Quick Thoughts: Prayer

I am going to begin a series of short blog posts on various subjects of the Christian Life. My goal is to give you some short, concise answers to basic, and often forgotten, questions to these various subjects. Lord willing, this will help us come back to a basic understanding of why we do certain things, to what end, and simply how to do them. In this first post on “Quick Thoughts”, I want to address the topic of Prayer. So, Ladies and Gentlemen, here we go:

1. What is prayer? Prayer is the breath of a soul that is alive to God; if we are alive unto we pray. Prayer is overflow of the heart to the God who cares for you. Prayer is the cry of a dependent child for a powerful and sufficient Father who desires to provide abundantly for His children. Prayer is when we bow, not simply in posture but in the heart, to the one true God who hears us when we call out to Him in the name of Jesus. Prayer is the burden that the Holy Spirit places in the Christian in order that they might live unto God. Simply put, prayer is voicing adoration, confession of sin, thanksgivings, and needs of all kind to the Almighty God. Prayer is not speaking to the open sky or talking to ourselves in hope that someone somewhere with some omnipotence might hear us. Prayer is addressing God in faith that He hears, responds, and gives us what we need. Prayer is the response of the heart of faith to the promises given to us in Christ. Prayer happens after we read the Scriptures. It is when we read the Word of God that we then respond to Him. True prayer happens after reading the Word. John 15:7 says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Matthew 6:6 tells us, “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Again we see in Luke 11:9, “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

2. Why pray? Prayer is the heart of dependence on God. We see the curse of sin manifest itself in our pursuit for independence. In our pursuit of independence, we are like a flower trying to live without roots. We are like a newborn baby refusing her mother. We pray when we realize that we need help. God created man in order to live in dependence upon Him and this dependence was part of what was good in the Garden of Eden when there was no sin. Prayer brings us back to who we were meant to be—creatures living in dependence upon their Creator. Prayer brings joy to the saddened soul. Prayer brings hope in the face of despair. Prayer brings intimacy when loneliness prevails in the world. Why pray? Because in prayer we draw near to God. Maybe the question could be restated this way: Why draw near to God? Prayer, at its core, is the sinner drawing near to God in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit with the confidence that this Triune God will satisfy my deepest longings. Prayer is not calling out to a genie in order to be satisfied merely in what he gives me. The goal of prayer is to have God Himself as my chief joy. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 also says, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

3. To whom do we pray? Primarily, the model that Jesus gives us is to pray to the Father but certainly the entire Trinity is always involved. Matthew 6:9 begins, “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’” Jesus came to reveal the Father to us and to bring us to the Father by His person and work. We certainly pray, and should pray, to Jesus Himself and to the Holy Spirit. All persons of the Trinity are equal yet distinct—nevertheless, they are One God, not three. It is a helpful reminder that Jesus tells us to primarily address the person of the Father.

4. In what manner should we pray? We should pray with reverence and awe. Let us beware of beginning prayer flippantly with, “Hey God!” Let us also, even, think more of beginning prayer more so with the thought of our Father being Holy. It is the knowledge that we have of God that drives how we pray. Let us not forget that our God is a consuming fire and that He is Holy, Holy, Holy. If the beginning of knowledge is the fear of the LORD (Prov 1:7) then let us not abandon the beginning of knowledge with that activity which we should attend to most in the Christian life. We must have confidence to draw near to the throne of grace but that throne of grace never extinguishes the attribute of God’s Holiness. The throne of grace should give the weakest child boldness and joy to approach his heavenly Father in prayer but that child must still remember that God is God. Confidence in Christ and Fear of the LORD are not butting heads in prayer like two brothers fighting over the last chocolate chip cookie. Neither one is competing against the other but rather they work together like how salt can enhance the taste of the sugar on a chocolate chip cookie (can you tell what I’m craving for a snack right now?). Prayer should be in dependent fear and love for God. Whenever God showed people His glory in a more manifest way they fell down. Even when Peter recognized who Jesus was in the boat he fell down and asked to be away from His presence. Yes, they loved God and God loved them but this love of God is so holy that it should bring us redeemed sinners to our knees in humility and fear of the heart. God is the One who runs towards us and we should run towards Him but this never negates His Holiness and Majesty.

5. What should we pray for? Let us take an inventory of our prayers individually and corporately. What percentage of our prayer requests primarily focus on the bodily and physical needs and how much focus on the needs of the soul? To be clear, we are made up of body AND soul. The needs of the body are real and constant. We must pray for the physical needs around us but we must not ONLY pray for the physical needs around us. It does not make someone “extra spiritual” if they never pray for physical needs. Rather, one might question that person’s understanding of the image of God. Nevertheless, we can say the same for those who neglect the matters of the soul.

   When we have a prayer meeting, how often do we pray for the following: conversion, revival, growth in holiness, richer devotional lives, patience, love for others, understanding of the Scriptures, more of a desire to pray, zeal for evangelism, protection against false teachers, more earnestness to repent of the idols of the heart? Are we so earthly minded that we totally neglect the primary need for sinners to have faith and repentance? Our prayer requests, as an individual and as a congregation, will reflect the priorities of our hearts. Do we only pray for the physical because we want life to be comfortable? Brothers and sisters, we must pray for the things that concern the body but never at the expense of praying for souls to be saved from the eternal wrath of God, for exponential growth in holiness amidst an evil age, greater fruit of the Holy Spirit, richer community in the church, and certainly (although one of the most neglected) the need for true God-centered revival. We must pray for the preaching of the Word as much as we pray for safe travels. We must pray for the lost in our neighborhoods as much as we pray for the healing of the body. We must pray for endurance amidst persecution as much as we pray for good grades, politics, injuries, upcoming tests and meetings, healthy children, and the other often brought up items (which are NEVER too small to pray for).

   Please hear me, our lack of praying for the small things shows our misunderstanding of a God so sovereign and caring that He notices the way ants work and lilies grow. We must also understand that our lack of praying for the Holy Spirit to powerfully attend the preaching of the Word every week shows our great misunderstanding that our greatest need is to hear the words of the gospel of God by the power of the Spirit and that if we do not hear then it matters not if we gain the entire world because we will lose our soul. Pray for all things, body and soul (for both are important), but what a grave danger we fall into when we never pray for the soul.

6. When should we pray? Maybe a better question could be: When can we pray? We can pray at all times. Paul says, “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17). We can pray before we eat and we can pray before surgery. We can pray in the middle of having a tough conversation with someone and we can pray while putting our children to bed. We can pray in business meetings and we can pray during a commercial break. We can and should pray at all times for that is what a praying life is. It is not literally only praying at all times but rather it is having a life of communication with God throughout the day. We should pray much spontaneously (for God does hear and loves these prayers) but we should never neglect the practice of “still” prayer. What I mean is that we must set aside some times in order to be still and know that the LORD is God. In our busy times, this might be the most neglected and the most needed spiritual discipline. We should put things to rest, turn over our phones and silence them, gather our thoughts and lift up our concerns to God. Leave the busyness of life for a period of time and come before the LORD to find rest. Find this time in the morning before the kids get up, first thing when you walk in the office, on your walks, when you put the kids down for a nap, before bed, or during lunch (don’t forget that it was in 19th Century that New York had a true Spirit-sent revival all surrounding the lunch time prayer meeting). You will not find time unless you make time. If prayer is the breathing of the soul that is alive unto God then prayerlessness is the evidence of the soul that wants to commit spiritual suicide or the evidence of the soul that is not alive in the first place. Let us not fool ourselves here: Christians pray. Some pray more than others and that makes no one more special and loved by God more than others. Beware: those who think that prayer earns their righteousness before God are in danger for their soul. But let us not fool ourselves, especially in our Southern context, that we can believe the gospel and not pray. Indeed, what is the first movement of the redeemed sinner towards God but that of prayer? The Spirit produces living water in the soul of the man or woman, and church, that is alive unto God. Water that flows into any pipe system must find its way out or the pipes will burst. If there is not water exiting the pipes and no bursting of the pipes then there is no flowing water.

