Come Back Next Week

I will be moving tomorrow and have limited access to a computer.  So, there will not be any new posts for a few days.

I expect to be posting again by next Wednesday.  I hope you'll come back.

In Christ

Pastor Mike

Quotes of Note from Instruments in a Redeemer’s Hands

Here are a few challenging and encouraging quotes I ran across while reading Paul Tripp's Instruments in The Redeemer's Hands.

I am afraid we have replaced love in our relationships with being "nice." Being nice and acting out of love are not the same thing. Our culture puts a high premium on being tolerant and polite.  We seek to avoid uncomfortable moments, so we see, but do not speak.  We go so far as to convince ourselves taht we are not speaking because we love the other person, when in reality we fail to speak because we lack love.—Paul Tripp, Instruments in The Redeemer's Hands, p.202

The truth is that we fail to confront, not because we love others too much, but because we love oursleves too much..—Paul Tripp, Instruments in The Redeemer's Hands  p.202

Harboring bitterness against people is actually, confessing their sin to myself, over and over again.  Anger is akin to confessing their sin to God, dissatisfied that he hasn't done something and placing myself in his position as judge.  Gossip is confessing their sin to someone else.—Paul Tripp, Instruments in The Redeemer's Hands, p.229

"Truth that is not spoken in love ceases to be truth because it is twisted by other human agendas.  Love that is not guided by truth ceases to be love because it is divorced from God's agenda." —Paul Tripp, Instruments in The Redeemer's Hands, p.232

Young Men–Work Hard

Here is an: Excellent post from the women at girltalk.

I know you young men might hesitate to click on a link to "Girltalk".  If you're afriad, just do it when no one is looking.  This is a post containing a quote from Joshua Harris to the Mahaney's teenage son Chad.  It encourages him not to waste his teen years and to work hard.

It is well worth reading, not just by the guys but by girls, moms and dads as well.

By the way, all you teens might want to check out the link to The Rebulution.  You can find it on the sidebar under youth.

In Christ

Mike Walters

Would it be Heaven?

Back in April, I ran across a post by Tim Challies reflecting on a quote by John Piper.  The quote came to mind again as I was preparing a sermon on Psalm 9.  Here is the quote.  It is taken from John Piper's book, God is the Gospel.

The critical question for our generation–and for every generation–is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?

How would you respond?  Could you be satisfied with anything less than Jesus?  Will you be?

In Christ

Pastor Mike

Everyone’s a Servant

Here's a helpful post by John MacArthur on the importance of everyone in the chuch serving.  Click here to read it.

How are you serving?

In Christ

Pastor Mike

A Plan for Reading

This link may not interest all of you.  Although, if you are a pastor or ministry leader it should.  It has some recommendations from CJ Mahaney on how to develop a reading plan.

A plan for reading and study

Living Worthy of the Gospel

One of the joys of being a Pastor is living a life of study.  I get the privilege of spending large portions of my day reading and studying the Bible.One of the studies I am currently working on is the book of Philippians.  A practice I have when I am teaching through a book of the Bible is to try and sit down and read through the entire book at least once a week.  I do this to try to keep the “big picture” of the book in mind. As I was reading through Philippians, one of the thoughts that seemed to leap out of this letter is living a life worthy of the Gospel (Philippians 1:27).  But, how do we do it?

• We stand firm in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ (1:27)
• We remain confident in the face of suffering and opposition (1:28-29)
• We humbly consider others and their interests more important than our own (2:3)
• We don’t grumble or complain (2:14)
• We put no confidence in the flesh (i.e. our own efforts, good deeds, and religious attainments) (3:3)
• We treasure Jesus above all things and long for His return (3:7ff)

As I reflect on this list, I am so thankful for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  I don’t always live a life worthy of the gospel, but I do know that Jesus is a forgiving and redeeming Lord. In His love, he accepts unworthy people like you and me, and changes us.  He slowly and persistently changes us, so that are lives do begin to be worthy of the Gospel.

Where are you at in this process?  Have you put your faith in Jesus, or are you still putting confidence in your own efforts?  If you are not sure of your relationship with Jesus, please read “What is Christianity all About?”.  If you have, take time to praise God for His magnificent love and patience.  Then, ask Him to help you identify one of these areas that you need to grow in.  Then, prayerfully plan at least one specific thing you can do today to live worthy of the Gospel.

What is Christianity All About

I have posted a permanent page explaining the gospel.  You can find it on the sidebar under the pages or click here.

Messy Love

In the post, Are You an Ambassador or a King?  we considered our role as represenatives of Jesus and how our failure to understand that role creates conflict.  Unfortunately, deciding to live as an ambassador instead of a king, doesn't solve our problems.  Actually, it only increases them, because representing Jesus means we must love people in the context of "messy relationships."

Again, I'd like to point you to an observation Paul David Tripp makes in Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands by Paul David Tripp:

relationships between sinners are messy, difficult, labor-intensive, and demanding but in that, they are desigened to result in God's glory and our good as he is worshiped and our hearts are changed.  Effective personal ministry begins when we confess that we have taken realtionships that belong to God and used them for our selfish purposes. (Instruments in the Redeemers Hands, p120)

Here is the issue for us.  Are we willing to extend the love of Christ to people in the midst of messy and difficult relationships? In order to do so, we need to make a number of commitments. 

1. We have to be willing to sacrifice our own plans and desires to enter their world and meet their needs.  I'm sure it wasn't easy for Jesus to leave the glory of Heaven to seek and save sinners–but in love–He did.
2. We have to understand that God is sovereign and puts people in our life for both their good and ours.  The challenges of loving others reveal our own sin and need of grace.  They are designed by God as part of the process of conforming us to the image of Jesus.
3. We have to be willing to extend the same love, patience and grace to others that Jesus does to us.

This type of love isn't easy.  It is "messy" and hard.  But, it is the type of love Jesus calls us to. 

In Christ

Pastor Mike

Are You an Ambassador or a King?

I really enjoy reading Paul David Tripp.  I am currently reading Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands.  In the chapter, “Following the Wonderful Counselor” Paul is developing the concept that as Christians, we are called to be ambassadors for Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:14-6:2).  Where it really gets personal is in the following quote:

We don’t really want to live as ambassadors.  We would rather live as mini-kings.  We know what we like and the people we want to be with.  We know the kind of house we’d like to own and the car we want to drive.  Without even recognizing it, we quickly fall into a “my desire, my will, and my way” lifestyle, where the things we say and do are driven by the cravings of our own hearts.  If we were honest, we would have to confess that the central prayer of our hearts is “my kingdom come.” (p105)

Failing to understand our role as ambassadors makes conflict almost inevitable. We begin to view all our relationships through the lens of what others can do for us.  We become consumed with having our expectations met.  When they are not we make others pay.  Even our prayers become self-centered, focusing on our will instead of God’s.

Instead of living as mini-king’s, let’s strive to focus on living as ambassadors.  Let’s ask the question Paul Tripp recommends, “How can I best represent the King in this place, with this particular person?”

As we do so, we will find our lives far more fruitful and effective in both glorifying God and serving others.

In Christ

Pastor Mike