You Can Change

Our Fellowship Group (small group) leaders have been going through Tim Chester's "You Can Change" over the last several months. It has been extremely fruitful. Change is the agenda of our groups. The goal of our groups is not to just have weekly bible study or mere confession time. The goal is to change together by the radical grace of God. The book is highly theological, dripping with Scripture, yet highly practical, as Chester, a church planter and theologian, writes out of his many experiences he has led himself and others through.

Here are a few great quotes...

"One of our problems is that we think of holiness as giving up things we enjoy out of a vague sense of obligation. But I'm convinced that holiness is always, always good news." (p. 12)

“The message of this book is that change takes place in our lives as we turn to see the glory of God in Jesus. We ‘see’ the glory of Christ as we ‘hear’ the gospel of Christ. (2 Cor 4:4-6) Moral effort, fear of judgment and sets of rules can’t bring lasting change. But amazing things happen when we ‘turn to the Lord.’” (p. 23)

“The essence of holiness is not new behavior, activity or disciplines. Holiness is new affections, new desires and new motives that then lead to new behavior.” (p.33)

“Sanctification is the progressive narrowing of the gap between confessional faith and functional faith.” (p. 83)

“When we face temptation we need to say not only ‘I should not do this,’ but also ‘I need not do this.’” (p. 104)

Talking to yourself

I talk to myself frequently. Rachel catches me doing it and it gives her a good laugh. But I find solace in the fact that David and Paul do it too!

Check this out: David talking to himself -- "Why are you downcast oh my soul?...Hope in God!" (Ps. 42:5-6, 43:5)

And in Romans 6-8, Paul describes his fighting against sin like he's talking to himself --

1. "consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ" (6:11)
2. "what fruit were you getting from the things of which you are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death." (6:21)
3. "set your minds on the things of the Spirit..." (8:5)
4. "by the spirit but to death the deeds of the body and you will live...the spirit testifies that we are children of God...fellow heirs with Christ...suffering with him, that we may also be glorified with him." (8:13-17)

So how should we talk to ourselves as we are fighting our sin? Here's what I gather from these self-talkers:

1. Look at your sin and see how it can't deliver what it's promising. (i.e. approval, comfort, power, control)
2. Turn to God by the Spirit which testifies that you are a child of God, and heir with Christ, glorified with him. Fill your heart with these gospel promises of who you are in Christ.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2.

Sin and Death as Illustrated by a Flying Roach

by Rachel

The other night I went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. I opened the shower curtain and immediately saw some kind of large insect on the shower wall, furiously flapping brown wings. I thought it might be a huge moth. At any rate I let out an ear-piercing scream and bolted out, nearly jamming a finger in the process as I banged it against the sink counter. Ben came in and after I told him what I had seen, he began searching the bathroom and finally found the unwelcome visitor - a big roach. Texas-style, large flying cockroach.

The roach proceeded to crawl out of the bathroom and head straight for my closet, to my horror. I knew that if we lost it in my closet, there was no way I was going into my closet for the next few days, and I was going to have to beg my sweet husband to get my clothes out for me. Thankfully, Ben chased the roach as it went in and started throwing a bunch of my clothes out as he followed it. After a couple of requests for tools to assist him in his mission and a couple of misses, he got the roach under one of my slippers (which will be washed thoroughly) and pounded his fist on the slipper until the roach was, let's say, no longer a threat. He flushed it down the toilet, and finally I could breathe again. The rest of the night all I wanted to do was hug him, tell him I loved him and thank him for saving me from that awful creature.

I guess the Holy Spirit got me thinking - I was overflowing with love and gratitude to my husband, even thanking him for "saving" me. Why do I rarely do that with God? Have I EVER done that with God? I realized that maybe I have never seen my sin and the penalty of it with as much fear, horror and desperation as I saw with that roach. What a weird thought, but it felt so relevant. I felt more horrified and in need of a savior at the thought of a flying cockroach coming at me or hiding in my clothes than I usually do at the thought of my disobedience to God and utter failure to measure up to His holiness and righteousness.

Thank You, Lord, for reminding me of Your gospel of grace in these little experiences. Thank You for providing for my ultimate need for a savior even though I often don't even realize my need. Thank You that it's only by Your grace that I am saved, and not by anything I do.

NOTE: Please do not let this story deter you from ever visiting our home! This is not a common occurrence. Besides, whose house NEVER has any kind of random vermin show up every once in a while? This is reality, people. :)

think till you weep

Theology vs. practice. Orthodoxy vs. orthopraxy. Cold hard doctrine vs. loving people. Are these really two different things? Do we need concentrate on living out the gospel and stop thinking about the gospel?