7. What are some practical ways to develop a life of prayer? This could be an endless list but maybe some of these suggestions will help or spur on some thoughts to other ideas:

   1. During devotions, prayer before starting and pray after finishing.

   2. Take a car ride a day to turn off the radio in order to pray.

   3. Pause to pray between meetings, classes, assignments, chores.

   4. Designate a prayer “station” or a prayer “closet” so that there can be a regular place in which you pause to only pray.

   5. Set your alarm clock for 15 minutes earlier. As you wait for the coffee to finish brewing, open your Bible and pray a certain Psalm.

   6. Don’t neglect praying before meals. Let it remind you and those around you that greater tastes and satisfactions are in the Lord.

   7. Pray with your spouse and/or children before bed.

   8. Read good books on prayer. Here are some very helpful ones:

      1. Tim Keller “Prayer”

      2. David Mathis “Habits of Grace”

      3. John Bunyan “Prayer”

      4. Michael Reeves “Enjoy your prayer life”

      5. Andrew Murray “With Christ in the School of Prayer”

      6. Banner of Truth “Valley of Vision”

   9. Keep a list on your phone or notebook of things to pray for.

   10. Keep a journal that records the answers to prayer.

   11. Read prayers (such as Valley of Vision)

   12. Sing prayers. Remember, the greatest hymns were often first prayers.

   13. Put reminders on your phone or calendar. Schedule your prayer time.

   14. Pick a prayer partner.

   15. Attend evening worship where we pray as a congregation after voicing the needs around us.

   16. Start a prayer meeting (not a prayer request meeting or a Bible study about prayer where you only briefly pray at the end) where you actually spend the majority of the time praying.

   17. Remember, there are no prayer professionals. This often hinders people from praying.

   18. The Spirit is wise enough to sort out your jumbled thoughts so do not be afraid to pray for things as they come to mind.

   19. Remind yourself of the promises of God—primarily the promise that He hears you.

   20. Read good stories and books on revival. Revival is never separated from prayer.

How Porn Affects Missions

As a church that sends, supports, and prays for several missionaries, it is worth asking the following: Does pornography affect the mission field? Is the widespread use of pornography “sidelining” potential missionaries (and even local missions in our neighborhood)? Greg Handley, church planter and writer for the International Mission Board, seeks to address this question in his article. The following is an excerpt:

I know the statistics point to how pornography isn’t merely a male problem. I understand, but I also have worked among young men enough to know this problem has reached epidemic proportions. Years ago, John Piper coined that paradigm-shifting statement about missions in Let the Nations Be Glad: “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” Among young, Christian men who don’t show concern for the nations, I’ve come to wonder if it could be said that porn lurks where missions doesn’t.

Here is my plea to porn-strugglers: not merely for your sake, for their sake—for the unreached nations of the world—get help. Pornography sidelines you when the nations need you. I want to help you realize the soul-conditioning effect of pornography in a way you may not have seen it before, particularly as it relates to missions. My aim is for this brief article to be a healing wound that sets a new trajectory in your pursuit of purity.

For the rest of the short article, click here.

Are Selfies Really Harmful?

A fellow youth worker in Mississippi sent me this article earlier this week about selfies. Naturally, I had my gracious wife read me "the important parts" so that I could digest it on my own in quicker time. Even from her brief skims and my bad listening, this was a confirmation of what we already knew. 

The following is a brief part of the conclusion to the study about selfie and young women. "This is the first study to show experimentally that selfie posting on social media is harmful in terms of young women’s mood and self-image. Being able to retouch or modify their photo did not result in women feeling better about themselves after posting a selfie to social media. Future research should look at the longer-term effects of posting photos of oneself on social media, which is an increasingly common aspect of contemporary media use."

Read the about the study here. Warning: this is not for the weary readers (aka it's long but you can skim it for the "good stuff").

Reflections on the Psalms

In preparation for our recent concert on the Psalms, I asked the members of the choir to write down which Psalm is their favorite and why. Their comments were so encouraging that I thought you all would like the opportunity to read some of them.  The choir as a whole was blessed in our preparation for the concert as we sang the words of Psalms 98, 121, 23, 130, 51and 84 over and over again each week. Familiarity brought warmth and life to the words as they increasingly became a part of us.  We encountered the joy of praising the Lord with His own words, the deep wells of lament, the brokenness of repentance, and we were renewed in our confidence in the Lord of Hosts, our Shepherd, our Refuge, our Helper and Keeper. Here are some thoughts on particular Psalms.  Which Psalm is your favorite?                                        

Psalm 1
Debbie Barnes

Psalm 1 has probably been my favorite psalm since college.  I have enjoyed singing it in church, over the years, as the familiar words are always new and refreshing to me. In the Psalm, the writer contrasts the righteous and the wicked.  He gives us two vivid examples to ponder.  I was reminded of these verses recently when we were in the country.  Standing in a field, I plucked a head of wheat to see what the seeds looked like. No sooner than I had it in my hand, the chaff started blowing in all directions.   Immediately, I thought of this verse – “But they (the wicked) are like chaff which the wind blows away”. (v.4)  Then, as I looked at the trees around me, I was reminded of this verse: “He (the righteous) will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” (V.3) In summary, “The way of the wicked will perish,” (v.6), “But blessed is the man whose delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” (v. 1&2) In Neil’s wedding band are inscribed in two words – Psalm One.

Psalm 51
Christy Walker

Psalm 51 has always been special to me.  Many of us know the story of David and Bathsheba and how God sent Nathan to bring David to repentance.  Well, I have my own “Nathan” in my life.  My sophomore year at MSU, I was going through some very difficult times, slipping into depression and wanting to control areas that I couldn’t control.  That spring, I sat down in my new history class and recognized a girl that had also been in my previous semester’s class.  One day this girl said, “I think you live by me.”  You may be thinking that this would be common on a university campus.  However, no one could see my apartment from the road.  You literally had to know that the apartment existed to say you knew where I lived.  What evolved from that statement was a friendship.  What came from that friendship was an invitation to RUF where I heard the Gospel for the first time.  I had “graced” the pews of a church my entire life (Free Will Baptist) but I didn’t know Christ.  I don’t know how long after I started attending RUF that I had the “infamous” Brian Habig (RUF campus minister) talk.  He had a gift for really getting to the heart of the issue.  I remember sitting in the middle of the university bakery with tears streaming down my face. There I realized that I didn’t need the world or society to define who I was or where my hope/freedom should be; only through Christ could I find true freedom and security.  This was the turning point in my life. Today, as I reflect, I am amazed to think about how our Sovereign God literally placed Amy in two of my classes at such a precise moment in my life, how I just “happened” to start renting an apartment from the Eshee family, and how Amy literally lived right around the corner from me. All these details are not by chance.  I also can’t help but be in awe that when so many in my family are unbelievers, God chose me!!!!  Amy is my “Nathan” and I pray that one day I may be someone else’s “Nathan.”

Psalm 88
Mary Hope Bryant

Psalm 88 is an unusual “favorite psalm” because it is kind of depressing, but that is why I love it. The speaker, though he is a believer, feels lonely, abandoned by his friends, guilty, overwhelmed, and even assaulted by God. He sees no light at the end of the tunnel, no hope to ease his suffering. In fact, the psalm ends by saying, “You (God) have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; darkness is my only companion.” He knows God is gracious, wonderful, wise, etc. He is aware of the fact that God is a source of comfort and mercy to the troubled. But his experience is the opposite. And yet - God could put that believer’s experience in Scripture because, despite what the speaker felt at that moment (however long that moment was), God had guaranteed hope for him in Jesus Christ. I am thankful for this honest, despairing believer’s song, because I have had periods in my life in which I was not cognizant of God’s grace and care, and in which I felt incapable of escaping my own sin. This psalm reassures me that those experiences do not change God’s great love for me or his salvation of my soul. Instead, in ways beyond my understanding, they are actually part of his gracious provision, and no amount of weakness on my part can change the fact that he loves me and has redeemed my soul for his eternal kingdom.

