Saved from what?

Ok... I'm back to thinking about James 2. I have heard this text cited at least 5 times this last week as a proof-text that a genuine faith unto salvation is a faith that works (i.e. will inevitably produce sustaining good works). Is James 2:14-26 a proof-text that a genuine faith unto salvation (legal justification in the sight of God) is a faith that will inevitably produce works? I am becoming more and more convinced that the answer is "no." Skeptical? Listen to this...

What is His is ours

“We often say that what is ours belongs to Christ. Do we remember the opposite: that what is His is ours? That seems to me a wonderful truth, almost an incredible truth. If it is so, how can we really 'lose' anything?"

- Elisabeth Elliot, Discipline, the Glad Surrender

The Philosophy of the World...

Tune your radio dial to most any FM station, watch a Disney movie, read Rielle Hunter’s new book or simply go for a drive in sunny Southern California (see license plate above) and you are hit with this “pearl” of worldly wisdom: “Listen to your heart.”

The wisdom from above, in stark contrast, would say that such advice is folly, antithetical to the victorious Christian life, and, in the end, a recipe for disaster.

"For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander"[Matthew 15:19]

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding...“ [Proverbs 3:5]

The anecdote for pettiness…

...for the Christian, is gazing back at the cross and reflecting anew upon the exchange of ground shifting proportions that transpired…

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,” [Colossians 1:13]

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.“ [Ephesians 4:32]

The Heart of the Father

Father's day...had Luke 15 rattling in my head all day. More than a story about a prodigal son or even a bitter older brother, it's a story about the crazy, outrageous, dare I say, nonsensical pursuing love and grace of a Father.

Insiders Out, Outsiders In

Enjoying Dane Ortlund's recent book, Defiant Grace. In Chapter 3, Ortlund beautifully outlines how Jesus' community is counterintuitive...the great reversal...those on the inside are on the outside, and those on the outside are on the inside.

Luke 2 - the shepherds are highlighted as the recipients of the news of Christ's birth, not the wise men

Luke 3 - "it is those of direct descent from Abraham who are designated by John the Baptist as a 'brood of vipers' to be replaced, if need be, by the versy stones underfoot."

Luke 4 - "Jesus outrages his hearers by reminding them that two of the ultimate Jewish insiders, Elijah and Elisha, healed not the Israelites, but the outsiders of the day"

Luke 5 - "Jesus invites a tax collector named Levi to become an insider, and then eats with him at his house..."

Luke 6 - "Jesus blesses...the poor, the weeping and reviled, while pronouncing woes on the rich, the laughing and those about who others speak well..."

Luke 8 - "Jesus dubs the common crowd his 'mother' and 'brothers', leaving his actual mother and brothers outside"

Luke 9 - "a young child is picked up by Jesus and placed among the disciples as an example of whom they should receive..."

Luke 10 - "a socially despised Samaritan is the hero of the famous parable, rather than the socially revered priest or Levite."

Luke 11 - "Jesus says the men of Ninevah, outsiders if ever there were any, will rise up and condemn the crowds listening so attentively to him."

Luke 12 - "describes the rejection of a rich man, contrasted with the abundant treasures belonging to those who sell their possessions and give to the needy."

Luke 15 - The prodigal is 'in', while the bitter older brother, fuming in his anger, is on the 'outside' of the celebration.

Luke 17 - "it is only the despised Samaritan who returns to express gratitude to Jesus among the ten lepers who are healed."

Luke 20 - "describes the transfer of a 'vineyard'...to other (Gentile) tenants"

Luke 21 - "praises the offering of a poverty stricken woman instead of the gifts of the rich"

Kneelers or Lappers?

Much has been made about God’s methodology in the 2nd sifting of Gideon’s army down from now 10,000 men (after the initial sifting) to a mere 300 men. Too often this line of commentary goes beyond the text. As Alistair Begg rightly notes, “God wasn’t looking for Marines.” Indeed; in focus is not so much reaching a particular kind of soldier as much as an outlandish reduction in the number of troops.

“The object was to reduce Gideon’s army to a force not of a particular kind, but of a particular number. A small corps of crack troops is precisely what God does not want. The three hundred are meant to be not an elite, but a group so inadequate that when the battle is won (God declares) it cannot be a case of Israel’s saying “My own hand has delivered me.” Until the numbers are reduced to the level at which it is clearly the Lord and not Israel who wins the battle, they are too many."

- J. Alec Motyer

Drawing Straws

Life Exchange

“How many of us reason that if we can only change our habits, ways, thoughts, acts, and so forth, we will be all right. Not so, however; for there must be a complete exchange of life. We must be displaced and replaced with Christ"

- Watchman Nee

Formative Correction

Really enjoyed this talk by Voddie Bauchum.  Liked his balanced perspective on this issue--> discipline and reproof

What Exactly is a "God thing"?

You hear it all the time in Christian circles: "Oh, it was just such a 'God thing'!" Really? What do folks mean by that? I don't mean to feign confusion; I think that I know what people mean when they say this. Usually, in context, it conveys this idea that something so improbable occurred (usually perceived as favorable for multiple parties) that it can only be attributed to the hand of God. I get that. God moves in miraculous ways in the lives of His children, and we are left breathless, awestruck when it is so clear and tangible to us. Still, I don't like this phrase. It somehow - in a subtle way - implies that it's only on special, unique circumstances where God interacts with His people. It's only on special moments where He takes back the reigns of the Universe - that every once in a while this unique "God thing" takes place. No, such a description is wanting in view of God's sovereignty. Isn't all of life a "God thing"? Isn't the next breath that you and I inhale ordained by His hand? Moreover, is He not sovereign and just as much imminent in the negatively perceived circumstances of our lives? On the day that the sky turned black, none of the disciples would have termed the crucifixion a "God thing." And, yet, it was safely in the eternal plan and purposes of God. I don't know where a "God thing" begins and where it ends. All of life is held in His hand, there is nothing hidden from Him, and there is nothing outside of His control. And, in that sense, everything is a "God thing"!

Foolishness, Wisdom, Weakness and the Power of God

Really loved this tissue paper collage that my friend's kiddos made. Snapped a picture of it with my phone and a text came to mind...

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" [1 Cor 1:18-25]

Assets and Liabilities in God's Economy

“My mind began to drift back in time… to scholarships and honors earned, cases argued and won, great decisions made from lofty government offices. My life had been the perfect success story, the great American dream fulfilled. But all at once I realized that it was not my success God had used to enable me to help those in this prison, or in hundreds of others just like it. My life of success was not what made this morning so glorious - all of my achievements meant nothing in God’s economy. No, the real legacy of my life was my biggest failure - that I was an ex-convict. My greatest humiliation - being sent to prison - was the beginning of God’s greatest use of my life. He chose the one experience in which I could not glory for His glory. "

- Chuck Colson, Loving God