Friday, April 30, 2010

Restoration

Ray Ortlund post:  What is revival?


“Revival, above everything else, is a glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  It is the restoration of him to the center of the life of the Church.  You find this warm devotion, personal devotion, to him.”

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Revival (Westchester, 1987), page 47.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Have Delivered

Mark Batterson post:  Past Tense

I had a major revelation this weekend as I preached on the Battle of Jericho. The Lord says in Joshua 6:2: "I have delivered Jericho into your hands."

Did you catch it? It's not future tense. The Lord doesn't say "I will deliver." He says "I have delivered." The battle has already been won in the spiritual realm. So the Lord proclaims the promise in the past tense. I think there are moments when you need to stop pleading for God to do something and start praising Him for what He has already done. Faith is believing that God has already delivered on the promise. There is a confirmation in your spirit. You sense a breakthrough in your spirit. It is faith that allows us to praise God BEFORE the miracle happens! Why? Because it believes it will happen as much as if it has already happened. It turns the future tense into the past tense.  

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

One Way Love

Rev Paul Zahl




HT:  Zahl:  Grace in Practice

God's Great Love

Excerpt from John Piper:  Consider Your Calling

[Based on 1 Corinthians 1:26-31]


Now focus on the four ways that God loves us in these verses. In sum, they are: 1) God chose us; 2) God called us; 3) God put us in Christ; 4) God made Christ our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Let’s take them one at a time.
 
1. God loved you by choosing you. 
 
Verses 27-28: “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.”

The only other place this word “choose” is used in Paul is Ephesians 1:4-5: “[God] chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.” So what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 1:27-28 is that before we were made, God saw us in our sin and our rebellion, and he graciously set his favor on us owing to nothing in ourselves. Paul calls it in Romans 11:5 the “election of grace.”

This electing love is absolutely unconditional. We were not yet created. And we know that he foresaw us as undeserving when he chose us because the blessing of our election had to come through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:4-7). We needed a redeemer in his eyes when he chose us. So be amazed. If you are believer in Jesus, God has loved you from before the world and chose you for his own possession—with all the biblical benefits and all the biblical affections that implies.

2. God loved you by calling you.
 
Verse 26: “For consider your calling, brothers.” What is Paul referring to? Their job? Being a carpenter? Homemaker? Teacher? No. He is referring to the work of God in calling them to himself out of darkness into light, out of death into life. You can see the meaning pretty clearly in verses 22-24:
For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
So there are three groups in these verses: the Jews, the Gentiles, and “the called.” Or to be more precise: the non-called Jews, the non-called Gentiles, and the called Jews and Gentiles. And what’s the difference? The non-called Jews see Christ-crucified as a stumbling block (verse 23). The non-called Gentiles see Christ-crucified as folly (verse 23). But “the called” Jews and Gentiles see Christ-crucified as “the power of God and the wisdom of God (verse 24).

Which means that the call is the work of God that opens our eyes to see Christ as true and powerful and wise and beautiful and compelling so that we receive him for salvation. God’s call is his life-giving command: Come! If you are a believer today, that is how you got saved. God called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. This call was effective. It produced in you what it called for.

It was like the effectiveness of a command that someone uses to wake you from a deep sleep. You lean over their ear while they are asleep, and you cry out: Wake up! And they bolt upright. They did not hear the command and ponder it and then decide to wake up. The command accomplished what it commanded: Wake up! That is the way God raises us from spiritual death. And only God can do it. And he did it for you. He loved you this way. Ephesians 2:4 says it was because of God’s “great love” that he made us alive when we were dead. You were about to sleep yourself into hell, and God woke you up to the ugliness of sin and the beauty of a great Savior. He loved you with a “great love.”

Millennials

Excerpt from Ed Stetzer post:  New Data on the Millenials from LifeWay Research

USAToday has reported on some just released data on Millenials and their spiritual views. This data will be part of a forthcoming book from Thom and Jess Rainer, called The Millennials. The USAToday story is on their front page and has already lead to some aggressive discussions (moving toward 1000 comments since this morning) in the comment section. The story cites Thom Rainer and Collin Hansen and they do a good job presenting the data-- I used their graphics below.
Here are some excerpts from the LifeWay news release (be sure to read the entire release here):
Two-thirds of American "Millennials" - those born between 1980 and 1991 - call themselves Christian, but far fewer pray or read the Bible daily, attend weekly worship services, or hold to historical positions on the Bible and its teachings. millfaith27_va.jpgThese are the findings from a wide-ranging August 2009 LifeWay Research study of 1,200 Millennials in the United States. The study forms the basis for the upcoming book "The Millennials: Connecting to America's Largest Generation" by Dr. Thom Rainer and his son Jess Rainer.
The study found that 65 percent of Millennials identify themselves as Christian, while 14 percent say they are atheist or agnostic, 14 percent list no religious preference, and 8 percent claim other religions...
One in four Millennials attends religious worship services once a week or more, but two out of three rarely or never visit a church, synagogue, mosque or temple...
While the survey found that American Millennials hold diverse beliefs, six out of 10 say their religious faith is very important in their lives today, and 70 percent agree (strongly or somewhat) that Christian churches are still relevant in America today.
"Millennials are the most religiously diverse generation in our culture's history," Rainer said. "Unsure of the afterlife and the life of Jesus, Millennials present the church with a great opportunity to engage them in conversations dealing with the nature of truth and its authority as God."