 Psalm 23
Jackie Shelt

Many entire books have been written about the beauty and truth of Psalm 23 so speaking about it in 2-3 minutes is like having a quarter of one of those little Sam's quiches and calling it an appetizer.  But here is a taste for you to meditate on and consider later.  Psalm 23 is my favorite Psalm not just because it is true, beautiful, and comforting.  It is all those things. But even more because in six short and beautifully crafted verses it encompasses the entire gospel and the entire Christian life.  It speaks of the shepherd meeting my deepest need:  soul restoration--which Christ purchased for me by walking through the Valley of the Shadow of death.  It speaks of the shepherd's work in my sanctification, leading me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of his great name and glory.  It speaks of the glorious ending--which is the real beginning--dwelling in the house of the Lord forever.  Consider too the position and presence of our good shepherd, Immanuel:  leading us in paths of righteousness, with us in the Valley of the Shadow, pursuing us with his goodness and mercy, and ultimately allowing us redeemed sinners to sit at his victorious banquet table in the presence of His and our enemies, declaring for all eternity:  "She's with me."   In my own wobbly and storm-tossed journey to the Celestial City, God has used these magnificent words which signify wonderful solid realities to lead, keep, pursue, strengthen, comfort, discipline, and rescue me.  

John Calvin on the Beauty and Advantages of the Psalms

We are beginning a new Sunday evening sermon series on some selected Psalms this coming Lord's Day. In my preparation this week for the introductory sermon, I read again John Calvin's preface to his commentary on the Psalms. I encourage you to read it for yourself, so that you might be spurred on to spend more time in God's hymnal:

The varied and resplendent riches which are contained in this treasure it is no easy matter to express in words; so much so, that I well know that whatever I shall be able to say will be far from approaching the excellence of the subject. But as it is better to give my readers some taste, however small, of the wonderful advantages they will derive from the study of this book, than to be entirely silent on the point, I may be permitted briefly to advert to a matter, the greatness of which does not admit of being fully unfolded.

I have been accustomed to call this book, I think not inappropriately, "An Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul;" for there is not an emotion of which any one can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror. Or rather, the Holy Spirit has here drawn to the life all the griefs, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, perplexities, in short, all the distracting emotions with which the minds of men are wont to be agitated. The other parts of Scripture contain the commandments which God enjoined his servants to announce to us. But here the prophets themselves, seeing they are exhibited to us as speaking to God, and laying open all their inmost thoughts and affections, call, or rather draw, each of us to the examination of himself in particular, in order that none of the many infirmities to which we are subject, and of the man vices with which we abound, may remain concealed. It is certainly a rare and singular advantage, when all lurking places are discovered, and the heart is brought into the light, purged from that most baneful infection, hypocrisy. In short, as calling upon God is one of the principal means of securing our safety, and as a better and more unerring rule for guiding us in this exercise cannot be found elsewhere than in the Psalms, it follows, that in proportion to the proficiency which a man shall have attained in understanding them, will be his knowledge of the most important part of celestial doctrine.

Genuine and earnest prayer proceeds first from a sense of our need, and next, from faith in the promises of God. It is by perusing these inspired compositions, that men will be most effectually awakened to a sense of their maladies, and, at the same time, instructed in seeking remedies for their cure. In a word, whatever may serve to encourage us when we are about to pray to God, is taught us in this book. And not only are the promises of God presented to us in it, but oftentimes there is exhibited to us one standing, as it were, amidst the invitations of God on the one hand, and the impediments of the flesh on the other, girding and preparing himself for prayer: thus teaching us, if at any time we are agitated with a variety of doubts, to resist and fight against them, until the soul, freed and disentangled from all these impediments, rise up to God; and not only so, but even when in the midst of doubts, fears, and apprehensions, let us put forth our efforts in prayer, until we experience some consolation which may calm and bring contentment to our minds. Although distrust may shut the gate against our prayers, yet we must not allow ourselves to give way, whenever our hearts waver or are agitated with inquietude, but must persevere until faith finally come forth victorious from these conflicts.

In many places we may perceive the exercise of the servants of God in prayer so fluctuating, that they are almost overwhelmed by the alternate hope of success and apprehension of failure, and gain the prize only by strenuous exertions. We see on the one hand, the flesh manifesting its infirmity; and on the other, faith putting forth its power; and if it is not so valiant and courageous as might be desired, it is at least prepared to fight until by degrees it acquire perfect strength. But as those things which serve to teach us the true method of praying aright will be found scattered through the whole of this Commentary, I will not now stop to treat of topics which it will be necessary afterwards to repeat, nor detain my readers from proceeding to the work itself. Only it appeared to me to be requisite to show in passing, that this book makes known to us this privilege, which is desirable above all others - that not only is there opened up to us familiar access to God, but also that we have permission and freedom granted us to lay open before him our infirmities, which we would be ashamed to confess before men.

Besides, there is also here prescribed to us an infallible rule for directing us with respect to the right manner of offering to God the sacrifice of praise, which he declares to be most precious in his sight, and of the sweetest odor. There is no other book in which there is to be found more express and magnificent commendations, both of the unparalleled liberality of God towards his Church, and of all his works; there is no other book in which there is recorded so many deliverances, nor one in which the evidences and experiences of the father providence and solicitude which God exercises towards us, are celebrated with such splendor of diction, and yet with the strictest adherence to truth; in short, there is no other book in which we are more perfectly taught the right manner of praising God, or in which we are more powerfully stirred up to the performance of this religious exercise.

Moreover, although the Psalms are replete with all the precepts which serve to frame our life to every part of holiness, piety, and righteousness, yet they will principally teach and train us to bear the cross; and the bearing of the cross is a genuine proof of our obedience, since by doing this, we renounce the guidance of our own affections, and submit ourselves entirely to God, leaving him to govern us, and to dispose of our life according to his will, so that the afflictions which are the bitterest and most severe to our nature, become sweet to us, because they proceed from him. In one word, not only will we here find general commendations of the goodness of God, which may teach men to repose themselves in him alone, and to seek all their happiness solely in him; and which are intended to teach true believers with their whole hearts confidently to look to him for help in all their necessities; but we will also find that the free remission of sins, which alone reconciles God towards us, and procures for us settled peace with him, is so set forth and magnified, as that here there is nothing wanting which relates to the knowledge of eternal salvation.

Edward Dering's Gospel Prayer

Edward Dering, an English Puritan who lived from 1540-1576, offered this prayer as a summary of the truth of the catechism he had written for the people of God during the days of Queen Elizabeth. It is rich in gospel experience, and keeps before our eyes those three most important realities: guilt, grace, and gratitude (or if you prefer your theology to start with the letter "R," ruin, redemption, and restoration). Use it as you prepare for worship on the Lord's Day!

O merciful and heavenly Father, since at every light occasion, I am withdrawn from your holy laws, to the vanities of this life, unto all sin and wickedness; I beseech you in mercy set before my eyes always the remembrance of your judgment seat, and my last end: whereby I may be daily stirred up to consider in what great danger I stand, through the horrible punishment due to my sins: that daily groaning under the burden of them, I may fly for succor to your beloved son Jesus Christ, who has fully paid, suffered & overcome the punishment due to them: and through the working of your holy Spirit in me, I may be fully assured in my soul and conscience, that the curse, condemnation, and death which these my sins deserve, is fully paid, suffered, and overcome in Christ, that his righteousness, obedience, and holiness is mine, and whatsoever he has wrought for man’s salvation is wholly mine.

Strengthen this faith in me daily more and more, that I may inwardly feel comfort and consolation in this, that I feel your holy Spirit bear record unto my spirit, that I am your child, grafted into the body of your Son, and made with him fellow heir of your everlasting kingdom. So work in me by your holy Spirit, that daily more and more I may feel sin die in me, that I do not delight therein, but daily may groan under the burden thereof, utterly hate, detest, and loath sin, set myself and all the powers of my soul and body against sin, and have my full delight, joy, comfort, and pleasure in those things which be agreeable to your will, that I may walk as becomes the Children of light, looking still for that good time, which it shall please you to call me to your everlasting kingdom, and joy eternal. This in mercy grant unto me for Jesus Christ’s sake, my only Lord and Savior, Amen.

