John 1:35-42
January 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Nothing incredibly profound gripped me this morning in John 1, but I did take note of these words of Jesus:
‘Come and you will see.’
Two disciples began to follow Jesus, and He asked them what they wanted. They responded by asking Him where He was staying. Jesus answered with the words above, and they stayed with him through the night. I was thankful for the fact that Jesus reveals Himself to those who seek Him. He could have responded to their question by saying, ‘I’m the Son of God, and you are a vile sinner. Didn’t you hear John say that he was unworthy to untie my sandal string? I do not need to associate with people like you, and I will not show you where I am staying, because I do not bother myself with people like you.’
That would have been a perfectly righteous way to respond to these two men. But instead, Jesus is pleased to show them more of Himself, to invite them into His life and stay with Him. I am so grateful that when I want to know more of Jesus, He says in effect, ‘Come and you will see.’ All those who come to Him He will in no way cast out (6:37b). On and on for eternity, He will continue to reveal to us more and more of His greatness.
Thankful for Jesus’ invitation to come to Him for the satisfaction of our souls,
Larry
Keller on Gospel-Centered Ministry
January 21, 2008 | 5 Comments
For anyone involved in ministry in any capacity (preacher, small group leader, worship leader, counselor, mentor, youth worker, anything), do yourself and those you minister to a favor by listening to this message from Tim Keller on Gospel-Centered Ministry. On second thought, even if you have no ministry involvement you should listen to this, because you should know what to expect and desire from those who minister to you.
He preached it last year at the inaugural Gospel Coalition Conference. I can’t remember the last time I listened to something that so stirred me as this message. Enjoy!
John 1:29-35
January 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I’ll have to be quick today because I have to get over to church for Koinonia, but here’s a brief word on what I saw in John this morning.
I was struck particularly by the words, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God…’ The way in which these words follow up the statement of Jesus’ greatness that I mentioned yesterday was especially significant for me. Jesus is so great that his forerunner was not even worthy to untie the strap of His sandal. But rather then come to showcase His worthiness, this Great One emptied Himself and took the form of a lamb…a reference to His sacrificial slaughter for the sins of the world. True greatness is serving, and we who long to be great must follow in the steps of our Savior, who did not count equality a thing to be grasped, but made Himself poor by submitting to death, so that we would become rich in Him.
Seeking true greatness,
Larry
John 1:19-28
January 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment
This morning these words of John the Baptist in John 1 stuck out to me:
“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
In these words I am reminded of the incalculable distance that exists between the greatness of Jesus and the smallness of me. They make me more in awe of the transcendence and holiness of Jesus. Elsewhere in the Gospels John is called by Jesus as the greatest among men born of women. Yet here this one who is regarded as a great one acknowledges that he is not even worthy untie the strap of this coming King. Jesus is that great! Even the most righteous person on earth is but dust in His sight.
As I ponder this, I am left even more awestruck that someone so highly exalted from all eternity should condescend to become flesh and blood and tabernacle among men and women so far beneath Him in value and beauty. I finished my reading this morning praying that, like John, I too would know and live out the reality that I am not on earth to seek glory of myself, but to call all attention to the exceeding greatness of Jesus.
John 1:1-18
January 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Way back in the early stages of this blog, Joe and I began what became a very futile attempt to blog through the Gospel of John. I think we got through about two verses before we realized that we were in way over our heads! But this morning I began reading John in my devotions. I follow the Discipleship Journal Reading Plan, and so it will take me three months to get through the entire Gospel.
I decided that as I read through each morning, I will commit to posting a short reflection based on what God was showing me in each reading. I hope to endure in this and not give it up after a few days. So I am not going to get very detailed in each passage, as much more could be said about all the verses. I just want to pull out the one point that God most impresses on my heart and hopefully encourage others and increase admiration of Jesus by posting it here.
The verse that hit me most today was a familiar verse, John 1:14, ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.’ I was again left admiring and longing to be like Jesus, who was and is full of grace and truth. Both of these qualities are so difficult to find in the same person. Most times we end up preaching truth boldly while sacrificing grace and compassion. We come off as arrogant and condescending. Or we lay truth aside in the name of grace, which is equally a failure to love others. But Jesus never made such a mistake. He was always full of both. How differently my relationships in family and ministry would look if I could pull this off!
