From Isaiah to Jesus

By: Dr. Jimmy Young

The book of Isaiah is, according to its opening verse, addressed to a rebellious Judah and Jerusalem. The opening chapters are just plain awful to consider.

Chapter one tells of how God is repulsed by their worship (Isaiah 1:11-15). That fact alone should prompt a trip to the place where only me and God go... my heart.

But, quite frankly, there is more that moves me to a borderline terror. It’s in chapter 3, verse one, where God states that He is “taking away from Jerusalem and Judah support and supply…”

How can we go on? How can we exist without the support and supply of Almighty God? We can’t.

Take that fact to God and ask Him what is necessary for that to never take place in your life or in the life of your church. Somehow, I bet you end up back at Jesus.

Colossal Power, Tender Love

By: Stacey Fiser

In Eric Metaxas’s biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, he recounts the forces that shaped this renowned theologian. An early trip to Italy proved to be monumental in Bonhoeffer’s growth and understanding of God.

The following quote in Bonhoeffer’s own words, regarding Michaelango’s masterpiece work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel - more specifically about the portion regarding God’s creation of Adam - caused me to reflect more on the intricate character of the unique, mighty God that we are called to serve:

"I was hardly able to move past Adam. There is an inexhaustible abundance of ideas in the picture. The figure of God reverberates with colossal power and tender love, or rather with the divine attributes that supersede these two human attributes that are often far removed from each other." (Metaxas, 64)

God is all that we are not and cannot be. Amazing, isn't it?

Uh-Oh... I Think I’m Getting Old…

By: Will Savell

Last night, the daunting realization occurred to me that I’m getting older when I saw the Rebecca Black music video that everyone is talking about. One thing that tipped me off was that I was around 33 million YouTube views too late, but there were some other factors that weighed in as well.

Mainly it was the fact that my mind didn’t immediately turn toward brutal thoughts toward an obviously horribly written song (if you watch, you’ll get a laugh). Yes, I did laugh in amazement at the lines about days of the week and riding in a car.

But I also found myself thinking about my own daughter, and other 13 year olds I know who might desire to take a chance one day. And what if they wanted to take a chance on something for the Kingdom of God? What if they desire to lead the way in life "outside the shire"?

My mind actually ran through these thoughts as the video was playing. But when it was over I clicked on a related video where she was being interviewed about the song - how everyone hates it, and it’s been suggested that she should literally cut herself and die. There were other pretty rough comments all along the negative spectrum.

I hated to see this 13 year old, who seemed very unpretentious by the way, take on these comments. If I were her, it would be difficult to take another risk. So again, my mind turned toward things that are a bit more significant than the "Friday" song.

Such as:

1. It’s commonplace these days to verbally and textually beat up on failed attempts.
2. Why would anyone then take a chance and put themselves in the line of fire when it comes trying something big for the Lord – knowing that even brothers and sisters in Christ have a harsh way of dealing with failed attempts?
3. Maybe it’s okay to recognize when these attempts aren’t successful, but perhaps we don’t have to broadcast all of our thoughts. Maybe we can do better than that.

I don’t know. I started thinking of my daughter, and I really do want her to grow up believing that taking risks for the sake of Gospel is a good thing. Over time, she’ll realize that people are brutal, but maybe she can also be confident that the brutality won’t come from her spiritual family.

Rebecca Black might not be part of God’s family. Maybe her song is bad. But neither she nor her song is the point. It just got me thinking a little about the way that we are so prone to treat failure. My hope is that we wouldn’t treat someone’s failure for attempting something big for Christ in the same manner. Maybe we would. Who knows? Maybe I’m just getting older.

Adam probably didn’t know Cain and Abel had a facebook account either

By: Landon Ditto

I’m honestly not one to nitpick. I turned in the badge of "fashion/facebook/dating/music police" about 3 months after entering youth ministry. One, because patrolling these things would require a total lack of sleep, and two, because often times it is simply hot-button nitpicking that lacks the motive of exposing, examining, and changing the heart as Christ so consistently taught.

So rather than nitpick, I will simply bring forth a genuine concern as a shepherd, and remind us dads of a simple truth.

