressions the Holy Spirit made in me. But overall this was an incredible time getting realigned in the spiritual disciplines and more importantly getting to know God more intimately.

Thank you to those of you who have been praying for me!

Preparing My Boys For Manhood

As I sit in my hotel room considering all the ways that my boys need me to make them into disciples, make them into young men, make them into young men who love Jesus, make them into young men who love Jesus and will be prepared one day, Lord willing, for them to make their boys into men who love Jesus, an article by Albert Mohler is a sobering reality of what is taking place in our country and world. It is a war against manhood and men are losing the war.

There is an obvious shift for the first time in human history where men are becoming less "needed" in the workforce. Mohler writes,

The bottom line is the claim that the trend and trajectory of the global economy have for some time now been headed toward female skills and talents. At the most basic level, this means a shift from physical strength to intellectual energies and education. At the next level, it also means a shift from leadership models more associated with males toward the nurturing leadership more associated with women. In any event, the changes are colossal.

Mohler ends his article with this..."These trends represent nothing less than a collapse of male responsibility, leadership, and expectations. The real issue here is not the end of men, but the disappearance of manhood."

You can read the article by clicking here.

Weak Souls Must Have A Bottom And Being-Place

"I know all created power should sink under me if I should lean down upon it, and therefore it is better to rest on God than sin or fall; and we weak souls must have a bottom and being-place, for we cannot stand out alone. Let us then be wise in our choice and choose and wail our own blessedness, which is to trust in the Lord."

~ Samuel Rutherford---The Loveliness of Christ

And Keith Blessing is a weak soul.

Know Your Heretics---Sabellius & His Modalism

The Historical Background

Sabellius, a third-century theologian and priest, was a proponent of modalism. Modalism is a non-Trinitarian heresy claiming that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are simply different modes of God and not distinct persons within the Godhead. Little is known about Sabellius, who was excommunicated in 220 AD, but the teaching attached to his name became infamous and is still with us today.

Sabellius’ View of God

The modalists were rightly concerned with maintaining the oneness of God as well as the full deity of Christ. However, this led them to the error of seeing any suggestion that the Son was a distinct person from the Father as creating a duality within the Godhead.

Early historian Hippolytus summarized the modalist position as one in which the names “Father,” “Son,” and “Holy Spirit” did not stand for real distinctions in the Godhead, but rather mere names that described the actions of the one God at different times in history. In other words, “Father,” “Son,” and “Spirit” are merely adjectives describing how the one divine Being acts and is perceived.

Sabellius used the analogy of the sun to explain his position. In the same way that the sun gives off both light and heat, so also the single divine being radiates in history in different fashions. In creation, the divine Being acts as Father; in redemption, as Son; in the lives of believers, as the Holy Spirit.

The Orthodox Response

The orthodox response to the heresy of Sabellius (and other modalists) came from Tertullian, the African theologian. In Against Praxeas, Tertullian argued that Scripture reveals that the Godhead is three who are at the same time one. He rightly considered this an essential doctrine of Christianity.

In the Sabellian modalist view, the three are not anything real, but rather just different manifestations of the one.

Therefore, Tertullian proposed that we speak of the Godhead as “one substance (substantia) consisting in three persons (persona).” This terminology would serve as the basis for future Latin theology, and it is from Tertullian’s pen that the important Christian word “Trinity” (trinitas) was first inked.

Why Does All This Matter?

Sabellianism is one of the heresies in Christendom that keeps appearing again and again in different forms. Anyone who has sat in a Sunday School class and heard that God’s Tri-unity is like water in that it appears to us in three forms (liquid, steam, and ice) has been exposed to a contemporary variation of modalism. God is not one person that exists in three different forms at three different times, but three distinct persons concurrently sharing one common essence.

