Give

J.D. Greaar on giving:

"So, I have spent a lot of time in the New Testament reading through the accounts of and instructions on giving. Part of my "problem" is that I know that whatever I am giving, I could almost always give more. I drive an older car, but I could, of course, drive an older one. Heck, my wife and I could probably figure out how to get by on one car. We try not to be extravagant in how we eat, but we could always eat more cheaply than we do (rice, beans, old bread and peanut butter). We try to be frugal in our dress, but we could always be moreso... i.e. we could shop exclusively at the thrift shop. Whatever vacations we take, we could always take a cheaper one. (Who says we need to travel anywhere on vacation?) We could do without air conditioning. We could share a home with another family like they do in China. You get the drift..."

(Source article here)

Stetzer on Authenticity

Ed Stetzer on what it means for Christians to be truly authentic with unbelievers:

"I think that authenticity is basically a simultaneous admission that I'm imperfect, in need of the work of Christ and the cross, but at the same time sharing that struggle in that journey along the way... I think that authenticity is built from pastors and leaders, but also from everyday people who say, 'Here's what Christ has done, how he's changed me, how the gospel shapes me, but I'm also the one who's filled with faults and failures—struggling, but trusting in the power of Christ."

Research Project

Doing a research project on Twitter. Please watch the video and leave me comments about whether or not you could see the benefit of your church using this. For an example of a church that does, check out Imagine Fellowship as well. Thanks!

Twitter in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.

By the Hand

"To give children good instruction, and a bad example, is but beckoning to them with the head to show them the way to heaven, while we take them by the hand and lead them in the way to hell." - Tillotson

Higher

Carl Trueman on fbe perils of pursuing higher theological education:

"Too many theological students come unstuck not because they do not master the sophisticated intricacies of their chosen fields of specialization but rather because they failed their apprenticeships in the basics, the corporate disciplines of church attendance, submission to elders, hard work for the local body, and the individual disciplines which flow from these: private prayer and Bible reading, a crying out to God for his mercy, and a burning desire to be mastered by the Word of God. Successful theological students are never the subjects in theological study; rather they are always the objects of God’s grace. And the church is the place where they will be held accountable for these things. The church, not the seminar room, provides their only true home, their best classroom, and their best form of strenuous spiritual rest. Theological study at the highest level is a high calling indeed; but just for this very reason those who pursue it need to make especially sure that they truly are humble servants of the church."

Sovereign

A.W. Pink, in his classic 'The Sovereignty of God', writes:

"... to emphasize the sovereignty of God, without also maintaining the accountability of the creature, tends to fatalism; to be so concerned in maintaining the responsibility of man, as to lose sight of the sovereignty of God, is to exalt the creature and dishonor the Creator." (pg. 9)

"... so long as we are occupied with any other object than God Himself, there will be neither rest for the heart nor peace for the mind... the man of faith... [who] looks at everything for His {God's} standpoint, estimates values by spiritual standards, and views life in the light of eternity. Doing this, he receives whatever comes as from the hand of God. Doing this, his heart is calm in the midst of the storm. Doing this, he rejoices in hope of the glory of God." (pgs. 18-19)

Slackers

Daniel Akin included this C.S. Lewis quote in his 2009 "Armed for the Battle" manual:

"God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than any other slackers. If you are thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you, you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all. But fortunately, it works the other way round. Anyone who is honestly trying to be a Christian will soon find his intelligence being sharpened: one of the reasons why it needs no special education to be a Christian is that Christianity is an education itself." (Mere Christianity, ch. 12)

Never Fails

Aaron McRae (pastor @ Cornerstone Scottsdale) posted this on Facebook, and I enjoyed it too. God's love never fails!

Memory

Scripture memorization is something I really haven't focused on since my days in AWANA as a 'tweener'. Came across this quote by John Piper in 1997 in regards to scripture memorization that is making me re-evaluate the importance of memorization:

"You may doubt that you can do this, especially if you are older. But ask yourself this question, If I offered you $1,000 for every verse you memorized in the next week, how many do you think you could memorize? Yet God says of his word in Psalm 19:10-11, 'They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Thy servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.' The real value of the word is far greater than $1,000 a verse. The question is, Do you believe this? Believing this will be the crucial motivation you need." (source)

Elijah's Prayer

Thank you to John Piper for recommending this message by Terry Virgo. Very powerful and encouraging insights on powerful, effective prayer. Please share this with others!