The Rest of Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30)

In Matthew 11:28-30 we read these amazing words of Jesus: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." What a glorious invitation! Invitations to great events or from remarkable people are treasured - and in these words God's Son bids us to come to Him. It is an invitation to be with Him, to be loved as His treasured possession. Do we slow down long enough to hear and accept the invitation, and to go to Him?

Notice first to whom this invitation is given: to the weary, the burdened, the anxious, the troubled - "all who labor and are heavy laden." Which of us does not qualify? All who feel upon our hearts the load, the weight of our own selfishness, our own pride, our own grieving of God, are invited to come. All who feel the load of the world's suffering and grief, the anxiousness of unknown days to come, the weight of a long standing unabating sorrow, the weight of our longings for the not-yet of God's providences, are invited to come. We who know these things in the depths of our heart are bid by the Son of God to fall upon His breast.

See secondly the promise to obtain: rest. Jesus declares, "I will give you rest...you will find rest for your souls." What a priceless promise and gift laid out for us! It is an ark of refuge for the weary, like Noah's ark for the dove. The Lord Jesus is our ark, our refuge, our rest. He promises us the rest of a real, personal, intimate, divine friendship of redeeming affection. He promises to love us utterly and unalterably!

Observe thirdly the means of the promised rest: we must take Jesus' yoke upon ourselves and learn of Him. Every other yoke about your heart - the lesser loves we foolishly crave - will make you even more weary. But Christ's yoke of free grace restores, enlivens, and lifts up. He calls us to yield our souls to His character and righteousness. His yoke is always in our favor and for our good.

Finally, note the way in which Jesus woos us to Himself: "For I am gentle and lowly in heart." How slow we are to believe this about our Savior! He who is the Sovereign King, is also gentle and humble of heart. This is the only place in Scripture where the "heart" of Christ is actually mentioned - and it is a gentle and a lowly heart.

So the question is before you: are you coming to Jesus for rest? Take heart, weary believer! Whoever comes to Jesus, He will in no way cast you out (John 6:37)! Come to Him this day and find rest for your souls!

Dear POPC, May I Encourage You?

It has been two full years since my wife and I arrived in Jackson, Mississippi, after spending the previous academic year in the greater Boston area during my first year of seminary at Gordon-Conwell. We came to Pear Orchard not just because of a job but because of the reputation of the church community. We went through a little bit of a tough season in Boston and what we desired most was to find spiritual refreshment in the means of grace among a loving and welcoming congregation. After two years, we have realized that we have found that in Pear Orchard.

One of the aspects that tend to stand out in Christians who believe in a robust and Reformed, biblical doctrine of sin is that of conviction. We are skilled in the art of finding out what is wrong about us. Yes, there are many ways in which we do not realize the extent in which our hearts are deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9), but there is certainly a solid belief in the need to feel conviction. This often leads us to reflect critically and thoughtfully on how we do as a church. Are we welcoming to our visitors or are we stand-off-ish? Do we go out of our way to have deeper conversations with fringe attendees or do we stick to the typical, "How are you doing? I'm doing just fine; how about you?" type conversations?

I have heard many comments that sound like the following:

"We need to make sure we do _______ better."

"What we're really missing at POPC is _____."

"I think we are really slacking off in [insert this aspect of the church]."

While these are very helpful and needful reflections that we need to have as a congregation, we also need to remember to bring up that which we are doing well. It might be easier for me to do because of the fact that my wife and I are still relatively new to the Jackson-Ridgeland area. Although I surely consider this church "home", I also think I can still give helpful feedback as a newer member. There are plenty of times that Paul encourages his congregations as he writes to them. In his fantastic book, "The Heart is the Target," Murray Capill writes about the importance of encouraging people in our sermons and not merely exhorting, teaching, and convicting them. After commenting that "the greatest aid to progress is genuine encouragement," Capill says:

"If we take our lead from Paul, then, we will at times tell our congregation how much we love them and how we miss them when we are away; we will tell them of how encouraged we are by their gospel work and how thankful we are for their ministry; we will tell them about what we pray for them; we will tell them of ways in which we see them as wonderful examples to others; we will publicly praise God for them and for his work of grace among them."

So please, let me encourage you.

The moment that we stepped into the doors of POPC, the pastoral staff and congregation have bestowed upon us the type of hospitality that only grace-filled believers could exhibit. You did not know us or our families. We did not go to Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Mississippi College, or [insert you college here] with any of you but you took us in as if we were closer than friends, as if we were family in Christ. We are not from Jackson or Mississippi but you welcomed us as citizens of a greater land. We came in as total strangers seeking refuge in Christ with a like-minded community.

We have been blown away at the frequent invitations from you for meals, Bible studies, and community. There have been gifts to help us move into Jackson and get settled in. There have been texts, calls, and emails that have encouraged us. There have been jokes, hugs, and prayers for us when we needed them. One would think that maybe this was merely a temporary welcome to us POPC and to the Jackson area, but we would find out over time that this was not the case. 

It seems to be that there is real fruit of the Spirit here at POPC. Genuine fruit is tested whenever visitors become members and regulars. Ever since we have become members and regulars, there has been no shortage in the amount of outreach that you have extended to us. There has been no "They have had enough of our love" attitude among you. Rather than your love having a big, bright, but short flame, your love to us has only steadily grown towards us. We do not feel like we have been kept at arms length but rather have been brought in as a father brings us his newborn child. 

Dear Pear Orchard, we have seen your love, your grace, your fervor, and your desire to grow. We have witnessed your zeal to welcome visitors. We have noticed your urgency to reflect the kingdom of heaven in its diversity. We hope you see them as well.

As an athlete who has been through two surgeries to repair bones and ligaments, it is often very difficult to see your own progression. Often times, it is the physical therapists and the surgeons who notice it in more detail as they examine you. I hope this is a helpful and encouraging perspective for you.

Do not lose your zeal. Do not fail to extend bread to the hungry. Do not give up on the wayward. Do not desert your prayer closets. Do not close your Bibles. Keep going. You are bearing fruit whether you realize it or not. Grace and I are not the only ones who notice your fruit. Often times when I am at the seminary, on youth retreats, or at conferences, we are not the only ones who brag about you but rather your reputation has extended further than we go and the people we meet praise God because of you. So please, keep standing out as Christians - people who love others in the name of Jesus. 

Coming to Jackson has been fresh balm to our souls. It has been cold water after a hot season. We have both been strengthened in the call to ministry and certainly the call to minister at POPC. Love begets love and that has certainly been the case here. Today is an age where we shy away from others when things get messy. We live as if others' mess is red paint and we only wear white shirts. You have witnessed our mess and have embraced us in response. We have been counseled, fed, taught, mentored, helped, supported, prayed for, and taken in. 

We are blessed to minister the gospel to you and be ministered to by you. Hebrews 10:24-25 says, "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Let us keep this as our motto. Let it be a banner for us in the days to come. 

Dear Pear Orchard, please be encouraged that the Holy Spirit is at work in you.

The Christian and the Tithe

This past Sunday evening we studied Malachi 3:7-12, the passage in which God through His prophet rebukes His people for their failure to give to Him tithes and offerings. It is perhaps hard to see what these words from the mid-400s B.C. have to do with how we spend our money today, so I want to reflect on and apply this passage to Christians living in the 21st century. First, the text:

From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, 'How shall we return?' Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts.

