Took A Break

Do you remember that philosophical question? "If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?"

If no one reads your blog, and you take a break from blogging, does anyone notice? :)

I haven't kept up with my blog for a few months, but I think I am ready to post some more.

I took a break for several reasons. Probably the main reason was a combination of practical/spiritual. I felt like every attempt at having some type of devotional time with God was turning into "what can I share with others". From Bible reading, to praying, to whatever I was doing, it seemed to be drifting away from just being with the Lord, to trying to find a good nugget to share in a sermon, or a bible study, or a blog message.

There is a part of my calling as a preacher that necessitates such a mentality. I do have a responsibility to share a message with various audiences. I am always in "preacher" mode to some extent. When I hear a newsstory, or something going on in the world, my default is to analyze according to scripture and the upcoming message I am preparing to share. That is a good thing, and will never leave me.

The problem for me was that thinking was taking over my devotional time with the Lord. It is a very difficult challenge for me as a pastor/preacher to be intentional in simply spending time with my Lord and not just going through the motions in order to prepare a sermon or lesson. At times in my life I have done better with that than at other times. When i seem to be losing that focus it is important to do whatever is necessary to get things back into balance.

I am thankful for the grace and patience of the Lord. His steadfast love never fails.

Teach Me To Do Your Will

The word disciple means learner or student. What are you a student of?
I love to learn. I love to learn new things. I hope to be a student for the rest of my life. When it comes to following Christ, we are to be continually learning of Him.

Look at Psalm 143:10
"Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!" (Psalm 143:10, ESV)

First of all it is a prayer for help. It is recognition of the fact that doing God’s will is not something we are ingrained to do. We need help. We need someone to teach us. Not just anyone, but the Lord.

There is a twofold trap that we can fall into:
1. That I can do it.
2. That it will just happen.

I am not so good at doing my own will, much less God’s. I need some serious help. And the amazing thing is that God provides it. He has the power to sufficiently manage my life, if I will surrender it to Him.

As for number 2: learning does not normally just happen. You don’t just learn by osmosis. We do have a responsibility as students to seek learning. If you just think that your faith is going to grow, without actually having to apply yourself, it’s not very likely.

What about the subject matter of this learning? It is God’s Will. There is no subject greater to learn than the subject of God and His Will. It is a pursuit that is worthy of the utmost attention, devotion, and dedication.

Most people are too overconsumed with their own will. If we showed as much desire for God’s will, as we did for our own, I think our lives, churches, and the world would be different as a result.

God is not a "To-Do" List

A quote from A.W.Tozer (get ready for a kick in the stomach)

A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions, and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar. The tragic results of this spirit are all about us. Shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit; these and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul.

what to do when you don't WANT to do what you know you SHOULD do

"I don't feel like it." "I don't want to." "I'd rather do something else." If these quotes were about eating a yucky vegetable it would be no big deal. But, what if those quotes express how you feel about prayer, bible study, fellowship with God, evangelism, obedience.

This article by John Piper has helped me, maybe it can help you.

When the "Want To" and the "Ought To" Don't Match

By John Piper October 29, 1998

If your "want to" does not conform to God's "ought to," what can you do to have peace? I see at least five possible strategies.
You can avoid thinking about the "ought to." This is the most common strategy in the world. Most people simply do not devote energy to pondering what they should be doing that they are not doing. It's easier to just keep the radio on.
You can reinterpret the "ought to" so that it sounds just like your "want to." This is a little more sophisticated and so not as common. It usually takes a college education to do this with credibility, and a seminary degree to do it with finesse.
You can muster the willpower to do a form of the "ought to" even though you don't have the heart of the "want to." This generally looks pretty good, and is often mistaken as virtue, even by those who do it. In fact, there is a whole worldview that says doing "ought to's" without "want to" is the essence of virtue. The problem with this is that Paul said, "God loves a cheerful giver," which puts the merely "ought-to givers" in a precarious position.
You can feel proper remorse that the "want to" is very small and weak - like a mustard seed - and then, if it lies within you, do the "ought to" by the exertion of will, while repenting that the "want to" is weak, and praying that the "want to" will soon be restored. Perhaps it will even be restored in doing the "ought to." This is not hypocrisy. Hypocrisy hides one of the two contradictory impulses. Virtue confesses them both in the hope of grace.
You can seek, by the means of grace, to have God give the "want to" so that when the time comes to do the "ought to," you will "want to." Ultimately, the "want to" is a gift of God. "The mind of the flesh is hostile to God . . . it is not able to submit to the law of God" (Romans 8:7). "The natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God . . . because they are spiritually appraised" (1 Corinthians 2:14). "Perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 2:25).
The Biblical doctrine of original sin boils down to this (to borrow from St. Augustine): We are free to do what we like, but we are not free to like what we ought to like. "Through the one man's disobedience [Adam] the many were made sinners" (Romans 5:19). This is who we are. And yet we know from our own soul and from the Bible that we are accountable for the corruption of our bad "want to's." Indeed, the better you become, the more you feel ashamed of being bad and not just doing bad. As N.P. Williams said, "The ordinary man may feel ashamed of doing wrong: but the saint, endowed with a superior refinement of moral sensibility, and keener powers of introspection, is ashamed of being the kind of man who is liable to do wrong" (First Things, #87, Nov. 1998, p. 24).
God's free and sovereign heart-changing work is our only hope. Therefore we must pray for a new heart. We must pray for the "want to" - "Incline my heart to Your testimonies" (Psalm 119:36). He has promised to do it: "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes" (Ezekiel 36:27). This is the new covenant bought by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 8:8-13; 9:15).
Looking to Jesus, my life,
Pastor John
© Desiring God
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Desiring God. Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

