O Lord, what is man that you regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.

This right here should start us on a track toward proper worship of God. By worship I mean both corporately (in church, singing, preaching and praying) and privately (singing, studying and praying). I believe that all of these are of the same substance. We should approach them with the same sentiment, language and posture. One does not boogie dance to music, look pious and clingy in prayer and then studious and critical in study and claim a consistency of understanding of what worship really is. In support of this argument, one of my all-time favorite verses:

Romans 12: 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

This post will be sort of ramblish again in quality, but I’m trying to capture the point of an important subject. Notice: I’m not targeting CCM or Standing-up-hands-raised or other controversial practices (I have no good judgment to offer on these in general). I’m targeting the Mentality, not the Mode. Correct the approach to worship and the mode of worship should fall right into place. Once we’re looking at God the right way, we’ll see the right way to worship him and we’ll be more suited to discern between the man-pleasing pop that’s making people ooh-ah and what makes God say “Exactly Right, faithful servant.”

Think about that. What would God say in return to appropriate praise? If we got it right, would he go “awwwww!? soooo special, good job baby!” Or would he simple nod gravely and affirm it, “Precisely, child, you have cast me in the right light and I am pleased to hear you.”

I’m thoroughly convinced (convicted and intellectually inclined) that our God approves most, if not exclusively of reverence, humility and awe in our worship. He is not “Buddy Jesus” who wants us to pal around with him and “draw close” in a familiar sort of way.

Based on my own antinomian, health&wealth tendencies (I think many of us have these no matter how hard we strive not to), I cannot say I am completely converted to the proper form of worship. And, though God can certainly with no trouble at all fix this, I ‘m pretty sure I’m not gonna be truly “falling on my face in worship and humility” before our Lord until I’m actually in His presence in heaven.

Here is what God is looking for in the practice of worship: Holiness.

What does holiness mean?

Here’s the Dictionary.com answer:

I found this at Precept Austin:

The Hebrew word for holiness is  kadesh which means something which is cut off, separate or set apart.

And this is quoted from Tozer at the same site:

Holy is the way God is. To be holy he does not conform to a standard. He is that standard. He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is. Because he is holy, all his attributes are holy; that is, whatever we think of as belonging to God must be thought of as holy

That basically means to me that when we worship, we pray, praise, revere and examine the qualities of God. We call upon him for our sustenance, our hope and our faith. He upholds us and we depend on the greatness of him, which is his immutability, eternalness, omniscience, omnipotence and so on all of which is HOLY. It is to be feared and revered. We trust him and believe in him and love him with a reverence that has no comparison to the things we love on earth. We don’t love other people like this. That love for other people is closer to our love of things and ideas than it is to a true love of God.

When we worship God, we are worshiping the Creator of all things who was not made. All other things we “worship” are just that — things. They are created. People, toys, money, all are creations. So there should be a marked difference, a FANTASTIC difference between how we relate to God and how we relate to everything else.

Our prayers, our singing, our spoken praise and our approach to the Word of God must be with clean hands, clean hearts, the weight of God’s immense glory bearing us down to the ground, on our knees, faces to the ground. We should be coming to him in a sense of profound awe at our state of being forgiven, the Thing he has done for us, the things he has promised us. We should be struck dumb at the awesomeness of God.

I suggest these for a little bit of an idea:

You’ll see that worship is not filled with anything that’s mushy-gooshie like the love junk that’s passes around most days in our churches. In a sermon recently, our pastor referred to the god who entertains such garbage as the huggy god.

I think a proper (high) view of God demands a proper view of worshiping him. In the Bible, here’s what that looked like:

2 Chronicles 29: they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.

Nehemiah 8: they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

Nehemiah 9: they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God.

Job 1: Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.

Matthew 2: they fell down and worshiped him.

Matthew 14: those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Revelation 5: the elders fell down and worshiped.

The Lord’s prayer is the example provided upon request by Christ. That should suffice enough for the prayer portion of worship, in content and structure. We can follow its progress through without crossing the line of impropriety and outright disposal of the absolutely prostration-worthy glory of God. OBTW: I really like the King James Version for this one.

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

They did NOT sing the sentiment-dripping seeker-sensitive drivel that we hear on the Christian Self-Help Radio today. Here’s a quote from an article on singing from Sproul’s website, ”

These “Jesus-is-my-boyfriend” types of songs can be sacrilegious or profane. While it is true that Scripture portrays the church as the bride of Christ, that imagery is collective, apocalyptic, and creational. It is not romantic, erotic, or sentimental, as such.”

