The Loneliness of Holiness

I confess I am not there yet… but by God’s grace and mercy I am on the way.

What a breath of fresh air it is when one’s life experience is validated in the lives and words of the saints of old, who themselves know the different nuances of what it means to walk upon the narrow path of devotion and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ.

“The truly spiritual man is indeed something of an oddity. He lives not for himself but to promote the interests of Another. He seeks to persuade people to give all to his Lord and asks no portion or share for himself. He delights not to be honored but to see his Savior glorified in the eyes of men. His joy is to see his Lord promoted and himself neglcted. He finds few who care to talk about that which is the supreme object of his interest, so he is often silent and preoccupied in the midst of noisy religious shoptalk. For this he earns the reputation of being dull and over serious, so he is avoided and the gulf between him and society widens. He searches for friends upon whose garments he can detect the smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces (see Psalm 45:8), and finding few or none he, like Mary of old, keeps these things in his heart. 

It is this very loneliness that throws him back upon God. ‘Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me’ (Psalm 27:10). His inability to find human companionship drives him to seek in God what he can find nowhere else. He learns in inner solitude what he could not have learned in the crowd—that Christ is All in all, that He is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, that in Him we have and possess life’s summum bonum.” 

- A.W. Tozer, The Radical Cross, ch. 6, p. 37

 

praying for those of you who read and are cut to the quick.

Mark Driscoll brings a really good message to the Advance09 conference and he does this subject well.  What is the Church?

This message is a good one, especially for church leadership to sit down and give solid attention to.  My church leadership is currently working through a book by Mark Devers – 9 Marks of a Healthy Church.  It’s giving us some good foundation for discussion and helpful consideration.  It is my hope that this message from Mark Driscoll can add to these considerations for us and perhaps for you as you participate and/or lead in your local church.

Lisa, from ‘Thoughts from the Teahouse’ just posted this and it brings an update to something I had posted back in May entitled ‘She’s Dying’.  If nothing else, let me encourage you to go and listen to Rachel’s testimony after you’ve read on….

Monday, July 6, 2009

Take a fresh look at your To-Do list. (and I will mine!)

Do you feel so busy that you can barely catch your breath before the next round of activities begins? I have been following the journey of a young woman who has bravely shared her experiences as she is ‘waiting to die’, in her words. Our friend Tim shared this video on Facebook a while back (thanks Tim!). I encourage you to watch it after you read this post by Rachel… To- Do List - and to remember her in prayer as you rush around trying to get your to-do lists checked off.

Edit: As I was looking at Rachel’s site today 7/7 – a box popped up informing us that Rachel’s wait ended on July 2nd. Her testimony endures.

Thanks Lisa for bringing us back to think about our God and His mercy and grace to each of us and how that completely changed the life of Rachel Barkey.  Pray for Rachel’s family and friends as they grieve.  Use the testimony that Rachel boldly and bravely stood up for to boast in her Savior and pray that others would hear the truth of the Gospel in her words and see the grace of the Savior in her life.

Blessings.

take a needed ‘Reality Check’…

True believer… rejoice and be glad… go and tell.  Proclaim ‘Reality’.

It is the Gospel… “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:40

The following borrowed thoughts captured my own as I realize how often I connect confession of sin with fault-finding and condemnation rather than freedom and cleansing.

 

Psalm 32:5  I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

…”Perhaps you’re like I was at one time. You don’t want to take responsibility for your sins because you don’t think they’re your fault. You may wonder, ‘How else would I have responded after my reference point was so distorted?’  But you see, I don’t think confessing sin is primarily about fault. It’s about freedom!”

 

Wow!! I just stopped and re-read that again and again: “…I don’t think confessing sin is primarily about fault. It’s about freedom!”

If it’s true that Jesus has already made the sacrifice for our sins, and that sacrifice was accepted by the Father, then our response to conviction of sin is not about fault, it’s about freedom! Sin puts a wedge between God and me, so I want it out of there! God stands ready to forgive, Jesus is my advocate, so confess it, accept His forgiveness and cleansing and MOVE ON in VICTORY!!

Too much time is spent trying to ignore conviction or beating our breast over our sin – both actions delighting Satan. The first is a dangerous road, leading to hardened hearts and idolatry, and the second denies the work of our Savior.

