Month: April 2015

Christian, you are to:
make the gospel viable to the world but not palatable. As John Stott once said in a lecture, “For the gospel to be effective it must remain prickly.”
–Rebecca Pippert

This simply means that we are to share the truth of the gospel with the world without shaving off the sharp edges. Jesus says we are to love Him more than our family – even more than our own children. Ouch.
Jesus says we are to go and sin no more – and the sins haven’t changed, even if society doesn’t like His list. Ouch.
Jesus says we are to love everyone – even our enemies. Ouch.
Jesus says we are to give up everything for Him – even our own lives. Ouch.

The gospel remains effective until we start making it more palatable, at which point it loses its power to save and transform lives.

Let’s keep the gospel prickly.

It is not strange that He, the Author of life, should rise from the dead. If he was truly God the Son, it is much more startling that he should die than that he should rise again.
–J. I. Packer

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

You know what kind of life it is that Christ calls you, as his disciple, to live. His own example and teaching in the Gospels (to look no further in the book of God than that) make it abundantly clear. You are called to go through this world as a pilgrim, a mere temporary resident, traveling light, and willing, as Christ directs, to do what the rich young ruler refused to do: give up material wealth and the security it provides and live in a way that involves you in poverty and loss of possessions. Having your treasure in heaven, you are not to budget for treasure on earth, nor for a high standard of living — as you may well be required to forego both.
–J. I. Packer

On this Saturday when Jesus’ body was in the tomb almost 2000 years ago, the disciples did not fully understand what it meant to lose everything for the sake of the gospel. But we already know what happened on that Easter Sunday morning. And because we know that Jesus gave up everything for us, we can be happily willing to give up everything for Him – traveling light so that we can go wherever He leads at a moment’s notice. Holding loosely to the things of the world while holding tightly to Jesus.

A thought about where God resides – the Temple of God:
Solomon, the wisest of the kings of Israel, spent seven years building a magnificent temple in praise of Your name, and celebrated its dedication with a feast of eight days. He offered a thousand sacrifices in Your honor and solemnly bore the Ark of the Covenant with trumpeting and jubilation to the place prepared for it; and I, unhappy and poorest of men, how shall I lead You into my house, I who scarcely can spend a half-hour devoutly — would that I could spend even that as I ought!
–Thomas à Kempis

On this Good Friday, I hope we will all spend some time thinking about the great God who loves us so very much… so much, in fact, that He gave us His Son Jesus to die on the cross to bring us salvation. He deserves our very lives devoted back to Him in return.

…Reading all the healing stories together, I now detect in the Gospels a kind of “ladder of faith.” At the top of the ladder stand those people who impressed Jesus with bold, unshakable faith: a centurion, an impertinent blind beggar, a persistent Canaanite woman. These stories of gristly faith threaten me, because seldom do I have such faith. I am easily discouraged by the silence of God. When my prayers are not answered, I am tempted to give up and not ask again. For this reason, I look down the ladder to find people of lesser faith, and it heartens me to learn that Jesus seemed willing to work with whatever tiny glimmer of faith came to light. I cling to the tender accounts of how Jesus treated the disciples who forsook and then doubted him. The same Jesus who praised the bold faith of those high up the ladder also gently quickened the flagging faith of his disciples. And I take special comfort in the confession of the father of a demon-possessed boy who said to Jesus, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.” Even that wavering man got his request granted.
–Philip Yancey

I am glad to be on the ladder, and my hope is that I am continuously striving to move higher up, even if it is ever so slowly! I am so glad He is so patient with me.