O WOW!

Luke has just learned to say “O WOW!” at just about everything new he learns about the world. Providentially, Rachel has made this month’s emphasis in our home to be amazed at all that God created. Tonight we were teaching him about a blow-fish as we puffed up our own cheeks with air. Luke thought we were doing something very peculiar, but this did not prevent him from still being amazed as we pointed to the picture of the blow-fish and he responded, “O, WOW!”

In watching Luke be amazed at all the new things he learns, the Lord showed me a bit more about what it meant to be his child. How many days am I simply not amazed at the glory of God, as he has revealed it all around me in the created order. Everyday I walk by large trees whose roots are pushing sap to the uttermost limb and whose plush leaves have a billion micro-factories inside running off carbon-dioxide and nutrients and returning good oxygen to the aire, and often find the sidewalk and my destination to be much more interesting. What would it be to just look up for 30 seconds to see God’s power and might and wisdom and say, “O, WOW!” Or even more, to look upon all the many peoples I know who are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and say “WOW, Lord! You are amazing!” Still more, to look upon all those many people created in God’s image, who possess no gospel and have no hope in Christ, and ask the Lord, “Father, help me to preach your gospel to them right now, that they may say with me, ‘WOW! What a Creator! What a Mighty Judge! What a Great Savior!’”

I am thankful that my son is amazed at everything. I hope the Lord uses this to continue cultivating a heart in myself that is always remaining amazed in him [the LORD].

Email: Means of Godly Encouragment

A Christian brother, beside and with whom I have been blessed to serve over the past 5 years in Seminary emailed me Wednesday morning with these words:

Bret,

If the Bridegroom has promised a marriage, and that He will be here soon, does the Bride sit around in her shabby clothes saying he is late, or does she prepare herself for the arrival of the Bridegroom dressing herself in white making herself blameless for the ceremony?

Brother: get up, put off sin, put on righteousness, tell everyone about the marriage ceremony, because the Bridegroom is coming and he will not be late!

What an exhortation and encouragement to spend every waking moment that Wednesday to the glory of Christ. No doubt it recalled to my mind a text from Revelation 19:7-8:

Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

My wife and I had just recovered from a stomach virus that put us down for a couple of days. To begin the day with such words was instrumental; God lifted me up from the mire, set my feet upon the Rock, put a new song in my mouth, and shod my feet with the gospel of peace.

How might you be using your electronic devices to exhort and encourage the saints?

My Son & God Amazes Me

With much gratitude I share with you just a few things the Lord has impressed upon me more deeply through my son, Luke (now 9½-months old). Perhaps I will share more later.

1. People are fearfully and wonderfully made. In watching his body develop, muscles build, limbs grow, eyes focus, hands grab, ears perk up to distinct voices, tongue form new sounds, and balance become increasingly stable, God has shown me that we are indeed fragile creatures, made so beautifully, held together so delicately, intricately knit together.
2. Life is a vapor. I do not really take note of how fast my own days are passing, the time God has alotted me is being spent, but watching Luke grow and develop so quickly has caused much fear and trembling before the Lord. It reminds me: “Only one life twill soon be past; only whats done for Christ will last.” Don’t waste it, Bret.
3. Christ died so that I no longer have to live for myself. Actively laboring to instill God’s testimony in Luke requires much self-forgetfulness: time thinking on his behalf, time praying for him, time playing with him, time reading to him, time… Self-forgetfulness is impossible for me; but all things are possible with God.
4. Where my treasure is, there my heart will be also. Luke must see in the way I live, love his mother, study for school, spend our money, minister to the body, preach to the lost, that the glory of God and the supremacy of Christ over all things is the main thing in life. My actions reveal the treasures of my heart to him. Will he see Jesus in the gospel? I pray so.

Mercy and Grace in a Reuben

Today was a rough day.

To keep it short, I was made aware of my sin on many occasions. It was ugly. And in about 30 minutes I still get to eat two Reuben sandwiches, fully cognizant of the fact that I am undeserving to do so. Sometimes it’s the small things that make me aware of how big the work of the cross is.

Truly “he does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.” (Ps 103:10)

God’s Cold

Though it has not reached -1° in Fort Worth as it has in Louisville, our 23° was enough to remind this South Texas boy to do at least five things in light of such providential weather changes.

1. Celebrate the sovereignty of God over the weather. Such changes are not due to “Mother Nature”, but the one true God who created the heavens and the earth. He commands the winds where to blow.
2. Remember the mercy of God in giving us the changing of the seasons, a reminder of his steadfast love and faithfulness to his promise never to flood the earth again with water (Gen 8:22). 
3. Worship the true God who creates, owns, and designs the cold for his praise: ”[The Lord] gives snow like wool; he scatters hoarfrost like ashes. He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold? He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow. He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his rules. Praise the LORD! (Psalm 147:16-20).
4. Give thanks to the Lord for what he has also provided me and my family to protect us from His cold: a warm house, a car to travel in, jackets, a nice bed to sleep in, and a hundred thousand other blessings I often take for granted.
5. Pray for the homeless and for myself to be more attentive to their ongoing needs.