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Not Give Up

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.  And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.  So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Galatians 6:7-10 [The Message]

His Interventions

Christine Wyrtzen Devotional:

A PRO-ACTIVE GOD

Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law.  Psalm 119:153

Knowing that God looks on my affliction and asking him to deliver me are two different things.  Just because the first happens doesn't mean I will automatically cry out for deliverance.  If I am not used to asking for help, I will settle for a God who sees my pain but who is kept at a respectful distance.  Needing Him is too frightening.

Many years ago, I had a dream that God appeared to me in the night.  I was blinded by a bright light, the room felt the warmth of His presence, and the atmosphere was electric.  At the time I dreamt this, I was deeply discouraged about something personal and had given up hope that the situation was ever going to change. God's appearance in the dream was comforting yet I found myself indifferent about crying out for His help.  I kept thinking to myself, "I should be feeling more than this."  I woke up so disappointed that even though it had been a dream, I had allowed a missed opportunity to play out.

If my experience with people growing up is that adults look upon others in pain but keep their distance, then I will grow up to believe that God is also passive.  I will see Him as one who looks upon my affliction and hopes for the best.  I must allow the truth of scripture to re-write my beliefs.  God is a God of intervention, not passivity.  Isaiah 42:13 tells the story.  "The LORD will go forth like a warrior, he will arouse his zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, he will raise a war cry."

Nothing smashed my notion of passivity more than the incarnation of Jesus and Calvary.  My desperate spiritual condition was enmity with God without hope of salvation.  Only a perfect Lamb could save me.  Jesus gave His life so that I could be saved from eternal condemnation.  And he did all this before I even cried out for help.  The sacrifice was made.  He stood with eternal life in His hands and He waited for me to recognize my need and cry out for salvation.

To choose to need God when I know that His timetable of deliverance is on a different clock than mine, is frightening.  Yet, His interventions are perfectly timed, for my good. Without the faith to believe that God is pro-active on my behalf, I will mute my cries for help.  Faith comes by the Word so I plant my heart in the truth of His character and the nature of His love and I stretch out my arms till they ache.

I see You.  Hands full of grace.  Eyes full of compassion.  Heaven's storehouse with everything I need.  Amen

Monday, April 26, 2010

Pleasure in Work

Ray Ortlund post:  Work is more than pay


“A very able surgeon put it to me like this: ‘What is happening is that nobody works for the sake of getting the thing done.  The actual result of the work is a by-product; the aim of the work is to make money to do something else.  Doctors practice medicine, not primarily to relieve suffering, but to make a living — the cure of the patient is something that happens on the way.  Lawyers accept briefs, not because they have a passion for justice, but because the law is the profession which enables them to live.  The reason why men often find themselves happy and satisfied in the army is that for the first time in their lives they find themselves doing something, not for the sake of the pay, which is miserable, but for the sake of getting the thing done.’”

Dorothy L. Sayers, Creed or Chaos? (Manchester, 1974), page 52.

Praying Through

Mark Batterson post:  Jericho March

"You shall march around the city seven times." Joshua 6:4

I believe in Jericho marches. I'm not talking about some magic trick that if you walk around something seven times God will give it to you, but I often pray around things seven times. I just love circling things in prayer. And if there is a "promise land" that you believe God wants to give you, it can't hurt to follow the example in Joshua.

When NCC was 25 people, I remember doing a Jericho march around all of Capitol Hill. It was a way for me to lay claim to the place God had called me to. I did many a Jericho march around Union Station. I did Jericho marches around 201 F Street, NE which is now Ebenezers coffeehouse. And I'm doing Jericho marches around a piece of property we're praying for right now.

Sometimes the way you lay claim to promises is by circling them in prayer. Seven isn't a magic number, but it helps me prayer through. I think there is a difference between praying for and praying through. Praying through something means circling it in prayer

Come and Dine

LifeToday Weekly Devotional

The Garden of God
by James Robison

“Come and dine,” the Master is calling. "Come and dine!"

I was working with my son, Randy, to edit an article recently when I quoted some scripture. He stopped me and asked, “Did you mean to repeat yourself? You referenced the hungry twice.”

I grabbed my Bible and turned to the passage in Isaiah 58. "It’s repeated,” I verified. “’Share your food with the hungry,’ it says in verse 7 and then two verses later, ‘if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry…’.” The repeated reference was not a mistake on my part and I don't believe it was a mistake on Isaiah's part.

"God must really care about the hungry," I said.

"Physically and spiritually," Randy said. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…”

We can all relate to hunger. When we miss a meal, we notice it. While there is a spiritual component that shouldn’t be overlooked, God does care about our physical needs. Jesus fed 5,000 people because they were hungry. They needed food, so He took a meager offering and multiplied it. He cares about our physical needs and He wants us to care about the physical needs of others, too. But at the same time, He also cares about spiritual hunger.

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” (Isaiah 58:9-11)

Christians are called to meet hunger wherever it exists both spiritually and physically. We can turn a church loose on this world that will be like releasing a river of life. Right now, it’s a dry and thirsty land. People lack food, but we can fill their stomachs. People lack life, but we can share Jesus.

Jesus bragged on Simon Peter, an ordinary fisherman who said, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God!" Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."

Which rock? The rock of hearing what the Father says to those of His followers with ears to hear and hearts to heed. He will speak to us and the gates of hell, deception and destruction will not stand against this force -- a river -- that flows in harmony with His will.

