Nebuchadnezzar

king of Babylon
besieges Jerusalem
Nebuchadnezzar

Wait For The Lord

"Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever." Psalm 125:1

"Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him." Isaiah 30:18

Afflicted, That I Might Learn

"Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!
Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, . . . " Psalm 119:1-2

Father, my seeking has been sporadic and even absent at times. I am weary of living like an unbeliever. I want to live like a Christian man. Give me whole-hearted seeking. (Psa. 119:10)

"It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.
The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces." (Psa. 119:71-72)

The Law of the Lord Is Perfect

I don't know how many times I will have to be reminded of this. You would think that a guy who has walked with the Lord for a while, as I have, and has been reminded repeatedly about the weakness of his own flesh, as I have, would not have any trouble remembering this thing that I repeatedly wander away from. Here it is as stated by George Mueller:

"I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man may be nourished . . . . I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it."

Instead, I go other places the first thing in the morning, filling my mind with trouble and trivia, when my soul is longing to feast on real and satisfying food. Oh, wretched man that I am! The psalmist describes the preciousness of God's Word like this:

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the LORD are true,
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
(Psalm 19 ESV)

Psalm 130

A Song of Ascents.

 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!

O Lord, hear my voice!

Let your ears be attentive

to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could stand?

 But with you there is forgiveness,

that you may be feared.

 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

and in his word I hope;

 my soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen for the morning,

more than watchmen for the morning.

 O Israel, hope in the Lord!

For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

and with him is plentiful redemption.

 And he will redeem Israel

from all his iniquities.

The phrase that stood out today is: "my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning." The picture I immediately latched onto was that of the watchman, on the city walls, dreading the dangers that the night could hold and his yearning, almost pleading, for morning to come and with it, light and some sense of security.

I don't know if you have felt that way very often, but I have. At times I have felt that my life's footing was not firm and that I was perilously close to danger, failure, shame, or despair. I have longed for morning to come in the form of some deliverance from my oppressive circumstances. I have yearned for a deliverance that I could not see anywhere on the horizon, nor could I conceive how it might be formed, yet I hoped for it desperately.

But there is something else to be discovered in the picture of the watchman and it is the certainty of the  morning's arrival. The morning will come - has it ever failed to come? This watchman not only can hope, but he can be certain. The morning will come.

And so for us who are in Christ. I don't know how long the night will last in your life or mine. But morning has never failed to come and it will come again.

Unbelief: A Distrust in the Character of God

The good news in Hebrews 11:6 is that with faith we can please God. But this verse gets us there through a double negative: "without faith it is impossible" to please Him.

Why does the author put it this way? He's driving home the point that the normal song of the human heart isn't the song of faith. Although it works out in different ways, Christians and non-Christians share a similar struggle. We both struggle with unbelief.

Unbelief is serious - the writer of Hebrews has already labeled it toxic when he warned us against "an evil heart of unbelief" (Heb. 3:12, KJV). So we shouldn't get to Hebrews 11 and find a lot of sympathy for unbelief.

The writer there tells us that without faith it's "impossible to please" God. Not tricky, not difficult. No, it's impossible!

I don't think we tend to feel as strongly about unbelief as God does.

Unbelief is a decided distrust in the promises and character of God. Spurgeon describes unbelief as a "mistrust of the promises and faithfulness of God."

- Dave Harvey, from his book, "Rescuing Ambition"

Rotting Tree? Or Mighty Oak?

Jim Downing, one of the patriarchs of the Navigator work, was asked, "Why is it that so few men finish well?" His response was profound. He said, "They learn the possibility of being fruitful without being pure . . . they begin to believe that purity doesn't matter. Eventually, they become like trees rotting inside that are eventually toppled by a storm." (Emphasis mine)

I remember a few years back, it seemed the notion of "finishing well" was highlighted quite a bit, maybe in connection all the Promise Keepers events going on. In almost all of life, it seems that finishing is much more difficult than starting.

Today, for example, I finished painting the living room and a hall. This project was begun by Number One Son back before winter. It was just paint - nothing to tear up, nothing to repair - just lube the wall with pigmented latex. Easy as pie. It was months between the initiation and the completion.

And it is true in my spiritual life, as well. I remember the excitement and zeal of the early days of my faith. I remember spending hours thumbing through the Bible on any given day. I couldn't get enough. I remember anticipating meetings and gatherings of other believers and not wanting to leave them when it was over. Now, while I still desire these things, the energy is not the same. I think I see slippage in attitudes, in prayers, in ministry. I don't have the attention span I once did.

