Friday, December 18, 2009

Big Truths for Young (and Older) Hearts

The first night I was reading "Big Truths For Young Hearts" I said to Kelly, "I feel like I'm sitting in my seminary Systematic Theology class and the first two rows are full of fifth graders."  Dr. Bruce Ware is a theology proffesor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and this material is adapted from the material he teaches his seminary students.  It also comes from conversations had while on long vacation car trips with his family and from bed-time lessons with his two daughters.  It would be a rare theologian who could manage to teach such big, deep truths on the level Ware does.    Ware does a great job of arranging the material and he covers the same topics you might find in a huge theology book such as Erickson's or Grudem's.  This book could very easily be used as a resource for a Bible Study or Sunday School Class with Middle School age and up.  As a pastor, I would dare say the average church member as never read a book on Systematic Theology.  I would not hesitate to point the adults in my church to this book.  Like a good book of theology should, I was led to a place of awe on many occasions as I read.  These truths are for any heart, young or old.



Wednesday, November 04, 2009

The Bible Opened to Suffering People

It only makes sense that if much of the Bible was written by suffering people, then suffering people would have insights into the word that non-sufferers would not.  This was true for Bunyan.  I can only imagine what it must have been like for Bunyan to sit in his prison cell and read Paul's letters that were written from prison.
"I never had in all my life so great an inlet into the Word of God as now [in prison].  Those scriptures that I saw nothing in before were made in this place and state to shine upon me.  Jesus Christ also was never more real and apparent than now.  Here I have seen Him and felt Him indeed.... I have had sweet sight of the forgiveness of my sins in this place, and of my being with Jesus in another world.... I never knew what it was for God to stand by me at all times and at every offer of Satan to afflict me, as I have found Him since I came in hither."

Monday, November 02, 2009

The Smell of Affliction

Piper writes about Bunyan's suffering and how it influenced his writing.  It has caused me to wonder what my preaching and teaching would smell like if someone were to listen to it a few hundred years from now.
"The smell of affliction was on most of what Bunyan wrote.  In fact, I suspect that one of the reasons the Puritans are still being read today with so much profit is that their entire experience, unlike ours, was one of persecution and suffering.  To our chipper culture this may seem somber at times, but the day you hear that you have cancer, or that your child is blind, or that a mob is coming, you turn from the light books to the weighty ones that were written on the precipice of eternity where the fragrance of heaven and the stench of hell are both in the air."

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Bunyan Preached the Gospel to Himself!

As I've preached through Ephesians, on a number of occasions I've encouraged people to "preach the gospel to yourself".  Years ago I struggled with debilitating doubt and still struggling with pride.  I still struggle with both pride and discouragement.  I have found that the gospel is the remedy for these and many other ailments.  Bunyan experienced an extended time of wondering if he had committed an unpardonable sin and "feeling hopelessly damned."  His remedy was to preach to himself the gospel of God's free, justifying grace.
"One day as I was passing into the field ... this sentence fell upon my soul.  Thy righteousness is in heaven.  And methought, withal, I saw with the eyes of my soul Jesus Christ at God's right hand; there, I say, was my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, he wants [lacks] my righteousness, for that was just before Him.  I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse, for my righteousness was Jesus Christ Himself, "The same yesterday, today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8.  Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed.  I was loosed from my afflictions and irons."

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Bunyan's Perspective on Affliction

I've been teaching through Psalm 119 and the last few sections have had a lot to say about affliction.  In "The Hidden Smile of God", Piper confronts those who say God has no part in or plan for evil done to us.  He quotes Bunyan:
"It is not what enemies will, nor what they are resolved upon, but what God will, and what God appoints, that shall be done... And as not enemy can bring suffering upon a man when the will of God is otherwise, so no man can save himself out of their hands when God will deliver him up for his glory... We shall or shall not suffer; even as it pleaseth Him... God has appointed who shall suffer.  Suffering comes not by chance or by the will of man, but by the will and appointment of God."
I seem to have an easier time resting in God's sovereignty over suffering when the suffering is the result of 'natural' causes rather than the result of another person's actions.  I pray that God will give me the kind of faith Bunyan had in his prison cell.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Pastoring a Suffering Church

