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.
Used with permission from Freefoto.com
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
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)
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)
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