I have lately sought refuge in the Psalms. You may be familiar with Augustine’s Confessions. The Psalms are the confessions of the Bible. They are incredibly honest about doubt, pain, and fear, yet never give up hope. Psalms are proof that doubt is not at odds with faith.

When you are sick with a cold you might have a glass of water and a tylenol before bed. I have a dear relative whose prescription for a sick heart is a glass of water and a psalm before bed. I’ve always remembered those words of hers.

This morning the fuel for my heart has been Psalm 77. I remember reading it for the first time many years ago. I remember how it first graced my heart then. This morning it sank in even deeper. Every word from this psalm rings true in my soul this morning. I want to share it with you. Yes, the words can be found at the link below, but I encourage you to open up your own Bible, stand, and read this aloud. That is how this psalm was meant to be encountered. Let these words sink into your being. Soak them up with your heart and soul.

Click Here to Read Psalm 77

There is so much to be found there. I would love to just sit and swap words with each of you over coffee about the goodness of God found in this psalm. But since at the moment we are only on a blog, I invite you to listen to the words that John Piper has to share from this psalm. I am so thankful for the poetry of his preaching, exhortation, and humble witness. These words were an encouragement to me today.

I Will Meditate on All Your Work and Muse on Your Deeds (click here for manuscript)
by John Piper – January 2, 2000

School is back in swing. Actually, it has been for awhile. That’s one of the main reasons you haven’t heard form me on here for quite some time. I feel like I’m just barely getting into a rhythm for this semester. All that I know is that the weather is changing (and allergies are starting). This probably means that sooner or later you’ll be seeing my yearly fall post. But I’m not going to force it. I just think it’ll probably happen as always.

But all of that isn’t the reason I’m writing this post. I’m writing this post to tell you all about another blog project I’m working on. It’s actually an assignment for one of my classes. I’m currently in a class called Literature and Belief. In this class we are focusing on mythology and the ways that it has expressed and shaped the beliefs of people through the course of history. We’re going all the way from reading Theogony (the Greek creation stories by Hesiod) to reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Needless to say, we’re covering a lot this semester.

The project that I am doing is a blog where I will discuss the things we are learning in this class. I will explore the meaning of myth and search for modern day myths and how they shape us. I could write so much more here about what the blog will be, but that’s what the blog is for. You can start by reading the about section. I hope to see you there.

mythologos.wordpress.com

Gospel-centered theology isn’t always good theology.

When the gospel is a formula plugged into the equation of salvation it reads like condemnation to the ones who haven’t done their math.

When the gospel is a story about the heart of God it reads like an invitation to those who haven’t known the love of their Father.

The gospel is not an equation in which a big equal sign is wedged between us and heaven. It is the story of heaven breaking into our world and God’s kingdom coming to this place. It is a picture of the heart of God.

He died for you.
His kingdom is near.
He’s welcoming you.
He’s beckoning you.
“Come.”

This summer I read Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer. If you haven’t read it you must. Once you finish it go ahead and read everything else by Tozer too. His words are rich. Every sentence in his writings drip with truth, depth, and beauty.

But that’s not the point. The point is that as I read this book over the summer I have come to realize the complete otherness of God. Tozer begins with the question, “What is God like?,” and then says:

This book is an attempt to answer that question. Yet at the outset I must acknowledge that it cannot be answered except to say that God is not like anything; that is, He is not exactly like anything or anybody.

In other words, God is totally and entirely other.

That is in chapter two. Every chapter that follows explores this otherness of God. It is on this truth that my heart and mind have dwelt this summer.

—

At the beginning of June I heard from one of the guys in the youth group I interned at last summer. He had come to Kadesh, the high school camp at ACU. In short, his life was being rocked by Jesus through the camp. This was incredible and exciting news to me because I remember getting to know him last summer. I could see a total transformation in him. His heart had been taken captive by Jesus Christ.