How can we get sentimentally mushy over a God who is the Most Holy One, Creator of Heaven and Earth? What drives us to reducing our speech and song to childish gibberish, foolish repetition and silly puns before him? We don’t grovel and snivel at his feet, licking and murmuring with self-serving promises of fealty as Golem did with Frodo at the brink of Mordor and we don’t sidle up to him with a “side-hug” just fresh from the locker room and go “Good game!”

David did this one in Psalm 139:

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

This passage has remained one of my favorites. Even before I was saved I held onto this (though I had no clue why, at the time). My friend, Steve Smith turned me on to a group called the Violet Burning when we were teens and they had a powerful rendition of part of this verse. I believe it is a good picture of how we can dare to come before the throne.

At night I hear the sound
Of two hearts breaking
In the light I see the scars left behind

Through my tears I know
One thing remains
You, always you

I’ve held the hand of fear
In the night I was shaking
I drank the cup of sorrow
The taste so sweet on my lips

I am nothing
I am nothing
Unless you make me more

If I descend into the depths of hell
You will find me
And if I climb above the stars
You are there

Through my tears I know
One thing remains
You, always you

I am weak
I am nothing
I am tired
I am torn in two

I’ve seen the lonely people
Crying out in the night
Screaming out for shelter
From the storms of this life

There is just one thing
That remains
You, always you

If I descend into the depths of hell
You will find me
And if I climb above the stars
You are there

Through my tears I know
One thing remains
You, always you

Dr. Steve Lawson preached at our church today. Our pastor warned us that it would be a blessing well in advance. We were not let down.

The audio of the sermon was put up on the website. That’s way better than the following little collection of my notes from the message. Regarding suffering:

The Number One Most Evil Day in the history of the world was the one in which Christ was cursed, spat upon, beaten, ridiculed, hung on a cross and murdered. Jesus suffered more than anyone else before or after. And through it all, God was in complete control of the whole proceedings. There was no point at which God lifted his hands from any of Christ’s final day, leaving it to any other person to carry out the sentence.

Likewise, in all our lives, just as in Jobs, God is in complete control; he is the Primary Causality for our situation. He uses everything in our lives to accomplish his ends. This includes suffering. Period. God doesn’t go “Ah, bummer, my child is miserable and in a terrible state, let’s see what we can do about this to make it all good.”  God goes more like this, “Now is the time when I lift my servant up to the head of the line to suffer for the purpose of glorifying me.”

God has planned out our lives completely.Psalm 139: 15-16 clears up any question about the events and sequences of our lives from beginning to end.

My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

So here are the 4 parts of Job 1:

Blessed By Buddy Jesus!

1. Character of Job: He was blameless, upright, God-fearing and he turned from evil. He was rich, influential, blessed with a family and was a spiritual leader in his home and community. In other words, Job had it all. He was blessed by God and was a blessing to others and he was obedient. He was “like no other on earth.”

2. Conference in Heaven: God pulled out the matchless Job in conversation, boasting of him, if you will. Satan immediately countered, claiming that Job was only faithful and good because of God’s blessings. God gave Job over to Satan to prove the claim.

3. So Satan immediately let out all the stops and in short order devastated Job’s life. He immediately lost his wealth, his assets and his children. Blam. Gone. All at once.

4. Job turned around at this and worshiped, submitted, adored, blessed and revered God. Period.

All that again, in other words:

1. Job was not a health-and-wealth kinda guy. He did not worship God because he was being blessed. He was conscientious (verse 5). He was literally blameless (verse 1).

2. God did not seek to protect Job from Satan’s accusations, building a hedge around his precious servant or prohibiting Satan from touching him. Instead, God pulled the restrictions from Satan and let him go at it to prove the point Satan claimed. Satan was the one who said Job was the h&w nut, that he was protected by God’s favor and special treatment.

3. God gave Satan authority to do all this. Enough said.

4. Job didn’t give up his faith right then and there. He gave up his rights completely instead. He tore his clothes, shaved his head and flung himself on his face before God proclaiming that God had the throne. He didn’t blame anybody, instead recognizing right off that God was dealing the cards.

Suffering comes from 4 things:

My wrong choices

Others’ wrong choices

Living in a fallen world

God’s decision to glorify himself through our suffering.