Now here is truth that I need to preach to myself! “…not about fault, but freedom.” Amazing how much of the delay (in facing and confessing) in being set free to move on is tied up in the punitive condemnation we may have picked up early on. I believe grieving over sin is good, and learning to hate sin is good, and that is joined with confession, repentance and freedom… not with fear, self-loathing and hiding in the darkness.

Thanks for stirring up my thoughts on this!  Blessings. 

And in keeping with healthy grieving over sin and hating sin is an action in our minds and hearts that will ‘mortify the flesh’… ‘kill sin’…. MAKE WAR on those desires that call us into darkness rather than the marvelous light of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:1-6…

I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me!  For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.  But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.  For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.  Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.  Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.

What was Paul’s fear?  (Paul had fear?!)  In part, he puts it this way – ‘or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.’  Paul was afraid for the church that they would ‘readily enough’ put up with a false gospel… something other than what they had first believed.  Something added… something taken away, but whatever it might be, they would put up with it ‘readily enough’.

2 Corinthians 11:7-15…  Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God’s gospel to you free of charge?  I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you.  And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way.  As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.  And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

 And what I do I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do.  For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.  And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.  So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

Who or what will I ‘readily enough’  be led astray by today?  From a sincere and pure devotion to Christ…  To what?  …to the same end as those who are false and unbelieving – eternal death.

So, guard your thoughts in this way…

Philippians 4:4-9,  Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

I love my son.  I care deeply for him and what enters into him and what comes forth from him. 

I was caught off guard and somewhat lost when he started gravitating towards rap music.  I mean… we live in the country.  We are not an urban family.  I bust on him with joyful humor about his ‘taste’ in music. 

But, I was concerned.  What is he going to hear if I allow him to listen to this genre of music?  With joy, I heard the truth of the scriptures being preached in (some) of this music.  There is, in fact, brothers of mine who are declaring… proclaiming… the truth of the Gospel in the music classified as ‘Rap’.

Here’s a supporting message that came from a source that ’surprised’ me.   I was encouraged that my brother heard Truth in this music style that I am quick to turn down.

This blog post, A Heart Like The Father, captured a piece of what I desire in my relationship with my children and what I desire in those I might have opportunity to disciple… and what I as a younger believer am looking for in the men I trust to disciple me.

“Every young man needs another man to pour passion into his life.”

We know from Acts 16:3, that Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him on this missionary journey. I would be curious to know what Timothy’s thoughts were. They probably weren’t as established or focused. I don’t think Timothy was necessarily chomping at the bit for some older guy to ‘disciple’ him. In a sense he was already being discipled in some context because he was recognized as a disciple and he was well spoken of in the fellowship at Lystra and Iconium. It seems at this point that Paul comes along and takes note of Timothy and determines to take Timothy with him. We know Timothy, at least in certain respects, has a timid side or nature. What was Paul thinking? Didn’t he see this? Did it matter at all to him? It seems the only thing we can take from this situation is that Timothy was a disciple and was well spoken of.

Timothy went. Whatever the dynamic was… no matter how shy or reluctant Timothy may have been in the flesh, he followed Paul on the journey. Did Timothy know of Paul? Did he know Paul’s reputation? What did he observe in Paul that he was willing to leave home, church, family and follow Paul?

We have the New Testament to look to and see who Paul was… we can look at Paul from the vantage point of history and it is crystal clear that Paul was a believer…a disciple… a passionate follower/imitator of Jesus Christ.

Does my passion for Jesus Christ encourage… stir up faith, hope, obedience, love… for Jesus Christ in others? in my children? in those I am discipling?

I can tell you with certainty that the older brothers in the Lord that I have drawn close to and watched and listened to and imitated are the ones who have impressed me as having a single-minded, reverent, steadfast passion for following hard after the Treasure of their heart.

 ”He needs another man who is open and honest and is bravely walking with Christ in spite of his own weaknesses.”

I also have realized that these men who I have followed have weaknesses. Their passion for Jesus Christ may have captured my attention at the beginning, but the flaws and weaknesses don’t need to be hidden…shouldn’t (must not) be hidden. It has been the steadfast obedience and faithful repentance and confession that has accompanied these men that confirms my hope in the Gospel.

From the example of Paul and Timothy, I am grateful to see that Paul pursued Timothy.. and I am impressed that Timothy went and remained with Paul… apparently it was more than just obedience to go, but a desire to remain with Paul. Timothy was seeing something worth following and the fruit of that relationship is evident as we read about Timothy as pastor over the First Baptist Church at Ephasus… or maybe it was the First Reformed Church at Ephasus.  

blessings in Christ,

Dear Tristan

Letters from dads to sons(daughters) grab my attention.  I’m loving the Scriptures more and more in light of this… God’s word, breathed out to man, contains so much for all to hear but there is also the reality of His words being spoken from a Father to his ’sons’.