I remember going to Kadesh myself. It is an incredible place. Life transformation happens there. Not because summer camps are the answer to everything, but because it is a place that is devoted to seeking Jesus and serving others. The camp is entirely outward focused. Because of this the dirt and filth of life come spilling out and the love of Jesus takes its place. Kadesh has multiple times of corporate worship, teaching, and small group discussion. The campers pour themselves out in service projects throughout Abilene every day. And every night concludes with a time of worship in the amphitheater at ACU. Outside, under the stars, singing praises to God. It is truly beautiful. And God meets people there.

I came to find out that on the last day of camp this guy was going to be baptized. He had decided to follow Jesus in baptism and commit his life to following Christ. I decided to go. I met him and his small group at Jacob’s Dream where he would be baptized. There was excitement among them as they approached the pool, as he got in, made his confession, and was baptized. This was a sign of newness.

After the baptism the group went to the amphitheater for the evening worship. I joined them for it. Small groups slowly accumulated in the amphitheater. Worship began as the sun went down. Songs were raised high along with hands of praise to God. I looked around and saw a couple hundred teenagers experiencing the God of the universe. It was beautiful. I was reminded of my time in the very same place only a few years ago. What struck me through all of this is that this moment, for some of these teenagers, was their very first time to really experience the Lord. I was observing not only a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit but, for many of these teenagers, an initial outpouring. It was unspeakably beautiful.

I saw how new, how fresh, and how awesome the Lord was to these kids who were seeing him for the first time and I began to realize how old and boring my faith had become. It is so easy to become familiar and comfortable in our faith that we lose an awe of God. What a sad thing the human heart is, that it could grow weary of the eternal God.

—

As many of you know, I went to Africa this summer. There are many stories to be told and testimonies to be shared. But from all of those experiences, I returned from Africa with a broader vision of the Kingdom of God.

After  returning I was thinking of all the places I’ve been: Honduras, Mexico, Africa…and on and on. But then I stopped and realized how shallow I was thinking. I’ve been to Africa: check! Really? In reality, I’ve been to a country in Africa: Uganda. And really, I’ve been to a city in a country in Africa: Gulu. And really, I’ve only been to a side of a city in a country in Africa—perhaps I shouldn’t be so hasty to just check Africa off the list.

As I was going through all of this I began to think of the Kingdom of God. You know, I thought, it’s the same in the Kingdom. I so easily become comfortable with my citizenship in heaven. I think to myself, I’ve lived in the Kingdom for quite some time now. Surely I know the Kingdom of God. But in reality the Kingdom of God is no different than Africa. I have seen only a portion of his Kingdom. I have dwelt in only a minute corner of his Eternal Land. The Kingdom of God is so much broader than I’ve seen or experienced. There is so much more of God’s character to know and to see. He is eternal and his Kingdom is infinite. I will forever continue to explore the beauty of his Kingdom. It is a journey. It is an adventure. And God will walk with me hand in hand every step of the way, showing me more and more of his beautiful Kingdom. This is life.

—

We so easily become comfortable with our familiar corner of the Kingdom that we miss the adventure. We so quickly become bored with our faith that we lose an awe of God. Let our hearts not grow weary, but remain enthralled in the beauty of the God who made the heavens and the earth! The moment your heart becomes bored in the familiarity of God you must remember how entirely other he is. He is not like us that he grows old.

He is eternal and his Kingdom is infinite. Always fresh. Always new. Always incredible. Always inspiring.

When I was in high school I lived elsewhere. I don’t mean that I lived somewhere other than where I live now. I mean that I lived wherever I wasn’t. I was constantly dreaming of and dwelling in the future. I often thought of other places, almost in every area of life.

With church, I always listened to podcasts and read books by others. I felt like my church wasn’t real because I devoted myself to these other churches. With ministry, I started my own online bible studies instead of simply devoting myself to the church where I was. With romance, I dreamed of marriage. I know that seems odd, for a dude to be dreaming of marriage. But I really was. I began thinking of it early on in high school. I was silly because instead of devoting myself to the one woman who would someday be my wife I dated a bunch of girls in hopes of finding her. It is foolish to become romantically entangled with so many. With school, I dreamed of college. I was bored with my classes in  high school and couldn’t wait for the day when I would study the things I wanted to. With location, I dreamed of Abilene. With life, I dreamed of leaving my home and creating a home for myself.

