Saturday, May 31, 2008

Bitter Cups and Purpose

John 18:11
So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?"

What an interesting statement, "shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" What was Jesus doing here? What was it that He was relaying by using such words?

Certainly Jesus, more so than all mankind, knew intimately that the Father is good and as such does not give bad things. Jesus clearly sees the coming suffering as something given to Him by the Father.

The phrase cup is unique and effective in relaying this powerful truth. What father would give his child a poisonous cup? Setting an example by such powerful submissive language, Jesus displays His willingness to receive the cup given to Him by His Father, bitter though the cup may be. On this side of history it is clear to see that though the cup was indeed bitter, it has orchestrated the greatest good that has ever, or will ever come to mankind. (1Peter 3:18a) For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.

Such are the ways of the Father whose ways are as high above our ways as the heavens are above the earth.

Jesus knew full well that His Father is good. Jesus was able to see through the bitterness to the joy. (Hebrews 12:2b) who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Philippians 1:29
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,

Would we as children of this same Father receive such a cup from Him in like manner?

Thursday, May 29, 2008

A Powerful Promise

Deuteronomy 31:8
It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."

Joshua 1:5
No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.

1Samuel 12:22
For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for Himself.

Psalm 94:14
For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will not abandon His heritage;

"He will not leave you or forsake you." Few if any are the promises in Scripture which surpass this one in sustaining and maintaining hope. This is one of the memory verses (or portions of a verse) of my 5 year old daughter. This verse has been such a rock of hope for me throughout many trials and difficulties. I wanted to pass down to my little girl this solid foundation for hope in the God who will never leave us.

What else in your life can promise you this? Absolutely nothing!

Your health can leave you, your spouse can leave you, your wealth can be taken from you, your home, your car, your friends, and your family too. There is only one being in the universe that can truly promise you this. Only our God can truly promise He will never leave us nor forsake us. (Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?)

What a treasure this promise is. What a rock solid hope. What tremendous grace this is that our God will NEVER leave us nor forsake us.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Praise You In This Storm: The story behind the song

This is the story behind the song "Praise You in the Storm" by Casting Crowns (the song from the last blog post). I must admit I've never heard such a song before. What an incredible focus upon God in the midst of deep and intense suffering. The story was found here:

He Gives, and Takes Away
by Mark Hall, posted 08/14/06

You're probably familiar with the Casting Crowns hit single "Praise You in This Storm." In this excerpt from his new book Lifestories, frontman Mark Hall tells the story behind the song.

Great songs don't just come out of nowhere, and there's quite a story behind the Casting Crowns hit, "Praise You in This Storm." In a new book called Lifestories (available August 29), Mark Hall, the band's frontman and chief songwriter, tells the stories behind the songs—including this one about a little girl dying of cancer who never gave up her trust in Jesus . . . and her mother who literally stood on the promises of God through the whole ordeal. The following story has been adapted and condensed from the book.

Laurie Edwards watched her little girl gasping for air and wanted to breathe for her. She wanted the Maker of breaths to swoop in and fill her child's lungs and dissolve every tumor with His mere glance. She wanted another miracle.

It was the early morning of Saturday, October 30, 2004. Ten-year-old Erin Browning lay in a hospice bed in her home, in such pain and shortness of breath that, in fear and exasperation, she could manage only one request of her mother.

"Just read the Scriptures!" she said.

So Laurie began reading the Scriptures. She included Erin's favorite passage, Proverbs 3:5-6. From 1 a.m. until 5 a.m., loved ones took turns reading aloud the Word of God over a child in the last, cruelest stages of cancer's grip. Little Erin had battled for more than three years.
And now the end was near. Laurie tried to refuse to believe it, but her trust in the Lord remained steadfast. She was frightened and faithful all at once. She prayed for an eleventh-hour miracle. And she kept reading the Scriptures, as Erin had asked.