Elijah Prays For Rain from Adrian Warnock on Vimeo.

Elijah Prays Part Two from Adrian Warnock on Vimeo.

Missions

John Piper wrote this on the Desiring God blog this morning:

The worst of all times is the best of all times for missions.

Such words do not have intrinsic authority the way Scripture does. They must be tested. Here is the truth I hear in those words.

1. During an economic downturn we are more dependent on God. That is the most fertile soil for creating missionaries.
2. During an economic downturn unreached people around the world do not expect you to come, but to look out for yourself. So they may more likely see your risk as love rather than exploitation.
3. During an economic downturn those who need Christ around the world may be less secure in earthly things and more ready to hear about eternal life.
4. During an economic downturn people at home may be wakened to the brevity of life and the fragility of material things, and so may become more generous not less. And when they give under these circumstances, it will make Christ look all the more like the all-satisfying Treasure that he is.

P.S. The picture above is a view of the area where some friends of mine will be heading out to share Christ among the nations.

Transcendence

"There is woven inside each of us a desire for something more -- a craving to be part of something bigger, greater, and more profound than our relatively meaningless day-by-day existence... The desire resides in each of us, and it is called transcendence. To transcend is to be part of something greater. We were created to be part of something so big, so glorious, so far beyond the ordinary that it would totally change the way we approach every ordinary thing in our lives." - Paul David Tripp, "A Quest For More", pg 14.

Lost

I am only 34 years old, but can see the "midlife" quickly approaching... wondering if/when I will face a "midlife crisis"...

I have considered this seriously enough to pick up Paul Tripp's book entitled "Lost in the Middle". I am about 50 pages (52 at the time of this writing), and have really enjoyed the intro and first chapter. Here are a couple of my favorite quotes/thoughts thus far:

"Scripture never allows us to believe in a neutral, undirected or unmotivated humanity. It requires us to admit that behind everything we do or say, we are pursuing something - some hope or dream or thing that we refuse to live without. These are things we value so much that we will willingly sacrifice other good things to get them. We will debase our humanity in order to deify the creation. The very things we seek to possess begin to possess us. We live for shadow glories and forget the only Glory that is worth living for." [pg 19]

"There is no voice more influential in your life than your own, because no one talks to you more than you do. You've had regular conversations with yourself today, most of the time without even being aware of it... Everything we do is somehow shaped by who we think we are and what we think we have been called to do." [pg 37]

I could type more, but would encourage you to invest a few bucks and read the book. Whether you are nearing mid-life or near the end of mid-life, this book looks to be a great read.

Quotes on Prayer

Really enjoying our community group on Prayer this summer @ Second Mile Church. Here are a couple of recent posts by Randy Alcorn on prayer that are WELL worth your time to read. They are a HUGE encouragement to me:

Link #1
Link #2

Deity

Our local deity is not Jesus. He goes by the name Jesus. But in reality, our local deity is Jesus Jr.

Our little Jesus is popular because he is useful. He makes us feel better while conveniently fitting into the margins of our busy lives. But he is not terrifying or compelling or thrilling. When we hear the gospel of Jesus Jr., our casual response is “Yeah, that’s what I believe.” Jesus Jr. does not confront us, surprise us, stun us. He looks down on us with a benign, all-approving grin. He tells us how wonderful we really are, how entitled we really are, how wounded we really are, and it feels good.

Jesus Jr. appeals to the flesh. He does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him. He is not able to understand them, much less impart them, because Jesus Jr. is the magnification of Self, the idealization of Self, the absolutization of Self turning around and validating Self, flattering Self, reinforcing Self. Jesus Jr. does not change us, because he is a projection of us.

It is time to tear down Jesus Jr. It is time to rediscover the real Jesus. Still today, even to us, his invitation stands: “Come to me” (Matthew 11:28).

- Ray Ortlund

Salt and Light?

This is not the best way to be salt and light...