Malachi calls God's people to repent in regard to their breaking the 8th commandment - but notice that he accuses them of stealing, not from man, but from God Himself, by bringing less than the full tithe into the temple storehouse. There is much in these verses, but several things stand out:

1. The tithe belongs to the Lord, and withholding it from Him is robbing Him. A tithe is a tenth part of our income. For the Israelites, an agricultural people, this meant that they tithed seed, fruit, wine, oil, vegetables, oxen, cows, sheep (they would just line them up and count them, and every tenth one would be the Lord’s, no matter if it was the best or the worst – Lev. 27:30ff.; see Jer. 33:13). Today, as our economy has changed, we tithe money, not goods or produce. But why did God command the tithe? He did it to remind His people that all of our wealth comes from Him and is given to us as a stewardship – just as He sets one day in seven apart to remind us that all our time is His. The tithe and the Sabbath day are His in a special way, they are set apart/holy to Him. Israel was called to repent of robbing God and keeping for themselves what was rightfully His.

2. The tithe was for the provision of the work and worship of God, “so that there might be food in God’s house.” In Numbers 18, God commands that the tithe is to go to the Levites, and they in turn would tithe the tithe to the priests. The Levites had no inheritance in the Promised Land, so the rest of the people were to provide for them. God had the people of God provide for those who led the people in worship and taught them, so that the priests and Levites could devote themselves to God’s work without distraction (see Nehemiah 13:10ff.!). Israel was called to repent of keeping from the work and worship of God what was necessary for its maintenance – and the existence of a “storehouse” (a savings account) was not to stop them from making their tithes and contributions.

3. Even in the Old Covenant, the tithe was just the beginning. Israel was expected to bring tithes and contributions. A "contribution" or "offering" was a general term ranging in meaning from the tithe itself (Num. 18:24) to the part of the tithe set apart for the priest (Num. 18:26) to the offering for the priest's consecration (Exo. 25:2), to offerings for the building of the tabernacle (Exo. 25:2). It was sometimes a commanded offering, and sometimes a voluntary contribution to the Lord. So even in the days of Moses, the tithe was only a starting point for giving to the Lord. And if that was the case in the Old Covenant, how much more under the New Covenant!

It’s sometimes said that the tithe was merely a part of the Mosaic ceremonial law, no longer binding on believers after the coming of Jesus, in the New Covenant. But the first instance we see of tithing in the Bible is Abraham, who gave to Melchizedek, a priest of God Most High (Gen. 14:18-20). The OT also records Jacob as saying that he would give a tenth to God (Gen. 28:22). From the beginning of God’s people, giving a tenth to God has been a part of worship.

So often, people go to the NT and say, “See, it doesn’t say anything about tithing there.” I disagree: There are two passages that I believe clearly carry the tithe commandment into the new covenant: Matt. 23:23, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” And I Cor. 9:13-14, in which Paul argues for paying pastors on the basis of the OT principle that the tithe should provide for the needs of those teach and labor for the Lord as a vocation. Now, someone may raise the objection, "But doesn’t Paul say in II Cor. 8:8, 'I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also.'? And doesn’t he say in II Corinthains 9:7, 'Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.'?" Yes, but II Corinthians 8-9 refer to a voluntary collection that he was making for the poor saints in Jerusalem; it’s an offering over and above the tithe given for the sustenance of the ministry in Corinth, as opposed to the obligatory tithe.

The reason you don’t see a lot about the tithe in the NT is because in large part the NT presupposed the tithe. And it urges Christians to be even more generous than the tithe, and even more generous than the saints in the Old Covenant. When I hear people ask, “Is the standard of giving in the NT still the tithe?” (isn’t it interesting that those who ask this are almost never looking for an excuse to give more than the tithe), my answer is, “Of course! And even in the OT they gave more than the tithe!” But my answer is also, “Of course not! Our standard is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ!” II Cor. 9:8 tells us that the Xn’s motivation and model for giving is the sacrifice of Jesus – “you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” Does it make any sense to think that the standard of giving after Jesus’ death would decrease from what it was before His death?

What we see in the New Testament is that the better we understand the gospel, the more generous we shall be – like Jesus, we will become poor that others may become rich. God doesn’t merely want your tithe – that’s the minimum for us like it was for OT saints – He wants your heart, your generosity and sacrifice. If you aren’t tithing, you are robbing God. God’s word to you is clear: repent! Return, humbly confessing your sin and asking God to change your heart and your financial habits. And see that repentance must start with at least a tithe.

R.C. Sproul tells of a denominational stewardship program that prompted "the crisis that awakened him from his dogmatic slumbers." The program was based on the theme, "Take a Step Toward Tithing." The idea was simple: if a person was currently giving 1% of their income they were urged to increase it to 2%, and so on down the line. Sproul said to my ministerial comrades, "I can't implement this program." Some said, "Why not? It sounds like a practical way to get people to move in the right direction in a less than severely painful way." He objected on the grounds that the program contained two serious errors: 1) it made tithing an ideal that only super-committed Christians ever reach, a zenith point of sacrificial giving; 2) it gave the tacit blessing of the church to people robbing God. It was like saying "Last year you robbed God of 9% of what you owe Him. This year please rob the Deity of merely 8%."

God expects His people to continue to tithe in the New Covenant. But we must never forget that it is possible to tithe and still be robbing God. Consider: the Pharisees tithed too – but they were unconverted, and didn’t care about the poor and needy. Their giving was all external formalism and hypocrisy; they didn’t give God their heart. You can tithe and not be converted. In addition, for some of His people, 10% isn’t much of a sacrifice. You don’t really start to feel the pinch. The question to ask is, What percentage of my income is a sacrifice? Give that. Saying to God, “Okay, here’s my 10 percent, and not a penny more” is not an acceptable offering. So repentance will be costly. Some Christians will have to sacrifice just to get to the minimum that God requires of His people. There will have to be a change in our standard of living. For increasing our giving may well mean decreasing spending somewhere else. Yet God is faithful and will work in us to will and to do according to His good pleasure; as Paul writes in II Corinthians 9:8, 11, “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having a sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed…[Y]ou will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.”

I haven't answered every question about tithing, or even about Malachi 3:7-12. Yet I pray that what I have written will spur you on to love and good deeds. May the Lord enable us to give generously, sacrificially, and obediently!

Some reasons why Christians struggle to talk about Jesus

In a recent Barna survey, adults in the US were asked why they don't more often about their faith. Here's a summary of what they found:

People who don’t talk very often about faith offer different reasons, but most of these fall into two broad categories: avoidance and ambivalence. For instance, the two avoidant responses (among the top four) given for not engaging in conversations are: “Religious conversations always seem to create tension or arguments” (28%) and “I’m put off by how religion has been politicized” (17%). The other two responses indicate ambivalence: “I’m not religious and don’t care about these kinds of topics” (23%) and “I don’t feel like I know enough to talk about religious or spiritual topics” (17%). Here’s the full list of options:

• Religious conversations always seem to create tension or arguments: 28%
• I’m not religious and don’t care about these kinds of topics: 23%
• I’m put off by how religion has been politicized: 17%
• I don’t feel like I know enough to talk about religious or spiritual topics: 17%
• I don’t want to be known as a religious person: 7%
• I don’t know how to talk about religious or spiritual topics without sounding weird: 6%
• I’m afraid people will see me as a fanatic or extremist: 5%
• I’m embarrassed by the way religious language has been used in popular culture: 5%
• I’ve been hurt by religious conversations in the past: 4%
• Religious language and jargon feels cheesy or outdated: 4%

This survey interviewed people of both religious (and irreligious) backgrounds, so the answers are reflective even of the opinions of Christians. What about you? Are you ambivalent about sharing the gospel of Jesus and talking about your faith in Him? Are do you seek to avoid it because of what it has led to in the past or might lead to in the future? In I Peter 3:15, Christ calls us to set Him apart as Lord in our hearts (this eradicates ambivalence reasons), and to be ready at all times to give an answer for the hope that is in us, with gentleness and respect (this knocks the legs out from under avoidance reasons). We must be bold and tender, direct and wise, initiating and responsive. Pray the Lord would give you open doors and an open mouth to speak about your love for the one who loved you and gave Himself up for you on the cross!

The Significance of the Burial of Jesus

This past Sunday I preached from John 19:38-20:18, on the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I want to comment on something I didn't speak to in my sermon: why is the burial of Jesus important to the Christian faith? Indeed, Paul declared that "He was buried" is one of the matters "of first importance" that he received and delivered to the Corinthian church (I Corinthians 15:3-4).