At one point, Laurie placed her Bible on the floor and stood on it, literally standing on the Word of God as she read over her child. Finally, after the long night of reading Scripture followed by another long night of hopeful prayer, Laurie consented for a hospice nurse to administer an IV with medicine that essentially placed Erin in a painless coma on Sunday afternoon. There would be no more gasping for breath.

I met Erin Browning on Valentine's Day, 2004 at Westover Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. Erin loved Casting Crowns, and, after six years of dance lessons, had choreographed a dance to our song "Here I Go Again." When Laurie initially contacted us, we made arrangements to meet their family before that concert. Three months later, Erin danced for the last time as her mother and two sisters joined her for a performance of "Here I Go Again" at The Carolina Theatre.

I was gripped by the imagery of Laurie's standing on her Bible and quoting Scripture over her sick little girl. After all the e-mail updates and prayers, that moment melted my heart and sparked the lyrics to this song.
I kept up with Erin's condition through Laurie's e-mails detailing the family's wrenching ordeal. Every e-mail described a change in Erin's condition. One e-mail would offer hope: "There is a new treatment, so please be praying." So we'd pray, and then the next e-mail would report, "It's not working."

Sometimes Laurie had questions: "What's going on? I feel like I'm all alone in this." But her love of Jesus remained fervent even though she questioned what was going on and didn't really understand the reasons. It was raw, rare faith, and it was inspiring.

On June 21, 2004, I e-mailed Laurie to tell her that I was writing a song for Erin entitled "Praise You in This Storm." Upon the news, Erin screamed so loud that it hurt Laurie's ears. Erin never got to hear the song, but Laurie heard it for the first time when her mother bought the CD on the day it was released and took it to the school where Laurie works. The two women sat in the car, listened to the song, and "cried and cried and cried."

"Erin would be so happy to know that other people were being touched by something written for her, because she was never about herself. She was about other people," Laurie said. "Other kids at school would say 'I want to be like Erin.' And she would say, 'No, you don't. You want to be like Jesus.'"
I was impressed with Laurie's faith, but Laurie will tell you how much she was impressed with Erin's faith. Erin was six years old when she prayed to receive Christ. She was diagnosed with cancer when she was seven, and by the time she was eight she was visiting area churches to give her testimony.
Four months after Erin was first diagnosed, a second bone scan revealed that the cancer was gone. Doctors called the results remarkable. Laurie and Erin called it a miracle. Emboldened by the Lord's clear hand in her life, she began regularly sharing her faith and giving her testimony.

"She had a desire to reach people to let them know there is no hope or joy without God. And even though she had reason in her life not to be happy, she was joyful because she had Jesus in her heart," Laurie said. "She wasn't afraid. She let the Lord speak through her, and when she would get up and speak it was like I wasn't listening to my own daughter. He would put words in her mouth, and it was just awesome."

But the cancer eventually returned, and this time, it didn't go away. The tumors grew so large that they displaced organs and created a visible bulge in Erin's chest. They pressed down on her spleen, pushed her heart to the right, and deviated her trachea, straining her breathing.

Near the end, Laurie's e-mail updates were desperate. Her last one before Erin's death was a simple request in all caps: "PLEASE PRAY FOR ERIN!" It was the night in which Laurie stood on her Bible during the four hours of Scripture reading. The weekend crept into Saturday, when at 1:15 a.m. the hospice nurse told Laurie that Erin's vital signs and statistics suggested she had only approximately 20 minutes to live.

Fifty-one hours later, [she] finally gave up her fight. Erin Browning went home at 4:24 a.m. on November 1, 2004.

Laurie still doesn't fully understand what happened next. She remembers only a tremendous peace and describes it as being under the shower of the Holy Spirit. She held Erin's body for 90 minutes while her daughter played in heaven.

"It was not like how I expected her last minutes to be. I thought I'd be hysterical, but I wasn't," Laurie said. "But she was where she always wanted to be. She told me when she was six years old that she couldn't wait to get to heaven. She said she had felt an emptiness in her heart, but when she asked Jesus into her heart she never felt it again because Jesus had filled her and would never leave her. For the 10 years she was on this earth, God used her in a remarkable, powerful way.