Mercifully, Jesus is at work in us by His Spirit, conforming us to His image. By His grace, I need not be a grace person or a truth person, but a both person. In beholding His perfect truth and perfect grace, I can become more like Him. In fact, I will not be surprised if many of my observations over the next three months come back to this grace and truth paradox, as Randy Alcorn puts it.
Longing to be more like the Savior,
Larry
A Few Good Links
January 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
Check out this two posts from Tullian Tchividjian. One and two. Good stuff. I look forward to reading his book.
Also, check out this interview with T.M Moore. I need to read a few of his books as well.
Peace,
Joe
Being Men and Raising Men
January 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
I am quite sure I linked to this message by Al Mohler a month or so ago, but I have to do so again, because I finally was able to listen to it! I would put it on my “mandatory-listen-list” for every Christian man. It was a great message that encouraged me in my pursuit of true manhood. Check it out brother(s). It is well worth 50 minutes of your time.
Catch you later, Lord willing,
Joe
The New Six-Point Plan
January 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
Here is the second book that had a profound impact on me last year, The New Six-Point Plan for Raising Happy, Healthy Children, by John Rosemond. In my opinion, it should be mandatory reading for every parent.
Of course, like any other book, I probably didn’t agree with everything the man said. But I did agree with most it. For Rosemond’s no-nonsense, old-school approach to parenting was a breath of fresh air. Though I could say a great deal about it, one thing in particular was life-changing, namely, his description of the child-centered home.
See, I picked up this book because we were having all sorts of disciplinary problems with Abigail. And we just couldn’t figure out what was going on. For we were being pretty diligent with the disciplinary acts, but she continued to act up and get pretty rowdy in the process. Erin had mentioned before that she thought I needed to read the book, but she didn’t really push me too hard on it, so I didn’t feel too inclined to do so. But we were desperate for answers and I knew that if I was going to lead the way, I had better to do some reading. So I opened to chapter one.
And there, waiting for me in chapter one, was complete exposure of our problem….we had become a child-centered home. Rosemond says a great deal in the chapter. It is really full of wisdom and a widespread problem in our society and in the church. He talks about the great need for the home to parent-centered rather than child-centered. He of course gives plenty of examples. And while I read them the chapter, I began to see that our main issue with Abigail was that she was receiving too much time and attention. Little by little, the home began to revolve around her needs and her desires.
Of course, this is something of inevitable with a little one. But even when that little one is a really little one, it doesn’t have to run the entire show. The world doesn’t have to revolve around that little child. Indeed, if it is does, it spells destruction, for the child, the marriage, and everyone else we know!
I could say more, but that is all I have time for for now. Suffice it to say that if you are a parent, you need to read this book. I am not even kidding to say that it should be required for every parent. Not because it is perfect, but because it is filled with sound advice. So check it out Lar. Get prepared, because time flies. Your little one won’t be so little soon!
Thankful for my kids and for the wisdom I receive through good books,
Joe
Loving Those We Disagree With
January 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Joe,
As I wrote to you by email, I have been slacking on the blog but I hope to pick things up a bit in the near future. Over on Justin Taylor’s blog, I was reading an interview he did with Thomas McCall, who is a professor at Trinity Divinity School. I was challenged by his answer to this question from JT:
JT: Calvinism vs Arminianism is a perennially “hot topic,” and it’s easy for emotions (and spittle) to fly high. Any words of wisdom on how we can do a better job conversing about issues we care so deeply about?
TM: I’ve spent much of the last decade surrounded by Calvinists. I am very grateful for their presence in, and influence upon, my life. I love the fact that they are committed to knowing God as he has revealed himself, that they care about theology, and that they pursue holiness with such passion (while being exercised to avoid works-righteousness).
On the other hand, sometimes we treat each other as if “all who disagree with me and my enlightened friends are either knaves or fools — they either won’t accept the sober truth or just cannot get it.” This is lamentable (and there is plenty of arrogance on all sides to go around — I’m not immune from this temptation either), and lament and repent we should.
I think that these issues are important enough that we should discuss them. But we should (i) keep them in perspective, (ii) work hard to understand and assist each other, and (iii) realize that we belong to one another in the communion of the Triune God of Holy Love.