The hope for this world is a church full of the love of God; not so you can convert everyone to a religion, but so you flood them with truth, love, glory and compassion. God will release the river of life. But we must first learn to hear the voice of the Father.

God then says, “Your light will rise in the darkness, your night will become like noonday.” Like a city set on a hill, the light will attract people. The darkness will flee. That’s the way God created the universe. Light overcomes the darkness, so we must let His light shine through us.

“He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land.” Is anyone feeling sun-scorched lately? God will meet your needs in a recession. He may strip away the “things” that you think you need, but He will replace them with true purpose His purpose and fulfillment that can only come from sitting at His table and fellowshipping with Him. He will lift you from the ditches of debt, depression, defeat and hopelessness.

"You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” Have you ever seen a well-watered garden that didn’t produce fruit? Has an eternal spring ever left anyone thirsty? What an amazing promise! In the garden of God there is joy, satisfaction, bounty and life. This is what God wants for you; He wants to meet your needs so that you can help meet the needs of others. The world is hungry, both spiritually and physically, but we can extend this invitation to them when we experience it ourselves: Come and dine at His table and begin to live as His fruitful garden.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Faithful

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
    your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
   Do not forsake the work of your hands.


Psalm 138:8

Catch the Trade Winds

Miscellanies 4-21 post:  Mark Twain


“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Twain died 100 years ago today.


His Word

Mark Batterson post:  The Secret Sauce

Love the Exponential Conference. Love Louie Giglio. I had so many revelations during his session that I lost count, but here are a few of them.

I loved his emphasis on the simple fact that our confidence is in the word of God. I've never heard it quite this way: "The word, every word, has an assignment and it will never return void." I love that thought, as a preacher, that every word has an assignment. Part of the reason why I love this is that I've had Jeremiah 1:12 in my spirit: "The Lord is watching over His word to perform it." It's probably my most cited verse in the last several months!

I also love His emphasis on the Holy Spirit. Louie said, "His name is not IT." Thank you! I think we often treat the third member of the trinity as a third-class citizen. Or He makes us nervous like a crazy uncle. But if I take the Holy Spirit out of the equation of my life my life is boring. The Holy Spirit is our electrical outlet. No Holy Spirit = No Power.

I think a lot of people come to conferences looking for the secret sauce. Here it is: the word + the spirit = secret sauce.

One last observation. Some speakers speak. Louie ministers. Not sure how else to say it. He wasn't talking to me. He was ministering to me.

Come to our help

O God, we have heard with our ears,
    our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
    in the days of old:


Rise up; come to our help!
    Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!


Psalm 44: 1, 26

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

No Way!

Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: 

Romans 8:35  [The Message]

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Much More Abound

Ray Ortlund post:  The life-giving power of imputation


“I can feelingly say, he hath proved himself stronger than I and his goodness superior to all my unworthiness.  He tells me (and enables me to believe it) that I am fair, and there is no spot in me.  Though an enemy, he calls me his friend; though a traitor, a child; though a beggared prodigal, he clothes me with the best robe and has put a ring of endless love and mercy on my hand.  And though I am sorely distressed by spiritual and internal foes, afflicted, tormented and bowed down almost to death with the sense of my own present barrenness, ingratitude and proneness to evil, he secretly shows me his bleeding wounds and softly and powerfully whispers to my soul, ‘I am thy great salvation.’  His free distinguishing grace is the bottom on which is fixed the rest of my poor weary tempted soul.   On this I ground my hope, often times when unsupported by any other evidence, save only the Spirit of adoption received from him.  When my dry and empty barren soul is parched with thirst, he kindly bids me come to him and drink my fill at the fountainhead.  In a word, he empowers me to say with experiential evidence, ‘Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.’ Amen and amen.”
Joseph Hart (1712-1768), quoted in Peter C. Rae, “Joseph Hart and His Hymns,” Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology 6 (1988): 22-23.

Before Dawn -- Hope

Christine Wyrtzen Devotional:

BEFORE THE DAY BEGINS

I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.  Psalm 119:147

I used to wait until I was in trouble before asking God for help.  When everything was in shambles, I would then hope in God's Word and God's power to intervene.  A relationship gone awry?  Pray.  A meeting at church go badly?  Pray.  Someone in my family get sick?  Time to pray.

David is not that foolish.  He rises before dawn, before any daily activity, and commits every step he's going to take to prayer.  He knows that prayer will often prevent problems from surfacing.  Often, the crisis I end up praying for wouldn't have escalated if there had been prayer before my day started.
  • I know myself pretty well and as I anticipate my upcoming day, I can see where I might struggle and fall into temptation.  I take that to prayer in the early morning hours and seek God's help.
  • I know my family pretty well and can see where they might also succumb to pitfalls because of present circumstances.  I take that to prayer before dawn and insert their names in scripture and read the Word out loud on their behalf.  The Word saves.
  • I know the people with whom I work, fellowship, and serve with at church.  In anticipation of meetings I attend, I can discern trouble spots.  I take the meeting to prayer before the day begins and bind the enemy's sure involvement.  There will be defeat without a battle plan to thwart his efforts.
God's children were never meant to live on the defensive.  We often wait until the arrows come.  We are stricken; we lay wounded and then cry out to God for healing.  We rarely consider that we could have lived on the offensive, in prayer, before the begin of that day.

We are meant to live street-smart, anticipating where the danger lies ahead of time and wield the sword of the Word in prayer to bring God's kingdom to every situation we will face.  The victory of Calvary must be enforced and that begins and ends on my knees.