I don't think these are two separate things. I had a seminary professor who would weep in class. We would be studying the greek text in the book of Luke, parsing verbs, talking about theology, and he would just weep. As we studied harder, as we thought more deeply, he would just get so overwhelmed at our great God, the mighty, gracious Redeemer who saved us. Thank you, Dr. Mcdonough for teaching and modeling for me to think till you weep.

Nuggets

I just got back from a conference for church planters called "Exponential." And there were just a couple of ideas/nuggets that really stuck out to me, and will stay with me for awhile, probably because they were just reminders about what God has been teaching me for awhile.

1. How you live tells me about what you believe.
What we believe about God (theology) is incredibly important. Everyone believes something about God. But don't just TELL me what you believe. Show me how that affects how you live. This is what the entire book of James is about. I can say that I believe that I am saved by grace through faith and not by my works, I can write a paper about it, and I can teach you a workshop about it. But then why I am so anxious and worried when I don't get people's approval? I say I believe in this right doctrine, but I actually am living like I am saved by people's approval, not by grace through faith. Ask this question: If I REALLY believed the truths revealed in the bible about God, how would that change the way I live? We need to love God with all our heart, soul and mind (Matt 22). Think and live. Live and think.

2. We're all addicted to something.
We live in an age where we have more channels on TV to watch than ever in history, more clothes in our closets, more food in our fridges, more computers/smartphones/ipads than ever. Yet we are more bored and empty than ever. A speaker said -- "our stuff just numbs us from our real heart problems." So one person uses heroin to numb him from the fears and difficulties in his life. And another person watches four hours of tv or surfs the web for hours. And another person cleans or organizes obsessively. Is it really any different? Procrastination is just another form of addiction. What do you use to escape, to run away? We're all trying to numb ourselves from the real issues in our hearts we don't want to face.

The Subtle Effects of Porn on a Relationship

A sobering testimony I read today...

I have not mentioned the effect of lust on my marriage. It did not destroy my marriage, did not push me out find more sexual excitation in an adulterous affair, or with prostitutes, did not ever impel me to place unrealistic demands on my wife's sexual performance. The effect was far more subtle...

I stare at a Playboy centerfold. Miss October has such a warm, inviting smile. She is with me alone, in my living room. She removes her clothes, just for me, and lets me see all of her. She tells me about her favorite books and what she likes in a man.

Because I have... gone over every inch of Miss October as well as the throng of beauties that Madison Avenue and Hollywood recruit to tantalize the masses, I start to view my own wife in that light.... I begin to focus on my wife's minor flaws. I lose sight of the fact that she is a charming, warm, attractive woman and that I am fortunate to have found her.

Beyond that, lust affected my marriage in an even more subtle and pernicious way. Over time, I began to view sex schizophrenically. Sex in marriage was one thing. We performed OK, though not as often as I liked, and accompanied by typical misunderstandings. But passion, Ah, that was something different. Passion I never felt in my marriage.

If anything, sex within marriage served as an overflow valve, an outlet for the passion that mounted inside me, fed by sources kept hidden from my wife. We never talked about this, yet I am sure she sensed it. I think she began to view herself as a sex object - not in the feminist sense of being the object of a husband's selfish greed, but in the deprived sense of being only the object of my physical necessity and not of romance and passion.

- "The War Within", Anonymous, Leadership Magazine, Fall 1992

Time Management Tips?

So one of my new year resolutions, really one of my life resolutions, has been to manage my time better. Here are a few things that I'm trying to do (that I usually don't do) that I'm finding really make a difference. They sound like no-brainers, but I think most of us don't actually do them, especially in our one-second-attention-span culture.

1. Make to-do lists in order of priority.
2. Do the hardest tasks before the easiest tasks.
3. Always finish a task (or a chunk of a task) completely before moving on to another task.
4. Check email and favorite internet sites less (i.e. limit facebook, ESPN, and CNN to once a day).
5. Preach the Gospel to myself. (If I find it difficult to do 1-4, it's b/c I'm not doing this.)

What have you found to be helpful?

Hobby with the City

"Ever notice how churches tend to create their own Christian version of hobbies in their city? If they like to cycle, then instead of joining one of the countless cycling clubs [in the city], they create a Christian cycling club! Instead of joining a Run-Tex club, they form a Christian running club. Church League sports. It’s pathetic. Instead of joining a city league, churches create their own leagues so they can play one another!"

Compelling quote from Jonathan Dodson, a church planter in Austin, on how to get out of your Christian ghetto and live missionally.

