There is no Kryptonite for God's Grace.

It is so natural and so easy to get bogged down in the idea that what we've done or what we've been through is simply too much for grace to overcome. We declare ourselves untouchable, unreachable, or un-healable. Remember Paul's words: "Forget what is behind." 

 Refusing to forget these things, in the end, this is just a subtle form of pride. In doing this we assume that we're the one person who is too much of a problem for Jesus. We're the one nut He can't crack. We've got the one situation for which the cross of Christ is inadequate.  

Oh sure, He can save Paul, He can deliver Peter, and He can make all things new. But not me! I've got grace's kryptonite. And this is how refusing to forget what lies behind is prideful.  

On the flip side of that, because of the cross and because salvation is from Christ alone, we can actually come to boast all the more in our dark pasts. No, we do not boast as a way of glorifying sin or championing ourselves, but instead to magnify the wonders of the grace and mercy of Christ.  

~ Matt Chandler in To Live is Christ

Does God Desire All To Be Saved? - Book Review

I finished listening to the ChristianAudio version of John Piper's book Does God Desire All To Be Saved? a few weeks ago, but didn't have a chance to write the review until today.

The question, "Does God desire all to be saved?" is a challenging question and a challenging answer (no matter what your answer) and it made for a challenging book to read.  The question is challenging no matter how you answer it, because whichever way you go there are implications. A simple, "Yes." doesn't even really answer the question.

Some believe that all will be saved... eventually. I don't believe that. I can't. The Bible just doesn't leave room for that interpretation. But nevertheless, some can answer yest to this question, believing that all will eventually be saved.

Others might answer yes, knowing full well that all are not saved, but are doomed to eternal punishment. This leaves a new challenge. Does God have unmet desires? Is God unsuccessful in His attempts? Where does this leave us?

An answer of, "No." brings on a whole new set of challenges to deal with.

In this book John Piper, as he always does, digs deep into scripture. That is my favorite thing about Piper books. I know that I am not going to simply get his opinion, but an expounding of scriptures that are specifically related to the question at hand. You can tell from his books that he genuinely wants to know what the Bible says.

The voice talent on this book does an excellent job of bringing to life the words of this book. I enjoy an audio book much more if I can almost feel as if I am simply listening to a person talking to me. The way the book is written and the way it is read pulled me into this discussion. When I finished listening to it, I almost went back to the beginning to listen again. Piper doesn't dwell too long on any one thought, unless it is absolutely necessary. This left me feeling like I needed to pause and think occasionally or simply go back to the beginning.

If you have a desire to get away from a simplistic answer to this question and dig deep into the scriptures to see how God's Word answers this question, then you really need to get this book. I must warn you though, it is not for the person who doesn't want to think and consider and ponder big thoughts of God.

Taking God at His Word - Book Review

I just finished listening to ChristianAudio's Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me by Kevin DeYoung.

In the last few years I have spent a significant amount of time reading and studying several different confessions of faith, belief statements, and other similar historical documents. One of the most important aspects of a comprehensive statement of faith is the portion related to a view of the Holy Scriptures. When listening to this audio book, I found myself taken back to those confessions and statements as Kevin DeYoung expounded on the scriptures.

The chapters of this book methodically teach from the scriptures that the Bible is Knowable, Necessary, Infallable, and Sufficient. It does a wonderful job at balancing between being a completely understandable, introductory work on the scriptures, without losing the reinforcement and structure typical in a good, solid theological work.  In other words, I could easily hand this book to a new Christian without worrying about it overwhelming him, but I could also hand it to an older Christian as a resource for relaying the teachings of scripture on the scriptures.

The voice talent for this book was Lee DeYoung. With the common last name, I am assuming that this is a relation to the author. Having heard Kevin DeYoung speak, I enjoyed the reading by Lee DeYoung. He really captured the heart and passion of this book.... and he sounds a bit like the author. There is always something special about a voice talent that has a personal connection to the book.

If you are wondering what the Bible says about the Bible, then I would highly recommend this audio book. If you are wanting a book that breaks down the traditional, orthodox Christian view of the Holy Scriptures, this is an excellent resource book, and I would highly recommend it. If you are solid in your belief in scripture and just want a book that supports and reinforces this faith, then I would highly recommend this book.

in the morning

For Christians the beginning of the day should not be burdened and oppressed with besetting concerns for the day's work. At the threshold of the new day stands the Lord who made it. All the darkness and distraction of the dreams of night retreat before the clear light of Jesus Christ and his wakening Word. All unrest, all impurity, all care and anxiety flee before him. Therefore, at the beginning of the day let all distraction and empty talk be silenced and let the first thought and the first word belong to him to whom our whole life belongs.
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Life Together)

or... in the words of King David:

Give ear to my words, O LORD;
consider my groaning.
Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
(Psalm 5:1-3 ESV)

What it Says... What you See?

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
(John 6:37 ESV)

What do you hear when you read this statement from Jesus?

The vast majority of Christians today... read the statement of Jesus this way: 'All who come to me the Father will give me.'

In other words... we come... we decide.

'Then the Father recognizes our decision and makes us gifts to his Son.' But that is not the way Jesus taught it. Jesus said, 'The ones whom the Father has given to Me will come to Me -- every one of them."

Sometimes the teachings of Jesus are difficult. Will you listen to them, re-interpret them, or just plain ignore them?

(I preached on this passage of scripture this past Sunday. More than one person walked away questioning... but what I loved was that they weren't questioning me... as far as I could tell... they were questioning Jesus. In a good way!)

May God's grace speedily shatter such dreams...

You may have to read this quote twice.

This is so good and so important. I want everyone who is a part of the Edgewood Baptist Church Community to read and understand this idea. I added some emphasis to help get across the point. Read this a couple of times and let me know what you think.

Innumerable times a whole Christian community has broken down because it had sprung from a wish dream. The serious Christian, set down for the first time in a Christian community, is likely to bring with him a very definite idea of what Christians life together should be and to try to realize it. But God's grace speedily shatters such dreams. Just as surely as God desires to lead us to a knowledge of genuine Christian fellowship, so surely must we be overwhelmed by a great disillusionment with others, with Christians in general, and, if we are fortunate, with ourselves.  

By sheer grace, God will not permit us to live even for a brief period in a dream world. He does not abandon us to those rapturous experiences and lofty moods that come over us like a dream. God is not a God of the emotions but the God of truth. Only that fellowship which faces such disillusionment, with all its unhappy and ugly aspects, begins to be what it should be in God's sight, begins to grasp in faith the promise that is given to it. The sooner this shock of disillusionment comes to an individual and to a community the better for both. A community which cannot bear and cannot survive such a crisis, which insists upon keeping its illusion when it should be shattered permanently loses in that moment the promise of Christian community. Sooner or later it will collapse. Every human wish dream that is injected into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be banished if genuine community is to survive. He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial.  

~Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Life Together)

Come to Edgewood... get your dreams shattered... and (by the grace of God) may we all discover a better/truer Christian Community.

Resist the Impulse to Pay For It

“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
(Isaiah 55:1-2 ESV)

The Gospel Transformation Bible's notes for this passage include this wonderful thought:

His bounteous goodness is only for those who resist the impulse to pay for it. His love and grace come to us not because we have been so good but because he has been so gracious.