What Are You Looking At?

     I’ve been slowly studying my way through Psalm 119 lately, and there’s a specific concept that God has really brought to my attention. Out of all that there is to gain from this Psalm I want to highlight one particular idea that the Psalmist really drives home, and that is the object of our sight. Over and over the Psalmist mentions the eyes:

      vs. 6: “…having my eyes fixed on all your commandments”

      vs. 15: “…and fix my eyes on your ways”

      vs. 18: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”

      vs. 37: “Turn my eyes from worthless things; and give me life in your ways.”

     This drives me to ask the question, What am I looking at? The Psalmist so desires for the eyes of his heart to be fixed on the Word of God. God is showing me that the majority of the time my eyes are looking at anything but His Word. It’s so easy for us to fix the eyes of our hearts on other things: circumstances, relationships, busyness, upcoming events, homework, work schedule, ourselves. If we are to faithfully follow after God, we must be looking to Him (You walk in the direction that your eyes are looking towards). God reveals Himself to us through His Word, therefore, we must be looking to the Word of God. We can see from the Psalm in it’s entirety that by fixing our eyes on God and His Word, we can begin to cultivate a hunger for God and His Word and a delight in God and His Word.

     So, what are your eyes fixed on? Are you daily devoting time to knowing God through studying the Scriptures? Do you see the priority of knowing the Word? I think we can begin to arrange our lives to being fixed on the Word through two means of grace that God gives us: memorization and meditation. Right before the Psalmist mentions having his eyes fixed on the Word of God he writes, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (vs.11). As familiar as this verse is to anybody who’s been in church for very long, we sure tend to neglect this discipline. Memorize passages out of Psalm 119, memorize passages that clearly proclaim the Gospel (Isaiah 53, Ephesians 2:1-10, etc.), just store up the Word in your heart!

     As we begin to genuinely study the Bible and memorize it, we must also meditate on it. Jerry Bridges, in his book The Pursuit of Holiness, writes, “The objective of our meditation is application – obedience to the Scriptures.” As we learn the Word, we must apply the Word; if you cease to apply God’s Word then you’ll cease to remember it. God, by no means, intends for us to learn and memorize His Word without living it out; this is where meditation helps out. Bridges, in that same book, gives 3 questions we can ask ourselves as we read and think on Scripture:

      1. What does this passage teach concerning God’s will for a holy life?

      2. How does my life measure up that Scripture; specifically where and how do I fall short?

      3. What definite steps of action do I need to take to obey?

     Write these questions down on a small index card and carry it around with you throughout the day; in the short moments of dead time that you have, think on the Word! Cultivate a delight in the Word, and adjust your eyes to be fixed on the eternal, true, right Word of God. May we, by the grace of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit, “…fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2, NIV).

A Gospel Primer for Christians

     Milton Vincent is the Pastor-Teacher of Cornerstone Bible Church in Riverside, California. He has written a must-read book for every Christian. A Gospel Primer for Christians is a great aid to any follower of Christ. Vincent breaks down the book into 4 different secitons: Reasons to Rehearse the Gospel Daily, A Gospel Narrative – Prose Version, A Gospel Narrative – Poetic Version, and Surprised by the Gospel. Vincent writes in the introduction:

     “…this booklet is based on the premise that all Christians should become expert in their knowledge and  use of the gospel, not simply so they can share it faithfully with non-Christians, but also so they can speak it to themselves every day and experience its benefits. In fact, if Christians would do more preaching of the gospel to themselves, non-Christians might have less trouble comprehending its message, for they would see its truth and power exuding from believers in indisputable ways.”

     We must strive to have the Gospel as “first importance” (1 Cor. 15:3) in our lives as Christians if we are to properly live the Christian life. This book is a great contribution to you cultivating that priority day by day.

How NOT To Waste Your Summer

     Over at the EatBible blog, Jeff Medders has put up a very challenging post on how we can use our summers for God’s glory and our good. He has put up 9 resolutions for us to pursue throughout the summer months. I encourage everyone especially students to take hold of a few (or all!) of these resolutions and watch how God works this summer. I’m going to try and run with these resolutions this summer, so keep me accountable for them! But here’s a preview of the 9 resolutions; Jeff expands on each one so check out the full post here.