Maybe it is age. Maybe.

Or maybe, like Downing said, have I learned to be 'fruitful without purity?' Or said another way, am I settling for appearances instead of performance? Style over substance?

I hope not and, as I said, I notice the weakness, and hope my efforts in combating it, by God's grace, are real and successful.

(Downing quote from Desiring God blog - linked here.)

Moses' Name

Exodus 2:6-10 (ESV): When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

Hosea 11:1 (ESV): When Israel was a child, I loved him,

and out of Egypt I called my son.

From the notes in the ESV Study Bible regarding Exodus 2:10:

Moses. In Hebrew, the name sounds like the verb mashah, "to draw out". The name may also be related to the common Egyptian word for "son." Since Pharaoh's daughter clearly knows that Moses is a Hebrew child (Ex. 2:6-9), it is possible that she chose the name for both its Hebrew ("drawn out of water") and Egyptian ("son") senses. The irony of such a dual reference would be that her action not only prefigures but is also a part of the means that God uses to "draw" Israel as his "son" out of Egypt (Hos. 11:1).

Prodigal God, Chapter One's Conclusion

Author Tim Keller has spent a good part of the Introduction and Chapter One drilling one idea into our heads: the two sons represent two kinds of people and two ways of being alienated from God. The two kinds of people are sinners and pharisees.

Keller winds up the Chapter with an interesting observation. Namely, it was the self-centered and licentious sinners who were attracted to Christ. It was the moralistic pharisees who were angered and offended by Him.

"Jesus's teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Bible-believing, religious people of His day. However, in the main, our churches today do not have this effect. The kind of outsiders Jesus attracted are not attracted to contemporary churches, even our most avant-garde ones. We tend to draw conservative, buttoned-down, moralistic people. The licentious and liberated or the broken and marginal avoid church. That can only mean one thing. If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did. If our churches aren't appealing to younger brothers, they must be more full of elder brothers than we'd like to think."

I would not presume to fuss with Keller about this last statement - he is a towering intellect. (Here he defends orthodox Christianity on the campus at Stanford) However, I am not as certain as he about the "mathematical certainty" he ascribes to his conclusion. In other words, does the fact that certain kinds of people are attracted to our churches "only mean one thing?"

On the other hand, I can't really poke a hole in his conclusion and it's worth serious discussion.

The Prodigal God, Chapter 1

Two Kinds of People

Author Tim Keller opens Chapter One of his book, "The Prodigal God":

"Most readings of this parable have concentrated on the flight and return of the younger brother - the "Prodigal Son." That misses the real message of the story, however, because there are two brothers, each of whom represents a different way to be alienated from God, and a different way to seek acceptance into the kingdom of heaven."

We talked about the two sons in the previous post in this series, but now we'll see what they represent. Keller reminds us of Luke's setting for this parable, that there were 'tax collectors and sinners' present, as well as 'pharisees.' Two kinds of people. The former were like the younger brother in Jesus' story and the latter were like the older brother.

The tax collectors and sinners were drawn to Jesus' teaching and the pharisees were indignant about that. And it is this indignant attitude that Jesus begins to address with the parable of the two lost sons.

Here's Keller:

"Jesus' purpose is not to warm our hearts but to shatter our categories. Through this parable Jesus challenges what nearly everyone has ever thought about God, sin, and salvation. His story reveals the destructive self-centeredness of the younger brother, but it also condemns the elder brother's moralistic life in the strongest terms. Jesus is saying that both the irreligious and the religious are spiritually lost, both life-paths are dead ends, and that every thought the human race has had about how to connect to God has been wrong."

Previous posts in this series:

The Prodigal God

The Text

The Introduction

The Prodigal God, There Were TWO Sons

You know when I posted the other day, I said I should begin where the author, Tim Keller, begins. And then I posted the parable from Luke 15 that we know as the Prodigal Son. Well, I goofed.

I goofed in the sense that Keller actually begins his explanation in the Introduction, so I wasn't beginning where he did. Sigh.

Without further ado (because there's been enough ado already), here are important quotes from the Introduction to Timothy Keller's The Prodigal God.

"I will not use the parable's most common name: the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It is not right to single out only one of the sons as the sole focus of the story. Even Jesus doesn't call it the Parable of the Prodigal Son, but begins the story saying, 'a man had two sons.' The narrative is as much about the elder brother as the younger, and as much about the father as the sons. And what Jesus says about the older brother is one of the most important messages given to us in the Bible. The parable might be better called the Two Lost Sons."