Belonging

I hesitate to post these words because they convict me incredibly... so I should probably post them! Pray for me, for all husbands and fathers, to live this out in a way that honors God and our families.

Some words from John Piper in reference to a cigarette billboard with the slogan, Where a Man Belongs:

"To hell with such lies! Where a man belongs is on his knees beside his wife, leading in prayer. Where a man belongs is at the bedside of his children, leading in devotion and prayer. Where a man belongs is in the driver's seat, leading his family to the house of God. Where a man belongs is up early and alone with God, seeking vision and direction for the family. Men, I challenge you in the name of Jesus Christ our King, be where you belong!"

Consuming Fire

Plea

Credit goes to John Piper & Desiring God Ministries for the following material:

This is a plea that all of you would build into your lives both personal devotions and purposeful study of God’s word.

Both:

Daily prayerful meditation seeking personal application of God’s word to your own heart and life.

And:

Regular study in a class or with a book where the (living or dead) teacher has seen more than you have and can give you insight in 30 minutes that might otherwise take you ten years to see.

The reason I plead for both is that without a book or a class about what some part of the Bible means and a teacher who is ahead of you, your devotions will probably flatten out at a low level of insight.

Year after year you will go over the same biblical ground and find it as perplexing as before. There will be little advance in understanding. This will tend to take the heart out of devotional reading, because the lack of growth cannot sustain the joy.

Seek out preaching, books, and classes which take you further in grasping what various books and texts in the Bible mean.

Cycle

This quote represents the "cycle of democracy". It is often attributed to Alexander Tytler. Where do you think America stands in this 'cycle'?

"From bondage to spiritual faith;
from spiritual faith to great courage;
from courage to liberty;
from liberty to abundance;
from abundance to selfishness;
from selfishness to apathy;
from apathy to dependence;
from dependency back again into bondage."

- Henning Webb Prentis, 1943

Tentmaking

John Piper wrote this in 1988, and it needs to be in front of us every day, wherever we live and breathe.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Tentmakers" in Minneapolis - John Piper

1 Peter 2:12

My aim this morning is to inspire you to look at your secular vocation here in Minneapolis the way you would look at it if you were called by God to do this exact same vocation as a "tentmaker" among an unreached people overseas.

Not all of you may be familiar with the word "tentmaker" and what it stands for. Let me explain. The apostle Paul traveled throughout the Roman world for 20 some years spreading the gospel and starting churches. Sometimes churches supported his ministry, like the church in Philippi (2:25; 4:14-18). Rarely he even asked for support, like when he wanted the church in Rome to help fund his trip to Spain (Romans 15:24). And he certainly believed it was right and proper that missionaries and pastors be paid by Christians (1 Corinthians 9:14; 1 Timothy 5:17-18).

But in fact he almost never accepted money from the churches. In stead he says to the church at Thessalonica: "You remember our labor and toil, brethren; we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you, while we preached to you the gospel of God" (1 Thessalonians 2:9).

What did he do to earn money? Acts 18:3 says that Paul stayed with Aquilla and Priscilla because they were of the same trade, namely, tentmakers. So in a sense you could say Paul's traveling band of men was a traveling band of merchants whose worked when they had to, making and repairing and selling tents. And when they had enough money to live on they preached the gospel and taught the new Christians what it meant to follow Jesus in their homes and vocations.

This is where the term "tentmakers" comes from.

• A tentmaker today is a person who supports himself in another culture in order to make known the reality of Jesus Christ and build his church.
• A tentmaker is a person who believes that Christians ought to be engaged in thousands of secular vocations, but who believes the product or service he is providing is always secondary to the effect he has on people's lives through his work.
• A tentmaker has set his eyes on things that are eternal.
• And so God has helped him see that making money, getting promotions, becoming well-known are at best secondary means to what really counts for eternity, namely, God being glorified and people coming to know and trust him.
• And then tentmakers look at the cities of the unreached peoples where there are no churches, and no Christians, and they hear God's call to go to these cities and live there and work there in order to bring the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the gospel.

For example, take the Sultinate of Oman. It's small country (1.2 million) at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. It's state religion is Ibadi Islam. Patrick Johnstone estimate perhaps 40 indigenous Christians in two small Arabic speaking groups.