1. Study Jesus and the Gospel.

2. Have breakfast everyday…

3. Read a good book this summer

4. Get Discipled or Get a Disciple

5. Share the Gospel with someone

6. War with your sin

7. Serve in your Church or Go to Church!

8. Tithe

9. Pray for other people

New Attitude Conference 2008

    In less than a month, there will be over 3,000 students, singles, and young married couples making their way to Louisville for the upcoming New Attitude Conference. I attended this conference for the first time last summer, and NA is easily one of the best conferences I’ve ever been to. Between the community, the speakers (CJ Mahaney, Al Mohler, Mark Dever, John Piper, Joshua Harris, and Eric Simmons), the bookstore, and everything this conference has to offer you will leave New Attitude with an increased passion for the local church and for the truths of the Gospel. Over at the Sovereign Grace Blog, CJ Mahaney has written a post on ”New Attitude 2008 and Why You Should Come.” Here’s the promo video for NA:

    This year’s conference is focused on rediscovering the doctrine of Scripture. I highly recommend that you register for this conference, especially since registration closes on May 5th. Whether you’re going or not, start praying for the speakers and attendees of the conference; it’s going to be a very fruitful time.

—-As a quick side note, I encourage you to check out the New Attitude blog. They are putting out some really great posts and articles. Two articles that are “must-reads” in my opinion are the two that discuss “The Gospel and Relationships.” There’s one for guys by Jospeh Stigora and one for girls by Erin Sutherland.

Is the Gospel “good news”?

     As I made my way through John Piper’s God is the Gospel, there are a number of things that the Holy Spirit convicted me of. One of the main things that was brought to my attention is that I don’t ultimately view the Gospel as the “good news” that it truly is, and I think that there are many in the Church today that do the same thing. A lot of people will say stuff like, “We just have to share the good news” or “Go and preach the good news!” But, do we really believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is “good news”? I think that if we did, the majority of our church services, evangelistic efforts, and our own personal relationships with the Lord would be drastically different.

     In this book Piper’s overall point is that the Gospel is good news because God is the Gospel (hence the book title). What he means by this is that the news of the Gospel is good because of what it centers around: God Himself. Piper explains throughout the 179 pages of the book that the best thing the Gospel does for us, the most central part of the Gospel, is the fact that our faith in those truths bring us to God; the saving truths of Scripture allow us to come to God and behold Him and, as Piper would say, to “see and savor” who He is. This is the main thread that is woven throughout the book, and Piper shows how this is lived out in various aspects of our lives; I’ll let you read the book for yourself to get all the details.

       But why does this matter? Why is it so important to view the Gospel as “good news”? Well, I am convinced that the way that we view the Gospel dictates how its message will be preached and applied in our lives. So if I don’t see that the Gospel is good news because it allows me to behold my God (Isaiah 40:9), if I don’t see that “Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…” (1 Peter 3:18, emphasis added) then the Gospel won’t be shared, talked about, or lived out in a way that shows that. What you believe about the Gospel determines your behavior towards the Gospel. So without a deep, genuine belief in your heart that the Gospel is true and that the highest purpose of that truth is not to give you salvation, or forgiveness, or justification, but it’s to give you God and all other gifts of the Gospel flow from Him then that won’t be seen in your life. The Gospel is not good news because it makes us comfortable or wealthy, there is no evidence of that in Scripture, but the Gospel is good news because it opens the door for us to do what we’re made for: behold and know the almighty, sovereign, just, gracious God of the Universe. God, thank You that You have brough us to Yourself through the beautiful blood of Christ. Make the Gospel “good news” in the hearts of Your people.

    

Disciple Now ‘07

     Last weekend I had the privilege to help lead Disciple Now back at my home church, LaGrange Baptist Church. The weekend centered around small groups splitting up to different homes. I had the opportunity, along with my roommate Clay, to the lead the 7th and 8th grade guys. The material we walked through during the weekend answered the big questions that many people ask about Christianity: What does the Bible say about sex?, What does the Bible say about suffering?, etc. The weekend proved to be a challenging time for the guys and a refreshing and challenging time for me as well. Here’s a 6-minute fly through our time together at Disciple Now:

The Unchanging Nature of the Gospel

    There are mornings when I wake up and for some reason I’m just not excited about getting into the Word that morning, or I’m just not looking forward to doing ministry that day. We all have days like these. There are other days when I’m the exact opposite; I wake up excited about having time to spend with the Lord and I’m motivated to live out what I learn from the Word. I’m not unusual in this sense at all; anyone who says that they wake up excited and can’t wait to get into the Word every single morning is lying. Also, there are times in my life when everything seems like it is going wrong. It’s as if it is impossible for one thing to turn out good for me. Once again, this is something that we all experience. In most cases, I end up allowing these circumstances to influence a negative outlook on the rest of life, especially my spiritual life.