As I said in a previous post, the book makes a much different approach to the familiar story and in the quote above Keller makes that view much more clear. There wasn't just one boy, there were two and there was a father also, though his role has not been left untouched by teaching and preaching over the years.

Keller's Introduction goes further, spelling out who he understands the two boys to represent - it's fascinating. He says his book is ". . . written to both curious outsiders and established insiders of the faith, both to those Jesus calls 'younger brothers' and those he calls 'elder brothers . . .'"

Right away my categories get blown. I had pretty much a standard view of this story, a view probably shared by most of you, that the younger son represented the lost world Jesus came to save and the father represented our Heavenly Father. There wasn't really any interpreting done as far as the older son was concerned.

But now I think Keller is right. There's a reason Jesus makes a point of there being TWO sons. And what I think we will find as we go is that, while there may have been a day we related to the younger boy who repented and returned, we might have more in common with the attitude of the older brother these days. Or maybe it's just me.

Fascinating.

The Prodigal God, The Text

The place to begin blogging through Timothy Keller's "The Prodigal God" is where he begins, obviously. That place is the text from Luke 15:11-32.

Here it is from the English Standard Version:

And he (Jesus) said, "There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them. Not many day later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

"But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be call your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.'" And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate.

"Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.' But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'"

When I think of this story, it reminds me of my dad. Once dad had gone on some church-related "retreat"-like event. When he returned he brought gifts for my younger sister, my brother and me. I don't remember what Patricia got, but David and I were given books. On book was, as you can guess, The Prodigal Son. The other one was David and Goliath. I was standing there when Dad took the books out and I immediately claimed the David and Goliath book. I knew that story and liked it, but I had no idea what the other book was about. Dad said the David and Goliath book was for my brother because I already knew that story. Dad wanted me to have the book about the Prodigal Son. I remember being mildly disappointed, but I received the book he gave me. Soon thereafter I became familiar with the Prodigal Son and was happy to have that book instead of the one I thought I wanted.

My father knew just what to bring me.

The first post in this series.

The Prodigal God

I recently read "The Prodigal God" by Timothy Keller. It is, as you might imagine, about the parable of Jesus as recorded in Luke 15 that we know commonly as "The Prodigal Son."

However Keller does not treat the parable in the way we commonly understand it, or have heard it preached and so the title of the book gives us a clue that surprises are in store.

I don't want to give it all away at this point, but I will say that this book made an impact on me as I read it and not just for a different look at the parable, but for what a difference that difference makes in our understanding of what Jesus was teaching.

The book was sent to me by a vendor after he told me how impacted he was by it. My pastor has also commented on what a remarkable work it is. I recommend it to you.

And to whet your appetite, I will post some excerpts here at Central Standard in the days ahead. I'm looking forward to going through "The Prodigal God" one more time.

Taste and See

My lovely bride and I were reading a selection from John Piper's Taste and See the other day. One portion was especially good for my soul and I'd like to share it. It's a quote from John Owen.

"The revelation of Christ deserves the severest of our thoughts, the best of our meditations and our utmost diligence in them . . . "

There was more, of course, but this was enough to spur my heart and prick my conscience.

Spurgeon On Redemption, Part 3

Here is Part 3 of Charles Spurgeon's thoughts on Redemption from God's view. Spurgeon conjures here what God the Spirit might have covenanted regarding mankind's salvation in this imaginary, though Bible-saturated, statement,

"I hereby covenant that all whom the Father giveth to the Son, I will in due time quicken. I will show them their need of redemption; I will cut off from them all groundless hope, and destroy their refuges of lies. I will bring them to the blood of sprinkling; I will give them faith whereby this blood can be applied to them; I will work in them every grace; I will keep their faith alive; I will cleanse them and drive out all depravity from them, and they shall be presented at last spotless and faultless."

Previous posts, Part 1 and Part 2.

