New Attitude 2008 Review - Mark Dever & Al Mohler

I'm combining Dever and Mohler together in an effort to actually get through my review of NA messages before NA rolls around again. Also, they both provide a lot of the framework for analyzing for some of the intellectual issues that define how we interact with Scripture. I don't actually have any notes to break down for Mohler's Q&A session but I would recommend you listen to it and think about some of the questions he covers. If nothing else, it challenged me to want to know the Bible better.

Mark Dever delivered the second message of the conference which dealt primarily with the authority of Scripture. He started by saying that faith in Christ can only occur where the truth about Him is known. So the question then became, how can we have confidence in the Bible?

Before he started, he suggested three books that might prove helpful in wrestling with this issue (The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable by F.F. Bruce, Fundamentalism and the Word of God by J.I. Packer, Christ and the Bible by John Wenham). His message was broken down into two main points, the reliability of the Bible and the authority of Scripture.

He began by addressing the reliablility of the Bible. There were four main questions/objections that he addressed. First, how can we know the Bible if there are so many translations available? He responded by saying that this is first an evidence that translation is possible. He then went on to emphasize that decades of work are put into a committee translation so they are reliable.

Second, is what we have what was written down originally? We can be very confident because there is a vast body of ancient manuscripts. Also, there is a stronger body of historical evidence for the Bible than any other ancient work.

Thirdly, is what was written down accurate? Dever first touched on the fact that some of what was written down was originally passed on orally, but memorization is a reliable way of transferring knowledge. Also, people did not have to write it down immediately for it to be accurate. Many writers, such as Paul and Luke were very concerned with historically accuracy. Also, facts are relayed in the Bible which would not be fabricated if someone was making it up. For example, a crucified savior or women being recorded as the first witnesses to the resurrection. Also, early attacks on Christianity did not challenge the resurrection, which lends credence because people would have still been alive who were there.

Lastly, is it true? For this Dever noted that the disciples reaction is a key factor in looking at this. Why would the disciples willingly die for something that they knew was a lie. Obviously, there is a lot more that could be said on the reliability of the Bible, but you could check out some of the resources Dever suggested for more information.

Next, he started to talk about the authority of Scripture in our lives. I don't have quite as good notes for this part as he was rattling off quite a lot of scripture references. I plan to listen to this message again and you might want to snag it off the NA website and do the same. However, Dever did mention that though we can't know God or the Bible fully, we can know them truly. Just because I don't know everything, doesn't mean that I don't know anything. God is the one who is revealing himself to us so it is possible to know him.

He mentioned that studying the Bible is one of the main ways we can be encouraged. Also, the Scriptures are presented as having the attributes of God (There are a ton of scripture references after this point, download the message for the full effect). Also, Jesus did not reject the jewish view of Scripture. Mark said something to the effect of "To follow Christ, we must treat Scripture as Jesus treated Scripture". That's certainly very challenging considering how well Christ knew Scripture and how often he quoted it.

He ended with a couple challenges. God's Word must be applied. We need to ask ourselves if we are building our lives on the Word of God? Also, do we treasure the privlege of reading and hearing God's Word? Finally, what part of the Word am I not putting into practice?

It's Not My Fault

A very convicting guest post over at the Desiring God blog today. It's dealing with our tendency to blame-shift when we are confronted with our sin. The author then runs down a list of 12 examples of sin where we tend to try and place the blame outside ourselves. Here's an example:

1) Anger
I wouldn’t lose my temper if my co-workers were easier to get along with, or if my kids behaved better, or if my spouse were more considerate.

I could identify with pretty much everything he had on the list. While circumstances do exert pressure, difficulty and temptation in our lives, ultimately we are responsible for our sin. Instead of blame-shifting, we need to accept responsiblity for our sin, run to the cross, repent and seek to fight that sin. If we never actually acknowledge that we have sinned, no growth will ever occur in our lives.

Affection for God and Worship

Tim Challies has an excellent post today about worshipping God and our affections. Growing in knowledge about God should cause us to grow in affection for God. Worship is an overflowing expression of that affection.

HT: Tim Challies

Clothed With Christ's Righteousness

I recently downloaded a bunch of George Whitefield sermons from Christian Classics Ethereal Library and started reading through them. The first one was called "The Seed of the Woman, and the Seed of the Serpent" and it was exploring Genesis 3:15. The sermon contained an interesting point I had never considered about how the sewing of the fig leaves in the garden was representative of how we try to make up for our sin with our own efforts instead of realizing our need and seeking God for mercy.

