Sonship leads to natural living

We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (Nov 14th)

This is a rather gripping thought which is elaborated on throughout the rest of the November 14th devotional.  There are also a number of other helpful thoughts in that essay.

D. A. Carson's Commentary on John, with sample

  As I've been studying for my sermon tomorrow from John, I have referenced D. A. Carson's The Gospel According to John which is part of the Pillar commentary series.  It is one of the most helpful commentaries I remember reading in (right there with Spurgeon's Treasury of David and Hoehner's Ephesians).  The background and study which went into it is quietly apparent, while the content is insightful in a way that shows meditation and Christian sensitivity to what the text is saying.  (The fact that I am reading it as a Kindle book on my computer makes me like the whole experience even better.)

  Anyways, a sample or two from the section on John 20:21-22 which will be a major portion of the sermon tomorrow.

There is sufficient comprehensiveness both here and elsewhere to make Christians aware that they never have an excuse to rest on their laurels, or to define their task too narrowly; perfect obedience to the Son, modelled on Jesus’ perfect obedience, is as daunting a challenge as the command to teach others to obey all that Jesus has commanded (Mt. 28:20). 

[...]

Just because he ascends to his Father does not mean he is no longer the ‘sent one’ par excellence (cf. 9:7). Thus Christ’s disciples do not take over Jesus’ mission; his mission continues and is effective in their ministry (14:12–14). ‘The apostles were commissioned to carry on Christ’s work, and not to begin a new one’ (Westcott, 2. 349–350; cf. Schnackenburg, 3. 324).

Carson, D. A. (1991-01-01). The Gospel According to John (Pillar New Testament Commentary) (p. 649). William B Eerdman Co. Kindle Edition.

in a moment of lunacy

An Address about Me

One score and seven years ago, my mother brought forth upon this continent a new baby conceived in misery and dedicated to the proposition that all men have inflated egos. Now we are involved in a great inner war testing whether that baby, or any baby so conceived ad so dedicated, can long endure.

Seems unlikely...

Judgment

What happened in the Father's heart when He judged His Son with the fury reserved for the world? For the One to whom hours and centuries are interchangeable, what was the pain of those hours and days?

What was the depth of sorrow in heaven as its Maker lay dead?

What sort of incredibly abounding love must the Father have for us to have not spared His own Son, beloved and cherished!

Prayer or obedience?

I'd never read anything by C. T. Studd before today, but when I randomly had some time for extra reading, I opened a free download of his The Chocolate Soldier Heroism.  While it is quite short, it is nonetheless a compelling work, calling all true Christians to decisive devotion to Jesus.

 We Christians too often SUBSTITUTE PRAYER FOR PLAYING THE GAME. Prayer is good: but when used as a substitute for obedience, it is naught but a blatant hypocrisy, a despicable Pharisaism. We need as many meetings for action as for prayer--perhaps more. Every orthodox prayer-meeting is opened by God saying to His people, "Go work today; pray that laborers be sent into My vineyard." It is continued by the Christian's response, "I go, Lord, whithersoever Thou sendest me, that Thy Name may be hallowed everywhere, that Thy Kingdom may come speedily, that Thy Will may be done on earth as in heaven." But if it ends in nobody going anywhere, it had better never have been held at all. Like faith, prayer without works is dead.

 This booklet is well worth the minutes it would take you to read it.

Psalm 38 - When You are on the Brink...

In Psalm 38, David sees himself on the brink. He is drained. Physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, socially, and positionally, he sees his world in shambles. (vs. 1-14) And so, he waited trustingly for God. Whenever you are on the brink, plead for God's saving Presence to draw near to you.

O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down on me.
There is no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.
For my iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness,
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all the day I go about mourning.
For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
I am feeble and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
O Lord, all my longing is before you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
 My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
and my nearest kin stand far off.
Those who seek my life lay their snares;
those who seek my hurt speak of ruin
and meditate treachery all day long.
But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no rebukes.

But for you, O LORD, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,
who boast against me when my foot slips!”
For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever before me.
I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin.
But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
Those who render me evil for good
accuse me because I follow after good.
Do not forsake me, O LORD!
O my God, be not far from me!
Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!