Modalism also reared its ugly head in the classic liberal theology of Friedrich Schleiermacher, and it is even seen today in the “Oneness” sect of Pentecostalism, which clearly denies the doctrine of the Trinity. What is at stake in the debate is not merely fancy theological terminology, but our understanding of God himself. For example, if Sabellian modalism were true, the intimate relationship that existed between the Father and the Son from all eternity (John 17) would be irrational.

Modalism undercuts the atoning work of Jesus Christ, as well. If there is only one God who works in different modes of being throughout history, one must question whether Jesus Christ was truly a man, or if he only appeared to be such, as the heresy of Docetism declares. If Jesus Christ is not fully God and fully man, then he cannot be the one mediator between God and man. It is for this reason that the heresy of Sabellian modalism must be rejected, and the biblical doctrine of the Trinity must be affirmed.

(HT: The Resurgence)

Empowering Your Children To Live For God

I started reading Shepherding A Child's Heart today. I've been aware of Tedd Tripp's influence through his book on so many people's lives for years now and felt that it was time that I pick up and read it for myself.

As a parent and shepherd of five children, I often get things right and unfortunately I often get things wrong, so I'm going to a good source to help with some strategy for making disciples out of my children. I'm not content with only having an emphasis on Family Worship in our family. I think that is a good 'corporate' way for family life, but I truly want more for myself and my children in how they must see and understand God in their bright moments and even in their dark moments of disobedience.

Below is one of those sentences, turned into several sentences, that has the ability to change a person's life...especially for parents and their children.

"As the shepherd, you want to help your child understand himself as a creature made by and for God. You cannot show him these things merely by instruction; you must lead him on a path of discovery. You must shepherd his thoughts, helping him to learn discernment and wisdom.

This shepherding process is richer interaction than telling your child what to do and think. It involves investing your life in your child in open and honest communication that unfolds the meaning and purpose of life. It is not simply direction, but direction in which there is self-disclosure and sharing. Values and spiritual vitality are not simply taught, but caught.

Proverbs 13.20 says, "He who walks with the wise becomes wise." As a wise parent your objective is not simply to discuss, but to demonstrate the freshness and vitality of life lived in integrity toward God and your family. Parenting is shepherding the hearts of your children in the ways of God's wisdom.

Pray for me as I pour time and energy into understanding my role as the shepherd of my family better!

New Life Church Eads--1 Year Anniversary

Praise God!

This Sunday, June 20th, will mark the one year anniversary for New Life Church Eads. We are grateful to God for establishing a gospel presence in Eads. A gospel presence that seeks to shine the light of the gospel of the glory of Jesus Christ, who is the image of God and not the light or knowledge of man, for we humbly preach Christ Jesus as Lord (2 Corinthians 4.4-5).

May God continue to fill us with His Spirit and may we truly abide in Christ and in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power!

So rejoice in the Lord New Life Church and all those who are grateful to God for gospel planting.

Is Reading Worth The Time Investment When So Much Is Forgotten?

"John Piper says yes. 
In a message long ago (July 12, 1981) he said this:

What I have learned from about twenty-years of serious reading is this: It is sentences that change my life, not books. What changes my life is some new glimpse of truth, some powerful challenge, some resolution to a long-standing dilemma, and these usually come concentrated in a sentence or two. I do not remember 99% of what I read, but if the 1% of each book or article I do remember is a life-changing insight, then I don’t begrudge the 99%.

Read, but not to remember everything. Read because that 1% that you remember has the potential to change your life."

(HT: C.J. Mahaney)

So look for the 'spiritual nuggets' in every book/article you read. B/c those nuggets have the potential to change your life...and yes...even as a Christian!

A great reminder & encouragement to persevere by allowing the body of Christ to be a means of grace to us as we read words that push us to Christ.

How To Meditate On The Glory Of Christ

"Meditation is a difficult duty. Most Christians struggle even with where to begin with respect to this duty. It is particularly important for us to meditate upon the Person and work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, since beholding the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ is the primary means by which we are transformed from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3:18). In his devotional work, The Glory of Christ, John Owen has provided five useful ways that we can meditate upon the glory of Christ as a divine/human Person. Our congregation in Conway found these instructions particularly helpful, so I pass them along with the hope that they will help you in your devotion to Christ (you can read the full section in Owen, Works, 1, 312–322).