And how do they behave now they are naked? Do they flee to God for pardon? Do they seek to God for a robe to cove their nakedness? No, they were now dead to God, and became earthly, sensual, devilish: therefore, instead of applying to God for mercy, "they sewed or platted fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons, "or things to gird about them. This is a lively representation of all natural man: we see that we are naked: we, in some measure, confess it; but, instead of looking up to God for succor, we patch up a righteousness of our own (as our first parents platted fig-leaves together) hoping to cover our nakedness by that. But our righteousness will not stand the severity of God's judgment: it will do us no more service than the fig-leaves did Adam and Eve, that is, none at all.

Whitefield goes on to note that God's clothing of Adam and Eve after the fall was also looking forward to when believers would be clothed by God with the righteousness of Christ.

Adam believed also, and was saved: for unto Adam and his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them: which was a remarkable type of their being clothed with the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What a great reminder that we are not saved by works of our hands but by Christ's work for us on the cross. And that when God looks at us he does not see our sin but Christ's obedience and righteousness that was imputed to us. Let's rejoice in those truths.

Switching It Up

The past several years I have been using reading plans to read through the Bible in a year or less. I mainly operated in this way because a reading plan helped me to stay on track despite my lack of discipline and also because I wanted to increase my overall familiarity with the Bible by reading through several times. The first two times I went through I used the Discipleship Journal reading plan (PDF Version) which really helped me to see the connections between different parts of Scripture as I was reading in four places at one time. After that I tried to come up with my own plan, but I had trouble following through. Based on recommendations, I started using the first volume of "For the Love of God" by D.A. Carson, which is based upon the M'Cheyne reading plan. It was definitely helpful because it provided a daily devotional thought which applied to the reading for the day. I have been using it for the past year and am just finishing up this week.

At New Attitude I discovered something interesting about how I take notes and process. When we spent time in the morning meditating on Scripture, I took my notes on the printout they gave us rather than in a notebook or in a Bible. It reminded me of taking notes right next to the text on printouts of papers I had to read for my graduate class. I was kind of surprised at how much this helped me in interacting with the text. After establishing the discipline of daily reading, I found that it can still be easy for my eyes to move over the text for the day without actually learning or applying anything. Though I've taken notes before (written down interesting verses or a thought), this seemed to be especially helpful.

Based on that experience, I've decided to try something a little different for my reading during the next year. First, I've decided to use a printout of the text for taking notes on. This worked well at New Attitude and seems like a good solution to keeping the notes next to the passages they apply to. Also, a sheet of paper is easily portable and I can keep it in my bag to pull out at lunch for a second look. The readings will be stored in a 3-ring binder once I am finished so I can go back and look at them later. I'll be having the passages emailed to me thanks to the ESV Website. Secondly, I'm trying out a Chronological plan this time around and hoping that it will help me to gain a different viewpoint on the whole of Scripture than I have seen before. Finally, outside of this more focused reading, I hope to be taking some time (perhaps before bed) to read different sections of Scripture without the intense note taking, to continue to know God's Word better and to balance out my reading of other books about God with reading of the Bible.

What do you do for your devotional times? Have you found anything to be particularly helpful?

Reflecting on Fifty Posts

A couple months ago I kicked off this whole blogging thing and this marks the 50th post. Things have gone well so far, though post frequency shifts from time to time as things get busy.

Fifty posts is not anything to pat myself on the back for. However, it provides a good excuse for evaluation on whether this blog is serving the purpose I started it for and what should be changed.

So, is this blog serving the purposes I started it for?

Well, one of the main purposes was to help me think through what I was reading. It has definitely been helpful in this regard. Whether books, blogs or Scripture, when I write about something I've read its helpful in making me retain and think through ideas.

The focus for the reading I was blogging was the Puritan Challenge. I've realized that it was a bit daunting based upon other reading I was doing for myself and small group, so I've phased that out. I hope to tackle some of the books individually at a bit of a slower pace. My reading in general has slowed down due to a busy schedule in many areas of my life. I'm definitely working to try and address this and once I do I'll be blogging more about books again.

All in all, the blog has been very helpful for me, but I'd like to try and maintain a more regular schedule. Also, I'm eager to figure out how I can make it helpful for me and keep it useful for anyone who reads along or stumbles upon it.

Second, what can be improved?

I know I struggle with brevity at times, but I've been trying to get better and I spend time reducing my posts. It's certainly helping me to be a better writer by using less words to convey more meaning.

