My Newest Mentor

While I am in a book reviewing mood, I thought I'd put a plug in for a book that I have been thoroughly enjoying recently. The book is The Heart of a Servant Leader, by C. John Miller (who goes by the name of Jack). Jack was an average pastor (New Life Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia) who after years of ministry realized that He must make the Gospel central to his life in everything he did. Once he implemented that, God blessed him by growing New Life both in membership, but most importantly in the Lord. Also, God saved many through him as Jack witnessed everywhere he went. And somehow he was able to mentor many Christians in their faith.

And that's really what this book is. It's a collection of letters from a godly mentor to Christians seeking to serve God, not only in leadership positions, but in all of life. I appreciate his God-given wisdom and I thank God for allowing him to live and write these letters. When I get to Heaven, I can't wait to meet Jack.

Happy Birthday, Fanny Crosby!

On this day in 1820, American hymnwriter, Fanny Crosby was born. During her life, she composed nearly 8,000 hymns. Despite her physical blindness, she saw the light. Praise God that she did!

Mars Hill Church in Seattle provides this video:

Quote of the Week

This week's quote is from John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church and author of many books including Don't Waste Your Life and Desiring God. This is probaby his most famous quote and one that has impacted many lives including my own.

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.

-John Piper

Amazed by Grace

I am so thankful that even on days when I complain and don't honor God as I ought to, I am still drenched in the mercy of God. Even when I'm down right disobedient and ungrateful, God still extends His grace to me. For me, when I recognize God's grace in these times, I am most amazed by ít and led to repent of my wrong attitudes and pride.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised though, because God's not the one that's unfaithful.

The Lord's lovingkindness never ceases. His mercies never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I have hope in Him."
-Lamentations 3:22-24

Fear and Death

(This is my sixth post on fear)

The Focus of Fear
Love Vs. Fear
The Language of the Bible
What is Fear?
New Post Series on Fear



Yesterday, I attended the funeral of a man that my mom called her "second dad". It was a sad time, but a good chance to remember this man who was a Marine to the core and who loved his family and friends. The memories that were shared and the service in its entirety was a good chance for everyone to grieve their loss. All in all, I think it was good experience.

But what got me thinking was that in the service Psalm 23 was read. In it, David says, "Though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil."

Though there are different interpretations of this, I think what David is saying is that he will not fear death or any evil in it. This is monumental because, as humans, the fear of death has to be one of the biggest fears in our lives. And yet David, speaking of going through death, says that he will not fear evil. Why?

The answer is that death is what David calls a shadow. But what does that mean? You see, for those whose trust is in the Lord, death is nothing more than a shadow. It might be dark and scary and might make you shiver when it passes over you, but it is absolutely harmless. Shadows never hurt anyone.

And that is what death is to us. It might look scary and painful, but it can't hurt us. Not ultimately, and not if our hope is in the Lord. Death is simply a passage into life. And not just life, a life that is infinite joy and bliss without any pain, sickness, sorrow, or death ever again. It is through death that we attain this life. Just as once the shadow passes over us the sun will shine again.

Stem Cell Misinfomation

Josh Brahm provides shows some facts that were either misrepresented or left out by news sources in the recent stem cell controversy.

Pure through the Refining Fire

In Matthew 5:8, Jesus says "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." I have mulled over this verse in my mind a good bit lately, and I have finally come to realize (as with many portions of Scripture) that this verse has more to it than I first thought.

The obvious meaning of the verse is that those who are pure (cleansed, without blemish) will see God when they die because they will go to Heaven. In that sense, it simply means that those who are saved are washed by Christ's blood and therefore made pure in heart. And in Greek, the heart was the center of being. Therefore, we see that those who are saved will see God because He will purify them with His blood. While I believe that this is definitely true, I believe there's more to this than first appears.

It is most certainly and unequivocally true that when we are saved, Christ's blood and righteousness cover us, (1 Corinthians 1:30; Hebrews 9:22) we are seen as pure in God's eyes and we do not need to add anything to Christ's work in order to get to Heaven. We are secure and pure. This is what is called redemption and it is completed in the moment we believe in faith on the Lord Jesus.

But there is another work that is done through the Holy Spirit and Christ's sacrifice within our lives that is not completed at the beginning of our salvation. In fact, it's not even completed in this lifetime. That work is called sanctification.

Sanctification is a continuous work of the Holy Spirit in which we are set apart and made to be like Christ. And we will never be completely like Christ until we reach Heaven (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). As long as we are on this earth, we are still sinning. So, in that sense, we are not pure. Even our hearts are not pure yet, because our hearts desire things that are not of God (Romans 7:15-23)

This leads me to think about the word pure. In a sense we are pure, but in another we're not. Our lives are still full of sin, but we are able to enter the gates of Heaven, because when God looks at us He sees the purity of Christ. We have attained saving righteousness (purity) because Christ has given it to us, but we have not attained purity of actions or heart. Not yet.

So when Jesus says that the pure in heart shall see God, He is not just referring to the purification that comes through salvation. In that sense, all Christians are pure in heart. But this purity of the heart is one that comes not instantly like salvation, but slowly in the process of sanctification. Katharos, the Greek word for pure in this verse, first means "purified by fire"(Greek Lexicon, emphasis mine).

So, how does this definition apply to this verse? You see, for us to be sanctified, to be purified, we must go through fire. But what kind of fire? I think that it could be said that when we, as Christians pass through difficult times in our lives with perseverance (whether it's a death or sickness or divorce or losing a job or whatever difficulty it may be), it is for our purification. These are the means by which God seeks to sanctify us and perfect us. No one has a great spurt of growth in their faith or is revealed the deep secrets of God in the easy times of life. And if people do grow in the good times, it is because they have learned to trust God in the difficult times beforehand.

So purity of heart is a result of going through the fires of hard times. I hope that this encourages us as we go through the tough times. Never think that God lets anything happen that is not for our good (Romans 8:28). Everything, whether good or bad, will ultimately be used for our good and purification. May we be purified through the fire by God's good will.

Quote of the Week

I have decided to start a new weekly post: "The Quote of the Week". Each Sunday (Lord willing and assuming I am able), I will post a thoughtful quote from wise and mature Christians both past and present that will hopefully encourage thought within the minds of other Christians seeking to grow in their knowledge of God.

The quote that I would like to begin this with is one from David Brainerd, a missionary to Native Americans in the 1700's who died early within his life:

'tis good to begin and end with God."

-David Brainerd