Dr. Lawson referred to this passage, which I’ve not read until today, to illustrate his point. Habakkuk 3:17-19

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.

Here’s the part to take away. The difference between a robust maturing believer and a starving baby christian is the understanding that God is in control, in charge, the First Cause and the Final Word on EVERYTHING that goes on in our lives, up to and including our suffering. And everything, suffering included, is for his glory.

Romans 8:28-30

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Two little things.

The argument that protestants have a man-made tradition in their idea of things like guaranteed salvation and limited atonement and total depravity and all those other things is goofy. I shall touch on one that really hangs stuff in the wind for easy viewing. As a byproduct of this particular passage in case, another critical shot is placed right at the heart of doubt.  I would like to dedicate this hardly perfect but very important post, small as it is, to a small person who just joined us in the world today. I hope Julia will appreciate this. I hope everybody else will to.

Ephesians 1:1-10

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

 Predestination is NOT a man-made tradition. There’s nothing I can think of in the world today that would inspire the idea of predestination, to Calvin or my pastor or some atheist or anybody else. In reflection about my view of the world prior to my salvation, it would never have occurred to me that everything was already figured out, planned even, for my life and all those around me.

In the first part of Ephesians can be seen a statement of where the idea of Predestination came from. So we can start by arguing that Paul came up with it, in the context of Ephesians 1. But if all of us afterward haven’t come up with it, how could he have? I highly doubt Paul was any smarter than guys like MacArthur or Spurgeon or Calvin. Shoot, these guys have centuries more material with which to work than Paul did as far as references.

God came up with the idea. And not just came up with it, he is the idea. He knows everything, not from learning it, but from already knowing it. He started out knowing everything so how could God NOT have it all planned out. Like a race track, it’s there and laid out and all the cars on it will go around and around and everybody knows that’s what they’ll do. God knows it; he built this world and made all the things in it, including the people and he knows not just how they work but how they feel, individuals mind you (unlike Seldon in Asimov’s “Foundations”), and how they will live out their lives. Ultimately, God knows how all of everything works together all the way up to the end product. 

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

God knows Julia. He has already known her. He didn’t just know her before we did (which was as early as yesterday) but God has known her all along! In other words, God has never not known her. Or me or you. So if he already knows everything, and we accept there’s a purpose for everything he does, then he knows our purpose. Therefore he has planned out everything.

This ends my little discussion of predestination and the omniscience of God.

A couple things brought me to think for a few about our mission here on earth. Brief forays into some popular evangelists and recent studies at church and home have brought me to this:

What is the chief and highest end of man?

Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.

Romans 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Above is the Westminster Larger Catechism’s first question and answer. Two reference verses are provided along with the answer.  If you’re interested in more about this, hit the link: Westminster Larger Catechism.

I’ve heard discussion that Catechisms and Confessions are way to Catholic or that they are Man Made or Legalistic junk. This is simply not true, though applications of these resources can certainly be Legalistic with little effort. The facts are that the Catechisms and Confessions are the same thing as if God gave us a written test that required us to put into our own words the Truths he has provided in the Bible. They are a distillation of doctrines that are found, widespread, throughout the Bible.

So, back to the subject at hand, I did a simple search at the ESV website (because that is a Bible translation I find to be as plain English as possible without going funky, cultural or relevant in the process) on glorify.

Click here: GLORIFY

The search found:

23 verses containing glorify.

And all those references were God and Jesus, just for extra credit.
Men glorified God because of what God did to them or for them. Men were commanded to glorify God in their bodies, in all that they did. Christ glorified the Father; the Father glorified Christ. Men glorify God because of his mercy, the Gospel, because of salvation, because of God’s deliverance, because God alone is worthy.

So my conclusion is…

Is God glorified through me? Is his glory evident in my life?

Am I seeking my own glory?

There are a number of evangelists and churches out there who teach about a God who is glorified by glorifying his people. These preach a message that, in essence, God is not glorified more than when his people are prospering, shiny, happy, self-sufficient, healthy, well-dressed, affluent, positive, sparkling.

Wait.  That last one was a reference to some vampire thing, I think. Did that slip in there somewhere? LoL. Side humor, I guess.

Back on topic.

Too many are churches and preachers who are glorified by the numbers they amass to themselves; who are communicating the disease of self-glorification through use of the Name of the Most High One. Too many of us believe that we bring glory to God by doing stuff that generally improves our personal situation and lives. This has two effects on the people who do not believe.