Wise words, and ones we should strive to live by, whether you call yourself a Calvinist or an Arminian!
For the rest of the interview, click here.
A Disturbing Article
January 10, 2008 | 2 Comments
Lar,
I would encourage everyone to read this short article about Barack Obama, not so much to gain new info on him, but to expose yourself to the sin that surrounds us here in America. Abortion is evil. And the thought forms that justify it are evil. We must not live as if such great wickedness did not exist. Let us pray for a burden for the unborn and look to take one small step to save one small life for the glory of God. May the Lord have mercy on us.
Joe
Fathers and Abortion
January 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
Here is a good post from Al Mohler on the impact of abortion on fathers and their subsequent response. Good stuff as usual.
Joe
The Spirit of the Disciplines
January 9, 2008 | 1 Comment
Lar,
I figured I would start today with one. I will probably end up with at least ten after reviewing my list. But hey, I love to read and in turn, love to talk about what I read.
The first book that impacted me greatly in 2007 was The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard. It was a just a year ago, I now recall, that I was sitting in Zaragoza, Spain, soaking in this good book and loving virtually every minute of it. Here are a few things that struck me.
First, the discipline of Jesus. Now, I realize that this is nothing terribly surprising, but it wasn’t until reading this book that I really got a picture of how perfectly diligent and disciplined Jesus was. He always did the things that pleased the Father. There was a certain rhythm to His life, a rhythm that centered upon the practice of the Spiritual Disciplines. Jesus had a celebratory character about Him. That is true. He was around people a great deal and oftentimes, the life of the party. But He was also a bit austere. Removed. Deeply spiritual. And this is exactly who we want to become.
Sure, we won’t be Jesus. But we certainly want to become more like Jesus, at least a faint reflection of Jesus. This means that we must practice the spiritual disciplines, while recognizing that they serve the greater good of impacting the world. The personal disciplines lead to greater power in inter-personal relationships…and everything else.
Second, Willard’s use of athletic analogies. I had thought about this before (after all, they are in the Bible), but Willard really spelled things out for me. The reason I am able to perform in a basketball game with freedom and confidence is because I have spent thousands of hours of my life doing simple ball-handling and shooting and passing drills. All of the sudden, a defender switches his position and I instinctively spin and change the hand with which I am dribbling the basketball. Indeed, in my next game, I will surely do something that I have never done before. How? Why? Because of all those hours of practice.
So we ought not to wonder why we so often fail in the game of life while Jesus always succeeded. He perfectly practiced the spiritual disciplines. He was always prepared for what came to Him. Before the cross, He wrestled in prayer so hard that He sweat blood. He performed perfectly in public b/c He practiced perfectly in private. If we are not diligently obeying in public, we are probably not diligently pursuing in private. The disciplines are a primary means through which we live the life of Christ when the game lights come on (that is, in the vast majority of life!).
Third, Willard’s chapter on money. It’s at the back and full of wisdom. I would say more, but I feel like I need to check out the chapter again in order to be faithful to Willard’s message (and I don’t have the book with me). I do remember the way in which he spoke about the need for Christians to faithfully manage more of the world’s resources. Too often we overspiritualize our use of wealth and fail to recognize the various spiritual and economic factors involved in being a faithful steward. Oversimplification with proof texts is not helpful (and indeed, is widespread). Wisdom is needed. And Willard provided some for sure.
Needless to say Lar, I recommend this book. Some of it gets a bit weighty (in the middle as I remember). But it is worth the dig. And for the most part, it is not a difficult read. I am thankful the Lord stirred him to write such a book. Now I just pray for more grace to apply what I learned!
Loving good resources,
Joe
SH Bookstore
January 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
You and many others may have already seen this, but I wanted to point it out for sure. My wonderful wife, Erin, has been putting together a Seek Him Bookstore. It is powered by Amazon, but a portion of the sales go to Seek Him. She has done a wonderful job putting it together. Incidentally, it will also serve as our recommended reading section as well. So check it out everyone, and let me know if you think something is missing. I will always be adding to it of course, but suffice it to say that there is a good number of books in there already. And there are still many more sections to come!