I've been reading "Pilgrim's Progress", one version for myself and another to my kids.  I also read 1 Peter 4 this morning.  I'm also a pastor.  Those three things came together and made this passage from Piper's "The Hidden Smile of God" quite sobering.  In 1684, Bunyan wrote a book, "Seasonable Counsel, or Advice to Sufferers" for his congregation.  This was just before a time in the history of England when over 300 Puritans were hanged and more than 800 were transported to Barbados.  Hundreds more were fined, flogged or imprisoned.
"The need for this "seasonable counsel" was not theoretical.  Some of his parishioners had already been imprisoned with him.  The threat was so real again that Bunyan deeded over all his possessions to his wife Elizabeth in the expectation that he might be imprisoned and made to pay fines that would take all his possessions.  It was no exaggeration when Bunyan wrote, "Our days indeed have been days of trouble, especially since the discovery of the Popish plot, for then we began to fear cutting of throats, of being burned in our beds, and of seeing our children dashed to pieces before our faces.""
I've tried to imagine what it would be like to look out from the pulpit at a congregation with these kinds of concerns.  I've tried to imagine the worry and fear they would be battling.  I know I preach to worrisome, fearful people on a weekly basis, but the situation Bunyan faced makes mine feel like a walk in the park.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Do I really want to be humble?

Sometimes I assume the apostle Paul was born again and soon thereafter he was a fully sanctified super apostle.  Of course I know that's not true, but it's easy to read of his faith in action and just assume he was always like that and didn't really struggle that much with sin and self.  But Paul had to be made humble the same way the rest of us are made humble - through difficult situations and people.  God even gave Paul a thorn in the flesh, a "messenger of Satan to torment" him, in order to keep him from being prideful.  Paul prayed for it to be gone, but God had a purpose in the thorn.  God was showing Paul the sufficiency of His grace and the pathway to humility.  So rather than continuing to pray for the thorn to be gone, complaining about the thorn, or simply enduring the thorn, Paul actually rejoiced in it.  For Christ's sake, he delighted in whatever would lead to humility.

Murray writes of two stages Christians pass through in relation to trials and humility:
"In the first he fears and flees and seeks deliverance from all that can humble him.  He has not yet learnt to seek humility at any cost.  He prays for humility, at times earnestly; but in his secret heart he prays more, in not in word, then in wish, to be kept from the very things that will make him humble."
In the second stage we believe that it is in difficulties that Jesus Christ is revealed to us.  The believer longs to know Jesus and knows that only His presence can expel pride:
"A clearer insight was to be given to Paul in the deep truth that the presence of Jesus will banish every desire to seek anything in ourselves, and will make us delight in every humiliation that prepares us for His fuller manifestation."
I don't believe following Jesus can be broken into tidy "stages" that, once reached, becomes our permanent home.  These are more like attitudes or mindsets than stages.  But I do believe Paul's attitude can become that of any believer who understands that the grace that sanctified Paul is the grace that sanctifies us.  God still uses the same kind of circumstances.  I need to pay more careful attention to when my attitude is opposing my prayers and my actions reveal that I don't really want to be that humble!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Humility & Bearded Dragons

Several years ago a friend gave his son a pet he had been asking for - a bearded dragon.  It was a pretty cool pet.  Watching it eat crickets was quite entertaining, as was watching his son (italics) hold it!  But it was also a lot of work to take care of a bearded dragon.  The work took some of the fun out of owning a bearded dragon.  My friend said something to me one time that I will never forget: "My son liked the idea of having a dragon; he just didn't like actually having it."  He's an insightful dad!  Eventually the bearded dragon grew so huge they had to give it to a zoo.  But the principle has stuck with me.  I think it applies to me and humility.