1. Consider that the knowledge of Christ as fully God and fully man in one Person is the most useful object of our contemplations and affections (1, 312–314). Christ’s identity as the God-man places him in a unique position to make your redemption possible. He also reveals the glory of God to your understanding in a unique manner.

2. Diligently study the Scriptures with the express purpose of finding the glory of Christ in them (1, 314–316). The Scriptures assert that Christ is their central object (Lk. 24:26–27, 45–46; 2 Cor. 3:13–16). The three primary ways that Christ is revealed in the Old Testament is by direct descriptions of his Person and his incarnation, by prophecies concerning him, and by the Old Testament ceremonies of worship (Owen richly expands each of these). Too often Christians read the Old Testament in a manner that is no better than the Jews. Even if we do not see Christ in everything in the Old Testament, we must be careful to take our knowledge of Christ with us while reading the Old Testament.

3. Meditate frequently upon the knowledge of Christ that you have already obtained, both from Scripture and from sermons (1, 316–317). Failing to use and to build upon the knowledge of Christ that we have already received is the “fundamental mistake” standing behind the lack of spiritual growth among so many Christians. This is the error of treating the doctrines of Christ as fundamental and basic, thus taking them for granted. Owen adds that although we must not isolate ourselves from the world, we must love solitude as well. Without some measure of regular solitude, meditation upon the Lord Jesus Christ is impossible.

4. Do not simply rely upon fixed times set aside for meditation, but think upon Christ at every possible occasion throughout the day (1, 317–320). This is particularly important during those seasons in which Christ “withdraws” himself from our “spiritual experience.” If we know what it is like to “miss” Christ sometimes, then we should take comfort from the fact that this means that we have truly known what it is to have fellowship with him. When the comforts of communion with Christ diminish, we must seek him with the desperation with which a thirsty man seeks water. Christ acts in this way for our good, since his withdrawals increase our dependence upon him and the fervency with which we seek him. The truth is that Christ is always near to us, but “the principal actings of the life of faith consist in the frequency of our thoughts concerning him” (1, 319).

5. Accompany your thoughts of Christ with admiration, adoration, and thanksgiving (1, 320–322). The more we contemplate our divine/human Lord, then the more we shall realize that he is beyond the limits of our comprehension. This should lead us to love the Lord Jesus Christ with every faculty of our souls. In heaven, we shall exercise all of the faculties of our souls simultaneously in the worship and service of Christ, but in this world both our understanding and our strength is incomplete. Therefore, sometimes our thoughts of Christ should lead to admiration, others to adoration, and still others to thanksgiving according to our understanding and our capacity. You must never lose sight of the fact that the purpose for which you know Christ is worship.

Owen closes this section with the useful reminder that meditation upon the glory of the Person of Christ only occurs in the context of a heavenly-minded life. This is an important thought. Perhaps one reason why meditation is so hard for us is that we have not set our minds on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father in everything that we set our hands to (Col. 3:1–2). Meditation upon the glory of Christ is a jarring and painful interruption when our minds are trained to run along the well-worn grooves of our earthly routine. Let us never forget that we are pilgrims and strangers in the world! Let us never be surprised at the difficulty of heavenly-mindedness on this side of glory! Let us make use of means to help us contemplate the glory of our Savior more fully! And may we come to our heavenly Father who is able and ready to help us to meditate upon the glory of his Son through the power of the Holy Spirit!"

(HT: Meet The Puritans)

Introducing Tom Owen To The Blog World

I would like to introduce you to my brother in Christ Tom Owen.

He is a sweet brother in the Lord and one of my favorite ministry champions for Jesus. Tom, his wife Stephanie, and their two children have been a part of our church for almost a year. They have been a means of God's grace to my life as well as my wife's life.