(ESV)

Jesus and Women

   I have been reading The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ by James Stalker recently.  It is one of the great meditations on the sufferings of Christ's last day.  (It is available on Amazon for free if you have a Kindle, or for about $10 if you want to hold the book in your hands.)  There have been many valuable insights in the book, and the book itself, as a meditation on our King and His sacrifice for us, is obviously helpful and enriching.

   Speaking of Jesus' words to the "Daughters of Jerusalem," Dr. Stalker comments, "His words show that He had a comprehension of women and a sympathy with them such as had never before existed in the world."  This is a striking comment which seems either unexpected or obvious when you read it, but truly bears some thought.  If you get the book, the context gives even more to chew on.

   I have been planning to seek a deeper understanding of the Bible's teaching on women and men for a while.  It is an issue in our culture and churches, but it is also an issue of daily life.  If we will not be monks or monkettes, we must deal with men and women. And, the above comment suggests a better way to approach the study than leaping immediately into the middle of the definitions-, interpretations-, and presuppositions-debate.  It may be well to first consider the exemplary teaching of Scripture on the topic, the stories of God's interaction with gender and those of His people.  Then, within the greater framework of Scripture, it seems that we will find not only a more accurate, but, quite possibly, a more nuanced understanding of the image of God as it is revealed in male and female.

The Little Treasure

Her life is filled with joy by simple things.

 And thus, she shares her joy with us.

Who is a Husband Really?

  As our group studied through Ephesians 5 last week, we came to see the godly husband's actions and identities as summarized below.  The Husband is to treat the Wife as Christ treats His Bride, the Church.  Thus, if you watch my marriage, you should know more about Jesus and His relationship with the Church.  Jesus is the ultimate example of all that is written below, and He does this for all of God's children.  In other words, Ephesians 5 is a beautiful picture to study for both married and single people.  May we be an increasingly accurate picture of Jesus and His darling, the Church!
 PS Incidentally, biblical manhood and womanhood would be a lot more attractive if we lived like this.

Husband’s Actions: He should…	Husband’s Identities: He is to be her primary…
Love her as myself	Lover and Carer
Give myself for her	Personal Sacrificer
Sanctify her through the Word	Purifying Word-giver
Seek her purity	Watchful Cleanser
Nourish her	Thoughtful Provider
Cherish her	Intentional Delighter
Hold fast to her	Most Intimate Friend

Nuggets from Genesis

 The quote below is from an excellent book that a friend loaned me this week, and the quote below has several nuggets on Genesis which I haven't found anywhere else in the two years in which I've been doing deep study there.  I bolded the one sentence which is one of the best summaries of Genesis I've seen.

In other words, these promises assure Abraham that he and his descendants will begin to experience what Gen. 1-2 describes.  Humankind was told to be fruitful and multiply; Abraham will have descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven.  Adam was given the garden of Eden to till; Abraham is promised the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey.  In Eden, Adam and Eve enjoyed the continual presence of God; Abraham and his descendants will enjoy similar blessing and protection.  And ultimately, through Abraham and his offspring all the families of the world will find blessing.

The rest of Genesis elaborates these promises, making them richer and more comprehensive.  It also shows their gradual but progressive fulfillment. The family of Abraham slowly and with great difficulty increased in number, so that there were seventy who actually went down to Egypt.  In the course of their travels in Canaan, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob acquired small portions of the land, such as wells, burial sites, and even a hilltop near Shechem.  Throughout the sojourn they experienced God's protection and blessing, when they deserved it and when they did not.  For although Genesis shows God's promises being enhanced after acts of faith and obedience (e.g., 13:14-17; 22:16-18), these promises are not nullified by disobedience; instead, their fulfillment is delayed (e.g. ch. 16).  Ultimately, the promises rest on God's grace, not human obedience.  Human obedience, the text implies, hastens the fulfillment of these promises and increases human happiness, but God never deserts those to whom he has made the promises.

(Wenham, Gordon. "Family in the Pentateuch." Family in the Bible, edited by Hess and Carroll, pg 29)