It seems that most of the time I really like the idea of being humble.  It's actually becoming humble that a don't like too much.  Years ago Murray pointed out this tendency.
"Oh, beware of the mistake so many make, who would fain to be humble, but are afraid to be too humble.  They have so many qualifications and limitations, so many reasonings and questionings, as to what true humility is to be and to do, that they never unreservedly yield themselves to it.  Beware of this."
That sounds a lot like me.  I want to be humble; I just don't want to become humble.  I don't want to go through the trials and relational difficulties that God uses to develop humility.  Only when I am willing to gladly accept the one in order to get the other will I know what it is to be humble.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Faith & Humility, Humility & Faith

Murray writes: "As we see how in their very nature pride and faith are irreconcilably at variance, we shall learn that faith and humility are at root one, and that we can never have more of true faith than we have of true humility."

Faith is passive.  By faith I rest in and depend upon God.  It is an act of humility to place myself in the hands of God.  I will only stand by faith if I am willing to kneel in humility.  But the opposite is true as well.  I can never have more of true humility than I have of true faith.  It is an act of faith to humble myself, allowing God to take care of exalting me.  It is an act of faith to humbly and joyfully accept being treated badly, knowing that God will take care of doing me good.  It is an act of faith to humbly fall to the ground and die as a single seed, trusting that God will use it to produce many seeds.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

You'll Get Used to It

Edward Bloom left home after high school graduation and there was only one road out of his hometown. That road passed through the town with no name. Those who were meant to leave home were able to pass through unharmed. Those who weren't stayed forever, unable to go forward or move back. The town with no name was always enveloped in fog with a light rain falling. Edward walked through town with a man named Willie. Willie described the dampness as a kind of residue. The residue of a lot of dreams.
"We have our share of rain," Willie said, "but you get used to it."
"Everything here seems sort of . . . damp," Edward said.
Willie cut him a glance. "You get used to it," he said. "That's what this place is all about, Edward. Getting used to things."
"It's not what I want," he said.
"That, too," he said. "You get used to that, too."
I wonder how many people whom I encounter in an average week are living a life that they have learned to "get used to"? It's the opposite of a life of hope. Followers of Christ can have the kind of hope that causes people to ask them about it and can be ready with a a gentle, respectful answer when asked. (1 Peter 3:15)

Monday, September 14, 2009

Sin, Grace & Humility

"I fear that there are not a few who, by strong expressions of self-condemnation and self-denunciation, have sought to humble themselves, and have to confess with sorrow that a humble spirit, a "heart of humility," with its accomplishments of kindness and compassion, of meekness and forbearance, is still as far off as ever. Being occupied with self, even amid the deepest self-abhorrence, can never free us from self."
If humility is not merely thinking less of self, but thinking of self less, then Murray has hit the nail on the head. This goes along with a Tim Keller article I read some time ago in Christianity Today. He writes that humility, or "blessed self-forgetfulness", does not come to us by thinking a lot about humility. It comes by meditating on the grace of God. I'm starting to see that when I grasp just how amazing the grace of God is I will be humbled, and in that humility I will be more likely to be gentle, patient and loving towards others.

Friday, September 11, 2009

The Proud Pharisee Within

In Luke 18 Jesus tells the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector who went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee prayed "about himself" and thanked God that he was not like "this tax collector" while reminding God of how often he fasted and his consistent tithing. The tax collector stood at a distance and couldn't even look up to heaven, but beat his chest and cried out to God saying, "have mercy on me, a sinner." Jesus tells us it was the tax collector who went home justified before God, because "everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Andrew Murray's writes about this text with keen insight into the deception of pride in its many layers:
"Just when we are most anxious to have our heart the temple of God, we shall find the two men coming up to pray. And the publican will find that his danger is not from the Pharisee beside him, who despises him, but the Pharisee within who commends and exalts... Yes, even when in the temple the language of penitence and trust in God's mercy alone is heard, the Pharisee may take up the note of praise, and in thanking God be congratulating himself. Pride can clothe itself in the garments of praise or of penintence."

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Praying for Humility?