I have been blessed to minister with Tom each Sunday as he leads us in song at New Life Church. God has gifted Tom with a mind for sound doctrine and a heart that has been captivated by the love of Christ. He is a talented musician and definitely displays that talent for the glory of Jesus Christ...unashamedly. After spending a year in the pastoral ministry there is no one whom God has used more to encourage me than Tom.

Along with leading music at NLC, Tom's desire is to create a ministry to help disciple and train other music leaders to lead worship in a holistic way. For Tom it's not just about a song or an instrument it's about the whole person living for the Supremacy of Christ and serving the body of Christ from a life that is in pursuit of holiness and sanctification. Doctrine is also a staple in Tom's approach in choosing songs that help to facilitate the soul to meet with God in corporate worship. So in this effort he has started a blog that he hopes will be used to encourage other music leaders as they lead in corporate worship from an overflow from their personal worship.

If you know someone that would be blessed to be taught, trained, and discipled in leading music in the local church please contact Tom he will be glad to discuss his ministry with them.

I know you will be blessed to read his posts on his blog. You can visit his blog, The Church And Its Music, by clicking here.

I love you brother!

God bless your ministry!

The Cross Cuts You Down To Size

“Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, ‘I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.’

Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.”

~ John R. W. Stott, The Message of Galatians

(HT: Ray Ortlund)

A Substitute Has Appeared

“A Substitute has appeared in space and time, appointed by God Himself, to bear the weight and burden of our transgressions, to make expiation for our guilt, and to propitiate the wrath of God on our behalf. This is the gospel.”

~ R. C. Sproul, The Truth of the Cross (p. 81)

(HT: Of First Importance)

One Reason Why Nietzche Rejected Christianity

“I never saw the members of my father’s church enjoying themselves.”

Quoted in Current Thoughts and Trends, June 2001, page 4.

(HT: Ray Ortlund)

The Best Way To Discipline Your Kids

In his autobiography, John Paton, Scottish missionary to the New Hebrides, reflects on how his father so effectively responded to his children's disobedience:

If anything really serious required to be punished, he retired first to his "closet" for prayer, and we boys got to understand that he was laying the whole matter before God; and that was the severest part of the punishment for me to bear! I could have defied any amount of mere penalty, but this spoke to my conscience as a message from God.

We loved him all the more, when we saw how much it cost him to punish us; and, in truth, he had never very much of that kind of work to do upon any one of all the eleven—we were ruled by love far more than by fear. (John G. Paton: Missionary to the New Hebrides, p.17, paragraphing added)

(HT: Desiring God)

Is There A Middle Road In Your Life?

(HT: Resurgence)

The Combined Forces Of The Trinity...Wow!

“The Father is intimately involved in our lives so that our circumstances train us in godliness. The Son has set us free from both the penalty and the power of sin so that we now live under the reign of grace. The Spirit gives us a new attitude toward sin and a new power to change.

The combined forces of the Trinity are at work in our lives to set us free and make us holy.”

~ Tim Chester, You Can Change

(HT: Of First Importance)

NLC Journal Day 13

Acts 13 -- 4.2.08

Father thank you for working in my life to bring about more sanctification and a pursuit of holiness. Father work Your sovereign grace in my life to the glory of Christ. Please fill me with Your Spirit that I may live a life that is worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As I read Acts 13 I recognize Your calling on Saul & Barnabas at Antioch. Father I see a similar call for me. You have been pleased to send me out to preach and proclaim the gospel by establishing a church for the glory of King Jesus. In chapter 13 I have gleaned a couple of Scriptures to pray for New Life.

1. They proclaimed forgiveness of sins and that justification from everything is only through Jesus (v.38)

Father help us to proclaim and communicate the gospel so that everyone will know the only way for forgiveness and justification is through Jesus Christ. Help to make us first aware of the importance and significance of this crucial doctrine and then commend that to all those around us.