I always lived elsewhere. I was never present. I used my phone so much because I could never enjoy the place where I was. I had to text someone who was somewhere else. This is who I was. This is where I dwelt.

When I came to Abilene and began going to Beltway, I remember thinking, “Wow, this is a real church!” What a prideful thought (and I don’t mean to demean the churches I went to growing up), but it was a breakthrough at the time. And, while I began to become present in the reality of church, I was still dreaming of everything else. That first year here I was in a long distance relationship and so much of me lived in the vacuum of late-night phone calls and I devoted myself to dreaming of the next year when she would come to Abilene to join me. This became the foundation of our relationship. And because the foundation of our relationship was only hope for the future, it fell apart when she actually came. We didn’t know how to be present.

After that break up I began living in the present.

—

A few weeks ago there was a gathering at someone’s house to hear from Carl Gulley, the college pastor of Antioch Community Church. This guy and this church have shaped Beltway’s college ministry like no one else. I was so blessed to be there to hear and learn from him. But while I was there I began looking around and realized just how blessed I really am. I was sitting in this room with some truly incredible people who I have learned much from and come to love. Jeremy West, Byron Rogers, Phil Dosa, Lucas West, Joey Ellmore, Matt Davis, Eric Presley…just to name a few. These men, either directly or indirectly, have challenged me, taught me, mentored me, discipled me, and encouraged me.

As I was looking around at these men, I began to realize again, “This is real.” That reality began to sink in. So often we dream of doing church, we dream of wonderful friends, we dream of incredible mentors — but I was able to look around and say, “It’s happening. This stuff is really happening.” We think of Paul who discipled Timothy and fantasize what that would be like. We think of John who pastored a church and dream of the future. But I was able to look around and tangibly see, These are the ones who have dscipled me. These are the ones who are doing life and ministry together. This isn’t just some kind of dream. This is real. This is the present!

I realize that this blog entry is poorly organized and somewhat haphazard. But I simply had to write it as a means of declaring how thankful I am to walk along such incredible people to learn from them and share this pocket of life with them. And secondly, I want to encourage you to live in the present. Don’t dream of your destiny — DO it! Don’t wish you were somewhere — GO there! Don’t imagine the perfect world and then complain about how the present doesn’t measure up. Take those dreams and make them reality. Take those wishes and carry them out.

Don’t just sit there looking out the window. Go play.

The words “sermon” and “preaching” kind of scare me. But, last night I had the opportunity to contribute to the sermon series we’ve been running through this summer in College Park. We’ve been in 1 John all summer and I got to preach 2:28-3:10. When I found out that I would be preaching this text I became very excited because its about my favorite thing ever: seeing Jesus.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)

As I began reading the text, praying, researching, and reflecting God began to show me pieces of himself which I had never come to consider before. The past two blog entries have actually resulted from my preparation for this sermon. I’ve been sitting on this and praying through it all summer and I finally got to preach last night.

After preaching, I was able to talk with several people who told me that the words I spoke connected directly with where they were or even with something they were praying about that morning. How humbling it is to serve the most high God! I am so thankful to God for the way he moves in the hearts of people. He is faithful. I’m so thankful for how in a moment he changes eternity. I’m thankful for the hearts that were set upon him last night.

You can listen to the sermon here:

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.
And he has planted eternity into the heart of man.”
(Ecclesiastes 3:11)

My love has grown stale as of late. Time stretches us out and we so easily become weary.

