Words of Encouragament from a wise man -

A short but encouraging message from J.I. Packer for all Christians, though it is directed at new Christians -


JI Packer Speaks To New Christians from Mike Anderson on Vimeo.

Fears and Desires

One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to meditate in His temple (Psalm 27:4)
Psalm 27 begins with the declaration that "the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?" This is a declaration, not a question with an uncertain answer. He has good reason to cast off his fears and place his full confidence in the Lord, for the Lord has protected him when his enemy has arisen against him. Something else is revealed through David's prayer. David reveals that the reason he does not need to fear men is because he desires nothing more than to dwell with God and to know Him. Encountering this statement gives one an opportunity for self-evaluation. What have I desired or asked from the Lord? Is the Lord's presence my priority objective, or is it something else?
Desires are complex, are they not? For the Christian, there is a constant battle. The flesh sets its desires against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. We must bring our desires into subjection to the will of God as it is revealed in the Word of God, which we can only do in the grace and power that God provides. Sometimes fleshly desires are difficult to detect, because they show up in the disguise of something harmless. Other times the stench of death is so strong on a desire that we can identify immediately, yet we have trouble putting it to death. The attitude David exhibits here is one any Christian who is walking in the Spirit will also exhibit. It is what we genuinely desire when we are thinking rightly. The trouble I have is with those times when I am distracted, lukewarm, fleshly minded or given to temptation. It is in such moments that I find not only is my desire for God minimized, but my fears are maximized. I fear the derision of men. I fear failure. I fear conflict. The list could go on and on, but David shows us that there is a direct link between our fears and our desires. We fear men, because we desire their affection, praise, affirmation, or even just their presence. We are delivered from the fear of men, not by self-confidence, but by a genuine desire for the presence and knowledge of the Lord.
What do you desire today? What do you fear? The two will not be far apart.

Spurring One Another On

Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. (Psalm 95:6-7)

The Psalms are intensely personal, that anyone can see, but they are also corporate. The way the Psalmists write of their relationship with God so regularly in first person singular is a comfort to the soul. However, in our individualistic society there seems to me more "me" religion, and less "us" relationships. Many are unconcerned and completely uninterested in the state of their neighbor's soul, even if that neighbor sits next to them at church on Sunday. It has become a virtue in modern times to keep one's nose in one's own business, especially where matters of faith are concerned. You will not find such a virtue in the word of God. Those who love the Lord and live to praise him are concerned that others join them. Concerned enough to evangelize and disciple. Concerned enough to affirm a friend as well as warn or even chastise him if necessary.
In Psalm 95 we find encouragement to worship followed by solemn warning. The words of verses 6 and 7 are beautiful and familiar. "Come let US worship and bow down." Worship is not dependent on crowds. It can take place in solitude, but the nature of genuine worship of our Creator and Shepherd requires that we desire others to join us in worship. When we have seen the great worth of our God and Savior, then we will wish for His worth to be exclaimed by every tongue, for His glory, and also for their good. It is he who has made us and not we ourselves. We long for all of His sheep, all those who hear His voice, to lift their voices and sing His praise.
As I read this Psalm I cannot help but hear the popular tune to which it has been set in recent years. However, when these words are sung to that beautiful tune they stop just before the warning and of course repeat the chorus again- "Come let us worship and bow down...." But the warning goes hand in hand with the call to worship. There have been some before us who hardened their heart, though they had seen God's work. (Psalm 95:8-9) Those were prohibited from entering God's eternal rest. The call to worship is a call to listen to God and respond. Worship is the right response to hearing God speak. Hardness of heart is the sinful response. We are called by the scriptures to compel one another to listen and worship. Today, if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts, but come, bow down with us, and worship Him who made us for His glory.

Gospel Hope to Despairing Persons

This poor man cried and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. (Psalm 34:6)

Psalm 34 is titled in such a manner that we know accurately its context. It was written after David feigned madness and escaped a threat in 1 Samuel 21:10-15. This matters because Psalm 34 has the flavor of a message meant for particular ears. At the outset David identifies himself as one who boasts in the Lord, but then he invites some congregation to join him in magnifying and exalting the Lord. That congregation is described in 1 Samuel 22:2 - "everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented, gathered to him; and he became captain over them." David is captain of the distressed, broke and unhappy folk, 400 of them we are told. What will David say to them?
David testifies to God's deliverance in his own life- and to similar deliverance for others, presumably persons who had entered into this band of despairing ones. (Psalm 34:4-7) Then he does something bold. He invites them to try the Lord and see for themselves that he is good. This is not a "give my church a try and see if it fits your liking", or even a "give my god a try and see if he matches your tastes." Such invitations are cowardly. This is bold - He says "Taste and see THAT the Lord is good." He does not invite them to entertain the possibility that the Lord might not be good, he invites them only to venture upon the Lord (that is put all your trust in Him, invest all in Him) and they will find Him good. "How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him," David says. He goes on and plainly illustrates how man is blessed. Not by gain, but by the absence of want - "for to those who fear Him, there is no want." Not by might, even that of a lion, but by trust. (34:10)
We do not know what those distraught and despairing men expected from drawing near to David. Maybe they expected to engage in rebellion and achieve a revolution. We do know what David preached to them. He preached the mercy of a God who is "near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Whatever the cause of the discouragement, the deliverance is never far away. "The Lord redeems the soul of His servants; And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned. " (Psalm 34:22)