I have often heard it said that one should not pray for patience, since the only way to grow in patience is to be placed in difficult situations in which patience is required! Murray writes of this same sort of thing with humility. I pray for it, but I am often frustrated by my lack of humility when the difficult situation calls for it. Murray has encouraging words for those who are are likewise discouraged:
"But let us not be discouraged! Let the discovery of the lack of this grace stir us to larger expectation from God. Let us look upon every brother who tries or vexes us as God's means of grace, God's instrument for our purification, for our exercise of the humility Jesus our life breathes within us. And let us have such faith in the All of God, and the nothing of self, that as nothing in our own eyes, we may, in God's power, only seek to serve one another in love."
What a wonderful attitude to keep in mind in every conversation. May God graciously write this on my heart!

Monday, September 07, 2009

Humility & Holiness

Andrew Murray writes: "The one infallible test of our holiness will be the humility before God and men that marks us. Humility is the bloom and the beauty of holiness."

The problem comes in my attempt to apply this principle. It seems to stem from wanting to be able to examine myself and know just how holy I really am. But if humility is the best test for holiness, then the problem is that humility doesn't want to be examined. The moment I fix my eyes on humility it vanishes. So I am left to test for holiness by somehow measuring it, and I'm not sure how to do that without being a proud legalist. So maybe I don't really need to know how holy I am? Maybe I just need to fix my eyes on the Holy & Humble One?

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Christ's Humility & My Salvation

For a while now I have been pondering the words of Philippians 2:8, "He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross." While walking the earth Jesus Christ had always told death what to do. He raised the dead with a word. He spoke and death obeyed. On the cross Jesus humbled Himself and obeyed what had always obeyed Him. He submitted to that over which He had authority. I owe my salvation - past, present and future - to the humility of Christ. I love Andrew Murray's words: "His humility is our salvation. His salvation is our humility."

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Andrew Murray's Start on Humility

I am enjoying Andrew Murray's "Humility", if 'enjoy' can be used of a book that is convicting you at every turn. Murray basically defines humility as an attitude of dependence. He calls humility the "glory of the creature". This is how he puts it:
"God is the ever-living, ever-present, ever-acting One, who upholdeth all things by the word of His power, and in whom all things exist, the relation of the creature to God could only be one of unceasing, absolute, universal dependence."
I think this is a good place to start. Murray will later unpack the attitude we usually associate with humility, that of being self-forgetful. But he starts with the relation of the creature to its Creator, and that is one of dependence. The essence of pride is independence, and once I have chosen that I have opened the door for every sort of sin. In contrast, Murray calls "the place of entire dependence on God...the root of every virtue."

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

A Family Guide to the Bible

When I first cracked opened Christin Ditchfield's "A Family Guide to the Bible", I thought I was holding something along the lines of "Talk Through the Bible" or Henrietta Mears' classic "What the Bible is All About". To be honest, I was wondering why the need for another book in this category. But as I perused the chapters, I realized this really is a "family" guide. Ditchfield has written her family guide in very user-friendly fashion. I could read this to my 10-year old daughter and she would get it.

The book begins with chapters on the history, authority and message of the Bible. It ends with chapters on how to study the Bible, a "Where in the Scritptures You'll Find..." chapter that directs the reader to various Bible heroes and "verses to help you..." and a chapter of Bible maps. In between is the heart of the book - a book by book survey from Genesis to Revelation. For each book Ditchfield lays out the usual facts about the book's author, audience, setting and story, which is a brief description of the plot. She gives five more categories of information that are quite helpful for teaching and application.

The Message: This is generally the longest section on each book. This gives a fairly thorough but to-the-point summary of the book. It ends with a "Key Verse or Passage".

More on This Story in the Bible: This helpful section gives each book's place in Bible history and connects it the rest of Scripture.

Words to Know: This is a family friendly addition that defines some of those difficult words we come across in the Bible. For example, the words to know for Malachi are 'covenant', 'profane' and 'refiner's fire'. Who couldn't use an easy definition of those words?!

Did you Know?: Ditchfield offers an interesting scientific, historical, cultural or doctrinal tidbit.