The temps were in the 80’s last week. It’s good to be back in the 80’s. We all love the 80’s. But while combining the 80’s with the sand or a pool over Spring Break used to mean a much needed break from routine, thanks to 1) the wandering heart, 2) a sex-worshipping culture, 3) technology, and 4) lack of intentional dialogue and accountability, what we now have is mini Sports Illustrated swimsuit photo shoots happening on your family’s week of fun. Yes, I’m referring to the smattering of swimsuit photos posted to various Facebook pages, potentially available to thousands in downloadable format.

Now there are a million different directions I could drive this car at this point. But remember, I’m not a nitpicker. In many ways, we’ve lost the battle on modesty, and it’s profoundly sad that we’re now being forced to fight the battle of "should we make our immodesty available for the masses or just a select few?"

The main point I want to drive home is to the dads. Dads, you might let mom deal with the "annoyances" of fashion, facebook, boys, etc. right now, but may I humbly suggest that you simply cannot let the rumble of Sportscenter drown out those conversations.

Our two biggest roles as the head and leader of our home is to protect and provide. In reading a recent sermon by John Piper, he points out:

"Without protection and provision, life itself is threatened. The reason these two [attributes] rise to the surface so quickly is that if a husband fails in his leadership here, there may not be any other place to exercise it. The life of the family hangs on protection and provision. Life itself must be protected and nourished, or it ceases to exist."

In Genesis 3, we get a glimpse of where male passivity and abandonment of leadership takes us. Adam probably didn’t know Cain and Abel had a facebook account either. Dads, don’t follow our first parent’s lead in this area. Investigate, ask questions, encourage dialogue, keep your eyes and ears alert to the "mundane" conversations happening in your kitchen. Protect your daughters by challenging them to be as pure as God’s Word calls them to be. Provide for your family by leading them in a way that might not make much sense to the neighborhood.

So what am I asking? Well, nothing. People don’t answer to Landon Ditto or his ministry or the church he is employed at. People answer to a holy, just, and righteous God who calls us to run hard after holiness and who seeks to absolutely consume the hearts and minds of His people. A God who, through his word, exposes the intentions and the dark crevices of our hearts. So dads, go protect. Go provide. And perhaps use the 82 degree days as an opportunity to lead your daughters and your family by re-evaluating what we broadcast to the world.

Personal Reflection on Psalm 19

By: Will Savell

In my personal reading for today, I was in Psalm 19. At the very end of this brief chapter is where David writes the famous words:

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight…” (Ps. 19:14)

Isn’t that a good prayer? I know this is something that I prayed just this morning.

Beside this sentence I wrote the word, “How?” and then drew a great big connecting line up to verses 7-9 where David seems to use the writing tool of parallelism. Take a look:

The law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the testimony of the LORD is sure,

making wise the simple;

the precepts of the LORD are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the LORD is pure,

enlightening the eyes;

the fear of the LORD is clean,

enduring forever;

the rules of the LORD are true,

and righteous altogether.

A revived soul, wisdom, a heart that rejoices, enlightened eyes, eternity, and righteousness are all words that are pretty appealing.

There seems to be great benefit to what we know as God’s word. And it’s the meditation and dwelling on this word that will “let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight.”

Your Hard Drive is Not Partitioned

By: Jim Umlauf

While Tammy and I were on the beach this week, we observed near us a mother, grandmother, and young child, perhaps six. We overheard the grandmother say, “That’s why people go on vacation—to break the rules.” The mother affirmed this: “That’s right. We go on vacation to break rules.” (I bet they rethink that advice when the kid’s seventeen.) Of course, it might be that they were poorly articulating the way a vacation breaks routine, and thus gives rest. But even so, there’s a lesson in there for us.

If you’ve ever felt the urge to whisper in proximity to stained glass, or reasoned that your workplace is “less religious” than church, listen up. The Christian must never think in those terms. Our lives are not segmented into religious and non-religious chapters. Rather, we live out every minute before the eyes of an all-knowing, everywhere-present, creating, saving, redeeming, sustaining, sanctifying, personal, perfect God.

A fancy cathedral full of candles is no more holy than your kid’s rainy lacrosse game. The senior pastor’s office is no closer to God than your cubicle at work. The work you carry out volunteering at the food drive is no more aristocratic than changing another stinky diaper on a Thursday.

Ever wondered what happened to the importance of the Jewish temple? The Holy Spirit of God resides in you! That’s the holy of holies.