1. They are attracted to the show and treats offered by these self-help, family-improvement institutions and become well polished pieces of art, pock-marked by flaws that are glossed over with the diamond-hard shellac of superficial self-glorification. Look great, feel great, shot full of holes and dying. They come seeking and find what looks good on the outside and conceals horror on the inside

Matthew 23:27-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

2. They are repulsed by the completely apparent stupidity of a faith group that claims to be God’s Children, who cannot defend their faith, falter under the first heavy storm in life, clearly fake the miracles, love people to death in hugs and money but do nothing for the soul. Some seekers seek the truth, and they are graced enough with sense to see the absolute inconsistency and corruption when they see it.

Matthew 23:27-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

I, we, are still under this spell, I think; us post-modern/post-baby-boomer/generation-Y children. We instinctively seem to expect that God will provide, make a way, sugar-coat our lives.

B.S. and I mean it. We have it backwards. Look at the verses again. We’re not doing God a favor by pursuing Glorifying. We’re not getting paid for it.

Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

We owe, not for payment for Services Rendered, but because it is our role as creation. God made us for that purpose.

A friend ran this through the media stream in my direction:

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)

This stuff, right here, is not decoration to make us prettier (though it does just that), nor is it meat that makes us more substantial (though it also does just that). This stuff, the fruit of the Spirit, is what glorifies God, for it is the very characteristics that we should have as the righteous, properly conformed-to-his-original-design creatures that we should be.

Here’s the rub: We can’t do these things on our own and call it glorifying God. God installs these things within us. He takes our intellectual grasp of the fruits, which we vainly attempt to bring about on our own. He takes the understanding and brings it alive in us (re: Holy Spirit) so that we realize the real reason and method and application of the fruit. He makes it clean and pure fruit; sweetness and fragrance directed solely at Him.

No longer do we love others so that we can get their love in return. No more happiness based on those around us. No peace, patience, kindness, gentleness so we can get along well with others. No more goodness, faithfulness based on our own capacity and definition. There is freedom from legalistic and self-flagellating self-control.

Because we love others only because we see God’s love for them and how it glorifies him. Because we find happiness within our relationship with God, which transcends all worldly and bodily hardship. Because we find that peace, patience, kindness and gentleness only serve to Glorify God who alone has the right to vengeance and has demonstrated, through his own works, especially through Christ, that these are greater than fire and hell. Because goodness and faithfulness are found in God, through God and by God’s definition and point directly back to him. Because we constantly strive to limit ourselves from our sinful tendencies in order to glorify God more as the fruit of the Spirit fills the void left by our tidied minds and souls.

In summary: We must find a church, a preacher, a pastime all that focus not on the numbers or the miracles or the benefits of this pseudo-gospel; instead pointing entirely to God, calling us to holiness and the real Gospel which produces people devoted to glorifying the Most High.

As a pastor said, back in Cuba: “O Lord, that they see less of me and more of Thee.”

Short prayer, though I’m not so into praying over the intertubes.

Lord, I can’t seem to make this fruit thing work. I think I understand, through your Word, that I cannot, though I am sure to go back and try again with my own power. Lead me, through my failures, to turn to you for the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control that should be apparent in my life. Lead me, through my successes, to realize that all of it is of you, through me, but entirely of you, for your glory and nothing more. Make my poverty your glory, my destitute spirit rely upon you for all things because all things must glorify you. Keep me from me and turn me to thee.

Lead me to be

what my beloved most needs

what my children most learn

what my church most should have

what the world should most see

Lead me to be

a lover of you

a servant employed

with but one chief end

your fame my sole joy

“…we agreed that it was like being born again, again.” 

I found a good bit to think about today as I read a post on Tim Challies’ blog, which is a daily staple for me. He almost always puts up something of relevant value for my day. This was no exception. The really good part was actually a comment by one of the readers. 

My little post here is going to be long-ish and probably not entirely coherent.  I want to try to capture what’s going through my head clearly but not lose it from distraction by other things.  So it’ll ramble, maybe not make sense entirely.  Bear with me.

From a background of mushy theology and easy-way Christian living, my recent salvation did not impart much real change in my understanding of theology. The Gospel took on new meaning. My relationship with the Lord was definitely established along with a great desire to know him “for real.”