2. The next sabbath the whole city gathered to hear the Word of the Lord (v.44)

Father give us a place whether it's Eads or somewhere that would certainly please You--where we can see the whole city come to hear the Word of the Lord. God, please do this kind of work through us to the community You would plant us in.

3. The Word of the Lord spread through the whole region (v.49)

Wow. Could this be Your answer Father? We know that planting this church in Eads would give us access to many of the surrounding cities and we would definitely seek to be a regional church with a centralized location. Father what a testimony of seeing a city like Pisidian Antioch come to hear the Word of the Lord and then the Word spreading through the "whole region". God make Your Word and name great among us, Your people of New Life Church.

4. The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit (v.52)

Father it's just the Blessings and the Whittens, but Father please fill us with Your joy that we have been found to do Your will in this capacity. Please fill us with Your Holy Spirit that we will know it's not by our might, power or wisdom, but by Your Spirit who dwells in us. Amen!

The Bible Is Its Own Evangelist

"The Bible is its own evangelist. I came to faith because I was deeply affected by the words of the Bible. The famous British preacher Charles Spurgeon was once asked how he responded to criticisms of the Bible. "Very easy," he responded. "I defend the Bible the same way I defend a lion. I simply let it out of its cage."

That quote captures our vision for this book and for the growth of ministries that are committed to the passionate, articulate, and powerful reading of Scripture. Isn't it time to let the Bible out of the cage, or (to borrow from the title of this book) to unleash God's Word?"

~ Max McLean

(HT: Tim Challies)

NLC Journal Day 12

Acts 12 -- 3.28.08

Father as I read chapter 12 I notice that there was a consistent rising up against Christians and how those who were truly followers of Christ were steadfast and immovable even to the point of imprisonment and death.

I also recognize the diligence of the church to pray for those under heavy persecution and trials. But the one thing that I see that seems to be a recurring theme in Acts during this time is found in verse 24.

1. The Word of God continued to increase and spread (v.24)

Now Father please make this a present reality for New Life. Make our church, Your people, to see that the Word of God increase in their own lives and spread Your Word as a mean of Your grace everywhere.

Oh God, please go before us and glorify Your name and make Your fame great amongst Your people and into our communities.

Father today Jeremy and I will be meeting to pray and discuss once again the location/area for New Life. Please give us wisdom and open the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened to the knowledge of Your will, so that we may live and lead this church in such a way that is worthy of the Lord.

Thank you Father for hearing my prayer. Glorify Yourself today. Amen!

NLC Journal Day 11

Acts 11 -- 3.27.08

Father as I read chapter 11 and think back to chapter 10 and how You displayed so clearly to Peter about how You wanted to grant repentance and salvation to the Gentiles...I want to say thank You. Thank You for recording those events in Scripture and thank You for saving all peoples.

Here in chapter 11 I glean 3 important principles about the church at Antioch that New Life will always need.

1. The Lord's Hand was with them (v.21)

Father the clear evidence of Your hand being with these Christians is that You were allowing a great number to believe. Father this is what I long for New Life, for a great number of people to believe and turn to the Lord. True biblical repentance. Make that happen Father!

2. Saw the evidence of the grace of God (v.23)

What a testimony Father. Here a godly man, Barnabas, comes to Antioch and sees the evidence of Your grace among these people. Let New Life be guilty of this kind of evidence!

3. For a whole year they met with the church and taught great numbers of people.

Now Father I know this is not prescriptive, but please give us a season to meet with Your people and simply teach them. Send us two more pastors who are able to teach and lead Your people Father. Give us this kind of fellowship, where we have able men to teach and willing people to learn and shake this world for Jesus. Amen!

NLC Journal Day 10

Acts 10 -- 3.26.08

Father I recognize two things in chapter 10...