"I've learned that He can use an average, ordinary family to do extraordinary things and that He continues to use us despite ourselves," Laurie said. "How He has done that is beyond me. But He has a plan and purpose. A lot of times I may not like His plan, but I accept it. I'm just honored that He chose to use Erin and this family as He has."
Through it all, I was captured not just by Laurie's faith but also by her worship. She had the worship of Job:

The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.Job 1:21

I have a son and two daughters, and I was amazed at how Laurie faced a parent's greatest fear. It doesn't mean that she wasn't angry. It doesn't mean that she wasn't sad or doubtful, but at the base of it she was leaning on God even if she was angry, sad, or doubtful. I was reminded once again that just because we cannot see God's purpose does not mean He doesn't have one. I was reminded that God is faithful, regardless of the circumstances. I was reminded that God is sovereign, and we're not. Finally, I was reminded that we cannot control how long our lifesongs last. We only can control how loud we sing them. Little Erin lived out loud for Jesus.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Sufferings and Splendor

With all of the suffering that is experienced on earth, and all of the people who at least at some time and to some extent experience such suffering, it is breathtaking to consider that the same God who spoke the universe into existence would choose to come live on this earth and subject Himself to such tremendous suffering.

The existence of suffering and the experience of it grants glimpses of the character of this God. Ours is the God who would submit Himself both to living amongst the inhabitants of the earth who experience horrific suffering in various ways and who would taste of the most intense sufferings Himself.

It is apparent that we experience suffering although we do not choose it, and if we had our choice would clearly choose the avoidance of it. How unspeakable it is that our God, who enjoys infinite power, infinite joy, and majesty beyond our imagination, would come to this earth filled with suffering. (John 17:5 "And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.") The One who had never had a beginning came to give us a beginning in knowing and loving Him for eternity. The One who will never have an end came to put an end to the reign of sin in our lives. This One who exists outside of time, stepped into time to make a way for us when there was no other way.

1 Peter 3:18a
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God

This is the God that we serve. He is the One who loves so intensely that He would come to live here and die here to pay the punishment for our sins. "For God so loved the world" (John 3:16a). The infinite given for the finite that we might be enabled to know Him and enjoy Him forever.

Isaiah 53:5-6
But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Consider the God-Man Jesus Christ and what it cost Him to come here and suffer so. Some may think this shows the value of those He came to save? I think it rather shows the value of Him to would come at such a cost. He did not have to do it... Who could force the hand of God?

I saw an excellent example of this God-like love recently as I watched Beyond the Gate of Splendor, the documentary about the 5 missionary martyrs, their families, and the conversion of a primitive and murderous tribal people.

Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming, Roger Youderian, and Jim Elliot were speared to death while trying to reach this violent tribe. It is interesting that these men had guns with them, but chose not to use them. These men loved enough to go to this tribe though it cost them their lives. Their family members reached out to this tribe and the whole tribe was converted. This is a very powerful example of the self-sacrificing love of God.

John 10:11
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

ONE WAY

Our world is filled with "have it your way" "I did it my way" and "do what works for you." This atmosphere of "doing it our way" hangs like a thick fog in our daily lives. We exist in this multilane and multidirection culture in which the legal status of certain acts vary depending upon what state you happen to reside in. We are simply not used to dealing with one way. This is another way of saying that we are quite stiff necked.

The interesting thing is that this is not remotely a new fad. Throughout history mankind has endeavored to do things his way instead of God's. The Old Testament is overflowing with such examples. In all of these instances the very same mistake was made; the glory of God was exchanged for something infinitely less valuable. I have no stones to throw here in judgement because I too like those in the Old Testament have made this mistake more times than I can count (as have all people "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"). Some may oppose such a statement and say, "How have I sinned like that?" These are only missing out on the reallity of the rebellion of neglecting and disrespecting the Creator of the Universe.

I recently stumbled upon this excellent video by R.C. Sproul speaking about the only true one way.