But I had no foundation in serious theology (meat). I had a pretty soupy milk diet of what I remembered from my childhood lessons in the Word. I had Warren and Lucado, mixed up military chapels, charismatic tongue-flapping, “Left Behind” and Christian Psychology stuff which all gave me just that… Stuff. Not much to work with.

So, back to the commenter’s words:  “I remember discussing my discovery of solid doctrine, specifically reformed theology with a friend of mine from West Minster Seminary, and we agreed that it was like being born again, again.” This is what hit me most. 

There was a point, and I can’t really put a finger on it directly, where my leanings toward deeper, more solid theology became more of a downhill run. I wanted it, sought it, and then it started flowing in. This was mostly from study prompted by books I picked up. Good stuff, like Jim Berg’s “Changed Into His Image,” Calvin’s “Institutes”, MacArthur’s commentary, Challies “Discipline of Spiritual Discernment” and many others, which illuminated my Bible with questions and thoughts there was no way I could have come up with myself. 

I was initially spoon fed this stuff bit by bit, starting with my little brother, Ben, who was much more developed in his grasp of the fundamentals of the faith and the Word. He pretty much ensured I had a grounding in basic ways to look at God’s message and how I could take off with it.

A friend, Perry, who sort of just appeared from nowhere (not entirely), sent me a box of books that were particularly complex and hard to get through. I tried to wade my way through Iustitia Dei and the Cost of Discipleship. I don’t remember much about those or some of the theology books I picked up other than a general sense of what was good and not good (helps to have a Bible open when you’re reading stuff that is about the Bible). But what all my reading produced, during the first couple of years following the Lord’s call, was a desire for better and more stable understanding grew.

I can’t honestly say that my Christian “walk” improved as a result of all the study and ah-hah moments because it was intellectual stuff. I don’t think much had made it to my heart. 

This past year, however, I believe I can really relate to “being born again, again.” The solid meat that we’ve found at our church, the sudden (well-timed) switch from a congregation that was going south rapidly (and is now well south of right, only months after we left), a few moments at a Presbyterian church (not the liberal type), some good counseling sessions with a couple of pastors and some timely Bible studies, I’ve found a renewal of my faith and relationship with the Lord. 

That renewal is based on one thing first off:  Taking the Word of God as the Word of God. That means viewing the Bible as commandment and principle, not just as cotton-candy assent-worthy snacks. Our pastor preaches as such, our Bible studies follow suit and I find myself affected by that.  The Bible has become a clear description of God, his works and his commands that direct my perception of the way I live. It’s not just a self-help book or a series of enlightening truths anymore.

What do I mean by affected? I am increasingly convicted of the sovereignty of God and that nothing I do is outside of his specific direction. In other words, I didn’t choose to take this fresh stance and perspective on my own. Instead, I’m affected by the work of the Holy Spirit in all this new environment. Our counseling, our church, these things are God’s method of impacting me and changing me. 

The Word has a depth and value that far outweighs that first step into the waters of personal Bible study almost 6 years ago. I am convinced that what is referred to as a high view of God and his revelation is absolutely critical for the transformation into a lifestyle committed to righteousness. I didn’t have that. Now I see what it is and it’s working its way in.

Romans 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”

Get this part though; I’m not bragging about some awesome turnaround in my holiness factor or some such. The battle there has, if anything become tougher and pitted with increased skirmishes with personal spiritual hygiene and my relationships with others. I think it’s harder, now that I am being more and more revealed for what I am, to consider myself improving in righteousness.

Psalm 1:2 “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

What I am bragging about is the wonder and joy of God’s revelation and how it is so amazingly clear how he maneuvers and sets up the situations all around to grow and teach me. That God has not crushed me in my resistance to change. That he has, instead, tweaked bits and pieces here and there to show me what I am and what he wants. And not just show but implant that below the belt in a way that both lifts up my head in hope and bows my knee in submission to his will.

The battlefield has, in the scarred remains, some pristine towers still standing. I really desire unity in my family, involving a real sense of devotion to our Lord and to each other. I really want to be involved in my church, more than just an attendee. I really hope to be a good witness at work. And these not for spiritual or worldly “attaboys” but because it really is my reasonable service.

Romans 12:1-2  “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

A number of recent conversations have asked me to check my view of God, his word and the work he’s doing in my life.  Church has been challenging me on this the whole time we’ve been attending.  Work, in the last two weeks, has enjoyed a sort of opening of hearts and I’ve been a part of several sincere and serious talks about how to view God and the Gospel.  Online forums that I frequent have worked at me as well.

