Taking Joy in the Most Important Thing

Some people in my community group have been going through "The Fruitful Life" by Jerry Bridges. The book goes through each of the fruits of the Spirit and examines how they look in our lives.

Tonight, I read the chapter on joy. Bridges goes through some of the things that hinder our joy, such as sin. One thing he mentions that I had not considered is an overemphasis on deriving joy from our works and ministry instead of God's work for us. Bridges says even though he has had the privilege of writing popular books that God has used, his joy is not rooted in this success but that his name is written in heaven. He challenges us to examine the source of our joy:

"Perhaps you don't feel you have much to show for your life. Maybe you haven't written a book, or seen scores come to Christ through your witness, or done anything else that seems significant. But is your name written in heaven? If it is, you have as much reason to rejoice as the most well-known and "successful" Christian. Nothing you or I will ever do can possibly compare with having our names written in heaven. The most humble Christian as well as the most famous Christian stand together on that common ground." (p. 78)

Let's strive to remember that our names are written in heaven and take great joy in that fact. We can't base our joy solely the success of our ministry but rather on Christ's finished work on the cross that allows us to become children of God.

The Bruised Reed - Chapter 7

A couple quick thoughts on Chapter 7 of "The Bruised Reed" (and yes I know I skipped Chapters 4 - 6). The chapter was about help for the weak and the temptations that can come upon us and disrupt the peace we have in Christ. Regarding the effects of sinful thoughts, Richard Sibbes says:

"And if there were no devil to suggest, yet sinful thoughts would arise from within us, though none were cast in from without. We have a mint of them within. These thoughts, if the soul dwell on them so long as to suck and draw from and by them any sinful delight, then they live a more heavy guilt upon the soul, hinder our sweet communion with God, interrupt our peace, and put a contrary relish into the soul, disposing it to greater sins." (p. 47)

There are many good things to pull out of that quote, but I'll just choose one for now. Sibbes brings up the importance of guarding our hearts and minds from sinful thoughts. As he goes on to say later, all sin arises originally from a sinful desire or thought. Dwelling on these temptations and sinful inclinations also effects our experience of communion with God and can disrupt the peace of God in our souls. As he says, these thoughts are brought forth from the sinfulness in our own hearts, not to mention the thoughts that are thrust upon us from the outside world. As such, we need to be guarding our hearts and minds against these thoughts and, more than that, to be filling them with the things of God.

How are you seeking to fill your heart and mind with the promises of God in your daily life?

What I Needed to Hear

Earlier today I saw this post on Tim Challies blog, Just Stop It!. There is a funny clip from MadTV along with a short discussion about fighting sin. In the clip, Bob Newhart is counseling a woman who has irrational fears and his advice to her is "Stop It!". Tim goes on to say that to him it is a reminder that sanctification is a joint work between us and God and that while sometimes we look for a step-by-step method or pray for deliverence, we must also strive to fight sin. Here is the part of Challies' post that affected me:

Some time ago I spoke to a friend about an ongoing sin in his life and tried to show him that the essence of his problem was this: he hates his sin just a little bit less than he loves it. Sure he wants to stop sinning, but even more he wants to keep sinning. And I think he came to agree. My advice was pretty well what Newhart offered the woman in this video: “Stop it!” Are you fighting sin? I’ll pray for you—really, I will. And I’ll recommend that you memorize some Scriptures, some fighter verses, that will help you battle that sin by bringing to mind the promises of God. But I’ll also challenge you to just stop it and to stop it now. You stop sinning by turning your back on it. You do not sit back and wait for God to change you while you remain in your sin. Rather, you join him in the fight, joining your will with His strength. And together you go to war.

Now, obviously sanctification is not based on our strength and our efforts alone (This video and post are not a systematic theology of sin. For some more thoughts on the video and counseling by David Powlison check out this post by Justin Taylor). We need Christ and the Holy Spirit working through us to create change in our lives. But for me at least, praying can come somewhat easier than being intentional and seeking to fight sin, instead of waiting for it to come around. As I was confronted this morning with seeing those stubborn patterns of sin in my life, I read this article and was reminded that I need to cry out to God more for his help and I need to make every effort to remove temptation and fight sin in my life.

One of the commenters on the post linked to this Martyn Lloyd-Jones quote posted on the Pyromaniacs blog. He also encourages us by saying that Scripture does not command us to be passive in our sanctification but rather to strive to fight sin in our lives along with God.

