This week I was listening to this audio message by John Piper on Romans 8:28-32.  In part one of dealing with this passage he deals with understanding what it really means to be one who loves God.  I found it quite thought provoking and challenging to what is often assumed to be love for God.

Here are some highlights from the manuscript-

Loving God is not meeting his needs. The way we love man is different from the way we love God. In Acts 17:25 Paul said, “He [is not] served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.”

. . . the second thing that love for God is not. Loving God is not, in its essence, love for his gifts – gifts like forgiveness, justification, escape from hell, resurrection to a pain-free life, etc. Indeed if we love God, we will cherish these gifts and be thankful for them, because we would not have God without them. . . His gifts are precious to the degree that they bring us to God and show us more of God.

The essence of loving God is not the things that love for God prompts you to do. Love for God may prompt you to leave mother and father and forsake all that to declare his glory among the nations. But leaving mother and father and forsaking all are not the essence of love – they are the fruit of love.

Loving God is desiring God himself beyond his gifts. Loving God is treasuring God himself beyond his gifts. Love for God is delighting in God himself beyond his gifts. Love for God is being satisfied in God himself beyond his gifts. Love for God is cherishing God himself beyond his gifts. Love for God is savoring God himself beyond his gifts. Love for God is valuing God and prizing God and revering God and admiring God beyond his gifts. All these words are grasping for that essential response of the heart to the revelation of the glory of God, especially in Christ through the gospel. It is a glad reflex of the heart to all that God is for us in Christ.

Do you really love God?

A blog by the name of Unashamed Workman recently posted the following quote by Charles Spurgeon (who, by the way, seems to me to be the most quotable writer outside of Scripture).  Read it, let it soak in, and then believe the Scriptures with all that you are!

“By God’s grace, we purpose to believe the Word of God more intensely. There is believing, and believing. You believe in all your fellow Christians; but in some of them you have a conscious, practical confidence, since in your hour of trouble they have come to your rescue and proved themselves brothers “born for adversity” (Prov 17:17). You confide in these with absolute certainty because you have personally tried them. Your faith was faith before, but now it is higher, firmer, and more assured confidence.

Believe in the Sacred Volume up to the hilt. Believe it right through; believe it thoroughly; believe it with the whole strength of your being.

Let the truths of Scripture become the chief factors in your life, the chief operative forces of your action. Let the great transactions of the gospel story be as real and practical to you as any fact that meets you in the domestic circle or in the outside world. Let them be as vividly true to you as your own ever present body with its aches and pains, its appetites and joys.

If we can get out of the realm of fiction and fancy into the world of fact, we will have struck a vein of power that will yield us a countless treasure of strength. Thus to become “mighty in the Scriptures” (Acts 18:24) will be to become “mighty through God” (2 Cor 10:4)”

If you have kept up on the news this week you may have heard the questions which have been raised regarding the Virginia Tech tragedy, God, and religion. 

This week I had an opportunity to write an article for the Auburn Journal which appeared today in the Religion section on this issue entitled Where was God During the Virginia Tech Massacre?

While writing I found myself wondering why I was writing anything and wishing I could just quote this article by John Piper on 21 Ways to Comfort Those who are Suffering.

However, God gave the opportunity and I am praying that he will use it in our community.  On that note it will be interesting to see if any discussion arises online as a result of the article.  There have been quite a bit of discussions and long comment threads lately through the Newspaper’s website regarding religious issues.  So, feel free to comment and interact in the comment section under the article. 

I have been doing a little bit of study this week on wealth for the youth meeting on Thursday night.  As always the wisdom of God is golden and quite striking.  There were two ideas that stuck out to me as I studied. 

First- a relationship with God, growing in the knowledge of God, and becoming wise is far more valuable than any earthly wealth we could ever gain.  Yes this is simple and probably something we already know but the question is whether this is influencing our day to day lives and decisions.  Consider the following Proverbs-

Proverbs 15:16 Better is a little with the fear of the LORD Than great treasure and turmoil with it.  

Proverbs 16:16 How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.  

Proverbs 19:22   22 What is desirable in a man is his kindness, And it is better to be a poor man than a liar.

Proverbs 20:15 There is gold, and an abundance of jewels; But the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.  

Proverbs 22:1 A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold.  

Proverbs 28:6 Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than he who is crooked though he be rich.

Second- God is serious- deadly serious  about the importance of giving to and caring for the poor with our wealth.  The verses below, along with Ephesians 4:28, make for an indisputable case that, in large part, the purpose of wealth is fulfilled in giving it to those in need.  Read the following verses and let them sink in.

Proverbs 14:31 He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.  

Proverbs 21:13 He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be answered.  

Proverbs 22:9 He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives some of his food to the poor.  

