Snowy Deo Gloria

No question about it, Old Man Winter can be formidable. He is literally cold as ice. And the snow! It covers your car, it slows everything down, it’s just not fun.

When you live somewhere cold, it is almost an unspoken rule that you complain about the weather. It’s like a social sacrament. We utter our quick Hi, how are you? and Fine, yourself? and proceed to drop our pinches of incense before the god of warmie-placie.

Well, if we really have a problem with it, we’ll have to take it up with the Boss, for:

He gives snow like wool;
    he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;
    who can stand before his cold?

Psalm 147:16-17

If there’s snow on the ground (and on the houses, cars, basketball hoops, and bushes) where you live today, God sent that snow. Sure, it’s a royal pain to deal with. And if you work in the open air, or on the road, it cannot be easy. But snow is still so cool. C.S. Lewis puts it well in That Hideous Strength:

“I don’t think I should ever learn to like rain and snow” [said Jane].

“It’s the other way round,” said Denniston. “Everyone begins as a child by liking Weather. You learn the art of disliking it as you grow up. Haven’t you ever noticed it on a snowy day? The grown-ups are all going about with long faces, but look at the children—and the dogs? They know what snow’s made for.”

After the shoveling is done and the cars are cleared, steal a few moments to cozy up with a hoody and a hot drink and look out the window. Gaze upon the wondrous visage and ponder the delicate loveliness of the snow. Or better yet, bundle up and go for a walk in it. But careful now! A spirit of childlike wonder may come upon you suddenly and lead you to do the unthinkable: to see God’s glory in the snow and thank him for it.

The Little Sprout That Will

This time of year, we think of the little Baby in the manger. “Unto us,” says Isaiah, “a child is born.” But Isaiah said something else about that Little One; he said he’s like a little sprout growing up out of the ground. “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1).

Our father Adam may have been supernaturally created as a full-grown man in the Garden, but the life and reign of the Lord Jesus Christ took on a more natural order. He grew by degrees: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). The apostles erred in expecting his kingdom to appear immediately in its full splendor. “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Boy, were they in for a surprise! Long years of their sufferings would become centuries and even millennia as the church still awaits the fulfillment of these promises. And yet we wait eagerly.

Let us also be patient with our own growth as believers. His kingdom grows like a tree, slowly and imperceptibly, but also surely. Even so, we grow in Christ. God is patient with us; let us be patient with ourselves (and with each other!). As we take in the nourishment of the water of the word, and the bright, shining smile of the gospel-sun, let us rest in the knowledge that our King is working.

We Wish You a Marrow Christmas

It’s Christmastime, and I’d like to share a brief passage from The Marrow of Modern Divinity by Edward Fisher. It speaks of the wonders of the incarnation of God the Son for us. It’s rich, so enjoy slowly and thoughtfully:

True it is, that we are all of us, indeed, too unclean to touch God in immediate unity; but yet there is a pure counterpart of our natures, and that pure humanity is immediately knit to the purest Deity; and by that immediate union you may come to a mediate union; for the Deity and that humanity being united, make one Saviour… And so…you come also to be one with God: he one by a personal union, and you one by a mystical. Clear up then your eye, and fix it on him, as on the fairest of men, the perfection of a spiritual beauty, the treasure of heavenly joy, the true object of most fervent love. Let your spirits look, and long, and seek after this Lord: let your souls cleave to him, let them hang about him, and never leave him, till he be brought into the chambers of your souls; yea, tell him resolutely, you will not leave him, till you hear his voice in your souls, saying, "My well-beloved is mine, and I am his"; yea, and tell him, you are "sick [with] love." Let your souls go, as it were, out of your bodies and out of the world, by heavenly contemplations; and treading upon the earth with the bottom of your feet, stretch your souls up, to look over the world, into that upper world, where [your] treasure is, and where [your] beloved dwelleth.

It’s the perfect time to contemplate the goodness and beauty of our Lord and all that he has done for us in his incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and soon-to-be return to reign. Merry Christmas!