How does the cold effect you to the glory of God?

Hungering for Righteousness

Sunday morning, pastor Tim led us through the fourth and fith Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:6-7):

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
     for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
     for they shall receive mercy.

There was a point he made that was quite helpful concerning righteousness, that very object for which citizens of Christ’s kingdom deeply long. The Psalms and Prophets have been especially helpful for me in informing my understanding of what it means to hunger and thirst (e.g. Pss 17:14-15; 107:5-9; Isa 55:1-3). However, to have such a hunger and thirst for righteousness had seemed abstract to some degree. What exactly was I longing for in hungering and thirsting for righteousness?

After Tim set forth three dimensions of righteousness for us to consider in our longing, it became very apparent to me that the Psalms and Prophets which had informed my understanding of ”hunger” and “thirst,” had also given me a wealth of knowledge in understanding this righteousness. It was not until Tim declared it over us, however, that what I had known as “what the Old Testament teaches about righteousness” moved from the abstract to the concrete within me. Here are the three dimensions of righteousness he mentioned are tied up in the citizens’ hungering and thirsting for it:

1. Declared Righteousness: Here the citizen longs to stand before God dressed not in his own filthy rags, but in those garments of another’s righteousness, those of Jesus Christ.
2. Sanctifying Righteousness: Here the citizen longs to live righteously before his/her heavenly Father who is pleased by such outworkings of his Gospel and his Spirit.
3. Universal Righteousness: Here the citizen longs not only for righteous relationships within the body of Christ, but also to see God’s righteousness spread to the ends of the earth. In Tim’s words concerning this latter emphasis, “We long that the world may know this great and glorious God that makes us fit for his kingdom forever! We want his name declared! We want his glory worshiped. We want people bowing before him now, not in Hell.”

Concrete. Real. Serious. Awesome. And, most glorious of all, those who hunger and thirst for this righteousness, these shall be satisfied.

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David (Isa 55:1-3).

I [Jesus] am the bread of life; he who comes to me will never hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst (John 6:35).

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost (Rev 22:17).

Living Soli Deo Gloria

It is one thing to affirm Soli Deo Gloria; it is another to bear its fruit throughout all the days God graciously gives us. I raised some questions regarding the effects this fundamental Sola ought to have on my own joy and worship, love and good works, prayers and missions, marriage and family, and evangelism efforts. Surely, there are more that could be asked for my sanctification, but these are some that I have begun asking myself afresh this week. It is a bit of a hodgepodge, but I hope they generate some God-centered thinking and conversation.

Joy & Worship. Dr. Nettles drew the conclusion (listen here) from several passages of Scripture that God shouts over his people, “Soli Deo Gloria!” (e.g. Exod 33:17; Rom 11:36; Ps 96:7-9; Eph 1:3-14). In other words, God has revealed to us what is of primary importance to God in his aims for creation and redemption, namely, that his glory might be praised. What emphases are being highlighted in this statement about God? How might such a statement both cultivate and focus worship within my heart and among the broader community of believers? How does God’s God-centeredness produce joy in the life of the believer (think along the lines of God’s gift of himself to you)?

Love & Good Works. The previous questions about joy and worship relate directly to the first and greatest commandment, “to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” This next set addresses the second greatest commandment, “to love your neighbor as yourself.” How might embracing Soli Deo Gloria effect (or change) the way we love others? [Here I was reminded of Augustine's quote, "He loves Thee too little, who loves anything together with Thee, which he loves not for Thy sake" (Confessions).] Is your love for others God-centered that they might be pointed to him in your loving them, not merely to your ”liking” of them? In what ways does God’s aim to glorify himself challenge your work ethic (see Matt 5:16)? How might one work in such a way that others glorify the Father, not the worker? Does this involve a life of both deed (service) and word (proclamation)? In what manner should we do the good works God created us for (Eph 2:9-10) so that he does receive all glory (see Tit 2:11-14; 1 Pet 4:11)?

Prayer & Missions. How does (or should) God’s determination to glorify himself drive your prayer life? In Numbers 14:13-19 Moses’ greatest concern is that God forgive the people and go with them so that his name would remain famous among all the nations. Is God’s fame and glory the ultimate aim and end of your prayers? Look again at Numbers 14 and notice how God answers Moses: “As I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord…” (14:21). In other words, that God will fill the earth with his glory is as guaranteed as his very existence. In what ways does God’s resolve to glorify himself in all the earth give us confidence in our prayer life and missions efforts (e.g. Hab 2:14; Isa 43:6-7; Eph 1:3-14; Phil 2:10-11)? In light of these things, are you broken-hearted because lost people are not like you, OR because God does not receive their praise and adoration?