1. Cornelius' offering was pleasing to God (v.4)

Father make all at New Life offer gifts and love to others pleasing to You. We don't want to give of ourselves and our blessings in vain. Help our worship and charity be as a memorial offering to You.

2. Peter commanded to preach that God appointed Jesus Judge of the living and the dead (v.42)

Father what a sobering testimony, command, and responsibility. Help us to feel the weight and gravity of this proclamation. Amen!

NLC Journal Day 9

Acts 9 -- 3.26.08

Father thank you for saving Paul's life and then putting His story, which is Your story in the Scriptures. Two things really stand out in chapter 9 for New Life.

1. Paul's fearless preaching in the name of Jesus (v.27)

Once again Father I pray for that kind of boldness, but more specifically that kind of faith in You to preach Christ to a lost world. Make New Life members...fearless people! That is what we need and ought to be Father!

2. The Church: enjoyed a time of peace; was strengthened and encouraged; grew in numbers; lived in the fear of the Lord

Wow...there's a lot there!

A. A time of peace

Father I know that any thing that is built and sustained in Christ will suffer times of trouble, but give New Life a time of peace. Especially at the very beginning help us to be at peace and extend peace to others.

B. Strengthened and Encouraged

Let this be the fruit of what we do through the power of your Holy Spirit, Father. Allowing us the peace to enjoy His ministry to us.

C. Grew in numbers

Father make New Life to grow. To give us a testimony amongst the critics, skeptics, and the selfish that we live for Christ's glory therefore we have His favor by seeing many come to Christ.

D. Lived in the fear of the Lord

Help us to not just be a people who come to church and fear or reverence Christ, but that our lives are consumed with worship to Him. Thank you Father!

Father give us Your blessing and Your favor to proclaim Christ and be found faithful. Make us to be a people of Christ that others desire to be like in order to honor Christ, b/c we live like Christ. Do Your mighty work of grace in our lives and to You be the glory. Amen.

NLC Journal Day 8

Acts 8 -- 3.26.08

Father as the church began to spread/scatter and it becomes the object of more and more persecution one can only notice that the growing of the church is a result from the persecution. I admit to You Father that I do not know exactly how to pray through this or even for it. I hear about the persecution on the underground church in China and how millions are coming to Christ and Paul says that he fulfills what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ. I want the church to be established and even grow, but it is difficult for me to pray that the witness--affliction--of Christ would be made complete in the members of New Life. But I can pray that You would do a mighty work in us that we would be made willing to give that kind of witness for Christ!

Two more things stand out for me in Chapter 8...

1. Preaching the Word wherever they went and proclaiming Christ there (v.4)

What an incredible boldness Father that You gave to those Christians. Give that same kind of passion, awareness and boldness to New Life, so that we will proclaim and preach Christ wherever we are!

2. Philip told him the good news about Jesus (v.30-35)

I pray Father that You would give us men and women who could and would take the Scriptures and teach and disciple and lead folks to come to know Christ. That they would be willing to lay down their lives in order to invest their life into others who would grow into mature followers of Christ. Even from the OT, Philip proclaimed Christ to this worshipper and to see this man respond to the gospel is an awesome testimony of Your power to bring life where there is death and cause men and women to walk in Your ways is a strong desire that I long to see in New Life.

Make that happen even now Father. Bring us people who are searching and desiring after the things of God. Because those who seek and those who desire give evidence of Your Spirit's work in their life. Bear a fruitful harvest at New Life Father. Display Your glory to the world through New Life Church one soul at a time, but let there be a lot of 'times', so we can see a lot of souls saved...made alive to walk in a new way of life! Amen.

All Things Faith

“We become Christians by faith in Jesus, we stay Christians by faith in Jesus, and we grow as Christians by faith in Jesus.”

~ Tim Chester, You Can Change, 43.

(HT: Of First Importance)

NLC Journal Day 7

Acts 7 -- 3.25.08

Father as I read chapter 7 and see the history of Your servants, the very men that You established to lead Your people, make New Life be a testimony of Your sovereign grace and providence. Let us be as such that even in the midst of heavy persecution and trials that we too will be a light for Your redemption for Your people.