Life is a river. My Dad and I used to go canoeing a lot when I was growing up. Anyone who has been canoeing will understand when I say that it is a thrilling and boring adventure. How could that be? Even one day on the river lends itself to a pendulum of excitement and boredom. The paddling begins as a refreshing exercise. The first mile of the river is a beautiful and breathtaking trail through the trees. Then it becomes stale. The same act which was once refreshing becomes tiresome. What was beautiful before is now boring. Then the rapids come, your heart begins to race, and the thrill rushes back in. But a little later the river becomes quiet and still which is peaceful at first but then returns to boredom. This is life.

I have lately been in a lull of life. The romantic adventure that life once was has become routine as it drags on. I need refreshing. Not that our primary pursuit is romance. I know that romance is, by its very nature, a momentary thing. Love carries on through on through the dry season, but those sprinkles of romance add flavor to life.

This has gotten me thinking, though. Some say that romance is a deception. Others that it is everything. Perhaps neither is true. Perhaps romance is not a fleeting thing, but rather a refreshing form and flavor of love. Perhaps romance is a taste of eternity. Moments of romance seem to stretch beyond the miniscule minutes in which they occur. Whether they be wandering through a forest, standing before a mountain, or resting in the arms of your beloved. These moments are more than momentary.

The romantic moments of adventure grow old to us, though, because we are locked in time. We are captive to the clock that ticks on by and makes new things grow old. We become weary of our lives and the newness of it all wears away.

But God is not captive to time. Time is entirely irrelevant to him. God never grows tired or weary. His love never grows stale. He is eternal! That we should ever become bored with an eternal God shows just how easily we become comfortable sitting in the same place. Familiarity kills the newness of life. Yet, nothing is unfamiliar to the Lord. But nothing is boring to him either, because the Lord possesses the power to recreate. He alone makes old things new. He alone makes plain things beautiful.

For now we sit in time’s shadow with an occasional ray of eternal light. But God is making all things new. And some day soon this tent of the temporary will give way to a temple of eternity. Where time does not hold us captive and nothing will ever grow old.

The most beautiful and frustrating thing about grace is that it’s free.

Many of you have heard me say this before. And I’m reminded of it today. It seems that when we sin we ought to pay some kind of penance. “Oh no! I’ve just wronged the God of the universe, I guess I ought to do some kind of nice thing so he won’t be mad at me.” This thinking is foolish. The slightest wrong against an eternal being is an infinite wrong. No amount of homage, penance, sacrifice, or prayer could make up for my infinite transgression. We are completely separated from God and entirely unable to go to him by our own will.

When I have sinned all I want to do is make up for my wrong. I want to put myself right. I want to make everything okay. Ultimately, I want my spiritual journey to be my achievement. I want to make myself righteous. O but thank God that this is not the case! God broke in and pursued us. He broke into our world and has been turning things upside down for quite awhile now. He’s been righting wrongs, forgiving sins, straightening paths, healing wounds, and breaking chains. Thanks be to God for this! For I am unable!

If I were in charge of my own spiritual life I would be only a pile of dust on the ground. Apart from the breath of God into my lungs I would not even be able to desire righteousness. Righteousness would be a substance entirely foreign to my mind, heart, and soul. But thanks be to God that by his free grace an immoral being like me has tasted righteousness; a mortal like me has glimpsed eternity.

This is a sweet thought. And not merely a thought, but a sweet truth. That by his grace we have no claim to righteousness, yet we have tasted its goodness. But here is the most humiliating and humbling thing about grace: When I received the free grace of God years ago as I began to trust in his faithfulness I received grace not only for my past sins, but for every sin I would ever commit. What I mean is this: Grace is not a tonic which heals us from a disease. It is sustenance which gives us life. Grace is not medicine, it is water. It is not a delicacy it is a staple. When we trust in the Lord, we do not simply receive his tonic of grace so we can make it on our own after we have recovered. We commit to drink from his pool of life for eternity. He himself said that it “is a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)