First, the burial of Jesus ensures that the resurrection of Jesus was just that: a resurrection from the dead. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus prepared Jesus' body for burial, and buried Him in a new tomb, in which no other body had yet been laid (John 19:38-42). These men could testify that there was no life in the body they buried. He had not "swooned," lost consciousness, or fainted. He had truly died. Therefore, if in three days He were alive, the burial proved that He had risen from death to new life.

Second, the burial of Jesus was itself an aspect of His humiliation. The Westminster Larger Catechism #50 reminds us, "Christ's humiliation after his death consisted in his being buried, and continuing in the state of the dead, and under the power of death till the third day; which hath been otherwise expressed in these words, He descended into hell." Jesus did not die and then immediately come back to life. His suffering and humiliation descended to the point of remaining under the power of death from Friday through Sunday. As the Westminster divines point out, one aspect of the meaning of the statement "He descended into hell" is clearly the separation of His body and soul in death. As Herman Bavinck puts it, "The state of death in which Christ entered when he died was as essentially a part of his humiliation as his spiritual suffering on the cross. In both together he completed his perfect obedience" (Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 3, p. 417). Though Psalm 16:10/Acts 2:24-27, 31 assure us that Jesus did not see corruption, and His soul was not abandoned to Hades/Sheol (the state of death), yet it is great comfort to know that Jesus has experienced the whole measure of human suffering, even tasting the grave for a season - He fully bore the wages of sin.

Third, the burial of Jesus fulfilled Scripture, and the words of Jesus Himself. Isaiah 53:9 declares that the grave of the Suffering Servant would be "with a rich man in his death" - fulfilled in the person of Joseph of Arimathea. Jesus taught that His death, burial and resurrection was foreshadowed by the experience of Jonah in the belly of the great fish: "Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Had Jesus not been buried, He would have been proved wrong, or worse, a liar. But He was indeed in the heart of the earth; Scriptural typology, and Jesus' prophecy, were fulfilled.

To deny or ignore the burial of Jesus is certainly to deny or ignore a truth "of first importance" for Christians.

Tim Keller's Recent Witness Before the British Authorities

Tim Keller recently spoke at the Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast in the Houses of Parliament in London, and in the words of one reviewer, he "provided a masterclass in gracious apologetics." If you want to see how to speak of Christ to a secular culture, watch this 25-minute video. Keller discusses the beneficial role of Christianity as salt in a non-Christian culture, challenging secularism to consider the contradictions within its worldview, and challenging Christians to be the saints God has called us to be so that we might serve the world around us and woo them to our Lord and Savior. Very much worth your time.

J. C. Ryle on the Solemnity of Funerals and the Goodness of the Body

"It is not for nothing that we are told so particularly about the burial of Christ. The true Christian need never be ashamed of regarding a funeral with peculiar reverence and solemnity. It is the body, which may be the instrument of committing the greatest sins, or of bringing the greatest glory to God. It is the body, which the eternal Son of God honored by dwelling in it for thirty and three years, and finally dying in our stead. It is the body, with which He rose again and ascended up into heaven. It is the body, in which He sits at the right hand of God, and represents us before the Father, as our Advocate and Priest. It is the body, which is now the temple of the Holy Ghost, while the believer lives. It is the body, which will rise again, when the last trumpet sounds, and, reunited to the soul, will live in heaven to all eternity. Surely, in the face of such facts as these, we never need suppose that reverence bestowed on the burial of the body is reverence thrown away."

-- J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of John, p. 337

A CHARGE TO THE PEOPLE

By Dr. Thomas Smyth, at the Installation of James Henley Thornwell & Francis P. Mullally in 1860

The very first thing I would impress upon you is, that in this eventful scene you are not spectators merely, but participants — not merely eye-witnesses to an interesting pageant, but partners to a solemn compact. The relations and responsibilities now constituted are mutual, and cannot be separated. Have these Brethren now become your pastors? — you have become their people. Are they under obligation to preach, to reprove, to rebuke, to make known God's will and your duty? — you are bound to hear, to obey, and to perform. Are they, in conscious impotence, to undertake a work

Which well might fill an angel’s heart,
And filled a Saviour's hands? —

they are to be strengthened with all might, obtained through your prayers on their behalf. Are they to give themselves wholly to the things which pertain to your spiritual welfare? — you are to provide all things needful for their temporal comforts; to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake; to count them worthy of an adequate and honorable maintenance; and to consider it a small thing to impart freely of your carnal things in return for their spiritual gifts.

You perceive, therefore, Brethren, that the solemnities of this occasion involve you not less than those who are set over you in the Lord. For weal or for woe you are now joined together. The relations and the responsibilities are mutual. You must be helpers or hinderers of each other’s prosperity and progress. Like priest like people, is not more true than like people like priest. It is in the power of any people to paralyze or to put life and energy into their pastor, and to make him not only a lovely song and as one that playeth well on an instrument, but the power of God and the wisdom of God, to the salvation of souls. And for all that they might do and ought to do, they must give account when they shall stand confronted at the bar of Him who judgeth righteous judgment.

May you so live and labour together as that this account shall be given with joy, and not with grief. Yours, I have said, is a model pulpit. May you be a model people. Model preaching will demand model practice, model piety, liberality and zealous devotion to every good cause. I congratulate you. Brethren, upon the present occasion and your future prospects. I rejoice with you in your joy. I remember your kindness to my youth, and your appreciation of my early ministrations, when you so cordially invited me to live and labour among you. Allow me, with all my heart, to pray that peace may be within your walls, and prosperity within your borders. May you go forward prospering and to prosper — a city set on a hill, a burning and a shining light, provoking all around you to love and liberality. May strength go out of this Zion, and may you arise and shine the glory of the Lord having arisen upon you.

This occasion must now close, but we who are now assembled must meet in review all the issues of this rehearsal. Oh, my friends, realize and lay to heart that hastening hour. Pray, oh, pray earnestly, that when pastors and people shall meet face to face, at that awful tribunal, instead of mutual upbraidings and reproaches — you accusing them of unfaithfulness or negligence, and they accusing you of coldness, formality, and refusal to come up to the help of the Lord against the mighty — you may be able to congratulate each other; you blessing God for them as helpers of your faith, and they presenting you to God as their joy and crown of rejoicing.

YES, PLEASE SPOIL THE MOVIE FOR ME!

Alex Wright

Have you ever had a friend come up to you, and begin telling you about a movie you are excited to see soon? What do we usually say? “Don’t spoil it for me!” Usually, we don’t want movie “spoilers.” A “spoiler” occurs when a friend tells us how a certain movie will end, much to our chagrin. However, there is one “spoiler” we should all be thankful for.

If you don’t want to know how the Christian life ends, I’m sorry to tell you that it’s too late, for “He is risen!” The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate spoiler, because it tells us the end of the story, the story of all existence. More than that, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is, in many ways, the end of the story itself. Acts 2 tells us that these are the “latter days.” There is no more revelation from God, because all that God desired to do to redeem the universe has been completed in the life, death, and resurrection of his Son.

“But wait!” you may say. “We are still dying, wars are still fought, the environment is still deteriorating, sadness and fear are still present. How has the universe been redeemed?” This brings us to what theologians call the “already and not-yet” model for understanding the “latter days.”

Already Christ has been raised from the dead, the “firstfruits” of those who have fallen asleep – but our own bodily resurrection is not yet.

Already the forces of Satan have been dealt the death blow – but his influence has not yet been overthrown.

Already our redemption has been accomplished – but we do not yet see its application thoroughly “worked through” the “dough” of creation. Geerhardus Vos was indeed right, when he says that we live in a world of “semi-futurities” (Vos, 43).