PS: I have a love-dislike relationship with John Piper. I love some of what he writes and preaches, and I dislike and disagree with some of what he says. This article is one I like.

Coming Off The Mountain Top

When you are on the mountain top there is no where to go but down. I had a fantastic time in so many ways when I was in Estonia. It was a mountain top experience. I knew what was coming. You can't always be on the mountain top. Since I've been back I got pink eye, a virus, and almost lost my voice. But, whether I am sick in bed or witnessing in Estonia, God is still faithful and the Lord of Lords. I am thankful for what He did in my life on my mission trip and I am thankful that He is still working on me here back at home.

Here is a great lesson to be learned. Not every moment that you have in your walk with Christ is going to feel like the mountain top. There are going to be times of low spots and valleys. Our circumstances and emotions change frequently. The faithfulness of God does not. If all we value is a certain feeling then we are going to be in trouble - because they change. And they change for odd reasons. Bad food, bad weather, a cough, a cold, a stubbed toe, a bad mood: none of those things should be the criteria for judging my walk with Christ.

I love that song based on the book of Job: "Blessed be Your Name in a land that is plentiful, and blessed be Your Name when I walk through the wilderness -- blessed be Your Name."

Bible Reading

Do you have a Bible reading plan?

Someone once made this statement, "You plan to fail, when you fail to plan?"

I know that every person is different. Some people are much more disciplined than others. Some things that come easy for one individual is extremely difficult for others. This is not an excuse to neglect important things it is just a reminder that you have to find whatever works best for you.

That being said, what is it that works best for you to keep yourself consistently in God's Word? If you have no plan in place at all, then you probably aren't in God's Word.

Here is what I do. I try and read through the New Testament twice a year and the Old Testament once. This is separate from my personal study of the word, and my sermon preparation study. This is a time that I just immerse myself in the Bible.

You can find all kinds of systematic Bible reading plans. They will generally have you reading through a NT and an OT passage each day. Just google "bible reading plan" and you will find a myriad.

My reading is not that regimented. What works best for me is if I just break down my reading into monthly blocks. I need to read about 3 NT books and 2 OT a month(give or take). Then I just pick something that I want to dive into, or something that I feel God wants me to read.

Sometimes as I do my reading this will lead to a deeper study. I will be reading a passage and feel like I want to spend more time studying it for myself. Other times I will find a verse or two that I want to put into memory. I will make that a memory verse. Other times it leads to just a time of worship or prayer, or conviction.

It also helps if you make a time and place to do your reading. It does seem to work well while watching t.v. or when the kids are vying for your attention. I like to read in the morning, and in the evening. It doesn't always work out that way, and on those occasions I will try and find some time in the middle of the day.


That seems to be what works for me. What works for you? Find out, so you won't be missing out.

Famine

Amos 8:11-12

“ Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“ when I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.
They shall wander from sea to sea,
and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord,
but they shall not find it.
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Am 8:11).


This text out of Amos is a passage of judgment. The Israelites had developed a pattern of rejecting God and His Word. They were given, by the gracious hand of God, a covenant. They were privileged to have the voice of God’s Word. And instead of heeding and listening to this gift, they rejected it.

Amos was announcing the judgment of God. It would be a famine. A famine is when there is a scarcity of resources. Generally brought on by a drought, nothing grows. There is no grain or grasses. So the crops and the herds die out, and food is scarce.

This is not knew. There are many times in scripture when God sends a famine on the land in judgment on the sins of the people. He would judge His own people and even other nations by means of a famine. No food.

In Amos, this famine is different. It is not a lack of food, it is a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.

Every where I go I have access to a Bible. They are so abundant. Everyone has at least one, probably more. In fact, it is so accessible that I am afraid that there are times that I take it for granted. In doing so, I am no better than those being chastised in Amos 8.

I was thinking about this famine of the word of the Lord. It sounds absolutely dreadful. When I truly meditate on how God has used His word so profoundly in my life, it humbles me. It makes me grateful for the Bible. In the pages of that book I have met one-on-one with God! He has fed my soul, encouraged me, corrected me, instructed me, lifted me, and shown me Himself. What a tremendous blessing! How foolish I am to ever, for even a moment, neglect the precious gift of God’s Word. A famine of His word would be devastating!