I pray that by God's grace my heart would continue to grow to hate sin more than I love it.

(HT: Tim Challies)

Puritan Challenge - Update

So, it's almost the end of March and how is the puritan challenge going? Well, if you were to base your impression solely on my blog posts, you would assume not very quickly. And you would be right.

I definitely fell off track in regards to my reading. This was for numerous reasons but mostly poor time management (i.e. video games) and laziness in taking notes or posting about what I was reading. So, it's the end of the third month of the challenge and I only have one book done. Now in fairness, I didn't start until the end of January, so I am really only a month behind. However, I haven't really posted on or fully digested even the first book I read, "The Bruised Reed". Things certainly are not going to get easier either as I start up grad class again next week at Drexel.

So, the current plan is to start the book for next month at the beginning of the month, and as time allows to finish processing the first book. I hope to make these puritan paperbacks the focus of my self-organized reading and not to get distracted with other unread books on my shelf. Also, I will probably be switching up my posting style as well. Trying to write a comprehensive summary on every chapter is daunting and time consuming. Instead, I will be aiming to grab an applicable point or thought from a chapter, a supporting quote and Scripture, a quick summary and a question or point of application for myself.

This should make the posts easier to digest and to write and should make them more attractive and helpful for me to review at a later date.

Edit: Update - To clarify, the next book in the Puritan Challenge is "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment" by Jeremiah Burroughs. This is a change in the reading schedule I posted a month ago which came about because the original book scheduled for April was widely out of stock for awhile.

Thoughts on Photography

Recently on the Desiring God blog, Bill Walsh has been posting his way through a list of reasons why he is a photographer. (9 Reasons I'm A Photographer). This is definitely great food for thought and I know that I am prone to overlook the glory and beauty of creation in my day-to-day life. I've recently become more aware of this as I have tried to be out more in the mornings to walk or go for a run.

One of my co-workers is really into photography and as I have talked with him about it and seen some of his shots, I'm definitely interested in seeking to take more pictures. I don't think it will ever be a serious hobby, mainly because I get too distracted and already have too many interests, but after reading these articles I can see a very cool redemptive aspect of photography.

I'm currently saving up for a small point-and-shoot camera to carry around in my backpack. Since it's relatively small, I've also thought it might be cool to take it along if I go on a run and snag some shots if I see anything cool. I'll definitely upload some pics when I get it to spice up the posting here a little bit (and break up the large blocks of text).

Blogging for the Glory of God

With so many friends starting blogs recently and the way the Internet has become a primary source of information for so many lives, I recently found these articles that are helpful in challenging both my blogging and my reading of blogs. I encourage you to read them, especially the Bob Kauflin article, if you blog or read blogs regularly.

• Blogging to Worship God - Bob Kauflin


• All About Blogging - Tim Challies


• Blog Responsibly - Suzanne Hadley

Are there any ways you see that your blogging could be changed glorify God more? Or perhaps areas where you are tempted to use your blog to draw attention to yourself rather than God?

Part of the Problem?

Last night I attended a benefit concert for the Democratic Republic of Congo at Church of the Savior. During one of the breaks between bands, they showed a short film illustrating the bloodshed and exploitation that is going on in that country. As I watched I was affected by the pictures of suffering and by the gravity of the tremendous amounts of lives lost. My heart was grieved by seeing so vividly the effects of sin. I began to consider the effects of my sin and the seriousness of sin. In one sense, we look at our own culture and are astounded by the corruption and worldliness that we see. And yet, a culture is made up of sinful people like you and me. Is it too hard to believe that our society will be shaped in part by our sinful desires and interactions? We too are part of the problems in this world.

This is a realization that helps me to fight and hate sin more. Sin is pervasive and it is never satisfied, but continues to justify greater evil in pursuit of satisfaction. It's astounding to consider the atrocities sinful human hearts have committed throughout history. And that all these things were born originally in the Fall, a sin of disobedience which can seem so small in comparison. But see how quickly it led to brother murdering brother.

All this made the problem of sin and suffering in the world weigh heavily on my heart. Thankfully, as the concert continued on, Reilly began to play. As I listened I was reminded that we serve a powerful and caring God who has shown his love by sending his Son to die for our sins. In his word, God has promised:

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." - Rev 21:4