Also Father, help make us to be a people like Stephen, who would be willing to give of their lives for the testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen!

NLC Journal Day 6

Acts 6 -- 3.19.08

1. Don't neglect the ministry of the word (v.2)

Father as a young minister and a brand new church, give us wisdom, discernment, to know how to prioritize our time and ministry at new life. We do not want people to feel genuinely neglected, but at the same time we know the commitment to Your Word and to You in prayer is paramount. Please raise up faithful men, pastors & lay leaders who will serve Your church so we can be utmost committed to the preaching of Your Word.

2. The Word of God spread--the number of disciples increased (v.7)

Father let the reach of the gospel go far! Make disciples increase in our midst. Father help us to be faithful to Your Word and be diligent to make disciples of all peoples. God we know that it is our duty to plant the seed of the gospel in people's lives as well as to water the seeds planted, but you alone are the one that causes the growth (1 Corinthians 3.6). Cause the growth of converts, true repenters to grow deep and wide at New Life Church. Amen!

NLC Journal Day 5

Acts 5 -- 3.18.08

Father chapter 5 is interesting to me. It is obvious you are protecting the purity of Your church from those that would seek to deceive her, but to shift to something almost completely different in just one verse is puzzling, but I'm willing for You to teach me Your ways!

Two things really stand out for me in chapter 5:

1. Tell the people the full message of this New Life (v.20)

Father this is the main verse that You gave me to describe New Life's mission. Specifically in the Mid South. Father You know that so many people are blind to the truth and the full message of the gospel that leads to new life. Please even now, give us inroads, a platform, and favor with this community You would have us minister, in order to be a lighthouse of truth; to preach, to teach, to live, to love the people like never before. Father always keep us close to You so that we will always stay on the full message of Your Word and the gospel.

2. You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching (.v28)

Oh, what a joy it would be for us to be measured in this way of filling Eads, East Shelby County with the full message of Jesus Christ. Let this area that you give to us be filled with the teachings of Jesus and His magnificent glory! Amen and Amen!

NLC Journal Day 4

Acts 4 -- 3.18.08

As I continue this study through Acts I can't help but believe that God will truly be pleased to answer all these prayers, since it is coming straight from His Word.

Father in chapter 4 there are once again several aspects of the early church that I desire strongly for New Life. Please make these come to reality in New Life Church.

1. Many who heard the message believed and the number of men grew (v.4)

Father this is no uncommon prayer, but I must pray now and will, by Your grace pray til my dieing day, as the people hear Your message and Your Word preached cause them to believe, cause them to bow down with brokenness and sorrow over their sin and make them to believe Your Word. Grow our number this way--through conversions--Holy Spirit conversions!

2. Salvation is found in no one else (v.12)

Father give us boldness saturated in love to always herald and proclaim--Jesus is the only way!

3. They took note that these men had been with Jesus (v.13)

Wow! What a testimony. Father not only is there a demonstration of their union with Jesus, but these men took note of that demonstration in their minds. What a testimony it would be for skeptics to look at New Life Church and "take note" and then conclude that we are people who truly have been with Jesus! Wow!

4. All the believers were one in heart and mind (v.32)

Father to be so consumed with Christ and to be so missionally minded that we are one in heart and one in mind is truly one of my strongest desires for New Life Church. To be so in love with Christ that our personal preferences are just swept aside and actually our personal preferences become God's preferences is truly ideal.

Make us to be that kind of people, that kind of church, living like that within our community. Amen!

NLC Journal Day 3

Acts 3 -- 3.14.08

Father as I look through this chapter, I see that I am stirred within my soul for this kind of ministry to the people. I am praying these few aspects of ministry I glean from the Scriptures:

1. Why do you stare at us (v.12)

Father always protect me and the pastors and leaders of New Life Church from even desiring for the people to think much of us b/c of the work You are doing in their lives or in the lives of others. Guard us from contempt against Your holy name and Your glory amongst Your people and our community. And if anyone would even in ignorance think much of us, give us discernment to turn their thoughts and affections to You!