Books About Theology You'll Actually Read

I have to read a lot of dull, dense, and technical books about Theology. And although I learn a lot from many of them, I could never recommend them to someone who isn't a Pastor or a scholar. But here are some books that I think do a great job of making good theology accessible and interesting. My wife Rachel has read three of these and would agree.

1. The Prodigal God, by Tim Keller. The essential message of the Gospel told afresh -- and in only 133 pages with a huge font!
2. The Baker Pocket Guide to World Religions, by Gerald McDermott. Ever wonder what all the religions actually teach? Precise and concise -- 138 pages.
3. The Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis. My favorite Lewis book -- a thought-provoking story that will challenge your understanding of sin and hell. 146 pages.
4. The Reason for God, by Tim Keller. Hands down the best book to read or give to a friend if they have doubts about Christianity. Long, but fascinating -- 336 pages.
5. Confessions of a Reformission Rev., by Mark Driscoll. The autobiographical story of a church planter. Driscoll is rude and crude and will make you laugh out loud! 185 pages.

Here are some I haven't read yet, but have heard also fall into this category:

1. You Can Change, by Tim Chester. On gospel-centered sanctification.
2. Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About God (But Were Afraid to Ask), by Eric Metaxas. Witty and satirical thoughts about doubts on Christianity.
3. Counterfeit Gods, by Tim Keller. The doctrine of sin told afresh.
4. Sophie's World, by Jostein Gaardner. This one's about the history of philosophy -- but told in the form of a novel to a 14-year old girl.

Anybody else have one to recommend?

The Wonderful Exchange

"This is the wonderful exchange which, out of his measureless benevolence, he has made with us;
that, becoming Son of man with us, he has made us sons of God with him;
that, by his descent to earth, he has prepared an ascent to heaven for us;
that, by taking on our mortality, he has conferred his immortality upon us;
that, accepting our weakness, he has strengthened us by his power;
that, receiving our poverty unto himself, he has transferred his wealth to us;
that, taking the weight of our iniquity upon himself (which oppressed us), he has clothed us with his righteousness."

- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 4.17.2

Do I really need this?

I really want a magic mouse. I played with one recently at Best Buy. That thing is just plain awesome. It doesn't have any buttons. You can swipe with two fingers and you can go back and forth between web pages. It really is magic.

I read this from C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity recently --

"I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give [Regarding how much money a Christian should give away]. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small."

The other day, one of my classmates asked this question -- "Do people in the church really live any differently, spend their money any differently, than people outside of the church?" Honestly, I think the answer is no. We have all the same stuff, phones, cars, houses. We justify it by saying we aren't extravagant, we're just average. Just like everyone else.

The real question is why? Why do I want that mouse so badly? Why do I keep looking at the Apple website? Do I seriously really need that mouse, when I have a perfectly fine mouse right now? Maybe one day I will buy that mouse. I even asked for it for Christmas. Notice Lewis doesn't say that we should all move the desert and live off of bugs. But the point is, what is my heart captured by? Where do my thoughts drift when I'm not thinking about anything in particular? Are they captured by the cool stuff that I can buy? Or are they captured by something so much greater? If our hearts have been captured by something greater, shouldn't we be living differently? God, wean my heart off of these fallen things that will never satisfy...

The Gospel in 68 words

68 words sounds like a lot, but it's actually pretty difficult. Here's a good one --

"The 'gospel' is the good news that through Jesus, the Messiah, the power of God's kingdom has entered history to renew the whole world. ... When we believe and rely on Jesus' work and record (rather than ours) for our relationship to God, that kingdom power comes upon us and begins to work through us.... The gospel motivates, guides, and empowers every aspect of our living and worship."

-- Jim Belcher, Deep Church, p. 120-121

Seminary Jokes

One of my professors has to quoted --

"You all are no longer exegetical virgins. You've been deflowered by Greek and Interp [Intro to Exegesis class]."

"Episcopalianism is the Junior Varsity of Catholicism."

Friday Night at the Mall

by Rachel

We typically go out to dinner on Friday nights as a date night. Tonight we had something to get at the mall, so we decided to eat at Chipotle nearby. As we approached Chipotle, we noticed that the fire alarm was going off and wondered if we'd be able to go inside. A Chipotle worker (possibly the manager) was standing outside and said, "You guys coming to get burritos?" We said yes and he told us to come on in despite the fire alarm - something small had set it off and now they were just waiting for it to be turned off. Because the alarm was so ear-piercing and thus a hindrance to a pleasant dining experience, the guy said the food would be on the house. We walked in and then debated for a moment - free food at the cost of our ears getting blasted? Thankfully the alarm turned off after we'd been in there barely a minute, and the guy came in and said we could still have our food free. Yes! Praise God for these small unexpected gifts.

