Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Lending to the LORD

"Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD,
     and He will repay him for his deed." (Proverbs 19:17, ESV)

This is a promise we need to remember at Christmastime, when our brains quit working spiritually and buy into the lie that more stuff will make us more happy.

Instead of getting caught up in the frenzy of consumeristic madness this season, may Solomon's words remind us of the great gospel of Jesus Christ, who, though being rich, yet for our sake became poor, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Literally, the Hebrew reads, "Lender of YHWH, gracer of poor."

The verb, "to be gracious [to someone]", "to graciously provide someone with something", "generous", is often used in contexts where one of God's people tangibly shows pity and compassion on someone in need.

Let us not miss the obvious: to show grace is to be generous to those in need. Grace's fruits are tangible, practical, physical.

This is entirely consistent with the theology of NT writer James, who says,
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you [believers] says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? (2:15-16)
I also find it so intriguing that providing for the poor was a great priority of the apostle Paul. In his letter to the Galatians, a book that is all about the gospel of Jesus Christ, Paul's words in 2:10 are almost shocking, where one of the main concerns of the Jerusalem apostles was that Paul, in his great endeavour to preach the true gospel to the "uncircumcised", remember the poor saints in Jerusalem.

In a book whose one resounding note is the gospel of Jesus Christ, this almost seems out of place. And yet Paul, rather than rebuking his fellow apostles as social liberals pushing a false social gospel, says that remembering the poor was something he was "always eager to do" (NLT).

Why?

Because the Bible clearly and consistently teaches that those who have been regenerated and justified by the grace of God become people who yearn to show unmerited favor to others, especially the poor.

Those who are in Christ Jesus are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). They now bear "the image of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 5:24). They are a first-fruits of the new creation (James 1:18). Simply put, God's people are imitators of Him, people who walk in love, who give themselves up for the good of others (Ephesians 5:1-2).

Remembering the poor and being gracious and generous to them is not the gospel. But it is a beautiful picture of it. When rich Christians give up the American dream to live a comfortable and selfish life so that they can pour themselves out for the good of others, it shows that the gospel really is the power of God for salvation.

Salvation from sin, yes. But also salvation from the desires of the flesh. Salvation from the desires of the eyes. Salvation from pride in possessions. Salvation from being slaves to "the course of this world" (Ephesians 2:2) which is controlled by the prince of the power of the air (2:3). The gospel destroys the idol of finding security in the god called Money, and gives us assurance that Jesus really is enough to satisfy our deepest longings.

God's people must never be merely receptacles of God's grace, as though grace stops at us. Rather, the Bible teaches that the grace of God in Christ that sovereignly flows to us must also flow through us to others.

And so this Christmas season, rather than believing the lie that more stuff will make you more happy, believe the promises of the Bible that it is more blessed to give to those who are unable to give back.

Beloved, God is honored when we give generously to our poor brothers and sisters around the world who truly know what it means to pray, "Heavenly Father, give us this day our daily bread."

May we have the mind of the Philippian believers, who gave beyond their ability, laying up in heaven true and lasting treasures (Matthew 6:19), with an amazing return rate (Philippians 4:17), and an even more amazing fragrance (4:18).

Why? Because they actually believed that their God was more than able to supply their every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (4:19).

In the words of Solomon, they believed that God would repay them for their deed of generosity to a man in financial need.

Beloved saints, let us not fall into the materialistic snare of the Devil this Christmas. May the promises of Scripture and the glory of God be more sweet to us than all the treasures this world could ever offer us (cf. Matthew 4:1-11).

God is not a man that He should lie. He will certainly repay and reward His faithful saints. Maybe not in this life, but He will. You can count on it.

God, give us grace to remember the grace You showed us as poor, miserable, helpless beggars. Renew our minds by Your Spirit (cf. Ephesians 4:23), and transform us by Your Spirit into Christ's self-denying, others-helping image (2 Corinthians 3:18).