Some things I’ve found to savor and contemplate:

God is completely sovereign.  On the way home from work today, David Jeremiah, from Shadow Mountain Church here in Cali was talking about heaven.  He noted that John’s Revelation included a peek through the door to heaven.  Mr. Jeremiah said that John had been given a glimpse into the Control Room of the Universe and what he saw was God on the throne.  God is on the throne, never took a vacation, is in control.  Of everything.  Not just some stuff and letting the trivia spin its own course, but every little detail of our lives:

Luke 12:22-31 — And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

I’m completely dependent on him.  I can’t argue with him.  I am his.  I am holy because he made me holy and I’m filling out to fit that suit by his work in my life through the Holy Spirit.  I’m not perfect yet, but that is because God is glorified in his work on me right now as well as the glory he gets for saving me in the first place and perfecting me in the end.

Romans 7:14-25 — For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

And I find that I really must be working on my Bible study and striving to follow the instructions contained in God’s Word.  There’s no room for quibble or putting off.  If it says to do something (or to not do something), I have to comply.  If I don’t understand what’s going on, there’s an instruction for that:  Study harder, pray harder, forsake not the fellowship in the process.  God helps through my reading, my prayer, my fellowship with his people.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 — All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Acts 17:11 — Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

All this is pretty simple, and the scriptures take up more space than my own writing, but I’m also learning that usually my own words can’t really compete with what the Bible says on its own.  It suffices to say I’m really working at this, reading the Calvin’s Institutes, Martin Lloyd-Jones’ Great Doctrines; doing reading from the start of the OT (working in Exodus now), Luke, Acts; Attending, when I can, the Fundamentals of the Faith (MacArthur course) at church as well as the church’s men’s group on the Great Doctrines.

I’m trying to apply all this in the family, especially in relationship to A, who deserves a much more righteous husband than she has right now.  She needs a more loving, godly husband.  The desire is to glorify God through it all.  And recent months have been slowly revealing this in unmistakable crescendo.  Specially in the last couple of weeks.

From Bible Study tonight:

The simple 1 page of notes I took:

What you must APPREHEND, not just COMPREHEND:

• The Holiness of God, who is Just and Perfect.
• The Depravity of Man, who is helpless and guilty.
• Man’s need for atonement, a perfect sacrifice that satisfies the death penalty.
• God provided that satisfaction in Christ, purely a gift, purely grace.
• God is sovereign over EVERYTHING, man is sovereign over NOTHING.

Conviction precedes repentance.

Apprehension is comprehension applied as Truth.

Read these passages

• Acts 2:41-42
• Galations 5:22–24
• Ephesians 2:8-9
• Jeremiah 17:9-10
• John 14:21-24
• John 8:42-47
• John 10:25-27
• 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

The greatest outworking of faith is obedience.

Had a chance to meet our pastor today.  It was good, considering we’ve been attending for a few months now, and not formally introduced ourselves or anything.  The point of the meeting was for counsel; seeking direction on how to improve my husbandly qualities.  I asked about things like membership and stuff as well, getting the chance to describe our particular position and how I was coming personally, rather than attending the weekly meetings of the Men’s group and making it to every Sunday service (work prevents, home-duties prevent etc.).

Interestingly enough, and happily, the conversation did not take off in a comfortable, sympathetic, inane sort of way, but directly to something I hadn’t really expected.

The Armor of God.

The Pastor led me through a quick study of Ephesians 6.  I hadn’t ever considered the remarkable placing of 5:22- 6:5 with the armor of God (6:10-17).  Just never thought about it like that.

Ephesians 6:15 and,as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace

What stood out most was the shoes.  The shoes of the gospel of peace.  I always thought of it as a sort of reciprocal result of sharing the Gospel.  Actually, that’s not the point of the shoes.  It’s a matter of positioning, grounding, traction.  In the Gospel, being well founded in the Message so that I am prepared for the attacks and maneuvering required in my Christian life.  There is peace, a grip on the terrain, confidence that is derived from being well grounded in the Gospel.

I sure didn’t say it as well as the Pastor did, but it works for me.   There’s a lot more that went along with this.