Because Christ has been raised from the dead, the end is already here, the Spirit has been poured out, and life everlasting is ours. The end is here, even if it isn’t here all the way. Because the end has arrived, this changes everything about our present lives. All of your life, every battle against sin, every deed of mercy, every relationship is meant by God to prepare you for life in his New Creation. This is why Paul will often pray that God would sanctify believers completely, body and soul (1 Thessalonians 5:23). We are not sanctified ultimately for this present existence; we are being “fitted” for life in the New World! This is also why Paul will say that if there is no resurrection, we are of all people most to be pitied (1 Cor. 15:19). Why? Because if there is no resurrection, then life lived in this body is in vain, for God has always intended us to live on this earth, in this body, to give him glory. Without a physical resurrection, we are not able to glorify God as he intends!

How does the resurrection change the way we live our lives now? Let me briefly give you two ways:

1) The resurrection teaches us to value life in this material world.

This world is indeed fallen, but it will not always be fallen. Remember what Paul says in Romans 8, how creation longs to be free of its bondage. Derek Thomas in his recently-published book, Heaven on Earth, reminds us that in its final form, heaven will be like this earth, only “renewed and more glorious!” (70). The New Creation will be like this earth, only freed from sin, and more glorious than we can imagine. Every good endeavor mankind pursues, the “glory of the nations” as Revelation calls it (Rev. 21:26) will be carried over into the New Creation, once Christ returns. When the earth is burned up, it will be a fire of purification, not of annihilation (2 Peter 3:10).

This changes how we view our work. If work is basically good, and God is glorified in it, then work is continued in the New Creation. Your current job is training you to work perfectly to God’s glory in the New World. This changes how we treat our bodies, and the bodies of others. If we are meant to live in bodies, even when Christ returns, how much more are we to treat our bodies well! Paul tells us that our bodies are united to Christ, even now (1 Corinthians 6). If our bodies will continue in the New Creation, this means that our neighbors’ bodies will as well. We therefore seek to preserve physical life as much as we can, because men and women are not just souls.

The implications could continue, but I encourage you to think of your own position.

2) The resurrection teaches us to hope

Second, the resurrection teaches us to persevere in hope while we suffer. This world will be redeemed, but the not yet of the latter days has not arrived. Sin is still present, our bodies still decay, and this “veil of tears” remains before our eyes. We groan, as cancer eats away at us, as our minds grow weak and memories fade. In the midst of all our suffering and sadness, we remember to hope. We hope because we know that we don’t suffer anything that a good resurrection can’t fix! One day, disease will be a memory. Loss of friends and family will be to us a shadow of the past, that fades instantly under the brightness of God’s glory.

In light of this, be encouraged, your labor in this life is not in vain! We are not “polishing brass on the Titanic.” This world is not going anywhere, even if the evil in it will be burned away like dross. The end has been “spoiled” for us, and we are all the more thankful for it.

I leave you with a quote from Martin Luther, that teaches us to keep near the finality of Jesus’ work: “Live as if Christ died yesterday, rose this morning, and is coming back tomorrow.”

ON WELCOMING A NEW PREACHER OF GOD’S WORD

Caleb Cangelosi

In the next few weeks we will welcome Mr. Dean Williams to our pastoral staff at Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church. We have been praying for this day to come for years, and it is finally upon us! But how do we welcome him and his family well? Certainly there are physical, tangible acts of kindness and hospitality toward them in which we can participate, and I encourage you to see the bulletin announcement for more details. But I want to point out a less visible way that you can welcome Dean as your pastor and as a preacher of God’s word: by receiving the word of truth from his mouth in a proper manner.

Our Westminster Larger Catechism speaks beautifully to this point. Having asked and answered the question of how the Word of God is to be preached by those who are called thereunto (WLC #159), our fathers in the faith ask the logical next question: What is required of those that hear the Word preached? They answer: “It is required of those that hear the Word preached, that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation, and prayer; examine what they hear by the Scriptures; receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the Word of God; meditate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.” As you do these things each  time Pastor Dean walks into the pulpit or behind a podium, you will be giving him the very best welcome he could ask for.

Receive Pastor Dean’s teaching and preaching with diligence. In Proverbs 8:34 personified Wisdom declares, “Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.” Preaching is the wisdom of God, and it conveys the wisdom of God – thus we are called to listen with eager anticipation to the words Pastor Dean proclaims, watching and waiting for the life-giving rain that will drop from his lips (cf. Deuteronomy 32:2). Attend diligently upon the corporate worship services of the church on the Lord’s Day, morning and evening. That is, make every effort to make it your unbreakable habit to sit under the preaching of the word each Sunday. Likewise, when present, strive to listen diligently. It is not easy to sustain prolonged attention to a 30-35 minute monologue, especially in our short-attention span culture. Your mind wanders to some difficult circumstance at home or work, children interrupt and distract, and Satan labors to keep the word from penetrating our minds and affections. We must therefore be diligent to focus, to engage, to interact internally with what we hear. For many, taking notes serves this purpose. For others, doodling does the trick. Whatever works for you, figure it out, and do it! Attend upon the preaching of the word with careful and persistent effort.

Accompany your diligence with preparation and prayer. Jesus calls us to “take care how [we] hear” (Luke 18:8), and one application of that command is forethought before listening to a sermon. This does not merely mean seeking to put aside temporal concerns so that you can pay attention without distraction; there is also a moral component to our preparation. Before Peter tells us to “long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it [we] may grow up into salvation,” he commands us to “put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander” (I Peter 2:1-2). We are to sit under Pastor Dean’s teaching, having repented of the sin we find in our hearts, and ready to respond to the word we hear with further repentance, embrace of hard truths, and new zealous obedience. Our preparation must also include prayer: prayer for yourself as a hearer, and prayer for Pastor Dean as a preacher. As those who are recovering from spiritual blindness, we constantly need to pray, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18). Pray for Pastor Dean, “that words may be given to [him] in opening [his] mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19). As you read the Scriptures, be on the lookout for verses to pray as you prepare to hear God’s word preached.

As you listen to the preaching of the word, you must “examine what [you] hear by the Scriptures.” There is certainly an unbiblical way to be critical of a sermon – nitpicking style, mannerisms, turns of phrases, length, lack of illustrations you like, etc. – but there is also a biblical way to be critical. The Westminster divines were, of course, alluding to the Bereans in Acts 17:11, who received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if the things they heard the apostle Paul preach were true. All God’s people are to be Bereans. Just because pastors have been to seminary and have been called by God to preach does not mean that everything we say is infallible. The people of God have a responsibility to compare Scripture with Scripture, to take everything Pastor Dean says back to the Scriptures, to ensure it is faithful and true. If so, then it must be accepted as God’s truth; if not, then it must be rejected.

To welcome Pastor Dean well, I also encourage you to “receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the Word of God.” If the word is not received with faith, it will not profit you to hear it preached (Hebrews 4:2). If you do not love the truth, you cannot be saved (II Thessalonians 2:10). James calls on us to “put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). The eagerness and readiness of mind that marked the Bereans must mark our hearing of the word as well – ready to receive the truth, ready to study the truth by the Scriptures, and ready to believe and live in light of what we have found to be in line with God’s word. For when the word of God is proclaimed, it is to be received as the very word of God, not merely the word of some particular man (I Thessalonians 2:13).

Finally, to welcome Pastor Dean well, you must hear his preaching and teaching, and “meditate, and confer of it; hide it in [your] hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in [our] lives.” These words remind us that there is both an individual and corporate duty that we have after we have heard the word preached. Individually, we are to meditate upon what we have heard, hiding it in our hearts so that we might not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11). We are to let God’s word “sink into our ears” (Luke 9:44), giving earnest heed and paying close attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it (Hebrews 2:1). One way to do this is to repeat to yourself the sermon outline during the day on Sunday and aim to remember at least one key application from each point. It helps, however, if you don’t only try to do this alone, but with other people. We must confer of it – that is, discuss it with other people. We see the disciples doing this on the road to Emmaus, and Jesus doing it with them (Luke 24:14), and God commands parents to do this with their children (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). In both of these duties, the individual and the corporate, our goal is to bear much by the Spirit’s power. This is the mark of the good soil (Luke 8:15), that we “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8).