The whole, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” is a laughable lie. The sovereign God of heaven sees and knows all. For the spiritually unsettled person, that’s a call to your soul to seek further answers about God, the way he relates to human beings, and the claims of Jesus Christ. For the believer in Christ, it’s the great blessing of our existence as God’s redeemed. He is our personal God and we are his personal people. We may live in joyful and warm fellowship with him who made us and loves us. It’s a foretaste of that greater blessing, seeing him face to face. Until then, what happens in Vegas or anywhere else, is simply a life lived in humble, happy worship of the one who loved enough to save.

How to Think About God's Role in Japan's Calamity

By: Dr. Jimmy Young

I am provoked, which is a nice way to say I am angry.

I watched an interview this morning that took place between Martin Bashir (MSNBC) and Rob Bell, concerning Bell's now controversial book, Love Wins. My thoughts here have nothing to do with the book, because I haven’t read it, and have no plans to. Others, much smarter than I, have already made plain the issues. (ed. - Click here, here, here, or here if interested in diving into the deep problems with Love Wins.)

I’m writing to address a question that Bashir posed to Bell:

“Which of these is true? Either God is all-powerful, but He doesn’t care about the people of Japan, and therefore their suffering. Or, He does care about the people of Japan, but He is not all-powerful. Which one is it?”

Indeed, “there is nothing new under the sun.” This is a standard question posed by many, made popular by the book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner. I realize the weightiness of the question, but there is at least a bit we can say, which certainly was never said in the MSNBC interview.

Christianity has always believed in an omnipotent and omniscient God. If that much is true, and it is, then this much we can say: there is not one maverick molecule in this whole universe. Thus, every geographical plate, and every ocean wave does the bidding of its Creator.

What we cannot say is why. None of us knows why God does some of what He does. To say that God is judging Japan because of their Buddhism is to go way beyond what we know. There is no one in Japan that is more wicked than I am. And if God is going to judge idolatry this way, then look out California (and Florida).

I don’t know what God is up to, but I know that “the Lord rules.” I will never venture to describe His motives, but neither will I ever snatch from Him divine prerogatives. To say that He doesn’t care is to commit the same error, just on the other end of the spectrum.

Who can say what will come of all this suffering in Japan? Not me - I’m not omniscient. But could it one day be viewed differently than we are viewing it today? Would not many of us point to the salubrious effects of our suffering? Was not the cross a chance for someone to say, “God doesn’t care for Him!”? And yet, that event has become the most glorious act of redemption ever.

The safest place to reside, theologically, is in the oft-repeated refrain in the Psalms, “The Lord rules.”

More Than Meets the Eye

By: Brent Wilkins

German journalist and writer Gerhard Staguhn describes time, space, and matter this way:

“Whenever man tries to probe into the universe’s dimension of time, he will finally be confronted with eternity. Where he tries to understand the dimension of space, he will be finally confronted with infinity. And where he tries to understand matter by separating it into even smaller particles, he will always discover something that is even smaller, and be confronted with the fact that there is no final smallest particle.”

Do these statements create a level of discomfort for you, or great excitement?

Dr. Richard A. Swenson, in his book More Than Meets the Eye, states that for those who prefer certainty, these answers can be discomforting. Yet at the same time, this new reality is endlessly exciting for people who enjoy faith. It turns out that the universe is far more interesting than first suspected… scientifically as well as spiritually. “The challenge for us” states Swenson, “is to understand what the new physics teaches us about God. For one thing, it confirms that He is brilliant, a ‘superintellect.’”

The more we dig and uncover through science and exploration, the more we continue to discover! Psalm 95:1-6 puts it this way:

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

And here is the reason:

For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

Anchors Aweigh or Anchors Away?

By: Clay Younts

In Dr. Young’s sermon on March 6, he compared sin to an anchor. He stated that sin can be an anchor on your soul. Sin can drag you off the path of righteousness. Sin can bring you to a crawl and create devastating consequences. I encourage you to listen to the sermon online, but for now, I'd like to piggy-back his idea of sin's likeness to an anchor.

Do you believe that you are "Anchors (sins) aweigh," or "Anchors (sins) away"?

"Anchors Aweigh" is the fight song of the Naval Academy and was composed in 1906 by Charles A. Zimmerman. Listen to the words from the second stanza of Anchors Aweigh used at the Navy Boot camp; “Anchors Aweigh, my boys, Anchors Aweigh. Farewell to foreign shores, We sail at break of day, of day. Through our last night on shore, Drink to the foam, Until we meet once more. Here's wishing you a happy voyage home!”