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"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

Saturday, May 17, 2008

MercyMe: Hold Fast

This song has often been an encouragement to me during times of struggle and hardship. It is quite incredible how much a song can minister to your heart.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Prince Caspian

It is usually said that the book is better than the movie. I don't think that is the case with this movie. I saw it tonight and it was fantastic. With non-stop action and a great story line this movie is definitely well worth seeing.


He's not a tame Lion...

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Uniquely Gifted

Have you ever been moved by art? Has a picture ever caught your eye? Have you been blown away by a sculpture standing majestically and thought how could somebody make that? I experience these things often, especially when I encounter work like that accomplished by my cousin Sarah Hempel Irani.

She is truly blessed with a very unique gift. I simply cannot imagine ever being able to complete such work. What a treasure it is that God has given us such gifted artists.

God's glory is seen and experienced in ways that are often hard to put into words. It seems to me these artistic displays are a tremendous example that God often speaks powerful messages to us without using words.

All creation displays His glory, even the creativity of His created ones. Isn't it wonderful that God designed creative people and gifted people. With so vast an array of creativity displayed throughout creation how could anyone perceive our God to be anything but magnificent.













If you too are one of those who loves to experience gifted artwork check out her website. You may also want to check out her studio blog or her personal blog.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Third time is a charm...

I am reading through my favorite book (aside from the Bible) Desiring God for the third time. There are not many books that I've read three times, there's a few, but only the really good ones get a third go-around. I'm still finding myself amazed at how wonderful this book is and how foundational it is to the Christian life.

I've testified before that this book has been instrumental in turning my life upside down (in a very good way). I'm excited beyond words that a few guys at the jail have read all the books I've given them, the last of which is Desiring God (which they only get if they've read through everything else first). One guy who has been through the 4 week class twice and has asked to go through for a third time - and he is currently on his second time reading through this marvelous work. That excites me!

Here are a few tastes from my reading today:

Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek him." (Hebrews 11:6) You cannot please god if you do not come to Him for reward! Therefore, worship that pleases God is the hedonistic pursuit of God. He is our exceeding great reward! In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore. Worship is the feast of Christian Hedonism.
- John Piper, Desiring God pg. 102

In the end the heart longs not for any of God's good gifts, but for God Himself. To see Him and know Him and be in His presence is the soul's final feast. Beyond this there is no quest. Words fail. We call it pleasure, joy, delight. But these are weak pointers to the unspeakable experience: "One thing I have asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple" (Psalm 27:4). "In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11).
- John Piper, Desiring God pg. 87

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

The Doctrines of Grace

About 4 years ago I had no idea what the "Doctrines of Grace" were. Since then I have come to love these dear truths. Through them I have found my vision of God to have grown significantly. The God whom I have believed in even previous to my encounter with these doctrines has not changed, but my understanding of Him has. Thanks to this tremendous grace I now find myself finding God evermore amazing, powerful, merciful, just, and entirely sovereign.

For those of you who may be like me and have never heard the term "Doctrines of Grace" here is a tremendously oversimplified summary. These doctrines fit into the acronym T.U.L.I.P. Although I'm fairly familiar with TULIP, I'm no expert and certainly am in no position to teach on this, I shall however try to briefly sum up each point.

Total Depravity - Man is devastatingly fallen because of sin. As such, man cannot resolve this issue and restore his relationship with God on his own. “Total means not that human beings are as bad as they could possibly be. We know that God’s common grace restrains evil in the world and that even lost people do many relatively ‘good’ things. Rather total depravity means that sin is pervasive in its effects on the whole of man’s nature; mind, heart, and will are all affected by sin.”

Unconditional Election - God chooses who His people are, not the other way around, and He chooses them not because of them, but because of Him. “God’s choice ultimately determines who will be saved. All men are invited to choose God and no one is saved without choosing God, but no one can choose God without God first choosing them.”

Limited Atonement - “Limited atonement does not mean that there is any limitation in the merit of the atoning sufferings of Jesus, but that only those who believe benefit from his death. The atoning work of Christ is unlimited in its power, but limited to believers in its application.”

Irresistible Grace - God reveals Himself in such a way to His people that they behold His magnificence and are drawn to Him as a bee is drawn to honey. God gives enough of Himself to His people that they can truly taste and see that He is good and so they follow Him willingly and delightfully.

Perseverance of the Saints - God grants the grace that is needed in each of His children for them to persevere to the end. He is the one who enables to persevere and ensures that they will.

"The truth of the doctrines of grace are initially in Scripture – otherwise they are not true! Historically, this view of grace was articulated by Augustine, and so came to be known as Augustinianism. Calvin drew on Augustine and emphasized predestination, though there is not much emphasis on limited atonement (and even dispute as to whether he even believed it). The TULIP was developed as a system by the Synod of Dort as a rejoinder to the counter-reformers of the Remonstrance. Thus the term which often applies to such beliefs "Calvinism."

(Thanks for the helpful quotations Brian)

The name "Calvinism" is not what is important, however the truths represented here are powerful and God glorifying.

Caution:

Do not throw the baby out with the bath water! Calvinism is often misrepresented. I think it was Tozer who said, "If anything in Christianity is new it is by the same token false." Calvin was not coming up with new ideas, rather he was finding them entirely Scriptural and relevant to our understanding of who God is and who we are and what that means for our lives.

These doctrines are sweet to the soul and overwhelmingly Scriptural. I was first helped in my understanding of the Doctrines of Grace by an older teaching series from John Piper. He has recently done another teaching series on TULIP available in both video and audio formats for free (I have just downloaded the audio and am looking forward to listening to it soon).

Monday, May 5, 2008

Jars of Clay: Worlds Apart

This is an amazing song and has been one of my favorites for years. The video does a nice job of displaying the powerful and heart stirring lyrics.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Fear?

How can I fear
Though all around me here
Are enemies and snares
Fear? When there's the God who cares?

When light and momentary trials
Would threaten to undo
When the world troubles and rials
There's none who can remove you
From His strong and mighty hand
For His will only is done
That on your heart might be this brand
To fear only Him - yes He is the only One
Who holds the keys to death and the grave
This same One who loves and died that He would save

You see there's no reason to fear
When the One who created all is near
For "if God is for us
who could be against us"

You have no greater strength on earth
Than this One who loves you so
And nothing will ever compare in worth
With Him, this all too will eventually know...

- A. B. Seal

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Justice and Mercy

A sin against the infinite God is an infinite sin and so deserves an infinite punishment.
- paraphrase of Jonathan Edwards, "The Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners"

"The good news is that God Himself has decreed a way to satisfy the demands of His justice without condemning the whole human race. Hell is one way to settle accounts with sinners and uphold His justice. But there is another way. The wisdom of God has ordained a way for the love of God to deliver us from the wrath of God without compromising the justice of God."
- John Piper, Desiring God pg. 61

Going back to my recent post about the movie Les Miserables, there was a picture of the justice of God in the character of Inspector Javer. During the last scene of the movie, the inspector has finally caught his long pursued fugitive/ex-con Valjean. The inspector has however had much opportunity to see that Valjean is a good man. The inspector says two phrases which reveal his motive for his final action in the last scene; "I have tried to live my life without breaking any rules." and "It is a pity that the law does not allow for mercy." This inspector, who has an intense sense of justice (a picture of God's unfailing justice) has only one way to deal correctly in his heart with the ex-con Valjean - because after all the law does not permit mercy.

The final act of the inspector is to me a picture of Jesus saving act for his people. (I will not detail this final act in the hopes that you may see the movie, or that if you've already seen it you may watch it again looking for glimpses of Jesus which are scattered throughout.) The wrath of God remains upon us because "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." God's justice is perfect, appropriate, and final. His justice is equalled in intensity and magnificence only by His mercy. In His merciful love God sent His only son, God in the flesh, to die for our sins - bearing our deserved punishment in order to set us free that we might glorify God and enjoy Him forever.