I also know that my posts might not always be directed to someone reading along. Sometimes its just a good place to write out some thoughts or a note (almost like a journal) that I might want to easily access later. Not that I'm afraid that people will read it, but occasionally I don't write with others in mind which may be apparent in how I write. As I mentioned earlier, I'd like to write more regularly which means reading things I can write about and taking advantage of writing and scheduling posts ahead of time if necessary.

Any thoughts on how I can improve? Has anything in particular served you? Anything you would like to see more of? Feel free to sound off in the comments. Thanks.

A Joy to Pastor

Over at CJ Mahaney's blog, they have been posting some snippets from the third episode of the Sovereign Grace Leadership podcast. Today they've got some great thoughts about what it means to help foster joy in the pastor of your local church. Here's a portion of CJ's response:

And it would be wise for everyone listening to ask another question: Am I a joy to pastor?

And don’t confine the evaluation of yourself to yourself. I would encourage everyone listening to approach your pastor and ask, “Am I a joy for you to pastor? And if not, why not? I want to be a joy to pastor. I want to bring you joy in pastoring.”

So I think Scripture is clear: By appreciating the character of their pastor and the labor of their pastor, by encouraging their pastor, by the member’s own participation in the local church, they can be a pure joy to pastor.

God wants happy pastors. Any other kind of pastor does not accurately represent God. Yet happy pastors are, to some degree, dependent on individuals who make it a joy to pastor.

Let's make it a point to pray for and encourage the men who labor in the pastoral ministry of our local church. Let's be a joy to pastor.

Scougal on Sanctification

I've been continuing to work my way through "The Life of God in the Soul of Man" by Henry Scougal. Today I came upon two quotes dealing with sanctification and the struggle against sin that I found helpful.

First, he provides insight into the relationship between God's work and our work in changing our hearts.

All the art and industry of man cannot form the smallest herb, or make a stalk of corn to grow in the field; it is the energy of nature, and the influences of Heaven, which produce this effect. It is God "who causeth the grass to grow, and herb for the service of man;" and yet nobody will say, that the labours of the husbandman are useless or unnecessary.

Then Scougal provides some perspective on the intensity of the struggle with sin:

But now, that I may detain you no longer, if we desire to have our souls moulded to this holy frame, to become partakers of the divine nature, and have Christ formed in our hearts, we must seriously resolve, and carefully endeavour, to avoid and abandon all vicious and sinful practices. There can be no treaty of peace, till once we lay down these weapons of rebellion wherewith we fight against heaven; nor can we expect to have our distempers cured, if we be daily feeding on poison. Every wilful sin gives a mortal wound to the soul, and puts it at a greater distance from God and goodness; and we can never hope to have our hearts purified from corrupt affections, unless we cleanse our hands from vicious actions.

I found these words a helpful reminder that God is the one that changes us but we are called to strive and fight hard against our sin.

Also, on a non-related note, check out my guest post on gratitude over on my community group's blog today.

Money Matters

The next Financial Peace course is starting at church tonight. This will be my third time through and once again I get to help lead a discussion group with Stephanie. It sounds like a lot of people are signed up this time, so the class should be bigger than before. I am excited to see how the class affects others as I have been blessed in applying these practical principles in my own life.

We've just recently compeleted a short "Money Crunch" series at church and Financial Peace is starting again, it's not a bad time to take a look at how we are doing with our money. I've found it boils down to two questions.

1. Where is my heart in relationship to how to use my money? Am I desiring to use my money in a way that honors God and recognizes that everything I have belongs to him?

2. I want to use my money in a way that glorifies God and be a wise steward. What does it look like practically in everyday life to use my money well?

Randy Alcorn's "The Treasure Principle" has been helpful in evaluating my own heart in regards to the first question. I know my heart can easily drift into believing that my money is mine to do whatever I want with and that I deserve it because I worked for it. I need to be reminded that all of it is a gift from God and I will be held accountable for how I use it. I'm glad that we are including this book into our Financial Peace course to examine not only our habits, but our hearts as well. I'm hoping to get to read Alcorn's "Money, Possessions and Eternity" sometime to dig deeper into this area.

The Financial Peace course really comes into play with the second question. The information provided by Dave Ramsey helps with budgeting, smart shopping and saving well. It helps me to make the most of what God has entrusted me with and protects me from spending more than I make. Also, having knowledge about where my money is helps to relieve financial stress and frees me to spend and give since I don't have to worry that I am accidently spending my rent money. I'm always refining what I'm doing, but I can see definite improvement since I started the course.