I know that Pastor Dean and his family are excited about getting here, and we likewise are eager for him to arrive. I trust you will welcome him with true Mississippi hospitality, in love and generosity. But more importantly, will you receive the words from his lips in the manner our fathers in the faith have described, according to the Scriptures?

MONEY CAN BUY YOU HAPPINESS

Contrary to popular opinion, fun has a price tag attached to it. Sometimes it’s fun to go get a milkshake for under $5. Maybe there’s a movie you’ve been wanting to watch; when it’s finally released, you get a group of friends to go watch it for just $10. Money buys happiness in these scenarios, and it’s pretty cheap.

Perhaps you’ve saved up some money, and you take a road trip with some friends to go see an awesome concert. It’s a memory that will last a lifetime and the tickets, gasoline, and hotel end up costing each individual just $500. This fun is a little pricier, but you still purchased it with money.

For my tenth anniversary, my wife and I traveled Northern California. We saved up for years, and we were able to get some airline miles and deals on hotels, but the price tag at the end of the trip didn’t matter. To this day, it was one of the best trips I’ve ever been on. It created countless memories that drew me closer to my wife. It was an adventure, to say the least, and money made it a possibility.

Is travel your idea of fun? Whether it’s Hawaii or Scotland, money will get you there. Are you into entertainment? Whether it’s a movie night at home or traveling to a Hollywood premier, it’s going to take some cash. Maybe you follow an NFL team and want to go cheer them on; you better have something in the bank account.

What’s the Deal?

Why have so many people perpetuated the saying, Money can’t buy happiness, when I have clearly demonstrated otherwise? Money can buy happiness…lots and lots of happiness. Whether it’s an experience with friends and family or viewing beautiful sights around the world, money is the common denominator required.

It’s easy to see that ultimately other humans make these events what they are. While it certainly would be unique to have a private concert in your living room, sharing a concert with others makes it beautiful (not to mention the fact that a private concert still includes members of the band so you’d be sharing it with them). It would be amazing to travel the world, but I think it would be a little less amazing to do that alone.

As I said, I absolutely loved traveling Northern California, but it would have been a sad trip to be there without my wife. In fact, having her there made the trip as special as it was. Being moved to tears by a family of deer crossing in front of the backdrop of Yosemite was a taste of heaven. But viewing all of that while holding my wife’s hand makes it a memory etched on my heart forever.

Money can buy happiness to an extent, but sharing it with others puts the exclamation points on those experiences.

God Has Expensive Taste

Here’s what Christians know to be true – God made all things. And since God made all things, his fingerprints are on every square inch of creation. Often theologians refer to this as common grace in creation. That is, what is true, beautiful, and good can be enjoyed by the atheist and the Christian. Believers are moved by breathtaking landscapes just as unbelievers are.

What’s interesting about price-tags is that humans determine those. Delta Airlines sets the price of a ticket to Australia. U2’s agent establishes a price for their concerts. The NFL, NBA, & MLB set the price for fans to attend the games.

Buying a milkshake is definitely cheaper than flying across the globe, but they’re both fun. The price we attach to each one is ultimately pointing to the Creator. God has placed value upon creation with his fingerprints, and the monetary value we attach to it affirms that reality.

Maybe a different example will help. Running a stop sign and murder are both illegal. Murder, however, has a greater punishment attached to it. The reason for this is because humans are created in the image of God. Humanity realizes this truth, and the greater punishment affirms the value God places on humans as his image bearers.

Similarly, more expensive experiences typically affirm the greater beauty. Regardless of the price-tag, attaching monetary value to anything is one way of affirming what is true, beautiful, and good.

Maybe we could say that money does indeed buy happiness, but God created all that exists, even the emotion of happiness. Therefore, we shouldn’t worship money – just like we shouldn’t worship any of the created experiences we mentioned – we should worship the One who created all that has been, all that is, and all that will be.

THE GREAT PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH – THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN MISSIONS TO THE FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE SOUTHERN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (1861)

We are deeply impressed with a sense of the obligation laid upon the church by her great Head to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,” and the consequent claims which the various Pagan, Mohommedan [Muslim], Jewish and Papal nations of the earth have upon the church for the blessings of a pure gospel; feeling too that one of the great ends of the institution of the church was that she might in her collective organized strength, impart the knowledge of salvation to all the kindreds and peoples and tongues among men, and that so far as it has been revealed to men that there can be no salvation for the heathen without such knowledge; remembering also the many tokens of divine favor bestowed upon the efforts of Southern Christians while laboring in connection with the Presbyterian Church of the United States, and that an important portion of that work in the Providence of God had been laid upon their shoulders even before they had a distinct ecclesiastical organization of their own; and in view of the further fact that God by his providence has for some years been removing the obstacles that have heretofore prevented the introduction of the gospel among the great heathen nations of the earth, and has at the same time bestowed upon the Southern Church all the means and agents necessary for taking a large and distinguished share in the great work of evangelizing the nations…

The General Assembly desires distinctly and deliberately to inscribe on our church’s banner as she now first unfurls it to the world, in immediate connection with the Headship of her Lord, His last command: “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature;” regarding this as the great end of her organization, and obedience to it as the indispensable condition of her Lord’s promised presence, and as one great comprehensive object a proper conception of whose vast magnitude and grandeur is the only thing which in connection with the love of Christ can ever sufficiently arouse her energies and develop her resources, so as to cause her to carry on with the vigor and efficiency which true fealty to her Lord demands, whose other agencies necessary to her internal growth and home prosperity. The claims of this cause ought therefore to be kept constantly before the minds of our people and pressed upon their consciences – and every minister owes it to his people and to a perishing world to give such instruction on this subject as he is able; and to this end the monthly concert [of prayer] ought to be devoutly observed by every church on the first Sabbath of each month for the purpose of missionary instruction as well as prayer, and it would be well to accompany their prayers with their offerings. To the same end the Assembly earnest enjoins upon all our ministers and ruling elders and deacons and Sabbath school teachers, and especially upon parents, particular attention to our precious youth in training them to feel a deep interest in this work, and not only to form habits of systematic benevolence, but to feel and respond to the claims of Jesus upon them for personal service in the field. 

HOW TO PRAY FOR YOUR MISSIONARIES

1. Pray for Open Doors – “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word…” (Colossians 4:2-3)

• Pray that God will open doors of ministry, blessing partnerships and friendship
• Pray that those who serve will be led by the Holy Spirit and recognize open-door opportunities
• Pray that God will lead His people past barriers to hearts ready to receive His word

2. Pray for Boldness in Witness – “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…” (Ephesians 6:19)

• Pray that missionaries will have boldness to overcome the fear of embarrassment or failure
• Pray that the Spirit will provide them with words that communicate effectively in other cultures and languages
• Pray against evil forces that would seek to hinder the spread of the gospel

3. Pray that God’s Word Will Spread – “Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified…” (II Thessalonians 3:1)

• Pray for strength and stamina as missionaries encounter antagonistic spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:10-18)
• Pray that people will resist Satan’s plans to obstruct the spread of the gospel (James 4:7)
• Pray that God’s word will indeed spread rapidly and be honored where it goes

4. Pray for Protection – “…and pray that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.” (II Thessalonians 3:2)

• Pray that God will keep Christian workers safe from those who seek to hurt them
• Pray that God will change the hearts of those who are resistant to His Word

5. Pray for Their Ministry – “Pray…that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints…” (Romans 15:31)

• Pray that the missionary’s ministry and attitude will be worthy of acceptance
• Pray that colleagues and fellow believers will be supportive

6. Pray for God’s Guidance – “Pray…so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God…” (Romans 15:32)

• Pray for clear guidance from God regarding travel decisions
• Pray for necessary permissions to travel
• Pray for protection and provision during their travels

7. Pray for Refreshment – “Pray that I may… find refreshing rest in your company.” (Romans 15:32)

• Pray that God will provide opportunities for missionaries in lonely areas to spend time with other believers
• Pray that God will provide times of peace and relaxation to refresh His workers
• Pray that God will encourage missionaries with the knowledge that people back home care about their emotional well-being