A compelling interview
September 6th, 2008 JeffHere is a real picture of a man who considers himself a real sinner, who’s identity is found in Jesus, and who has relied upon Him for decades.
Stay and drink of God or turn aside and find our own water?
August 17th, 2008 Jeff9 “Therefore I still contend with you,
declares the Lord,
and with your children’s children I will contend.
10 For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see,
or send to Kedar and examine with care;
see if there has been such a thing.
11 Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
for that which does not profit.
12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
13 for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water ."
(Jeremiah 2:9-13)
Did you catch that? Verses 11 and 13 reveal the true sin of God’s people here. It was not primarily that they had done great wicked deeds (they had), but rather the root of the matter was that those bad things were born out of wandering hearts. Their minds and hearts were in love with someone or something other than God. They have forsaken God, and gone after other lesser, non-gods, which cannot satisfy, nor are meant to be worshiped. God uses the metaphor of water, in wells, cisterns and a fountain. Perhaps that is because water is the basic building block of life, the most essential thing our bodies need (and indeed are made of). Without water we die. Water is the best thing for us. So it follows that God is the best Person for us, and chief object of all things and the one from whom we gain our identity, worth and satisfaction.
In the desert, as they were, without the hope of water there is no hope at all. Here is God, the oasis in the desert who satisfies every need, and they want to turn aside and dig their own worthless wells. The metaphors depicts how the people of God in Jeremiah’s day began (continued) to hope in objects and false gods that couple not deliver. Their hopes and faith lay in "broken cisterns that can hold no water" (v. 13). In fact these broken holding tanks were created with their own hands. Oh what poor substitutes. What a shame. These cisterns make empty promises and cannot deliver. And so it is so often in our lives — we become enamored with things that so small and worthless, but somehow eclipse God in our lives. I can relate. Can you relate?
Do you ever take good things and make them into ultimate things? He is not primarily talking about overtly wicked behaviors here. Those follow the true state of the heart, which often prefers a thousand things that are not the true and living Creator God. Thus, they are not aimed on satisfying, nor can they. Only He can satisfy! Do we worship things and positions and opinions like they are God? What do we think about all the time? What are we consumed with? God and Christ and His perfections? We must battle every day to find our joy in God. Not just in the things He gives us, but IN HIM! The affections of our hearts play themselves out in our behavior, and we become like the gods we worship. Not talking about wood and metal statues here. Our gods are in our minds, those things and people we truly value more than life itself. Have we made good things into ultimate things, eclipsing God?
These people had preferred other things to God, exchanging Him and His worth for worthless idols (see v. 11). You see how this is a bit different definition of sin than most. In our day the idea of sin is not en vogue; many say it is does not exhaust and is just a religious and social construct. Yes, sin is a matter of right and wrong (the what and how of life’s daily affairs). But it is also, more deeply, a matter of the heart and mind (the why ). We sin because we want to. And we want to because deep in ourselves we prefer others things to God. Sin is what we do when we are not satisfied with God. Therefore we leave Him all the time. Speaking of sin like this is downplayed since after all doesn’t God want us to be happy. He does! Happy and satisfied in Him! Overjoyed with the replenishing waters of His infinite beauty and worth. Christ came to reveal this glory, God’s worth, and has made it possible for us to drink of this Living Water and not search again (see John 4).
Their two primary sins in this passage where first that they do not seek God as the chief of their whole lives and love, and two that they turned aside and in fact dug their own wells. In the place God was to be they placed their own works and found their identity in cheap substitutes. May we stop and repent of our low views of God, our cheap substitutes for Him, and ask Him to work in us a delight and joy in Him.
Overpower us with Your love, O God! Make us prefer you to anything else in all the world.
A couple reminders on the Lord’s Day
August 10th, 2008 JeffAs every day is His, these will work at all times too…
Tozer on looking outside ourselves:
“While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves - blessed riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ, the very thing he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him .”
- A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, Inc., 1993), 85.
[HT: Of First Importance ]
Wesley on singing in church:
"Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature . In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he comes in the clouds of heaven."
- John Wesley, from Select hymns with Tunes Annext: Designed chiefly for the Use of the People Called Methodists
[HT: Sojourn Music ]
I pray this happens again this morning as I preach:
And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord. ( 1 Samuel 3:21 )
Trusting God FOR or WITH something?
July 30th, 2008 JeffMy sweet bride has an insightful article on the subtle (but significant) difference between trust God for something and trusting Him with some circumstance. The former is more prevalent, the second aligns with the New Testament vision of trusting Christ. Period.
The only appropriate posture for Bible reading …
July 28th, 2008 JeffHumility.
“Take every word as spoken to yourselves. When the word thunders against sin, think thus: ‘God means my sins;’ when it presseth any duty, ‘God intends me in this.’ Many put off Scripture from themselves, as if it only concerned those who lived in the time when it was written; but if you intend to profit by the word, bring it home to yourselves: a medicine will do no good, unless it be applied.” (From a sermon by Thomas Watson entitled “How We May Read the Scriptures with Most Spiritual Profit”)
three-oh
June 17th, 2008 JeffThank you to all who wished me a happy 30th. Finally my age matches these graying hairs, and perhaps the big three-oh will have some built-in credibility to match. (Somehow being only 29 is way different than being a mature 30 in some people’s eyes when it comes to pastoring — the difference between being in one’s twenties and thirties.)