Also Lar, I realized today that during the month of December, we registered our lowest post total since we began to blog. That just means we need to get ourselves going again! Let’s start by posting 7-10 books that impacted us most during the year 2007. I will try to get that post up sometime tomorrow brother. Look to do so sometime before the week is out.
Thankful for sound resources,
Joe
p.s. thanks for linking to that great post on reading the other day. Those were some great tips.
God’s Grace and Tom Brady
January 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
I think it is high time for me to get back into blogging shape brother. I am sorry for leaving you by yourself for a few weeks! But after seeing your post on Tom Brady, I just had to check in. It is good to be back.
The reason your post stirred such thanksgiving in my heart is because the Lord, in great measure, used success to draw me to Himself. For even though I was not nearly on Tom Brady’s level, I had just finished up my sophomore year at Penn State. I was starting in the Big Ten and playing good basketball. Yet there was this gnawing sense within that it wasn’t all that great. Here I was playing in front of thousands, just as I always dreamed, but (though I could not articulate it at the time), it just wasn’t bring me the happiness that I thought it would. Something was still missing.
Then, in the midst of an entire week off from basketball (something unprecedented at the time), I sat down with Jeff and Carol for what I would call a general life discussion that centered upon the Lord. Nothing terribly profound as I remember it now, but simply a conversation about normal life issues in a way that involved God (also something I really hadn’t considered).
If you were there Lar, I don’t think you would have thought that the conversation was life-changing, but it was. And here is why: Because I realized that Jeff and Carol had what I was looking for. Though they didn’t know the heights of athletic success that I was currently enjoying, the had the happiness that I desired. And I knew that they knew that happiness because of Jesus Christ. So, after that short conversation, I walked back to my room and remember telling the Lord, “I don’t care what it takes, what I have to learn, what I have to change, or who I need to become, I want to know what it means to follow Jesus.”
My eyes had been opened brother, by the Spirit of God. That is the ultimate explanation. After all, plenty of people have conversations like I had, but they walk away unchanged. Such is the Lord’s sovereign grace. My life has been much different every since…in a much better way of course! And then only a few months later, I was able to share with you and the Lord graciously opened your eyes as well. What mercy!
Also worth noting is the way in which I am currently enjoying the game of basketball like never before (after 7 long years of professional basketball). It has been a difficult road to this point (after all, putting an idol in its rightful place is tough work that takes time), but when I think of Tom Brady, I feel for him, because I know how he feels. He has all the success he ever dreamed of, but he isn’t able to enjoy it the way he desires. There is still a gnawing emptiness within that keeps him from a full enjoyment of success that really should be enjoyed, indeed, that is given to be enjoyed.
Interesting enough, by the Lord’s mercy, I now have less success than I envisioned and I am enjoying it like never before. As we know, the reason is Christ and the sound theology that centers upon Christ and gives meaning to all existence. Meaning to work. Meaning to play. Meaning to entertainment. Meaning to victory. Meaning to defeat. Meaning to competition. I am just O so thankful for the Lord’s mercy. And even as I write this, I just think to myself, I would love to have a few hours with Tom. We prayed for him this morning as a family. May the Lord see fit to grant Him the same grace He granted me.
Well Lar, I could say more and maybe I will sometime later. This is certainly enough for now.
Thankful for the Lord’s grace,
Joe
Having it All
January 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment
From an earthly perspective, Tom Brady has it all. He’s the quarterback of the best team in the NFL, the first team in history to finish the regular season 16-0. He’s already won 3 Super Bowls. He has a $60 million contract with the Patriots, and many more million in endorsements. He’s been called the most eligible bachelor in America, and is currently dating a Victoria’s Secret model.
So it was provocative to read this comment from him in an interview he recently did with 60 Minutes:
“Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, ‘Hey man, this is what is.’ I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, ‘God, it’s got to be more than this.’ I mean this isn’t, this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be.”
What’s the answer?
“I wish I knew. I wish I knew,” says Brady. “I love playing football and I love being quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I’m trying to find.”
How I pray that the word, ‘God,’ is not a meaningless, throw-away word like it is for so many people. ‘God, it’s got to be more than this…’ Yes, Tom, it is more than this. It is not found in Super Bowl rings, multi-million dollar contracts, or Victoria’s Secret models. It is found in eternally admiring Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I pray you find Him as your treasure.
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