While it is night, my battle cry will be heard, Lord.  I am your watchman.  Amen

Monday, April 19, 2010

Mutually Strengthened

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. [ESV]

I so want to be there to deliver God's gift in person and watch you grow stronger right before my eyes! But don't think I'm not expecting to get something out of this, too! You have as much to give me as I do to you.  [The Message]

Romans 1:11-12

Divine Appointments

Mark Batterson post:  God is Setting You Up

My favorite in Scripture is Ephesians 2:10. It says: "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works prepared for us in advance." I love that tag line: "prepared for us in advance." Translation: God is setting you up.

That tag line fills me with holy anticipation. It gives me an unshakable sense of destiny. If we simply stay in tune with what the Holy Spirit is saying and doing we will walk into situations that God has divinely orchestrated for us. I don't believe in coincidence. I believe in providence. God is in the business of making sure we're in the right place at the right time. There are divine appointments that God is already setting up for next day delivery!

Do Not Fear

LifeToday Weekly Devotional

Why Are We Afraid?
by Max Lucado

You would have liked my brother, Dee. He made friends the way bakers make bread: daily, easily, warmly. I, the shy younger brother, relied on him to make introductions for us both. When a family moved onto the street or a newcomer walked onto the playground, Dee was the ambassador.

But in his midteen years, he made one acquaintance he should have avoided – a bootlegger who would sell beer to underage drinkers. Over the next four decades my brother drank away health, relationships, jobs, money, and all but the last two years of his life.

At the age of fifty-four my brother emptied his bottles, stabilized his marriage, reached out to his children, and exchanged the liquor store for the local AA. But the hard living had taken its toll. Three decades of three-packs-a-day smoking has turned his big heart into ground meat.

On a January night, he told Donna, his wife, that he couldn’t breathe well. He already had a doctor’s appointment for a related concern, so he decided to try to sleep. He awoke at 4:00 a.m. with chest pains severe enough to warrant a call to the emergency room. The rescue team loaded Dee onto the gurney and told Donna to meet them at the hospital. My brother waved weakly and smiled bravely and told Donna not to worry, but by the time she and one of Dee’s sons reached the hospital, he was gone.

The attending physician told them the news and invited them to step into the room where Dee’s body lay. Holding each other, they walked through the doors and saw his final message. His hand was resting on the top of his thigh with the two center fingers folded in and the thumb extended, the universal sign-language symbol for “I love you.”

I’ve tried to envision the final moments of my brother’s earthly life: racing down a Texas highway in an ambulance through an inky night. Struggling for each breath, at some point he realized only a few remained. But rather than panic, he quarried some courage.

Perhaps you could use some. An ambulance isn’t the only ride that demands valor. You may not be down to your final heartbeat, but you may be down to your last paycheck, solution, or thimble of faith.

Fear, it seems, has taken a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversize and rude, fear is unwilling to share the heart with happiness. Happiness complies and leaves. Can one be happy and afraid at the same time? Clear-thinking and afraid? Confident and afraid? Merciful and afraid? For all the noise fear makes and room it takes, fear does little good.

Fear never wrote a symphony or poem, negotiated a peace treaty, or cured a disease. Fear never pulled a family out of poverty or a country out of bigotry. Fear never saved a marriage or a business. Courage did that. Faith did that.

What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? Envision a day, just one day, absent the dread of failure, rejection, and calamity. Can you imagine a life with no fear? This is the possibility behind Jesus’ question.

“Why are you afraid?” he asks. (Matt 8:26, NCV)
At first we wonder if Jesus is serious. He may be kidding, like one swimmer asking another, “Why are you wet?” But Jesus is dead earnest. So are the men to whom he asks the question. A storm has turned their Galilean dinner cruise into a white-knuckled plunge.

Here is how one of them remembers the trip: “Jesus got into a boat, and his followers went with him. A great storm arose on the lake so that the waves covered the boat.” (Matthew 8:23-24, NCV)

Matthew remembered well the pouncing tempest and bouncing boat and was careful in his terminology. He hunted for a descriptor that exploded like the waves across the bow. Seismos – a quake, a trembling eruption of sea and sky. “A great seismos arose on the lake.”

The term still occupies a spot in our vernacular. A seismologist studies earthquakes, a seismograph measures them, and Matthew, along with a crew of recent recruits, felt a seismos that shook them to the core. He used the word on only two other occasions: once at Jesus’ death when Calvary shook (Matt 27:51-54) and again at Jesus’ resurrection when the graveyard tremored. (Matt 28:2) Apparently, the stilled storm shares equal billing in the trilogy of Jesus’ great shake-ups: defeating sin on the cross, death at the tomb, and here silencing fear on the sea.

This story sends the not-so-subtle and not-too-popular reminder: getting on board with Christ can mean getting soaked with Christ. Disciples can expect rough seas and stout winds. (John 16:33)

It’s not the absence of storms that sets us apart. It’s whom we discover in the storm: an unstirred Christ.

“Jesus was sleeping…” (Matt 8:24)
The disciples scream; Jesus dreams. Thunder roars; Jesus snores. Could you snooze during a roller coaster loop-the-loop? In a wind tunnel? At a kettledrum concert? Jesus sleeps through all three at once!

His snooze troubles the disciples. Matthew and Mark record their responses as three staccato Greek pronouncements and one question.