Take some time to evaluate how you use your money reflects your view of God. And take time to look into some practical financial advice, like Dave Ramsey's book "Financial Peace", to see if there are ways you can be using your money more wisely.

Odds and Ends - 6/16/2008

A few quick thoughts for now.

1. The day has finally come. Wayne Grudem's "Systematic Theology" is now available on the internet. Hit up this link to check it out. Now you don't have to lug the whole thing around in your backpack (and it might make searching through a section a bit easier as well).

Update: Apparently this posting of "Systematic Theology" was unauthorized. Apologies to the author and publisher. Please delete the bookmark if you have it.

HT: Tim Challies

2. I was taking some time today to read from "The Life of God in the Soul of Man" by Henry Scougal. I was feeling a bit tired and reading on a computer screen doesn't always work that well so I was just coasting along. Then I read this line about Jesus and his prayer life:

Another instance of his love to God was his delight in conversing with him by prayer, which made him frequently retire himself from the world, and, with the greatest devotion and pleasure, spend whole nights in that heavenly exercise, though he had not sins to confess, and but few secular interests to pray for; which, alas! are almost the only things that are wont to drive us to our devotions. Nay, we may say his whole life was a kind of prayer - Henry Scougal, "The Life of God in the Soul of Man"

The part that really stood out to me was considering how much time Christ spent in prayer despite no need to confess sin and "few secular interests". In my own life I see how much my prayer life can be motivated almost solely by my confession/fight with sin and my petitions for earthly things. Neither of these are bad by any means and they are things we should praying about, but Jesus' example reveals that there is much more to communion with God then asking forgiveness and asking for things. When we talk with our closest friends our conversation is more than asking their forgiveness or asking for their help. Part of that relationship is simply being with the other person, talking to them and enjoying who they are. I hope to focus more on knowing, enjoying and listening to God during my quiet times with him.

3. This weekend was a delightful whirlwind of activity that culminated in the wedding of my sister Natalie. I'm so grateful that her and I have been so close for so long and it was such a blessing to have her so close by as she studied at Temple for the last couple years. I'm glad we got to hang out and I'm so happy to see the way that God has worked in her life during that time. I'm going to miss her and Nick as they move out to Dayton, but I know that they will be happy together and that God will provide grace for them during their transition.

The weekend itself was a lot of fun and it was great to talk to so many friends and relatives that I hadn't seen in awhile. Despite those little details that always seem to be forgotten till the last minute, everything went wonderfully (even though I got a little grumpy at times partially due to tiredness). The ceremony went well and Andy Farmer did a great job. The pictures went smoothly and the rain held off until we were pretty much finished. The reception was a blast with all kinds of nice little touches and some excellent food. There was some great live music followed up by some awesome dancing.

Stephanie was along for the whole weekend, which was great. She got to meet the whole Prazenica family and helped by taking care of music at the ceremony. We had a lot of fun and managed to garner some compliments on our dancing (which is most likely more of a reflection on Stephanie's skill as a dancer and teacher than my innate abilities as a dancer). The weekend finished up with a nice slow Sunday hanging out with my family for the day before driving Nick and Natalie to their hotel at the airport so they could leave for their honeymoon this morning. It doesn't get much better than that.

Blazing Blogging Tips

If you are a Christian blogger, you might want to head over to The Blazing Center and check out Stephen's post on some common mistakes and issues that he has encountered after a year of blogging.

Here's a quick list:

• Writing Without Doing
• Writing Without Thinking
• Writing Arrogantly
• Writing Independently
• Writing for Glory

I know that I can struggle particularly with writing for my own glory and wanting to look good and it is easy for me to take an arrogant tone when trying to speak truth. I should be striving to point people to Christ instead of myself and seeking to humbly present the truth in a way that serves and cares for others.

I definitely agree with his points that we need to be accountable to others. I'm glad there are a few trusted friends who read this blog and will call me out on anything bizarre or inappropriate that I say. Also, I'm very grateful for the reminder that I must be a doer of what I am writing, not just someone who is declaring it on my blog acting like I have everything in order. Actually, most of the time I am writing in areas where I am not strong and I am trying to make my weakness clear and apply truth to my own life.

Any areas where you can see your blogging falling into one of these traps? Also, can you see how these principles apply to other areas of your life, like your conversations with others around you?

HT: The Blazing Center

New Attitude 2008 Review - Josh Harris

Ok, so I am finally taking a bit of time to review the messages from NA 2008. We'll be starting out by taking a look at Josh Harris' opening message for the conference on Friday night.