Making the Connection: This section connects the Bible book to an issue in contemporary society.

Think About It: This is a short devtional based on a particular verse or theme from the book.

Obviously, this book has a lot to offer parents and teachers who are trying to bring the Bible down to the family level. This book would be a welcome addition to your reference shelf for when you are preparing to teach on a particular book of the Bible, either in your family or in a kid's Sunday School class. You could even use it to teach a Bible Survey in those settings.

For more on this book and more book news, head over to Crossway's fantastic book blog!

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

A Grief Observed

I finished C.S. Lewis' "A Grief Observed" several days ago and I've been thinking about it quite a bit ever since. This book is a collection of notebook entries penned by Lewis after the death of his wife. In the introduction Madeleine L'engle writes, "I am grateful to Lewis for having the courage to yell, to doubt, to kick at God in angry violence. This is a part of grief which is not often encouraged." When I first encountered Lewis' yelling and kicking, I was not thankful. I was uncomfortable. I didn't want one of my heroes in the faith talking to and about God like this. I wanted him to grieve with sure and steady faith. My discomfort with grief and all that it brings with it was being revealed. As I finished the book I was grateful to have had my own faith poked and proded and my heart exposed.

I would offer one recommendation to anyone reading this book. Try to read it in one or two sittings. In doing so you will be able to better see the process of Lewis' grief. You will see that as the process of mourning unfolds there are still questions and doubts, but there are also honest admissions of immaturity and self-pity. You will see how Lewis looks back at earlier entries, written in deep darkness, and sees them more clearly as the sun was beginning to rise. His willingness to deal with his own questions and doubts is refreshing as he comes back to the same, solid truths that he held before and is able to approach them with eyes more widely opened by grief.

Friday, July 31, 2009

What He Must Be if He Wants to Marry My Daughter

In the very first sentences of "W.H.M.B.i.H.W.t.M.M.D", author Vodie Baucham lays out his goal for this book. Baucham seeks to kill two birds with one stone by laying out for parents a picture of what they should be looking for on behalf of their daughters and seeking to produce in their sons. I found that Baucham kills more birds with his stone. This book also helps men who are already husbands and dads be better at both. Baucham begins by laying out his vision for multigenerational ministry. This section is a great read! Thinking multigenerationally can be discouraging and sobering in its downside, but the upside is encouraging and hopeful. After a chapter explaining dad's role in the process, Baucham spends the rest of the book explaining the picture of a children-loving, Christ-follower who is prepared to lead like Him as a provider, protector, prophet and priest. Baucham is careful to say that parents should not be looking for a young man who is perfect, but who at least understands these traits and is moving in their direction. When you read this book, do not skip the conclusion! I found the author's insights into race and marriage quite valuable. This book is a Swiss Army knife of sorts - multifunctional and well worth owning!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Not Your Average Ministry Training!

Yun describes some of the subjects in their missionary training school:
1.  How to suffer and die for the Lord.
2.  How to witness for the Lord.  We teach how to witness for the Lord under any circumstance, on trains or buses, or even in the back of a police van on our way to the execution ground.
3.  How to escape for the Lord.  We teach the missionaries special skills such as how to free themselves from handcuffs, and how to jump from second-storey windows without injuring themselves.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Perspective on Government Persecution and Missions

"We have also come to understand that the past thirty years of suffereing, persecution and torture for the house churchues of China were all part of God's training for us.  The Lord has perfectly fitted us to go as missoinaries to the Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu worlds."
So Yun does not pray against the Chinese government.  He prays for Chinese Christians to learn to endure and be pleasing to God.  "There is little that any of the Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu countries can do to us that we haven't already experienced in China."

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Bbbbbappptismmmmm

Yun tells of the first baptisms he performed:
"The only safe way was to cut a hole through the ice on the river and baptize the new believers in the freezing water during the night while the police were sleeping.  On many occasions we baptized hundreds of people in the rivers and streams of southern Henan.  Sometimes the Lord did a miracle so that nobody felt the freezing water.  Some even commented that the water had felt warm!"