The pronouncements: “Lord! Save! Dying!” (Matt 8:25)

The question: “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38)

They do not ask about Jesus’ strength: “Can you still the storm?” His knowledge: “Are you aware of the storm?” Or his know-how: “Do you have any experience with storms?” But rather, they raise doubts about Jesus’ character: “Do you not care…”

Fear corrodes our confidence in God’s goodness. We begin to wonder if love lives in heaven. If God can sleep in our storms, if his eyes stay shut when our eyes grow wide, if he permits storms after we get on his boat, does he care? Fear unleashes a swarm of doubts.

It also deadens our recall. The disciples had reason to trust Jesus. By now they’d seen him “healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.” (Matt 4:23) They had witnessed him heal a leper with a touch and a servant with a command. (Matt 8:3, 13) Peter saw his sick mother-in-law recover (Matt 8:14-15) and they all saw demons scatter like bats out of a cave. “He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick.” (Matt 8:16)

The Gospels list some 125 Christ-issued imperatives. Of these, 21 urge us to “not be afraid” or “not fear” or “have courage” or “take heart” or “be of good cheer.” The second most common command, to love God and neighbor, appears on only eight occasions. If quantity is any indicator, Jesus takes our fears seriously. The one statement he made more than any other was this: don’t be afraid.

Jesus wakes from his nap, steps into the storm, and asks, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” (Matt 8:26)

“Then Jesus got up and gave a command to the wind and the waves, and it became completely calm.” (Matt 8:26, NCV)
Fear may fill our world, but it doesn’t have to fill our hearts. Let’s embolden our hearts with a select number of Jesus’ “do not fear” statements. The promise of Christ is simple: we can fear less tomorrow than we do today.

Adapted from Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear by Max Lucado. (Thomas Nelson)

Friday, April 16, 2010

Surpassing Worth of Christ

Miscellanies post:  God, be merciful to me, a Pharisee!


Did Paul preach the gospel of Jesus? That was the question Dr John Piper sought to address last night at T4G in a message that became one of my personal conference highlights. The sermon manuscript and audio (forthcoming) can be found here. At one point Piper connected the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9–14 (his main text) and Paul’s words in Philippians 3:4–9. It’s quite interesting to read the two accounts together:

Jesus (Luke 18:9–12):
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
Paul (Philippians 3:4–6):
If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Jesus (Luke 18:13–14):
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Paul (Philippians 3:7–9):
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.
Paul preached the gospel of Jesus–and it was this gospel that changed his life forever.


Thursday, April 15, 2010

Spiritually Experientially Conscious

Excerpt from John Piper:  The Immeasurable Greatness of His Power Toward Us

So I say it again, my message for believers (and all who will listen) is this: The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and what became of him after his resurrection, shows the greatness of God’s power toward us now in this life. Sum it up with three words: resurrection power now—to live and die for the glory of Christ.

In Ephesians 1:15-23, Paul is praying for believers. He is concerned with the very thing I have been talking about—believers who do not feel the power of God in their lives now. He knows he cannot change this. Only God can. That is why he is praying. But he does write the prayer. And I am preaching a sermon. Knowing things matters when it comes to deep change in our hearts. God answers prayer through what he has given us to know.

What is he praying for? We are going to focus on the answer in verse 19. But glance first at Ephesians 1:17-18. Paul is praying “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know . . .” So boil it down to this. Paul is praying, and I am praying and preaching, that God would enlighten the eyes of your hearts—that is, take the dullness away that I referred to earlier—so that you may know . . . . something.

And the “knowing” here is not the kind of knowing the devil has. In one sense, the devil knows these three things that Paul is about to mention. That’s not the kind of knowledge Paul is praying for. He means “know” in the sense of conscious experience. It’s the difference between knowing this brown stuff is honey because of the label on the jar, and knowing this is honey because of tasting it. The devil doesn’t taste the wonder of this knowledge. Paul is praying we would know with the knowledge of conscious experience.

He wants us to know three things, and we are only concerned with the third. Verses 18-19: “. . . that you may know [1] what is the hope to which he has called you, [2] what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and [3, the one we are concerned with] what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.” He’s not praying that we get the calling, or become heirs, or get the power. He is saying: You have the calling; you are heirs; you have the power of God toward you, and you don’t know them as you could and as you should. I want you to know them. I am praying that you may “know . . . the immeasurable greatness of his power toward you who believe” (verse 19). He is praying that we would be spiritually experientially conscious of God’s power toward us as believers now.

Zeal and Resolve

Ray Ortlund:  How to promote the great work of Christ in our time


“Two things urgently needed in ministers, if they would attempt great advances for the kingdom of Christ, are zeal and resolve.  Their influence and power for impact are greater than we think.  A man of ordinary abilities will accomplish more with zeal and resolve than a man ten times more gifted without zeal and resolve. . . .  Men who are possessed by these qualities commonly carry the day in almost all affairs.  Most of the great things that have been done in the world, the great revolutions that have been accomplished in the kingdoms and empires of the earth, have been primarily owing to zeal and resolve.   The very appearance of a intensely engaged spirit, together with a fearless courage and unyielding resolve, in any person that has undertaken leadership in any human affair goes a long way toward accomplishing the intended outcome. . . .  When people see a high degree of zeal and resolve in a person, it awes them and has a commanding influence upon them. . . .  But while we are cold and heartless and only go on in a dull manner, in an old formal round, we will never accomplish anything great.  Our efforts, when they display such coldness and irresolution, will not even make people think of yielding. . . .  The appearance of such indifference and cowardice does, as it were, provoke opposition.”