Spurgeon On Redemption, Part 2

Here's the part 2 of Charles Spurgeon's thoughts on Redemption from God's view. Spurgeon conjures what God the Son might have covenanted regarding mankind's salvation in this imaginary, though Bible-saturated, statement,

"My Father, on my part I covenant that in the fullness of time I will become man. I will take upon myself the form and nature of the fallen race. I will live in their wretched world, and for my people I will keep the law perfectly. I will work out a spotless righteousness, which shall be acceptable to the demands of Thy just and holy law. In due time I will bear the sins of all my people. Thou shalt exact their debts on me; the chastisement of their peace will I endure, and by my stripes they shall be healed. My Father, I covenant and promise that I will be obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. I will magnify Thy law, and make it honorable. I will suffer all they ought to have suffered. I will endure the curse of Thy law, and all the vials of Thy wrath shall be emptied and spent upon my head. I will then rise again; I will ascend into heaven; I will intercede for them at Thy right hand; I will make myself responsible for every one of them, that not one of those whom Thou hast given me shall ever be lost, and I will bring all my sheep of whom, by Thy blood, Thou hast constituted me the Shepherd -- I will bring every one safe to Thee at last."

Part 1 is here.

Spurgeon On Redemption, Part 1

The other day in a meeting a devotion was led by a friend of mine named Tom. Having just passed the Easter season, the devotion was a reflection on the meaning of that event. Part of Tom's devotion was reading words written by Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers of the 19th, or any other century.

What Spurgeon wrote was imaginary covenants that each member of the Trinity might have taken before effecting the Redemption of God's people. Each statement is so thoroughly Bible-saturated and compelling that I wanted to post them. Please remember these are Spurgeon's words and, though obviously drawing on Biblical truth, we can't assign them the same authority.

Spurgeon first imagined the Father saying,

"I, the Most High Jehovah, do hereby give unto my only begotten and well-beloved Son, a people countless beyond the number of the stars who shall be by Him washed from sin, by Him preserved, and kept, and led, and by Him, at last, presented before my throne, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. I covenant by oath and sware by myself, because I can sware by no greater, that those whom I now give to Christ shall be forever the objects of my eternal love. Them will I forgive through the merit of the blood, to these will I give a perfect righteousness; these will I adopt and make my sons and daughters, and these shall reign with me through Christ eternally!"

God's Wrath Spent

God put (Christ) forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. The was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. - Romans 3:23, ESV

"(Propitiation) refers to the removal of God's wrath by providing a substitute. The substitute is provided by God himself. The substitute, Jesus Christ, does not just cancel the wrath; he absorbs it and diverts it from us to himself. God's wrath is just, and it was spent, not withdrawn." - John Piper, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came To Die

Thankfully.

unManning or Manning?

I sort of covered myself with my Super Bowl pick by saying the Colts would win . . . unless the Saints did. Boy, was that spot on. I'm like The Amazing Kreskin.

Honestly, though, right before I said that, I said that I didn't think the Saints could stop Indy QB Peyton Manning and, obviously, they did. I think that was the big story from the ballgame, the New Orleans defense. Manning was very unManning-like, unless you think that all the accolades that had been heaped on him of late were misplaced and that he really is like the guy who used to lose to Tom Brady every year. In that case, he was Manning-like and his only championship still is against a Chicago Bears team quarterbacked by whats-his-name.

Today was another day in the string of Valentine goodies my wife is treating me to each day. She is an extra special lady, in case you are curious. There have been chocolates and ball cards and a CD. And socks. I needed socks. Anyway, she's celebrating 14 days of Valentine's by giving a gift each of the days leading to the 14th. She seems to be enjoying herself and I know I am! "remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35

It was also hamburger night. After work I went to the fitness center at the hospital and then went home. After a shower, I made hamburgers. This is probably no big deal to you, but I really like hamburgers and would just as soon have a hamburger as most anything you could name. Go ahead and try it. Name something and I will bet I like a hamburger better. This may only be interesting to me.

After dinner, '24'. After several episodes of laying groundwork and plodding along in workman like fashion, Jack and Renee got busy. My bride and I were commenting about this very thing tonight and I said, "It's about time for it to get going. They are still climbing (like a roller coaster)." About 60 seconds later there was a flurry of stabbing and shooting. The natural order of things was restored.

Thank God for Expository Preaching

My favorite pastor who is not my pastor, John Piper, on expository preaching:

"It is astonishing to me how many pastors apparently don’t believe in pursuing the joy of their people in this way. Evidently they think it doesn’t work. I’m sure there are many reasons for this abandonment of biblical exposition.

"God’s truth followed by faithful, Spirit-anointed exposition, leads to great joy, which is the strength of God’s people. So give the sense, brothers. Give the sense!"

I am thankful to God for my pastor, Doug Shivers, and his commitment to 'giving the sense' through expository preaching.