I received a letter from Ruth Siemens this summer about the opportunities in Oman. Ruth is the director of Global Opportunities in Pasadena, California. She said that 12 years ago it was against the law to wear glasses in Oman! That's how anti-western they were. Now there is a younger ruler with significantly different policies. Then listen to this paragraph about tentmaking opportunities in this so-called closed country.

I write because we have more than 1,100 current well-paying openings in Oman to befilled by this autumn and next spring. We would be excited if there were just ten! God has not only set before us an open door, but a gate. He has made a wide breach in the wall! We must believe this is God's moment for Christians to enter this country with the Gospel! (Letter dated July, 1988)

The letter closes with this P.S.

We also have six well-paying English teaching jobs that can put Christians among south central USSR peoples, like the Kazakhs, Kirghizes, Turkmens, Tajiks, and Uzbeks. Imagine!

I believe one of the goals that God will give us as a church for the next decade is that a significant percentage of our church will take three year assignments (or longer) to do your secular vocation in a foreign urban center among peoples with virtually no Christians among them.

This must be part of our overall strategy to penetrate unreached peoples! First, because the amazing opportunities are there—thousands of jobs everywhere enable lay Christians like you to live in other countries and make Jesus Christ known. Second, because the cost of sending vocational missionaries is skyrocketing. Third, because at least 60% of the worlds population is off-limits to traditional missionaries, like China and most of the Muslim and Hindu world. Fourth, because Christians living for Christ in the secular workplace are crucial models for new believers in these unreached groups.

It is not an easy life. It would require training and strength and constant recommitment under the pressures of the work place and the foreign culture. But by the power of the Holy Spirit and for the glory of the One who loved us enough to be crucified for us, it is possible. I get very excited when I think about Bethlehem getting a mindset where it is just assumed that we will train and send both vocational missionaries and tentmakers, and support them with the kind of prayer and inspirational communication that does not let them fail.

The reason for telling you all this is to begin to make the connection in your mind that God has been making in mine, namely, the connection between tentmaking and Minneapolis (or the Twin Cities).

There are well over 1,000 Christian churches in the Twin Cities. Let's say 1500. Suppose that each of these churches averaged 300 people in church every weekend, which is a very high guess since most of the churches are smaller than that. That would be 450,000 people in the Twin Cities in worship each weekend. There are over 2,000,000 people in the greater Twin Cities. That would mean 77% of the people (1,550,000) in the Twin Cities are not in worship on any given weekend. Some of those are Christians who for one reason or another aren't there. And just as many of those who are there are not true Christians.

So it is a fair estimate that no more than 23% of the people in this metropolitan area are committed to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Now if you ask, What is God's strategy for winning these people, the answer is tentmaking. In other words, God wants you to see your job primarily in terms of its strategic effect in making him known. And when I say that I have in mind more than witnessing over lunch—as utterly crucial as that is!

I have in mind at least five things—five ways to make God know through your secular job and all of them are important. When one of them is missing the witness to the truth of Christ suffers.

• First, the excellence of the products or services you render in your job shows the excellence and greatness of God.
• Second, the standards of integrity you follow at your job show the integrity and holiness of God.
• Third, the love you show to people in your job shows the love of God.
• Fourth, the stewardship of the money you make from your job shows the value of God compared to other things.
• Fifth, the verbal testimony you give to the reality of Christ shows the the doorway to all these things in your life and their possibility in the lives of others.

If the Twin Cities are going to be evangelized, it's going to happen mainly through "tentmakers." And for some of you that will mean a rethinking of why you have the job you do. It will mean a new commitment to do in Minneapolis and St. Paul what we aim to do in sending tentmakers to Muscat, the capital of Oman.

So let me try to encourage you to go ahead with this rethinking of your your calling by giving you a Biblical basis for seeing yourselves as tentmakers in Minneapolis. Three basic points from 1 Peter.

1. As believers in Christ, you are God's chosen people.

1 Peter 2:9,10.

(9) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people . . (10) Once you were no people but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy.

Verse 10 shows that this letter is most likely written to gentiles, rather than mainly to Jews. But then it applies to us converted gentiles the great Old Testament promises made to Israel. We were once no people. But now we have been shown mercy and are chosen by God to be his own people.