Anxiety & Piety

We all deal with it. Our achievement-oriented American culture fosters it. The information superhighway delivers 24/7 on-demand fodder to feed it. Not that we need it though; our personal problems are in no short supply. Anxiety: tale as old as time. The ancient wise man Solomon knew a lot about it. For example, he says:

It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Psalm 127:2

Sound familiar? Could it be that at the end of the day we simply are not trusting God? Here is a remedy for our worries: our Father has got everything covered. Spurgeon says it beautifully, “The Sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which the child of God rests his head at night, giving perfect peace.” If he wants it done, it shall be done. If not, nothing I do can possibly accomplish it. And so what? His purposes for me shall stand; his love for me shall be accomplished in full. Everything else is a footnote.

That’s a death knell for anxiety of all sorts. My Creator loves me and will do what he wishes with me, and what he does will be best by far. Just as the world offers us endless things to be anxious about, so too the good news of God’s fatherly care for us in Jesus offers wondrous truth for our faith to feed upon. Soon enough anxiety’s proud head begins to nod, and presently it goes to sleep. And now we can too, because God’s gospel goodness to us in Christ soothes all our worries with the sweetness of eternal, divine love.

Feelings vs. Faith

Sometimes we feel God’s presence, sometimes we don’t. That’s part of the normal Christian life. But does that make our relationship with God a matter of he loves me, he loves me not? Never! He doesn’t change, even when our feelings do. It is not our feelings that take hold of the unchanging God, it’s our faith.

The good old Puritan William Perkins has this to say on the subject:

Religion does not stand in feeling but in faith, which faith we must have in Christ, though we have no feeling at all; for God oftentimes does withdraw His grace and favor from His children that He may teach them to believe in His mercy in Christ then, when they feel nothing less than His mercy. And faith and feeling cannot always stand together, because faith is a subsisting of things which are not seen and the ground of things hoped for; and we must live by faith and not by feeling. Though feeling of God’s mercy be a good thing, yet God does not always vouchsafe to give it unto His children. And therefore in the extremity of afflictions and temptations we must always trust and rely on God by faith in Christ.

Our feelings often leave us in the dark. Our faith in God never does.

The Secret to Bible Reading

Bible reading can be difficult. Why do some Christians seem to get so much out of their Bibles, but when I read the passage I get…spiritual crickets? Why is my Bible reading so uneventful? What’s the best way to come at this common problem among believers?

King David has the answer. It’s a prayer:

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

Psalm 119:18

Pray this humble prayer every time you read the Scriptures—that’s what David means by law here—and watch the Lord do his thing. Don’t be bashful about it; this is part of our inheritance in Christ. He died for us so we can see his glory in his word now. It’s yours in him today.

Our Cries for Help

Sometimes when we ask God for help with something, he first answers us by showing us just how bad it is (spoiler alert: it’s much worse than we think). Just when we are beginning to feel that we can’t go on, that this sin, or struggle, or unbalanced equation must be killed, defeated, or solved, it’s as if it rears up before us stronger than ever! Now the waters really begin to rage. Now we catch a whiff of just how foul the cauldron really is. It can feel so discouraging. Why doesn’t he just help us?

He is helping us. He’s showing us our desperate condition so that we might move into real, earnest, desperate prayer. He wants us to cast ourselves fully and completely upon him. Consider our dear brother David:

The cords of death encompassed me;
    the torrents of destruction assailed me;
 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

 In my distress I called upon the Lord;
    to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
    and my cry to him reached his ears.

Psalm 18:4-6

Don’t lose heart! It has often been noted that the darkest hour comes before the dawn. Lean into your guilt, mark your temptations, stare your challenges in the face; behold the depths of evil, the powerful snares, and the impossibilities all around you. And then, when you are almost completely overwhelmed, you will call upon the Lord in distress and anguish of spirit. And then he will do something amazing. He will bow the heavens and come down (verse 9), he will fly to you upon a cherub (verse 10), he will unleash his fury against your enemies and save you by his own hand, and you will praise him for it (whole psalm). For he loves to save the broken spirit out of all its troubles.

The Gift of Being

This week I’m reading a little book called Enduring Divine Absence: The Challenge of Modern Atheism which was written by my friend Joseph Minich (very sharp dude). It’s a fascinating study of how modern technology (man’s knowledge of and *apparent* control over nature) makes atheism seem like a plausible philosophical option, and how this relates to the hiddenness of God and his purposes in revealing himself (and not revealing himself). I want to share a quote from this book with you, but first a little ordering of our thoughts.

In the book he does some philosophical heavy-lifting (at least for normal people like me) which quite blew my mind. Everything that exists (but which could very easily not have existed) has gone from not existing (and not having to exist) to existing. How? By receiving its being. “If a thing does not have its being in itself,” writes the Minich (by which he means, if a thing did not create itself), “it must have it in another” (44). Therefore, everything that exists but didn’t have to, received its being from that which never received its being at all but exists in and by itself (I told you, heavy-lifting).

One payout of this concept is that it shows us why the being or existence behind and under everything that exists must also be personal, namely, because this being chose to give us existence, as a gift. We see that this Being is a Personal Agent who wills and acts. He donated our being to us all, whether “we” are people, animals, plants, or even elements. He is the one who bridged the gap between the possibility of our existence and our actual existence, even though he didn’t have to.

Very well, enough! Now you are ready for the quote:

The gap between what must exist and what does but need not exist is necessarily mediated by a non-necessary donation from what necessarily exists, and that requires will and personality. Our act of existence is suspended in and is a donation of Existence Himself—Being Himself, Life Himself—in whom all things are what and as they are—from whom are all things, for whom are all things, and in whom all things hold together.

Wowzers. Truly “he is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’” (Acts 17:27-28). Let’s trust this astounding God with our lives today.

Courteous as Knights

The Apostle Paul is known for his ultra-dense and at times cryptic language. He often swings the sword of the Spirit in high spiritual battle, and his blade strokes can be difficult to follow. Even the other apostles didn’t understand everything he said (2 Pet 3:16). But, every once in a while (usually at the end of his letters), Paul can be very down to earth and even downright practical. Consider the following verses:

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish… Titus 3:1–3

The Greek word behind our English “courtesy” here means, “The quality of not being over-impressed by a sense of one’s importance, gentleness, humility, courtesy, considerateness, meekness.” (BDAG). Christians are to possess and display this spirit to others. The qualities of patience and meekness are commonly confused with weakness and timidity. However, this is a call to great spiritual strength—the kind we can only possess in Christ. Because living this way toward others is not easy. It is the life of true chivalry.

C.S. Lewis summarizes this spirit well: “No warrior scolds. Courteous words or else hard knocks are his only language.” Courtesy is not weakness. It is strength subdued. Bringing out the big guns (openly wielding the authority of our various offices and stations in life) is our last move, and only when forced. On the personal level, we never lash out at our enemies, or those who do not know God. We are patient with them, and kind to them. We address them with respect. Why? Because we were once the very same way. And if Jesus can save us, he can save them too.

Lampin

Lampin is a slang term that signifies the act of chilling or hanging out. As it turns out, this may be a strangely instructive term in exposition of our text, where simply being what we are in Christ illuminates others like a lamp. Let’s read it:

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:14–16

In these few words, our Lord tells us who we are and what to do with it. We are the light of Christ in a world of endless night (always nighttime, never Festivus-eve). We are the light of the world, or the word may signify the universe—so that we are like the stars of heaven—and should therefore let our lights shine even as the heavenly luminaries, which never cease to smile upon the earth with their kind twinklings. After all, it is the light of our “Father who is in heaven” which we shine forth to others.

Christian, let your light shine. Be what you are in Christ, and do what you do in Christ, as a display of God’s life-giving light to those around you. Let your good works and words go forth freely, enlightening lost sinners and encouraging those who have been found by Christ to do the same. In this way, we are God’s visible messengers of the kingdom of heaven on earth. And that’s the church in a nutshell.