It ties in to my husbandly qualities in being prepared for the trials that we both face daily.  Work, school, Scouts and everything else serve up plenty of crises that turn us into real bears.  Being prepared with the armor, including a good foundation in the Gospel, is the way to face our troubles with confidence and hope.

Revelation 12:10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

Today I got the privilege of attending a class on The Institutes.

I can’t begin to explain all the coolness and faith-building and eye-opening I enjoyed there.  It was like a cruise to the North Atlantic and seeing a beautiful blue iceberg and realizing that, despite the awe-inspiring view, there was a monumental bit more that was there, but wasn’t visible, its effects seen but not completely perceived.  I’m not sure as that makes sense, just as the mysteries of God are just that, mysteries.

So I’m just going to put my notes down here, including some of what was going through my head as discussion developed the ideas.

First off, the topics were:  Predestination, Reprobation, Eschatology and a bit of Ecclesiology.  Fer us disedimicated folks, them’s technical terms that cover Salvation, Damnation,  End Times and Church.

Second off, lemme add my personal view of how the title track could run in this session:

Predestination Makes The Claim That God Does Not Wring His Hands.

I stole that twist of phrase about wringing hands from the meta of Pyromaniacs, but am not sure where specifically.  Suffice to say I definitely wasn’t intelligent enough to come up with it myself and am barely smart enough to use it properly.

As advertised in class itself, Predestination “Exalts God and Humbles Man.”

Okay.  On to what stood out to me as important.

1.  Calvin put predestination sort of in the middle of his work.  NOT in the front or in the back.  In other words, he apparently went against his own movement’s trademark focus and seems to have made priorities higher than predestination.  I personally gather that he took predestination as a given, not so worthy of massive defense and controversy.  IMHO, that is, kind of like Paul and the others didn’t really spend all that time defining and defending and elaborating something that God set up and apparently worked just fine without our perfect understanding.

2.  Slightly important.  Predestination is NOT unique to Calvin.  You don’t have to be a Calvinist to believe in predestination.  Arguably, all of us Christians believe in predestination whether we realize it or not.

3.  Mystery part.  God elects based on his mercy and for his good pleasure and his glory.  Pretty sure most will recognize the source of this statement.  Though I’m not a catechism or creed fed christian, I sure find that the Bible agrees quite a bit with the idea here (maybe because it’s bible-inspired?), that God does what he wills and how he wills, period.

4.  Election, the idea of the visible and invisible church, regeneration and all that take the glory away from the institution, the preacher and the witnesses, putting it back on the One Legitimate Recipient.  Can’t claim credit for saving somebody if the idea of Regeneration-within-Election is valid.  Fuzzy to contemplate in my mind, this is, so I may not be too clear.  I am, however unstable in terminology, stable in conviction.

5.  Reprobation (which leads to condemnation).  God PRE-DECIDES who is NOT gonna make it.  That part is very shocking, was for me to actually encounter it today, but it’s completely sensible and in agreement with the above predestination idea.  Therefore, God reprobates based on his good pleasure and his glory.  Read the story of Jacob and Esau for context.  One he loved and the other…

6.  Eschatology.  Unlike my christian education in the past, Calvin deals less with End Times stuff.  He paid attention to that stuff that was really meaty, valuable and apparently (I need to study more) of more consequence in the Bible.  Resurrection.  He didn’t focus so much on rapture details, Armageddon and all that which makes us shudder and look for Tim Lahaye to hook up the prophecy trough.

7.  Ecclesiology.  There again, the election and regeneration thing came up, giving us the visible and invisible church.  NOW there is an explanation for PKs (Pastors’ Kids) and GUBAs (Grown Up Born Again:   Those who have been christians all their lives) and how they either fall away or experience a sort of “second salvation” in the non-calvinist christian communities.  Strangely enough, this doesn’t seem to be a problem with these reformed guys.  It’s just as dreadful or awe-ful as reprobation, the notion that God chose before the dawn of time who was going to turn from Him for all eternity, to consider that there are people IN the church who APPEAR to be regenerate but ain’t gonna make it.

And finally, so much of this is just. plain. avoided in christian conversation.  The idea that just maybe God had EVERYTHING pre-selected, from heaven-bound souls to unrepentant rebels in parish suit-and-tie to druggies; every one of us to our destination, is really un-hip conversation material. Also un-hip is sitting back and NOT digging holes to China in our attempts to discern the details of the mysteries and prophecies of the Bible.