Jonathan Edwards, “What must be done more directly to advance this work [of revival],” Works (Edinburgh, 1979), I:424. Wording updated.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

He IS

Christine Wyrtzen Devotional:  ANGUISH AND APPETITE

Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my delight.  Psalm 119:143

    When a person hears bad news, he often loses his appetite.  He feels sick to his stomach and what once appealed to his senses holds little value.  Friends and family encourage him to eat something to keep up his strength.  One of the first questions we ask someone in fresh grief is, "When is the last time you ate something?"

    Pain can do that to my spiritual appetite, too.  If I am seized with anguish and doubled over in pain, it doesn't seem possible that my soul could delight in anything.  Yet, in the midst of sorrow, God promises to feed me a banquet from his table.  Even in the presence of my enemies, the table is laden with spiritual food.  God doesn't scale back the meal with the equivalent of a bowl of soup when His children are bent low.  He only enlarges what we will consume.

    You might be asking, "What if I'm not hungry?  What if I have no desire to consume Living Bread today?  What if I'm in such a hopeless place that a bunch of words on paper don't appear to me to be any kind of banquet for a ravaged soul?"  My answer comes from experience.  "Force feed."  Never am I in greater danger of the effects of spiritual malnutrition than when God's spiritual provision has lost its appeal. 

    So is the Word of God the spiritual meal?  Am I just given a bunch of words to hang onto?  Is this all I can anticipate when it feels like life has fallen apart?  I forget that God IS the Word.  He IS the meal.  It is He who speaks His Word into my ear.  It is He who holds me tenderly as He does.  It is He who can multi-task; comforting me in a seeming suspension of time, and simultaneously, working behind the scenes to work my pain for my good and His glory.  I can't see what He's doing yet but that's okay.  I'm lost in the sound of His voice and the soothing promises that bathe my soul in His peace.

In whatever ways I have shut down from life, stir my heart to experience the delights You have promised.  Keep the pains of this life from dulling my spiritual appetite. Amen

Two Way Street

Mark Batterson post:  One-dimensional Churches

We have a new mantra at NCC. It may not be super catchy. In fact, you may be nonplussed by it. But it's the way we're thinking about church. It's the way we're welcoming guests. It's becoming part of our DNA. Here it is: we invite YOU to be part of what God is doing at National Community Church and we want to be part of what God is doing in your life.

That may not seem like much, but I think it's huge. Most churches leave off the second-half of that statement and the result is a one-dimensional church. When people walk through our doors I assume it's because God is at work in their life somehow, someway. We want to be part of that. I think too many churches invite people to be part of what God is doing at their church. That can come across as self-serving. Don't get me wrong. We've got a huge vision at NCC. God is on the move. And God wants each of us to be part of something bigger than us and more important than us. But we've got to be two-dimensional. And that means discerning how God is already at work in people's lives and becoming part of that.

I think we had an example of that at our Kingstowne location this weekend. A woman came forward for prayer who has been coming to NCC for quite awhile and runs a missions organization. The miracle she is believing God for is the monies to open an orphanage in the Congo. They raise the cash first and they need $15,000. Her vision is our vision. That is the way God is working in her life and we want to be part of it. That doesn't always equate to a financial investment. But on this occasion I just felt like it was wrong to ask God to do something for us that we had the power to do for ourselves. So we took an impromptu offering at the end of the service. Our giving is going to translate into a miracle for those sixty kids waiting for a home!

My point? We need to have a church vision and we need to invite people to be part of it. But we also need to discern the way God is already working in each individual's life and be part of that too. Church is a two-way street.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Affection of Jesus

For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:8

Approval

Ray Ortlund post:  Human approval


1. Human approval is divided. Some like you, others dislike you. A split vote. Who can you believe?
2. Human approval is shallow. None of them know your deepest heart. What if they did?
3. Human approval is distorted. Your friends overlook — hopefully — some failings. Your enemies are blind to your merits. How do you sort it all out?
4. Human approval is unsatisfying. The need of your heart for belovedness goes far beyond anything another sinner can say or do.
5. Human approval is a blessing. The loving favor of true friends is a gift from God. Receive it cheerfully, with thanks to Him. And be sure to give it out to others in generous supplies every day.

“I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.” Philemon 7

Monday, April 12, 2010

Embrace It with an Insatiable Appetite

Christine Wyrtzen Devotional

A REJECTION THAT HAS HISTORY

I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts.  Psalm 119:141

God chooses the foolish, the ones who are already peculiar and despised.  Once chosen, we are despised even more because we are God's.  As a result, we can feel small and very low.  If ever we needed God's Word, it's when we are low.

Because God calls out the ones who are not likely to be chosen in this world, there is already rejection written on the psyche of His child.  There are familiar mental pathways of worthlessness inside of him that feel like second nature.  To be spurned by family and friends, then to be spurned for the cause of Christ, can feel the same even though the causes are radically different.

As God's child, I don't need to sort it out all out today.  The spiritual cure is the same no matter where rejection comes from.  It was for David, whether spurned by his brothers, spurned by long-time friends, or spurned by his enemies.  He ran to the shelter of God's love and immersed Himself in the promises of God's faithful love.

There are many reasons I might feel the sting of inadequacy today.  I can take them to heart and nurse my insecurity.  Or, I can understand that this very moment is an exercise to live by faith, to stand tall and declare that no one has the right to define my worth except my creator.  My place with Jesus is a home I never have to earn.  It just 'is'.