Marriage & Family. How do we promote a robust sense Soli Deo Gloria in our own households (see Ps 78:1-8; 1 Cor 10:31; Eph 5:21-6:4)? Do our spouses observe in our motives and attitudes when carrying out certain responsibilities a zeal for God’s glory, or merely a desire to just get things done? Do extended family members notice a God-centeredness in our speech? Or do we tend to change it around them? What can we highlight for children as we teach them the Scriptures or guide them through circumstances set before them, so that they might lay hold of Soli Deo Gloria?

Evangelism. Dr. Nettles clarified in his final warning that there will be two kinds of people at Christ’s return: (1) believers who will experience the glory of God in everlasting joy; and (2) non-believers who will experience the glory of God in the wrath of the Lamb. Do you find similar emphases of God-centered evangelism in your own encounters with the lost? If not, why?

Here are a couple of sermons that were (and still are) very influential to me with regard to living Soli Deo Gloria:

Passion for the Supremacy of God I (John Piper, Passion ‘97, Austin, TX)
Passion for the Supremacy of God II (John Piper, Passion ‘97, Austin, TX)

Celebrating the Five Solas Together

This past weekend, Redeemer hosted a Reformation Celebration, as mentioned before. The weekend turned out to be a fine time to reflect on God’s grace in the preservation of his Gospel, as well as a time of thanksgiving for ”all grace” (as Spurgeon liked to say) in our salvation. Dr. Nettles message on Sunday morning was extremely helpful to me as it was an encouragement to my faith. He reflected briefly on the first four Solas of the Reformation, and then drew conclusions from the Scripture on how all four of these are rooted in and therefore have their end in the fifth Sola, Soli Deo Gloria. Below are some summaries of the five Solas I put together for our Care Group this past Wednesday. The summaries are developed from some reflections on Scripture, Dr. Nettle’s sermon, and the Cambridge Declaration. Perhaps they might encourage your faith in the Gospel as God glorifies himself through your satisfaction in him through Jesus Christ.

1. Sola Scriptura

The authority for the Church is the Scripture alone. The Scripture is verbally inspired, inerrant, infallible, sufficient, trustworthy, the sole source of written divine revelation, the final authority for all doctrine and practice, and thus the only source that binds our conscience rightly, explains salvation fully, and reveals Christ perfectly.

2. Sola Gratia

In salvation God rescues us from his wrath and provides all that is necessary for our salvation by his grace alone. Grace includes his redemptive purposes set forth in and accomplished by Christ as well as the supernatural work of the Spirit who applies this work to us in releasing us from bondage to sin and raising us from death to life.

3. Solus Christus

Salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone, who is the only incarnate self-revelation of God and redeemer of humanity, whose sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are necessary and sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.

4. Sola Fide

Salvation occurs with faith alone as its instrument. Faith is that grace whereby we receive and rest on Christ and his (imputed) righteousness alone for justification, sanctification, and final salvation, and NOT on any merit to be found in ourselves or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ’s righteousness in us.

5. Soli Deo Gloria

God’s unwavering determination and aim to glorify himself in his creative and redemptive purposes, which are set forth in and accomplished by his Son, Jesus Christ, which are also communicated through and applied by the Holy Spirit to us, in order that we might find our supreme joy in God through Christ and delight in making much of God now and forever more. Therefore, God reveals salvation to be to the glory of God alone.

Rejoicing with Some Brothers

Two brothers inspecting
Their wives expecting
Together rejoicing
In the Lord’s doings

On behalf of Billy Marsh and Jason Attaway, friends, brothers, and fellow warriors in the cause of Christ.

Common Ground with Unbelievers

Those who find it difficult to relate to unbelievers in efforts of evangelism, or think there to be no common ground on which to build a relationship with them, should remember the gross exchange from which God delivered them. This is what Romans 1 and 2 taught me this morning.

For 17 (maybe 18) years, I “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (1:18), and “exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever” (1:25), and was filled with “unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice, envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness” (1:29), and was a “gossip, slanderer, hater of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventor of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless” (1:30-31), and though I knew God’s decree against these things (since such a decreed law was surely shown to be written on my heart [2:14-16]), I gave hearty approval to them anyway (1:32).

Hence, establishing some common ground with unbelievers should not be difficult for me or any other Christian. According to Romans 1 and 2, we both bear the image of God, are meant to reflect and enjoy God’s glory, and yet have also exchanged it for the fleeting pleasures of this world. Here believers and unbelievers meet. However, here is also where the believer has a platform to proclaim the truth concerning Jesus Christ, who rescues sinners running hard to hell, and cleanses them from all impurities, that they might delight themselves forever in bringing glory to God.

Application: Relate to hell-bound, unrepentant sinners. Preach the saving Gospel.