To think that grace is simply a mere tonic is to misunderstand the magnitude of God and our transgression from his desire. First, it sees our sin as only a disease. We are not sick with sin. We are dead with it. We need no simple cure, we need a resurrecting substance. Second, we miss the eternity of God when we make his grace into a tonic. This kind of grace will only ever be experienced in the past tense. God is far bigger than that. God is not past tense. HE IS the I AM. When he invited you to his eternal pool of life he did not do so only based on prior knowledge, but on complete knowledge of you. Take Tozer’s words:

To us who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope that is set before us in the gospel, how unutterably sweet is the knowledge that our Heavenly Father knows us completely. No talebearer can inform on us, no enemy can make an accusation stick; no forgotten skeleton can come tumbling out of some hidden closet to abash us and expose our past; no unsuspected weakness in our characters can come to light to turn God away from us, since He knew us utterly before we knew Him and called us to Himself in the full knowledge of everything that was against us. (Knowledge of the Holy, 57)

When we consider the eternity of God we can be fully confident in his free and never ending grace. We can rest in, drink from, rely on, and receive from the grace of God. Open your hands and let go of that prideful religion, that desire to earn your righteousness, and receive the beautiful, pure, sweet, and free grace from the hand of God.

This morning I went on a walk. Spring time is good for that sort of thing. A good way to wake up in the winter is a warm cup of coffee by the fire. A good way to wake up in the spring time is a simple walk in the fresh air as the sun takes its place in the sky for the day.

As I was walking I thought of how everything we do centers around the sun. Our calendars and clocks are set to the pace of the sun. We make our plans from day to day assuming that time persists. Monday morning at 10:00 I will be in class. I say this with confidence because the sun always rises and the hour always comes. When I walk outside at 9:45 to go to class, I am not surprised to find light flooding the landscape. In fact, I assume that it will be light outside. I would be surprised if it weren’t.

This is how the love of our Father in heaven is toward us. It is called his “steadfast love” throughout the scriptures because it is steadfast. It does not waver or shake. It is certain. Yet, why do we always doubt it? Why do we doubt his wonderful, unshakeable love? His love is certain. All can say with certainty, “I am loved by God!” Those who trust in him can be confident in their hope. Hope just means confidence in what is to come. In the same way that the constant rising and setting of the sun gives me confidence in my schedule, the steadfast love of the Lord gives me hope. My future is certain because his love never fails.

Put your hope in the Lord and be confident in his love for you. For “the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love!” (Psalm 33:18)

Our soul waits for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
(Psalm 33:20-22)

An idle mind is the devil’s playground.

Have you heard that proverb before? It’s not in the bible, but it’s quite popular. I think it’s mostly popular for mothers who want their children to clean their rooms. I’ve always thought about this little proverb and how true it may or may not be.

This proverb can be dangerous. It can lead people to keep themselves busy in order to avoid the devil. However, I always wondered why everyone assumed that an idle mind was a playground for the devil and couldn’t be for God. I think that God has just as much right to play. Isn’t that why he commanded Sabbath? God actually orders his people to stop and let their mind idle so they can rest and he can play. I think sometimes the devil can use busyness as a way to keep God out of a person’s mind. Because as long as we keep moving, we won’t stop to listen to the Spirit and the sin in our hearts will simply build up without any conviction, confession, or repentance. You can’t know a piece of art without stopping to observe it. The same goes with the heart. It is essential that we remember the Sabbath; that we stop our busyness; that we invite God to play.

I think there’s absolutely truth to this little proverb though. Isn’t the devil prowling like a lion waiting to devour his prey? When someone has no vision, no drive, no hope, no plan, no goal, he gets eaten. He dangles like a worm on a fishing line, asking to be the fish’s next meal. I know this to be true from experience. So many days with no plan end in temptation, sin, and frustration. So what, then, is the balance? How can we let our mind idle so that God can play, but keep the devil out?

God commanded that his people not only remember the Sabbath, but also that they keep it holy. Sabbath apart from holiness is what ends in a snack for Satan. Sabbath, as God commands, is not a day to rest in self-absorbed laziness which leads to death. It is a day to rest in the love and glory of God who gives life.

So, remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.