I used to feel small and hide from others.  Now, I remember who You say I am and rise to full stature.  I am unworthy of Your love, Lord, but I embrace it with an insatiable appetite for more of You.  Amen

Praying for Each Other

Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart.

Philippians 1:3-4 [The Message]

Friday, April 09, 2010

Affectionately Desirous

Excerpt from Ray Ortlund post:  Heart-connection

...


The church is God’s alternative to this world of put-downs. Every Sunday we can walk into church with this thought: “The Lord is not bringing me here today to bring anyone down or even pass them by in a smiling but unthinking way. Before I walk out the door, I am going to look deeply into the eyes of at least one other person and, at that moment of grace, give my heart away. God forbid that I would be politely neutral. God grant that this will become relationally intense.”

“Being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.” 1 Thessalonians 2:8

Thursday, April 08, 2010

No Boasting

God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

1 Corinthians 1:28-29

Saw and Believed

Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;

John 20:8

Missiology

Ed Stetzer post excerpts:  Musings on Missiology:  Theological Approaches to Social Action and Transformation

Here on the blog we were recently looking at the relationship between evangelism and social justice and connecting it to the ongoing discussion of the missional church. My guess is that many evangelicals will find it interesting that the reaction to this shift in attitude from individuals such as Donald McGavran, John Stott, and Billy Graham was across the spectrum. Some saw justice as an implication of the Gospel, others as a "facet" of the gospel "diamond," and others as a co-equal of the Gospel. We will look at the spectrum of belief more in depth later.


I remember sitting on the side of a conference facility kibitzing with Tim Keller before I was to speak at the Dwell Conference that Redeemer hosted in Manhattan. We were meeting in what was a former United Church of Christ church facility, but now was conference hall rented for special events. My topic was, "Dwelling in the Kingdom Mission." I turned to Tim and mentioned the irony that I was about to speak to a group of evangelicals about the Kingdom of God and the missio dei in a facility that once housed a church that probably lost its way during the Kingdom of God movement of the early 1900s or the missio dei movement later in that same century.

An emphasis on social awareness and world transformation has led to problems. Any Christian with a history book and a willingness to learn can see that. Yet, I think it is essential that evangelicals be more engaged in social action-- and I think that most evangelicals would agree. We need to care for the poor, visit the captive, minister to the marginalized, and engage in social action more (Ps. 14:6; Deut. 10:18; 24:17; Mal. 3:5; Mt. 6:2; James 2:2-6; 1 Jn. 3:17-18). We need to discover social action but I have pointed out many times that the last two times that Christians "discovered" social justice, it did not end well.

Tim encouraged me to go ahead and mention the irony of that moment. I am not sure if I did in my talk that day, but I will now. I think that evangelical Christians must focus more on the Kingdom of God and the missio dei, but they must do so while avoiding the errors of those who discussed similar truths in earlier generation. In order to do that, we should learn from the past so we do not repeat its errors.
Mark Twain once said, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." Evangelicals need more social action, but they need to know and avoid the errors of those who came before us and shared the same concern.

Last week, we talked about how the Kingdom of God theological theological emphasis combined with the Social Gospel and had some problematic repercussions-- gospel proclamation got lost in social action. This week, we are continuing to look at how evangelism and social justice interface by looking at the emergence of liberation theology and the church's shift in attitude towards the poor in the missions conversations in the mid-to-late 1900s. Next week, I will suggest some ways to avoid the extremes and find a way to live both.

...


Conclusion

The social justice question is always a challenging one. The Liberation Theology movement expressed that value by building on the missio dei movement and "joining God in His work" of bringing about societal transformation. (I won't rehash that from the last post.) Evangelicals have generally seen the ecumenical approach as unhelpful and to be avoided-- while often co-opting some of the ideas and even language of the ecumenical movement.

These issues will always be a struggle for Christians. Everything new is, well, generally not. For example, the Lausanne Movement is about to meet again and the organizers explain their mission as a mix of evangelistic and social concern (leading to praise from some and concern from others):
The Congress, held in collaboration with the World Evangelical Alliance, will bring together 4,000 leaders from more than 200 countries to confront the critical issues of our time - other world faiths, poverty, HIV/AIDS, persecution, among others - as they relate to the future of the Church and world evangelization... Together we will seek the Lord as we examine the world and our culture to discern where the church should invest its efforts and energies to most effectively respond to Christ's call to take the gospel into all the world and make disciples of all nations... lives changed for all eternity, broken families mended, physical and emotional hurts healed, communities transformed.

Evangelicals have tended to try to find a way not to turn their social justice into the problematic approaches that came before them. I have tried to unpack those here. But, we cannot just say, "Well, that's why we need to avoid societal transformation." That's like saying we need to avoid "grace" before some people misunderstand it. Just because someone misuses a biblical principal does not mean that we are excused from using it.

I remember planting my first church among the urban poor in Buffalo, NY. I had well intentioned believers tell me to avoid being involved in social action because it would detract from the gospel. They warned me specifically about the dangers of Liberation Theology (by name) and told me to be sure to preach Jesus.

I found that I could not preach Jesus and not care about justice. And, if I wanted real justice, I had to preach Jesus. They did not seem separable, but history has shown that they can be.