That is the first foundation stone of tentmaking. You have experienced something overwhelmingly important from God. He called you. You believed. And now you are his and that is overwhelmingly important—more important than anything else in your life. That is the first foundation of your calling as a tentmaker in Minneapolis.

2. As God's people you are aliens and exiles in the world.

In Oman 15% of the population are foreign workers. They are aliens from Iran, India, Pakistan, Britain, the U.S., etc. They don't have a citizenship there. They are not quite at home. But they work there.

That's the way we are supposed to see ourselves in relation to the world as it is now in sin.

1 Peter 1:1

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the exiles of the Dispersion . . .

This was a term applied to Jews who were scattered outside their homeland of Israel. Now it is applied to gentiles who are scattered outside their homeland of heaven.

1 Peter 1:17

And if you invoke as Father him who judges each one impartially according to his deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile.

That means throughout the time of your life on this earth until me meet God at the judgment seat.

1 Peter 2:11

Beloved, I beseech you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against your soul.

This verse gets at the practical meaning of being aliens and exiles in Minneapolis. It means that your soul belongs to God, and that there are forces in this world that are waging war against your soul and which aim to capture it from God and destroying it. So there will be real tensions as you work in this foreign world.

3. As you work in the world as the exiled people of God, your goals for being here will be different from those around you.

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

This is why you have been chosen by God, and sent into the secular world as aliens—to make known the wonderful deeds of God, especially the work of God in saving you personally.

1 Peter 2:12

Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, that may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

The aim of your life among the secular world of Minneapolis is to work and live in such a way that they will be compelled, sooner or later to confess that God was real in you and he is glorious.

Let me sum up then this simple basis for your thinking of your job in the Twin Cities in terms of tentmaking.

• First, as believers in Christ, you are God's chosen people.
• Second, as God's people you are aliens and exiles in the secular world.
• Third, God wants you there (1 Peter 2:13) and he wants your goals for being there to be different from those around you:
  • the excellence of your products or services
  • the standards of your integrity
  • the love you show to people
  • the way your spend your salary, and
  • the verbal testimony you give . . .

all these will all be done to show people the God you love and the desire you have that people come to know Him and believe and be saved.

Would you take a moment now to take a look at your own goals. Why do you have the job you have? Do you have the mindset of a tentmaker—that everything will be done to make Christ known? Perhaps as the organ plays you would like to pray and rededicate yourself to this great calling.

©Desiring God

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do NOT alter the wording in any way, you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, and you do not make more than 1,000 physical copies. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be explicitly approved by Desiring God.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. ©Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 888.346.4700.
September 4, 1988

Logos

Hoping to win an ESV Study bible :-)


Logos Bible Software is celebrating the launch of their new online Bible by giving away 72 ultra-premium print Bibles at a rate of 12 per month for six months. The Bible giveaway is being held at Bible.Logos.com and you can get up to five different entries each month! After you enter, be sure to check out Logos and see how it can revolutionize your Bible study.

Kate

I don't actually know Aaron & Holly McRae, nor do I know any of their kids (Olivia, Kate or Will). What I do know is that they are in great need of our prayers. 5-year-old Kate is in surgery for a brain tumor that was discovered on June 29th.

Aaron is a pastor at a local Christian church, and our friend Heather knows them. God has provided for them in awesome ways already, and now we have an opportunity to pray for their strength and peace.

With a daughter who is nearly the same age, my heart aches for them. They have been on my mind and in my prayers all day long.

If you'd like to leave them a note, visit their page at CaringBridge.

Wrestling

The ESV Bible says in Ephesians 6, verse 12: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

Wrestling is struggling, it is battling an opponent to an end - victory or defeat. Although Paul is correct in his statement that our opponent is not "flesh and blood", it sure seems that the flesh is a constant adversary. Earthly relationships and the circumstances of life are always competing for supremacy in my life.

What I have come to realize in the last couple of days is that wrestling against sin isn't a bad thing. The "spiritual forces of evil" would prefer that I be contented in letting sin have its subtle victories in my life. If I am in the wrestling match, that means I am contending in the war. I am humbled by the defeats I face along the way, and humbled that the Spirit assists in winning many of the battles too.