Josh started from Jeremiah 15:16, which was the theme verse for the conference.

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.

Even without a message, meditating on this verse was challenging to my heart, but Josh helped to direct that and establish the direction for the rest of the conference. He reaffirmed the concept of "humble orthodoxy", that there is indeed truth but that we have received it by God's mercy, not because we are more deserving or smarter than others.

One of the questions he asked was, what is our attitude towards God's Word? Does it shape us? Do we love and obey it? It really struck me when he asked if our living matched our confession. I know I will say that I believe the Bible is the true Word of God, but does my behavior affirm that belief? My belief in the Bible should be testified to not just by my words but by the place it occupies in my life.

Josh then went on to use examples of three Old Testament figures and their reactions to God's Word. First he mentioned King Josiah, in 2 Kings 22, who was following God despite a family tree that disobeyed. When the scroll of the law was discovered, Josiah reacted by tearing his clothes and repenting. Even though he was being faithful, Josiah saw that God's Word applied to his own life and admitted his own personal guilt as well as admitting the guilt of the nation. Josh noted that while emotions are not always there, we should be concerned if are hearts are never affected by God's Word. We should examine what it is that moves our hearts if it isn't God.

Second, Josh directed us to the story of King Jehoiakim in Jeremiah 36. He is the son of Josiah, but does not follow in his father's way. The prophet Jeremiah's words predicting judgement on Israel are written on a scroll and read to Jehoiakim, who cuts columns off the scroll as they are read and tosses them into the fire. Josh cautioned that while we may never have burned God's Word, the way we treat and approach Scripture can be similar in regards to how we apply it to our lives. He asked if we obey God's Word and whether we take the Bible as a complete revelation or if we pick and choose the parts we like. Also, he challenged us to listen and be humbled by God's Word when it is preached rather than be more about the person preaching than the Word preached.

Lastly, Josh came back to the example of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 15:16. Jeremiah ate the words of God and if you eat something you trust, it becomes a part of you. Josh asked whether there was anticipation and excitement when opening God's Word. He also noted that this statement about delighting in God's Word came in the midst of Jeremiah's complaint. From this we can learn that God's Word meets us right where we are, delight in God's Word is something we have to fight for and we don't love God's Word so we can earn our standing before him but we love God's Word because Jesus established our standing before him.

I was definitely challenged by my own approach to God's Word. I want to be more aware of the gift that it is and I want to fight hard to delight in God's Word. I need to strive to give the Bible a place in my life that reflects my conviction that it is God's word. And I need to seek to apply it in my day to day life.

God's Faithfulness and My Unbelief

So, the weeks continue to fly by, busy as ever. School is winding down, but FPU starts up again very shortly. My sister is getting married this weekend, which makes me feel a little old. I'm happy for her and Nick but I'll miss them when they move to Ohio. Work is still pretty intense with a tight project schedule to meet. And I have been slightly sick on and off for a while now. All in all, things have been a bit tiring.

Yesterday was Super Sunday in West Chester. It's a sidewalk fair that they hold once a year, much like their Restaurant Fest. Organzing and executing the day would normally be done by Stefan, an evangelism pastor at our church, but he was going to be out of town and asked me to take over. Several months ago I had done a similar thing for the Restaurant Fest when he was unable to make it.

Due to all the other things going on recently, I was definitely feeling overwhelmed leading up to Sunday. I was putting my trust in my own abilities and my circumstances rather than in God. And I can see that I was frustrated in my heart at God because I had to take on another task rather than be able to rest after a long week. I'm so grateful for those around me, particularly Stephanie and Christopher, who patiently listened to my frustration but didn't allow me to wallow in self-pity or continue whining but rather pointed me back towards God and reminded me of his goodness and provision. Additionally, they backed up that support of encouragment and prayer with the tangible support of each taking time to help serve during Super Sunday itself.

Super Sunday fast arrived and despite being a very long, hot and tiring day, by God's grace things went well and we were able to hand out plenty of snowcones as well as invites to the upcoming chicken bbq at our church. We didn't have a ton of people show up to help, but I am so grateful to those who came out and God provided the right people at the times we needed them. I am always amazed at how faithfully and sacrificially people in our church serve and I am so thankful for everyone who helped.

Once again, God proved himself faithful. I pray that next time I can take him at his word and be reminded again and again of his faithfulness in my life, in the lives of those around me, in the church throughout history and as described in his word.