So, as Evangelicals have worked to make a biblical connection between social justice and the gospel we can see different approaches take shape. Should social action and justice be seen as a part of our evangelism, or as a consequence of it? Or perhaps you would like to suggest another connection.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Over All Other Voices

Christine Wyrtzen Devotional: THE LOGICAL CHOICE

You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness and in all faithfulness.  Psalm 119:138

I often read a portion of the Word and think, "Ok, this is sure out there.  I guess I'll stretch my faith and choose to believe it anyway."  (Like it was some heroic act.)  I'm pulled up short this morning.  It should be easy to believe God.  He is a truth teller.  He is holy.  His love is faithful.  Knowing this, why would the choice be difficult.

I consider the alternatives.  Will I choose to believe human beings over God?  They are imperfect spokesmen.  Each has a skewed perspective, twisted by sin.  If any speaks accurately, it is rare.  Most often, men's words are toxic but only God knows to what degree.  I don't.  To stand on their words above God's Word is not logical when stacked up against the evidence of man's character vs. God's character.

The other alternative is to choose to believe the enemy.  He shoots arrows of thoughts my way and I often can't tell the difference between his words and my own thoughts.  They sound the same in my head and always seem to fit how I process information and feelings.  He's sly and intuitive and knows how to customize a lie.  Even though it feels natural to me, do I prefer the words of a liar over God?  Most of my life, the answer has been 'yes'.

If I needed a witness to vouch for me in court, whom would I choose?  One person is upstanding in the community and is known to be a person of integrity.  The second is a shady character, a person famous for double talk.  The choice seems obvious.  So is the choice to believe God over all other voices today.  When there are conflicting stories, Word against man, I choose the divine Word.

Your Word is my truth, my only reality, Lord. Amen

What Would Your Heart Long to Do?

Ray Ortlund post:  As if there were no tomorrow


“I never really knew Stevie Ray Vaughn well.  We played together only a couple of times, but it was enough to be able to link him with Jimi Hendrix in terms of commitment.  They both played out of their skin, every time they picked up their instruments, as if there were no tomorrow, and the level of devotion they both showed to their art was identical.  Listening to Stevie on the night of his last performance here on earth was almost more than I could stand and made me feel like there was nothing left to say.  He had said it all.”

Eric Clapton, Clapton: The Autobiography (New York, 2007), page 325.

When planning a worship service for Immanuel Church, one of the questions I often ask myself and our music leader is, “If this were your last opportunity ever to lead people in worship, what would your heart long to do?”  After all, it might be.  And even if we have another chance next Sunday, I never want to hold back.  So much is at stake every time.

Monday, April 05, 2010

A New Beginning

Mark Batterson post:  God's Grammar

Many years ago I heard an old sermon by an old preacher and I'll never forget it. The sermon was titled God's Grammar. He said: "Never put a comma where God puts a period and never put a period where God puts a comma."

The resurrection of Jesus Christ turned death into a comma. It's not the end. It's a new beginning! Don't put a period where God puts a comma. Why? Because God is in the resurrection business.

Friday, April 02, 2010

Poured Out

Miscellanies post:  ... so I might drink from his cup

He drank my cup … so I might drink from his cup.

Matt 26:26–29
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
Mark 14:22–25
And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Luke 22:14–20
And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
1 Corinthians 11:23­–26
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Do Adore Thee

Tyler Kennedy post:  Good Friday Hymn


There's something about music played in a minor key that really serves sorrowful lyrics. And that's a gracious thing, especially when you know you ought to feel the weight of the words more and you don't.

We sang this hymn last night at Bethlehem's Maundy Thursday service, and God used the consonance of its words and melody to move me emotionally closer to the bitterness and beauty of the cross. I was grateful. Perhaps he would use it to move you too.

I found a great recording of it at Songsandhymns.org, which you can listen to or download.
Ah, Holy Jesus
Ah, holy Jesus, how hast Thou offended,
That man to judge Thee hath in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by Thine own rejected,
O most afflicted.

Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon Thee?
Alas my treason, Jesus, hath undone Thee.
’Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied Thee.
I crucified Thee.

For me, kind Jesus, was Thy incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and Thy life’s oblation;
Thy death of anguish and Thy bitter passion,
For my salvation.

Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
The slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered;
For our atonement, while he nothing heedeth,
God intercedeth.

Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay Thee,
I do adore Thee, and will ever pray Thee.
Think on Thy pity and Thy love unswerving,
Not my deserving.

Christ Raised

As I think about Good Friday, what Jesus endured, all that the disciples must have been thinking, and as I look forward to resurrection day ("if Christ has not been raised, then .. (our) faith is in vain") there are many songs that have special meaning.

Probably my favorite Good Friday song, because of the resurrection hope,  is Carman's "Sunday's on the Way"

Thursday, April 01, 2010

Wise and Strong

For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1 Corinthians 1:25

Revelation

Mark Batterson post:  Reading + Remembering = Revelation

The reason we need to read Scripture is because we need something to remember. Let me explain. In John 2, Jesus turns the Temple upside down or rightside up. He drives out the animals and turns over the tables. And it says the disciples "remembered" what was written: "Zeal for your house will consume me." If you don't read the Word you can't remember it. It's like not studying for a test. It's real hard to remember what you haven't read in the first place. The reason many of us don't have any revelation is because we haven't read the Word, therefore we cannot remember it. The disciples have a revelation in this moment because they remember what they have read.
Here's a revelation equation: Reading + Remembering = Revelation.

We need to read the Word so that the Holy Spirit can selectively and strategically bring to mind those words that He inspired thousands of years ago. We need to read so that we have something to remember. And it'll lead to revelation.

Gospel


Gospel 101 from Sojourn Community Church on Vimeo.