The life of one of my heroes, the late Robert Murray McCheyne, was cut short at only 29 years. (Well, he’s more alive than any of us these days, in the presence of Jesus.) At my age, I think about him and others like Henry Scougal quite a bit (he died at 28 years young). They accomplished so much for Christ in such a little time, yet did not find their identity in what they did. Here’s one of McCheyne’s most classic quotes:
"I trust you will have a pleasant and profitable time in Germany. I know you will apply hard to German; but do not forget the culture of the inner man — I mean of the heart . How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his sabre clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with the greatest care. Remember you are God’s sword, His instrument — I trust a chosen vessel unto Him to bear His name. In a great measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, will be the success. It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God. "
– Robert Murray McCheyne, letter to Rev. Dan Edwards on holiness and success, October 2, 1840. Memoirs of McCheyne , edited by Andrew A. Bonar (Chicago: Moody, 1947), p. 95. (Many thanks to my pastor friend Gene who gave me this treasured book four years ago for my birthday.)
He also had some advice for seminary students like me:
"Do get on with your studies. Remember you are now forming the character of your future ministry in great measure, if God spare you. If you acquire slovenly or sleepy habits of study now, you will never get the better of it. Do everything in its own time. Do everything in earnest; if it is worth doing, then do it with all your might. Above all, keep much in the presence of God. Never see the face of man until you have seen His face who is our light, our all . Pray for others; pray for your teachers and fellow students." (Letter from 1840, Memoirs of McCheyne , p. xvi)
We’ll take that to heart. Thank you Jesus for thirty years of earthly faithfulness to me, and an eternal relationship, unconditional, unchanging, which cannot be broken.
Christ-centered living versus the tendency to shrink our lives
June 8th, 2008 Jeff“Transcendent living is Christ-centered living. Living for Christ is the only way you will ever be liberated from your bondage to the overwhelming tendency to shrink the size of your life to the size of your life. The only way to spin free of the narrow confines of your little cubicle kingdom is to live in the big sky country of Christ-centered living. You will never win the battle with yourself simply by saying ‘no’ to yourself. The battle only begins to be won when you say ‘yes’ to the call of your King, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
- Paul David Tripp, A Quest for More (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2007), 99.
“Only love for Christ has the power to incapacitate the sturdy love for self that is the bane of every sinner, and only the grace of Christ has the power to produce that love.” (p. 105)
Ripped straight from Of First Importance . I highly recommend having their RSS feed , daily email or heading to their site each day for quotes like this.
Union with Christ miraculously advances us in holiness
May 28th, 2008 Jeff“You might think that you are unworthy to have such a great gift as union with Christ. Remember, however, Christ shed his precious blood to redeem you. That precious blood will enable you to miraculously advance in holiness through your union with Christ.
Union with Christ is not a privilege you earn by your sincere obedience, or by your own attempts at holiness. Your union with Christ is not a reward of your own good works. Rather, union with Christ is a privilege that God gives to every Christian when they first become a Christian! Right when you enter into the Kingdom of God, you also enter into union with Christ!”
- Walter Marshall, The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification
Kari’s notes from a women’s retreat
April 26th, 2008 JeffI’m headed out to pick up Kari from a women’s retreat she taught/preached at this weekend (read her notes ). Dutch and I stayed home to play and pray, and are so excited to get our wife and mommy back. It was a joy to sit and read her notes while she preached and be praying for her through the various points.
- Kari posted her notes/manuscript from her two talks at the retreat — from Philippians 2:1-4:
1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
I encourage anyone to read them, and not only women — there are insights in there for everyone, and definitely for men. Her words are challenging, rebuking and teaching me so much. Praise God I married "up," in so many ways!
The beauty of the Bible is its relevance to all of life and its power to give insight into the deep issues of our lives. God continues to speak through His Word. And Kari is a humble mouthpiece for Him.
Overcoming sin with a New Affection
April 19th, 2008 Jeff“How can we recover the new affection for Christ and his kingdom that so powerfully impacted our life-long worldliness, and in which we crucified the flesh with its lusts?
What was it that created that first love in any case? Do you remember? It was our discovery of Christ’s grace in the realization of our own sin. We are not naturally capable of loving God for himself, indeed we hate him. But in discovering this about ourselves, and in learning of the Lord’s supernatural love for us, love for the Father was born. Forgiven much, we loved much. We rejoiced in the hope of glory, in suffering, even in God himself. This new affection seemed first to overtake our worldliness, then to master it. Spiritual realities—Christ, grace, Scripture, prayer, fellowship, service, living for the glory of God—filled our vision and seemed so large, so desirable that other things by comparison seemed to shrink in size and become bland to the taste.
The way in which we maintain ‘the expulsive power of a new affection’ is the same as the way we first discovered it. Only when grace is still ‘amazing’ to us does it retain its power in us. Only as we retain a sense of our own profound sinfulness can we retain a sense of the graciousness of grace.”
- Sinclair Ferguson “Expelling Worldliness with a New Affection “
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