I have yet to meet anyone that desperate to be baptized!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Evangelizing Desperate Souls

"God poured His Spirit out to many desperate souls.  Like thirsty men in the desert, they gleefully drank in the water of God's Word.  Even though I was just a teenager, the Lord enabled me to lead more than 2,000 people to Jesus in my first year as a Christian."  (p.40)

When God crosses the paths of desperately thirsty people with that of a young man who has given 100% of himself to the kingdom of God, amazing things happen.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Memorizing God's Word

After getting a Bible in answer to prayer, Yun travelled to another village where a group gathered to hear what he had to say.  He had never taught and he didn't even know what it meant to preach.  "I could only recite the Bible from the chapters I had memorized, so I recited the entire Gospel of Matthew out loud, from chapter 1 to 28."

When he opened his eyes, people were repenting with tears.  They pleaded for him to stay and give them more.  So he recited the first twelve books of Acts.

He was only 16 years old.

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009

What if you couldn't buy a Bible?

As a teenage boy, Brother Yun wanted a Bible desperately.  He had never seen or touched one.  He didn't know anyone who knew what a Bible looked like.  He was desperate enough to get a glimpse of a Bible that he walked many miles to the village of a man who had spent 20 years in prison for his faith.  The old pastor told him, "The Bible is a heavenly book.  If you want one, you'll need to pray to the God of heaven.  Only He can provide you a heavenly book.  God is faithful.  He always answers those who seek Him with all of their heart."  Yun returned home and every evening for over a month he prayed the same prayer, "Lord, please give me a Bible.  Amen."  No Bible appeared.

Yun returned to the man's house and begged for a glance at his Bible!  He was told he needed to fast and weep.  "I went home, and every morning and afternoon I ate and drank nothing.  Every evening I ate just one small bowl of steamed rice.  I cried like a hungry child to his heavenly Father, wanting to be filled with His Word.  For the next one hundred days I prayed for a Bible, until I could bear it no more.  My parents were sure I was losing my mind." (p.28)

I have several Bibles on my shelf.  I can get online and find thousands of translations and versions of the Bible for purchase.  Even in the small town where I live I could drive 10-15 minutes in several directions and buy a Bible.

I'm wondering if I would pray like Yun did if all of my Bibles were to disappear and I had no way to buy one.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Summer Reading Program!

My kids always participate in the Summer Reading Program at the Rainbow City Public Library.  This year they have one for adults.  You can read about it here.  So I've changed what "I'm Reading" to reflect the books I checked out today, one of which I'll be hearing.

Monday, June 08, 2009

The Inspiration of Martyrs

"On 1 September 1901, a large ship docked in Shanghai Port.  A young single lady from Norway walked off the gangplank onto Chinese soil for the first time.  Marie Monson was one of a new wave of missionaries who, inspired by the martyrdoms of the previous year, had dedicated themselves to full-time missionary service in China".  ("The Heavenly Man" p.19)

Inspired by martyrdoms, Marie Monson went to China and stayed over 30 years.  Not being overly concerned with making a good impression on the Chinese church leaders, she preached a straightforward message of repentance and the fires of revival swept throughout the villages of central China wherever she went.  That's what can happen when martyrs inspire you to go, not stay.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Leaving a Legacy

From the last page of "Agape Leadership":

"Although Chapman wanted no one to revere him, his love touched so many people that fame became his legacy.  Charles Spurgeon called him "the saintliest man I ever knew".  By the end of his life, Chapman was known worldwide for his love, wisdom and compassion.  He had become so well known in England that a letter from abroad addressed only to "R.C. Chapman, University of Love, England," was correctly delivered to him!"

You may be wondering why you have not heard a lot about R.C. Chapman or have never heard of him at all.  Because Chapman wanted people to dwell on their Savior, not on his life, he purposely destroyed almost all of the letters he had received.  Because of this far less is known and written about him than about many of his contemporaries, men like Hudson Taylor, J.N. Darby and George Mueller.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

R.C. Chapman on Self-Discipline

"God holds us accountable for what we have, and not for what we have not.  If I have only ten minutes to read the word, do I employ those ten minutes according to my accountability?"