“Anchors Aweigh” means that the weight of the anchor is now on the chain/rope and is hanging clear of the bottom of a body of water. The word “away” means to be absent, gone, or missing. Are you still trying to figure it all out? May the following verses help:

Romans 3:23-24 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 1:7 - In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace...

Psalm 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Hebrews 6:18-20 - We who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf.

The anchors of my sins are not just hanging clear of the bottom, but they have been removed! Through the redemptive work of Christ, my sins are forgiven and are far away. Christ’s death and resurrection covered my sins and restored my soul to the Heavenly Father. I am anchored in him, and praise him for his steadfast love for me.

Sovereignty!

By: Dr. Jimmy Young

Sovereignty! What a big word. What a pregnant word. The Sovereignty of God. All Christians would avow that great doctrine/truth. But it wouldn’t take 5 minutes of discussion to discover that the understanding of that word differs widely among Christians.

The apostle John contributes this: “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven (John 3:27, ESV).

Chew on that a moment: “even one thing,” “unless,” “given him.” That is a statement of God’s sovereignty.

Rightly grasped, it will take your breath away. Everything I now possess I have received from the sovereign, good hand of my Heavenly Father.

Doesn’t leave much room for boasting now does it?

The Importance of Meeting Together

By: Jim Umlauf

Hebrews 10:25 instructs us:

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.”

The context for the original recipients of that was that they were under severe persecution. To gather as God’s redeemed in Christ carried the real danger of death. It’s obviously much different for us.

Here’s another piece of context for you from the preceding verses:

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works...”

One gets the sense that we might—gasp—actually need each other.

Some of the things God uses to grow us up in faith and godliness are

the word of his grace (Acts 20.32)

the Spirit of grace (Heb.10.29)

prayer made to the throne of grace (Heb.4.6)

time spent with the people of grace (Eph.4.7, 1 Peter 4.10).

For many Christians, “meeting together” simply means going to church for an hour each week. Please hear me: that’s a very good thing. But as a Christian matures, he or she realizes it’s certainly not enough. Integration and accountability come when we accumulate time spent together.

Might I suggest:

1) a Grace Group – the recipe couldn’t be simpler. A few couples meet once per month (with summers off) to discuss spiritual things and eat food. Tammy and I love ours.

2) Coffee with that old friend of yours. My friend Tim and I have met once a week for many, many years. No agenda. No book. Just us, talking about our lives.

Those are painless, actually enjoyable, ways to integrate with other believers in a deeper way. It ain’t magic, and doesn’t look like much on paper, but over time—with faithfulness—closeness, warmth, and accountability emerges. I can vouch for it.

Are We Trusting In God?

By: Clay Younts

Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. (Psalm 118: 5-9, ESV)

In his commentary on Psalm 118, James Boice gives us great insight on verses 8-9:

It is reported by people who count such things that there are 31,174 verses in the Bible, and if that is so, then these verses, the 15,587th and the 15,588th, are the middle verses.

So, right in the middle of the Bible, God tells us to trust Him.

Our world struggles with trusting the creator, for they are blinded to spiritual matters. For example, Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen.”

Believers in Christ can also struggle with trusting God, but we find refuge, strength, courage, and hope as we turn our eyes to Christ. May we be content in the arms of our Heavenly Father, for "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." (John Piper)

FREE R.C. Sproul Audiobook: The Holiness of God

By: Johnny Coggin

For March only, you can download the audiobook version of R.C. Sproul's classic bestseller, The Holiness of God, for FREE at christianaudio.com. The download comes in your choice of mp3 or m4b formats (m4b is optimized for iTunes/iPod/iPhone).

If you've never read this book, you should definitely take advantage of this gift. Sproul's The Holiness of God is one of the all-time modern classics regarding God's holiness, and is a must-read (or listen!). Quite simply, our knowledge of God and the work of God fails without a true understanding of the holiness of God.

Go download it, and let Sproul take you deep into the stunning character of our holy God!

Holy vs. Guilty

By: Jim Umlauf

"If your heart can see that God is holy, holy, holy, and that you are guilty, guilty, guilty, that'll get you thinking about eternal things."

- Jim Umlauf