After we ate, we shopped for a while. I have been shopping around for dresses for upcoming occasions, and have not been successful in finding something I like within my budget. I noticed that with current female fashion trends, I often cannot tell right off whether a certain article of clothing is a blouse, a skirt, or a dress. Items are strapless, or really short, or too long to look like a shirt but too short to look like a dress (at least in my opinion!)...I don't get it. This is ridiculous, ladies. More modesty, please!

a big fat juicy steak

I read this today:
"Your steadfast love is better than life...my soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food..." -- Ps. 63:3,5

Make your own memory verse cards

check this out: pretty cool.

http://www.mcscott.org/

Nothing You Can Do Can Harm Me

I found this snippet today. Make this your prayer as you face fear, anxiety and worry:

When John Chrysostom (ca. 347-407) was brought before the empress Eudoxia, she threatened him with banishment if he insisted on his Christian independence as a preacher.

"You cannot banish me, for this world is my Father's house."

"But I will kill you," said the empress.

"No, you cannot, for my life is hid with Christ in God," said John.

"I will take away your treasures."

"No, you cannot, for my treasure is in heaven and my heart is there."

"But I will drive you away from your friends and you will have no one left."

"No, you cannot, for I have a Friend in heaven from whom you cannot separate me.
I defy you, for there is nothing you can do to harm me."

Being a Better Neighbor

by Ben

Here's a great article about some simple ways to connect with people around us every day. It's as simple as playing a game of catch and inviting kids to join you, offering someone an extra blanket or bug spray or offering to take a picture and email it to them. I'm terrible at this, and it goes against my (our) natures as introverts, but these are great ways to build life-giving relationships with those around us.

Christian Breathing

by Ben

Yesterday we heard a great quote in the sermon: "Repentance and faith are like Christian breathing." For the Christian, life is a continual process of breathing out -- knowing our brokenness, seeing it more deeply, repenting of it -- and breathing in -- turning from other objects and our own efforts for satisfaction, self-worth, significance and turning and trusting in Christ alone with all our being through faith. I think this is close to what Jesus described as "abiding in my love," (John 15) and "feeding on me." (John 6) Repentance and faith are not only things we do when we become Christians, but what we do every day as Christians. But what is faith? I also came across this article about what it means to fight your sin. On the one hand, it's not "morbid introspection or ascetic legalism." It's not just telling yourself: "I'm just going to knuckle down and be a better Christian, because Jesus tells me to." But on the other hand, grace doesn't mean that "sin is really no big deal, that Jesus paid for it at the cross and therefore we are home free." Faith in the bible is described as fighting -- "by the spirit, put to death the deeds of the body, and you will live." (Rom. 8:13) How do we FIGHT without becoming legalistic, relying on our own moralistic efforts? The key is HOW we are fighting -- the bible always describes fighting as fighting in the spirit, by faith, trained by grace, abiding in Christ's love. The article describes fighting this way: "The greatest weapon against our opponents is Spirit-empowered faith in the promises of God, promises that have been guaranteed by the death of Christ. Don't trust the promises of the flesh; trust in the promises of your Savior."

Fight to believe and trust in the radical grace of God above all.

A Better "Gospel Presentation"

by Ben

If you had five minutes to explain the gospel, what would you say? I think most of us might present the gospel like the diagram below: We sinned, therefore we are separated from God, God bridged the gap through Jesus, now we can be with God.

There's nothing unbiblical persay about this presentation, but I think it doesn't do justice to the gospel as it is presented in the bible and it causes a lot of problems. First, it skips the entire the whole Old Testament -- or it jumps from Genesis 1-3 (Adam and Eve sinned) to Romans. Second, it makes it seem like the "gospel" is all about how individuals are saved. But what about all of the created world around us? Is the bible just about rescuing individuals out of a sinful world and sending them to heaven while the world around us rots away? The bible's answer is a resounding "NO!" (this would be another blog post) On the other hand, it's true that the gospel is also NOT just about making the world a better place without preaching individual salvation through Christ. I recently came across this gospel presentation from these guys in Britain called the "Crowded House" and it's the best, clearest one I've seen so far. Here it is:

Summary: God promises the world we all want; Jesus shows us God's new world.











1. We have spoiled God's good world.










2. God promises a new world.










3. We cannot create God's new world.











4. We can enjoy God's new world because of Jesus.










5. Christians are God's people waiting for God's new world.