Here is a letter that I enjoyed reading this morning… maybe you will be blessed in its particular focus (afterall, most letters are written with a few pressing ideas).

http://www.revkevindeyoung.com/2009/06/dear-tristan.html

Friday, June 19, 2009

Here’s another excerpt from Why We Love the Church. This is from Ted’s chapter where he writes a letter to his young son, Tristan, about the church. This is my favorite chapter.

P.S. I had this queued up before the baby came!

*****

I pray that one day you’ll be able to ask your pastor about free will versus predestination. I hope you’ll ask him about the Trinity. About infant versus believer’s baptism. Not because these are things that divide, but because it will be evidence that you care about your faith and hold it dear. Nothing would make me happier, Son. I pray that one day you’ll be able to articulate what it is that you believe, not because you’ll want to use it to win arguments, but because you’ll be passionate about sharing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And out of this good news I pray that God will use you somehow. I pray that you’ll always be kind. That you’ll have a heart for those less fortunate than you, and will always be moved by the struggles of others. I pray that you’ll be bold in professing your faith before men.

I pray that you’ll meet your friends in church. You know that I’ve met friends in a variety of crazy places—boxing gyms, football fields, bars, coffee shops, workplaces, etc.—but you can also tell that the majority of my real friends in life, the people who will be with me through good times and bad, come from church. These are the people who pray for us, and with whom we “do life.” It’s a privilege.

And along those lines, I want to tell you that church is more than the soap opera that your mom and I make it sometimes. Doing life with people isn’t always pretty. People don’t always agree and sometimes those disagreements can be unpleasant. You’re not going to like everybody in your church. But my prayer for you, and for us, is that our shared commitment to Christ will overcome this too, and we’ll grow in love and respect for everyone in our congregation.

I pray that one day you’ll profess your love for a special girl in front of a church full of your friends and those you worship with. I pray that you’ll commit, in front of these friends and God, to lead her spiritually, and that your young family will be a vibrant part of the body of Christ. Love her with all your heart, like I’ve tried to love your mom.

I pray that God would surround you with people who challenge you to die to yourself and your sins, and I pray that if I am that person at some point in your life, that our relationship would be strong enough to weather it. And I pray that your relationship with your wife will look a lot like the one that Mimi and Poppy have had all these years. As I type this they’ve been married for thirty-eight years, and are still going strong and the church has played a huge role in their lives. They’ve changed churches a few times over the years, for various reasons, but they’ve always been committed to a body, and that commitment, I’m convinced, is one reason why they’re still happily married. Marriages like theirs don’t just happen in our culture.

I also hope that, at some point, you’ll get a chance to experience the body of Christ through hard times. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years of church involvement, it’s that hard things happen to everybody. There’s sin in this world, and as a result, our bodies are in a constant state of decay, and our lives are almost always, it seems, in turmoil. Nearly every family in our church has dealt with job losses, cancer, heart disease, marital discord, infertility, the death of a child, or a myriad of other tough circumstances. Through that, I’ve seen the body of Christ work in wonderful ways. I’ve seen people give sacrificially with their money and their time. I’ve been prayed with and prayed for. We’ve had Scripture show up in our mailbox every day for a month. I’ve had the privilege of trying to pray others through their hard times as well.

I’ve seen great men crippled by disease—these were men who were the picture of health, intellect, and athleticism in their healthy years. But worshiping with them in sickness, as their usefulness in this world wanes, is a privilege. Seeing them makes me proud of our church, and proud to know the Lord.

Church isn’t a magic pill that you take, that punches your ticket for heaven. Nor is it a glorified social/country club you attend to be around people who talk/think/look/act like you do. It’s a place to go each week to hear the Word of God spoken, taught, and affirmed. It’s a place to sing praises to our God, even if those songs do sometimes feel a bit awkward. It’s a place to serve others. It’s a place to be challenged. Sometimes you’ll feel uncomfortable with those challenges, because sometimes your life will need to change. This has been the case with me.

Posted by Kevin DeYoung at 6:30 AM

Labels: Church

Blessings to you in Jesus Christ,

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2009/3987_You_Will_Never_Be_Thirsty_Again/

blessings