2. We are witnesses of this (v.15)

Father help to make us missional people that are consumed with the desire to be witnesses of Christ's resurrection and life.

3. Proclaim repentance for the forgiveness of sins (v.19)

Let us not shrink back Father from declaring and proclaiming to the people that they must repent and turn to God for forgiveness of sins and for the refreshment of their souls from the Lord.

Father establish this church, Your church, on the gospel and never let the gospel be something that fades in our minds and hearts, but let it always be fresh to us. Amen!

NLC Journal Day 2

Acts 2 -- 3.12.08

As I glean from chapter 2 I notice quickly that it is saturated with a lot of rich theology, specifically regarding the Holy Spirit. But I do notice a few things that stand out to me that could and will hopefully carry over to New Life.

1. God fearers (v.5)

In verse 5 I notice that many from around the world at the time had gathered to worship in Jerusalem. Luke describes these folks as God-fearing Jews. Now whether or not these God-fearers were Christ followers is not known but they were seeking to worship God in Jerusalem and so we hope that they were numbered with the 3,000 that believed on Jesus Christ.

This is what I'm praying for New Life, Father. That You will send us God-fearers who when confronted with the gospel will believe and be saved. I do recognize that we must go to the godless and confront them with he gospel as well. Even now Father establish a passion with New Life to be soul winners.

2. Declaring the wonders of God (v.11)

Father let us be the church that seeks to declare Your greatness and Your majesty to all those that would look and listen.

3. He will pour out His Spirit (v.17)

Even now Father pour out Your Spirit and fill us with the unction of Your Holy Spirit for vision and power to declare who You are with power and conviction. Whoever "US' may be!

(I should note that our core group was not formed at this time, so I'm praying for people/our core group that I have no idea who they will be or for some even met yet.)

4. Devoted Believers (v.42)

Father what a joy it would be to have a church that is so committed to you that it overflows in our commitment to one another. Father let us, make us, to be glad and have sincere hearts that would enjoy fellowship by breaking bread and eating together and praising God. And Father use that kind of testimony of our church to add to Your church daily those that will be saved.

Thank You Father for Your gift of the Holy Spirit. Empower us to be a church that is full of truth, love, light and help us impact our area for Christ. Amen!

(I should also note that I was not resolved at this time where God was wanting to plant New Life Church. A few options were Piperton, Eads, Arlington.)

NLC Journal Day 1

Some beginning thoughts; words; prayers and meditations on God's Word in respect to New Life Church...

As I begin this journal anticipating the great things that God will do and must do to establish His church, one desire that I have is to walk through the book of Acts and to mark down some thoughts and meditations that God would allow me to see and experience in New Life Church and its people.

ACTS 1 -- 3.11.08

Some gleanings in chapter 1

1. Jesus speaking about the Kingdom of God (v.3)

How wonderful that day will be when New Life gathers together for the first time in order to fulfill the desire of Christ by furthering the Kingdom of God through our lives.

2. Gift of the Holy Spirit (v.4-5)

What a longing I have to be filled with God's presence and anointing and power thru His Holy Spirit.

3. The Ascension of Christ (v.9-10)

To also look intently into the sky, but now for His return and only then will He return when His church shall be complete. Lord please let us be a part of seeing and leading many and hundreds of souls to the cross to find life, New Life.

4. Choosing of Mathias (v.12-26)

Lord please send us men that will take leadership roles in this church. Men who are filled with Your Spirit who strive to be satisfied only in you and seek to spread that enjoyment to others. And give us women who are godly and strive to boast only in the cross of Jesus Christ. Give us those kinds of people to help lead this church for your glory Lord! Amen!