"Daniel made prayer and meditation of the Scriptures the chief business of his life; yet, if we consider the circumstances in which he was placed, we shall see that few ever had greater obstacles than he in the way of seeking God."

Monday, May 25, 2009

Vision & Evangelism

To a young missionary heading for the field R.C. Chapman said: "Keep low, look up, and press forward."

"If we act only because our path is clear of difficulty, this is not faith.  Faith acts upon God's word whatever the difficulty; and to walk by faith brings highest glory to God."

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Love Does Not Envy

"How great a victory was that which Jonathan must have gained over himself, when he rejoiced to see David raised above him!  He discerned the mind of God in David, and had so learnt to delight in God, that he did not see in David one who was to outshine him, but another faithful man raised up for God and for Israel."  R.C. Chapman

Friday, May 22, 2009

Hospitality

R.C. Chapman was well known for his hospitality.  He regularly opened his home to missionaries and people in need of a haven.  Those who spent just a couple of days in his home would talk for the rest of their lives about their stay and the impact Chapman had on them.  These are a couple quotes from the chapter on hospitality in "Agape Leadership".

"All who labour for Christ shall receive great wages for little toil."

"What is most precious in the sight of God is often least noticed by men."

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Forgiving & Blessing Others

"To forgive without upbraiding, even by manner or look, is a high exercise of grace - it is imitation of Christ".

"The best testimony that Stephen bore was his last: not when preaching and working miracles, but when he pleaded for his persecutors; for then he most resembled the Lord Jesus in patience, forgiveness and love."

"If I have been injured by another, let me think [to] myself - How much better to be the sufferer than the wrongdoer!"

R.C. Chapman, taken from "Agape Leadership"

Monday, May 18, 2009

What Does the Bible Say About That?

With 340 topics, "What Does the Bible Say About That?" has a lot to say about a lot! Each topic fits on one page with a brief commentary, a Scripture reference or two, an admonition and a practical application. Obviously, one page is not enough to say all there is to say about the topic, but it is a good start. My oldest daughter was intrigued when she first looked over the Table of Contents, and I have found her looking at the book a couple of times. One word of warning: This book is aimed at kids aged 8-12. There are a few topics that I have come across for which the younger ones may not quite be ready. As with any book like this, read it for yourself before reading it to your kids. This book could be a valuable addition to the supper table or any other devotional time, or could serve as a reference when a child asks "What does the Bible say about ____________?"

Monday, April 20, 2009

Chapman on Humility & Unity


"Humility is the secret of fellowship, and pride the secret of division"

"Pride nourishes the rememberance of injuries: humility forgets as well as forgives them."

"When mutual intercession takes the place of mutual accusation, then will the differences and difficulties of brethren be overcome."

Monday, April 13, 2009

Rebuking Like God


"In reproving sin in others, we should remember the ways of the Holy Spirit of God towards us.  He comes as the Spirit of Love; and whatever He rebukes, He wins the heart by mercy and forgiveness through Christ."  RC Chapman

Saturday, April 11, 2009

A Delivery System for Grace


1.  The freedom to be different
2.  The freedom to be vulnerable
3.  The freedom to be candid
4.  The freedom to make mistakes

When these four freedoms are weaved together with love, purpose and hope they form the matrix for Grace-Based Parenting.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Kids' Needs That Grace Can Meet


Kimmel writes that children have "three driving inner needs":

1.  A need for security
2.  A need for significance
3.  A need for strength

These needs are met by giving your children love, purpose and hope.  "If we've done our job adequately, our children should leave our homes with a love that is secure, a purpose that is significant, and a hope that is strong."