     Looking back on how I’ve reacted to these feelings and circumstances, it just seems ridiculous to allow that which is temporal in my life to dictate how I view that which is eternal. It’s something that we all do. But I am so thankful to God that He doesn’t work according to how we feel. It’s not as if God becomes less of God just because we don’t “feel” His truth that day. God’s goodness doesn’t decrease just because our circumstances might not seem “good” to us. This tendency in our lives is a product of the culture that we live in. One of the main messages that flows out of our culture is to do follow your heart or just go with your feelings. We, as Christians, end up transferring this mindset into our spiritual lives and it distorts our view of God and His Gospel.

     But I urge you to cling to this truth: The truth and power of the Gospel are not dictated by how we feel about it or by what our circumstances may say. I have to preach this concept to myself over and over each day. Praise God that His Gospel of salvation is always true regardless of how we feel about it. Rejoice in the fact that no matter what your circumstances may be the Gospel is always powerful. Why is this? Because the Gospel is God’s Gospel. We serve a God that is immutable; He never changes. Therefore, the good news that is the message of our salvation will never change because the Author Himself never changes. God, thank you that You are eternal and thank you that Your Gospel that saves us is eternal. I am humbled by the fact that you work completely outside of us. You don’t need us, yet You choose to use us. “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!” (Psalm 115:1).

“Where Have All the Men Gone?”

     Over at the New Attitude blog, Justin Buzzard has posted a must-read post on biblical manhood. He offers three short starting points for pursuing biblical masculinity in our lives. The three points are as follows:

“1. Establish a clear conviction of what it means to be a man from God’s Word. This requires effort and diligence in our study, prayer, and purposeful application. This is important because biblical masculinity undefined will inevitably become biblical masculinity unpracticed.

2. We must create and maintain an example worth following. We need to fight our sin, be doers of the Word We can serve our churches, our sisters, wives, children by being compelling examples of godliness (Philippians 3:17, Hebrews 13:7).

3. We must cultivate a holy ambition in our lives for the work of the gospel and kingdom work. We need to lead with zeal (Romans 12:8), to have a passion and unending enthusiasm to know Christ and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:7-12). This ambition should drive us to work hard and be courageous in the work of the Lord (1Corinthians 15:58) in the uniquely masculine ways God has called us to. “

     I love Justin’s point when he says, “…biblical masculinity undefined will inevitable become biblical masculinity unpracticed.” I think that’s so true and so evident in our churches today. Many people are asking the question of why guys aren’t stepping up to fulfill their God-given roles. I think one of the main answers to that question is because not very many guys have a solid, biblical understanding of what it means to be a godly man. Obviously, this is an area in which we as men will constantly be growing, but I think that gives us a place to start. In order for us to start living lives of biblical manhood, we must first define what biblical manhood is and where else are we to look except in the Word of God.

     There are some great resources that have been made available for this very purpose. I encourage you to visit CBMW’s Website (The Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood). You can read Justin’s full post here.

Comfortable Christianity

     The title of this post is a contradiction. The two words “comfortable” and “Christianity” have two completely different meanings. True Christianity is not comfortable; it’s anything but that. Do you think Jesus’ disciples were always comfortable as they followed their Savior? What about Paul? Was he comfortable as he traveled from city to city with the risk of death staring him in the face everywhere he went? This is something that the Lord has been teaching me lately: True biblical Christianity is not a call to be comfortable.

     Let me explain it this way. If we are truly pursuing Christ then the Gospel will be our highest boast at all times. As I look at my own life I see me boasting in the Gospel only when it is easy or when it is comfortable. If I’m only talking about the Gospel and sharing the Gospel when it’s comfortable then that’s not boasting at all; it’s nothing more than me flattering myself into thinking that I’m truly pursuing Christ. Exalting Christ and Him crucified means pointing to the truths of the Gospel with our words, thoughts, actions, and lives at ALL times, not just when it is convenient for us or acceptable to others.

I think it’s important to note when discussing this topic of comfort that our goal is not being uncomfortable. The end in our journey as believers is not discomfort, it’s treasuring and exalting God. The proper response to the realization that the message of the Gospel is on my lips just when it is comfortable for me is not to try and make myself uncomfortable. Jesus’ last words to His disciples aren’t, “Strive to be uncomfortable at all times,” but rather he tells them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). So our highest priority as Christians isn’t to be uncomfortable; our highest priority is to advance the Gospel of Christ by the power of his Holy Spirit, and if that means being uncomfortable then so be it. God, grant your Church a holy boldness to share the good news of Christ who has brought us to you by His shed blood on the Cross.

Summer is Over

     Well, my summer project in Gatlinburg came to an end about a week ago. So I’ve been spending some time with family and friends before it’s time to head back to school. The summer was exhausting, but at the same time, very refreshing and challenging. Here’s the slideshow that was shown at our End of Project Banquet: