Check It Out 11 03 09

Naked and Alone Hung the Son of Man This is a poem by Kevin Hartnett that is a thoughtful, instructive look at the cross. He writes with a gospel perspective. Explore his site. (HT Of First Importance )

Video of John Piper commenting on the devastating nature of the prosperity gospel.

Christianaudio is offering Desiring God as a free audio book for the month of November. Apparently some have had trouble downloading because of overwhelming demand, but keep trying. They are encouraging people to try again later in the month if they have trouble now.

Life size Noah’s Arks have been built as replicas in several places. Here are some neat photographs and commentaries.

Thanksgiving

We set aside the fourth Thursday in November to give thanks for the blessings that we enjoy. Abraham Lincoln made this proclamation in 1863:

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. . . . I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States. . . [to] set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers . . .

The principle of thankfulness certainly ought to be a year round thing, yet it is good to be reminded of it especially on occasion. I appreciate that President Lincoln connected thankfulness for God’s blessing with intercession for the weak and powerless. Remember that all we have is a blessing of God.

Excitement in Honduras

I was pleased this week to talk to Bethany and listen to her excitement about her time in Honduras. She had the opportunity to experience two exciting events.

The first was when a fellow teacher called her and told her that she wanted to meet with her. Last week Bethany had shared the Gospel with this teacher. Now she was calling Bethany and wanted to talk. So Beth told her that she was at Burger King doing lesson plans. The young lady said she’d be right there. When she got there she told Bethany that she had ask Jesus to be her Savior. Beth was very excited about that.

Then second exciting event was when Bethany and several fellow teachers were able to attend the USA vs. Honduras soccer game. The excitement of being packed into a stadium with thousands of Honduran fans was something that she had never experienced before.

Reading about her experience in Honduras is worth your time.

Review: The Jesus Storybook Bible

I recently received a copy of The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. I had heard some good things about it so decided to see what all the hype was about.

On immediate perception it is a very worthy entry into the genre of children’s Bible storybooks. As I looked through it I was more and more impressed. The author does a wonderful job of drawing the lines of redemptive history all the way through the entire Bible. The subtitle, “Every Story Whispers His Name,” is apt. The various stories are all connected as part of the larger story of Jesus coming to redeem man.

The book is valuable well beyond its nominal audience of children. As a pastor I am intrigued and instructed by her story telling and the wonderful way that she draws us into God’s plan for a redeemer to come. I believe that this book is a good addition to anyone’s library as it is very instructive and compelling in the storyline.

In October they will be releasing the deluxe edition that includes the complete book on audio CD read by award-winning British actor, David Suchet. I commend this to anyone in order to better understand how the story of redemption is told in all the stories of Scripture.

Delight in the Lord

Trust in the Lord and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Delight yourself in the Lord

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,

the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

(Psalm 37:3-6)

I have been meditating on what it means to delight in the Lord. The call that the Psalmist gives here is key to living the way God desires.

To delight in the Lord means to love the things he loves, to desire the things he desires, to be enamored with knowing him more. It means we look at the Savior and see him as glorious, as someone that we desire to be close to. It means that we seek any means possible to get to know him better. It means that when we realize that other priorities in our lives are crowding him out, we repent of them and turn to him.

To delight in the Lord means to trust him, to take him at his word. When he says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” he means just that. He doesn’t qualify that statement with saying “I will be with you as long as you follow me.” There is tremendous delight in having the confidence that his love for us is not dependent upon us.

When we delight in him we will act the way he wants us to. That is the natural response to his goodness, his love for us.

The basis for our delight is the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. Throughout the Old Testament we read much about fearing God. When we consider our sin, to approach God is a fearful thing. I think of the response of Isaiah when he saw the holiness of God. He responded in abject fear, saying, “Woe is me.” It is truly only through the death of Christ on our behalf that we can have any other response to the holy God than Isaiah’s. We have had our sins paid for, our destinies changed, our inner man transformed by the the work on Calvary. This is greater delight than we can ever hope for.

When we consider the cross, the sacrifice of Jesus, then we can begin to delight in God. Meditate on him, delight yourself in his word, enjoy his presence.