Thursday, March 19, 2009

More Alternatives to Grace-Based Parenting


Image-Control Parenting

"This is a checklist method of parenting that is part of the seduction of legalism.  Image-control parenting assumes that people will know you are a good Christian parent raising nice Christian offspring by your church attendance, the way you dress (or don't dress), the way you cut your hair (or don't), the words and expressions you use (or don't use), the schools you attend (or don't attend), the movies you see (or don't see), the amount of Scripture you can quote, the version of the Bible you read, and the kinds of treats you give out for Halloween (if you participate at all).
The problem with this form of parenting is not in the things these parents do or don't do.  For the most part, these are well-meaning people trying to make good choices, but they make them for the wrong reasons!"

High-Control Parenting

"High-control parenting happens when we leverage the strength of our personality or our position against our children's weaknesses to get them to meet our selfish agenda.  This form of parenting is fueled by a combination of toxic fear, toxic anger, toxic bondage, toxic shame, and toxic strength... What makes it so difficult to address is the fact that the last people to see themselves as parenting this way are the very parents who are most guilty of using it as their primary mode of overseeing their kids."

Duct-Tape Parenting

"These families are usually running on empty...and too focused on the immediate rather than the permanent.  Rather than figure out how to fix their parenting issues, these families cope by patching their problems."

Life-Support or 911 Parenting
"These homes are much like the duct-tape families but with the added feature that a particular crisis is dominating their focus."


Thursday, March 12, 2009

Some Alternatives to Grace-Based Parenting


Fear-Based Parenting


“We’re scared of Hollywood, the Internet, the public school system, Halloween, the gay community, drugs, alcohol, rock n’ roll, rap, partying neighbors, unbelieving softball teams, liberals and Santa Claus.” The result can be that your fears determine our strategy for parenting. Fear-based parenting is the surest way to create intimidated kids.

Evangelical Behavior-Modification Parenting

This strategy “assumes the proper environment, the proper information, the proper education, and the absence of negative influences will increase the child’s chances of turning out well.” Behind it may be two flawed assumptions: “(1) that the battle is primarily outside the child; and (2) that the spiritual life can be transferred onto a child’s heart much like information placed on a computer hard drive.” The child’s heart is left out of the equation.

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Fight the Big Ones!

The language is early 19th Century, but I've been giving this quote from Chapman some thought. I think there is some merit to his thinking.

"Give yourself to attacking the filthiness of the spirit more than the filthiness of the flesh - pride, selfishness, self-seeking, etc. - these are the ringleaders; aim at them. While you are occupied in gaining the victory over little sins, great sins will be occupied in gaining the victory over you. When great sins are overcome, little sins fall with them."

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

It's February and I'm already behind in my Bible reading

In "Agape Leadership", R.C. Chapman may have the reason why:

"The great cause of neglecting the Scriptures is not want of time, but want of heart, some idol taking the place of Christ. Satan has been marvelously wise to entice away God's people from the Scripture. A child of God who neglects the Scriptures cannot make it his business to please the Lord of Glory; cannot make Him Lord of the conscience; ruler of the heart; the joy, portion and treasure of the soul... If the Bible be used aright by anyone, it will be to him the most pleasant book in the world."

I guess I can't blame it on Leviticus.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Preach Christ or Live Christ?

"There are many who preach Christ, but not many who live Christ. My great aim will be to live Christ". R.C. Chapman

Chapman said this when he was a young man in his early 20's. Soon after he became the pastor at Ebenezer Chapel, where he was the pastor for almost the rest of his life. He preached his last sermon just before his 98th birthday! So he was not drawing a false dichotomy, as if he could not both preach and live Christ. But he sought to live the message he preached, and that was the power behind his pastorate.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Some things are the same at every level of society

"The room was soon filled with a motley assemblage, from the old gray-headed patriarch of eighty, to the young girl and lad of fifteen. A little harmless gossip ensued on various themes... A few of the worshippers belonged to families hard by, who had got permission to attend, and who brought in various choice scraps of information, about the saying and doings at the house and on the place, which circulated as freely as the same sort of small change does in higher circles."

"Uncle Tom's Cabin"

Monday, February 16, 2009

"Agape Leadership" Quote

"There are mysteries of grace and love in every page of the Bible: It is a thriving soul that finds the Book of God growing more and more precious." RC Chapman