Proverbs 28:27 He who gives to the poor will never want, But he who shuts his eyes will have many curses.

When we contemplate wealth we have a great opportunity to remind ourselves of the gospel.  Here are just a couple of ways that the gospel relates to the issues addressed above.

The gospel opens our eyes to what is of infinitely superior worth than earthly wealth and gives it to us- a relationship with and communion with the all glorious God of the universe.   This puts earthly wealth in perspective.  It is a display of God’s goodness towards us and a faint hint of the all-valuable God we worship.

The gospel shows us that we were spiritually bankrupt and destitute and God generously gave His only Son to buy us back from our hopeless position and make us heirs with Christ.  This provides a basis for our giving generously of our earthly wealth to those in need.

Paul Tripp-who has written some valuable books in the biblical counseling area- has been blogging and his thoughts today were particularly insightful.  The importance of understanding what he speaks of here cannot be underestimated.  Here they are-

Sin lives in a costume, that’s why it’s so hard to recognize. The fact that sin looks so good is one of the things that makes it so bad. In order for it to do its evil work, it must present itself as something that is anything but evil. Life in a fallen world is like attending the ultimate masquerade party. Impatient yelling wears the costume of a zeal for truth. Prevented lust masquerades as a love for beauty. Gossip does its evil work by living in the costume of concern and prayer. Craving for power and control wears the mask of biblical leadership. Fear of man gets dressed up as a servant heart. The pride of always being right masquerades as a love for biblical wisdom. Evil simply doesn’t present itself as evil, that is part of its draw.

You’ll never understand sin’s slight of hand until you acknowledge that the DNA of sin is deception. Now what this means personally is that as sinners we are all very committed and gifted self-swindlers. I say all the time to people that no one is more influential in their own lives than they are because no one talks to themselves more than they do. We’re all too skilled at looking at our own wrong and seeing good. We’re all much better at seeing the sin, weakness, and failure of others than we are our own. We’re all very good at being intolerant of others of the very things that we willingly tolerate in ourselves. The bottom line is that sin causes us not to hear or see ourselves with accuracy. And we not only tend to be blind, but to compound matters, we tend to be blind to our blindness.

What does all of this mean? It means that accurate-self assessment is the product of grace. It is only in the mirror of God’s Word and with the sight-giving help of the Holy Spirit, that I am able to see myself as I actually am. In those painful moments of accurate self-sight, we may not feel as if we are being loved, but that is exactly what is happening. The God who loves us enough to sacrifice his Son for our redemption, works so that we would see ourselves clearly, so that we would not buy into the delusion of our own righteousness, and with a humble sense of personal need, seek the resources of grace that can only be found in him.

Prayer- one of those areas in which we all know we fall short.  Yet there is opportunity for joyful communion with God here as we battle on in the Christian life.  Prayer is amazingly simple and can be incredibly sweet and enriching.  It has been said that prayer is like breathing for the Christian.  If all this is true may we as individuals and as a body be continually growing in this discipline.

Here are some recommended resources on prayer- 

An Intimate Hour with God- by Jim Elliff- an good article on prayer with some helpful suggestions.

A Call to Prayer by J.C.Ryle- a classic booklet on prayer showing the necessity of prayer.

How to Pray for a Soul- a short but very helpful article by John Piper 

Big, Sweeping, but not Insipid Prayers- an article by John Piper 

There many other resources available from John Piper through Desiring God which you can find here.

In the realm of books it is difficult to beat D.A. Carsons book A Call to Spiritual Reformation- available at our resource table.

I have probably missed a good number of solid resources but I think you will find this list edifying.   

As always, there is nothing better than Scripture itself- God knows what He is talking about.  In particular, the Psalms, Matthew 6:5-15, and numerous other NT passages on prayer are helpful. 

A blog put out by Grace Community Church, entitled Pulpit, recently put out a two part series on evangelizing your children (Part 1 & Part 2).  Obviously this is an important issue to think through and one which requires much wisdom.  This is where our evangelism must begin and will naturally pour forth if we have truly embraced the gospel ourselves. 

It is worth reading the whole articles but here are the main points.

Part 1- common pitfalls in evangelizing your kids

1. Oversimplifying the Gospel of Christ

2. Coercing a Profession of Faith

3. Assuming the Reality of Regeneration

4. Assuring the Child of Salvation

5. Rushing the Ordinance of Baptism

Part 2- practical keys to evangelizing your kids

1. Setting a Consistent Example of Godliness

2. Proclaiming the Complete Gospel of Christ

3. Understanding the Biblical Evidences of Salvation

4. Encouraging Possible Signs of Conversion

5. Trusting the Absolute Sovereignty of God