So, really, my question is…

How come Everybody is more than a little interested in dissecting the mysterious future of God’s end-times schedule (seals and plagues and fire and brimstone and who is that antichrist anyway), with movie after movie and book after book, fiction and speculation and “fact” oh my.

Yet we won’t address the lack of understanding of the real details that count, like God’s sovereignty and how we can glorify him.  I think, based on how my awe of God is greatly increased after this morning, that we could all benefit greatly on learning more about how God glorifies himself and causes everything he has made to glorify him.  More glory to him when we understand better how he is glorified, right?

In other news, I’ve been going to counseling with my beloved.  We’re studying marriage.  I’ve been sick for a few days along with the mama and our Molly.  I’m looking for a second job (one of those part-time things to cover differences between Navy pay and the money we owe).  Molly is a High Schooler (!!!!!).  Joscelin, Bo and Gwen are all in elementary school with no problems and lots of excitement.  The world is sorta rolling along around us.  It appears we’ve been led to a good church, and that is cause for excessive thankfulness.

Thinking about contentment and peace in my heart.  Challies had a well crafted discussion of the topic today at his website.  The whole idea has more to it than choosing to be at peace with things or to choosing battles, selectively avoiding stuff that disrupts our contentment in Christ.

Experience tells me that the flow inward will directly affect my contentment and peace.  Just as what I put in my mouth affects what comes out, so does that same food affect my internal state.  What I put in my mind and heart affects the attitude and mental state of me as well as what comes out of my mouth.  Contentment produces contented actions and words.  Things that make contentment must be taken in order to get or maintain contentment.

But that’s all in the Bible too, well before my limited learning could apprehend this gem of an idea.

A quick run through the engine at www.BibleGateway.com gave me some examples of this in and out stuff:

Job 20.

Proverbs 10:14

The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.

Proverbs 10:31

The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

1 Corinthians 6:13 says:

“Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

So what I really need is more Romans 12:1&2

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

I need to keep a steady flow of the Godly into me in order to combat the fear, the confusion, the disturbance, the misery, the hopelessness that surrounds me.

I’ve always stuck to the rule that good food doesn’t have to just be healthy.  There’s a real goodness to food that makes you feel good.  Even if it’s well below the level of good for you, and borderline bad for you, it can be good.  Take the Double Whopper With Cheese from BK.

This is way bad for you.  Greasebomb cholesterolpill 3-days-of-calorie-rations nastiness.  But when I get sick, tired and worn-out with a cold or other booger-hacking-slimy affliction, one of these and a gallon of orange juice serves to set me just right. I might not get healthier because of the non-nutrients this food is giving me, but it improves my mood and outlook significantly.  The DWWCfBK is better than a Tylenol and a nap.

How much more effective in our spirits is the Word and Prayer and Worship and Fellowship.  They are just the right nutrient-filled, tasty treat to banish our fretting and malcontent.  You can’t live off these things (well, except for the fellowship part, if you go to the right church), but I tell you, you can LIVE off these things.  In the last few weeks, I’ve started leaning back toward them, taking more and more in, slowly increasing the dosage and man, I can’t seem to understand why it is that I ever back off these good things!

And you can’t live without them.  A man without the water of life flowing through him is a dried up shell.  There’s no point to being a Christian if you’re not being one.  What a waste.

So turn off the gunk and put on the Gospel.  Put away the pulp and pick up the pulpit.  Dump the despair and decide on devotion.

Newsboys sing about it.  They’re not old fuddy-duddies from the turn of the century.

Jars of Clay sing about it too.  Ditto.

Oh, wait.  That is an old song.  But wait!  It’s cool, cause J.O.C. sings it!

Nobody can say our Christian culture is behind the times and there’s no relevant way to compete with the garbage that’s out there.  Say you need something better than

Blah.  Enough pandering to the masses.  The Bible, with all its GLORIOUS conservative, single-minded, absolute, timeless, beautiful, convicting, unfaltering, unforgiving, forgiving, loving, exclusive, intolerant, sacred, one-of-a-kind message is more than enough, tons more than enough for the sickness inside.  It’s gonna teach you contentment that no burger, no beer, no hit, no therapy, no home-run, no sabbatical will get you God.

The Bible with the escorts and vanguard of the great writers and singers and bands and artists that believe the BIBLE is true and right and that the ONLY way to the Father is through the Son, is all we need.  Fooey on the rest.

So I’m content.