What God Knows

O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me. 2 Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar. 3 Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, And art intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, Thou dost know it all (Psalm 139:1-4 NASB)

There are those today known as open theists who believe God does not know the future. They have drawn this conclusion from their position that God is most committed to His creatures freedom. For a summary of this position with their own arguments you could read The Openness of God by Clark Pinnock and others (IVP 1994). Their view of freedom cannot permit God to know what will happen because then man is not truly free to chose anything, but only that which God foreknows. I do not subscribe to their view of freedom nor their view of God. More importantly, the Scriptures do not even permit such a limited view of God's knowledge and power. Though we could easily build plain arguments based upon clear precepts in the Word of God, today we have evidence of different sort in the Psalm. The open theists clearly want "freedom" more than they want God's foreknowledge. However, would David, the Holy Spirit inspired author of Psalm 139, want a god who does not know the future? Would you prefer an ignorant god?
David takes great comfort in the fact that God knows him, inside and out. God knows where he goes and what he does, even when he sits and stands. God knows his ways, that is to say, his plans. Up to that point the open theist might actually agree, but then David goes further and confesses that God knows his words before they are spoken. God cares so much about David's needs that God has thought of them before David expresses them. (cf Matthew 6:8) Later in the Psalm, David, with praise, confesses that God knows all of his days, for they are written in his book, even before there is one of them. This the open theist cannot admit and be true to his position. This (God's glorious foreknowledge) David could not deny.
The fact that God knows me now, something I know only in part, and knows me tomorrow, something I cannot know, is of great comfort to me. I need not fear the future, even if it be darkened by shadows. I much prefer that God knows my future, even to my sitting down and rising up, even to the very words on my mouth, even to the extent of my days and my appointment with death, than to beleive that it is all in my hands. I rejoice that I am wrapped up (encompassed before and behind) in the hands of God instead of having my "fate" in my own hands. So which do you prefer? Do you want a god who is ignorant of the future and leaves you to have your own way, or will you joyously rest in the hands of the Potter who fashions your life according to His design?

The Generation to Come

Psalm 78:6-7 That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, That they may arise and tell them to their children, That they should put their confidence in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments....

What will be the legacy of our generation? I suppose every generation has asked. Few ever know for certain, but there are signs and indicators. The generation to whom Psalm 78 was written knew. Their legacy was stubbornness, rebellion, unprepared hearts, and unfaithful spirits. (vs 8) Yet even to them hope was offered if they would pass to their children the testimony of God. Even in a period of economic recession we know that we will leave to our children more material possessions than any generation before us, but will we there be an inheritance of faith? Today the church is more like a country club than a sanctuary for souls. Indicators in the church in America, even apart from a scientific evaluation, lead us to think that the church is a dying institution in many communities. Attendance is low, baptisms are low, enthusiasm is low and commitment is largely non-existent. The future looks dim, but must we resign ourselves to pessimism?

There is reason for hope, not of the political flavor that we hear about so regularly, but of the spiritual flavor - a genuine, unfailing hope in the power of the gospel. Hope will flourish in the generations to come if we will proclaim to them the testimony of God, that is His word, unadulterated and undiluted. The psalms are full of references to the word of God and its power, but nowhere more pronounced than Psalm 119, where 175 of the 176 verses contain an explicit reference to the scriptures. Psalm 119 contains more references to revival than any other single chapter in the bible. The hope of the Psalmist in 119 is personal revival through memorizing, meditating and mastering God's word. Like the Psalmist we all struggle with sin and affliction (cf. Psalm 119:75, 107). Like the Psalmist we are all darkened in our understanding and need the illumination that can come only from the Spirit of God. (cf. Psalm 119:18, 34,73) And like the Psalmist we are subjected to all sorts of unrighteous voices with messages of hopelessness and condemnation. (cf. Psalm 119:42,78) To which voices will you listen? Those who say the church is dead, the future is doomed and Christians might as well concede their defeat, or will you trust in the Word of the Lord and meditate on His precepts?

We can be certain of God's promise that His Word will not return to Him without accomplishing the purpose for which it was sent. If the church will pass on to her children the testimony of God, then we will see fruit. If we withhold the testimony of God and substitute an easier, less offensive, less challenging message then we can expect to be irrelevant and powerless to impact the coming generation. Let's resolve to trust in the word of God and not the voices of our detractors. Let's resolve to call out to God for revival and trust it will come by His word. "Revive me, O Lord, according to Thy word." - Psalm 119:107

Greener Pastures

A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures... (Psalm 23:1-2a)

Our great Shepherd has purposed to lead us into green pastures where we might be nourished and comforted. I detect in that promise a sense of regular moving from one pasture to another. In a natural sense it would be impossible for those pastures to grow ever greener over time, even in small increments. But in the spiritual and therefore real sense, the pastures into which we are led grow greener as the days pass. Shadows fall over us, but the pasture of the scriptures is richer and fuller as we journey with our Savior.
Such truth is both encouraging and challenging is it not? Encouraging, in the sense of knowing that the Lord desires to feed us well with His word all our days; Challenging, in the sense that our taste for scripture is not always what it ought to be. So my objective in blogging expositions of scripture and reflections on life will be to encourage you with the richness of God's truth, and to challenge you to treasure it and to long for it especially when you are tempted to feed your soul with something else.