In Christ, the only Gift this world ever needs,
Pastor Ryan

*Recommended ministries you can give to this Christmas, that allow you to give gifts to other brothers and sisters in Christ, especially those in ministry, are:

Gospel for Asia

Compassion Ministries

Or, talk to the leadership at your local church. Perhaps you could give a special gift to one of the missionaries your church supports. There are so many needy brothers and sisters around the world. They are not hard to find. Ask the Lord to guide. He most certainly will.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

A Forgotten Strategy in Overcoming Anxiety

 "Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down,
      but a good word makes it glad."  (Proverbs 12:25)

As a regular attender of our weekly prayer meetings, I have noticed that consistently, one of the Scriptures most often quoted in prayer - especially for those who are going through anxious times - is Philippians 4:6-7, where the apostle Paul, in light of his previous statement that the Lord Jesus is "at hand", encourages the believers:

"Do not be anxious about anything,
    but in everything by prayer and supplication,
       with thanksgiving,
           let your requests be known to God.
 And the peace of God,
    which passes all understanding
        will guard your hearts and your minds
            in Christ Jesus."

Prayer is perhaps the best known 'guard' for the Christian's heart, as he or she simply and humbly (see 1 Peter 5:6-7) casts all their cares upon their burden-bearing Savior.

But an oft-neglected means of grace, especially (and increasingly) in our independent culture is a "Word" centered, saturated, and speaking community.

Jesus promised His people that there would be trials and hardships in this life. In this fallen, sin-sick world, anxieties are part and parcel of our lives. Whether anxieties for our families, our health, our salvation, our jobs, or whatever, God has seen fit to allow a steady supply of anxiety-creating circumstances into the lives of all people, His people not excluded.

When we are tempted to become anxious over the circumstances of life, of course the first thing we need to do is cry out in prayer as God's dependent, needy, and helpless children, being mindful that those who are His children are very dear to His tender fatherly heart.

And yet, as many Christians can attest, sometimes the slough of despond and bog of despair are so thick and sludgy that even this is seemingly impossible. The anxiety in the heart is of such a kind that the believer becomes so focused inwardly that his or her neck is unable to look upwardly to Christ in supplication.

This is why a Word-centered, saturated, and speaking community is so essential in our own personal sanctification. There have been times where I have been so overwhelmingly beaten down that I almost became spiritually paralyzed. I was stuck in the muck in the castle of despair. And unlike Christian in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, the key of promise was entirely forgotten in my bosom and foreign to my lips.

And then, in God's sweet mercy, a dear brother or sister, a messenger of the Lord's deliverance, has come with a "good word" for me. In God's great providence, this has brought not only emancipation from my slavery to anxiety, but has also brought exaltation from my heart to Christ. In the words of Solomon, my heart was "made glad" by another's "good word."

Only a few verses earlier (12:18), Solomon tells us that "the tongue of the wise brings healing." And in 12:26, the very next verse, he says, "One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor." Oh how often a dear saint, one of those declared righteous by their faith in Christ, has come as a faithful physician, bringing with them the great elixir of healing to guide my wavering heart back to the old, old story of Jesus and His unwavering, steadfast love.

Indeed, with the hymn writer I must confess that through prayer the Lord has often delivered me from the tempter's snare. But, in all truthfulness, I may equally confess that a good word, spoken by another in season, has often been an effective healing balm to my soul.

And so my encouragement for the reader (myself included) is to endeavor to become an active participant in a Word centered, saturated, and speaking community: not merely to receive from others the good words of the gospel, but also to deliver them.

By active, I mean not merely 'being there,' but actually participating, actually speaking, actually and actively ministering. There may be a dear brother or sister who is so engulfed in their anxiety that their weak hands are unable to grasp, let alone wield, the sword of the Spirit. They are unable to preach the gospel to themselves. They feel too unworthy or unaccepted to dwell on the good Word. This is where Christ-centered community is needed.

In our isolated, individualistic culture, we as Christians often forget that we are not alone in this battle against the cosmic powers over this present darkness. We are in a war, and yet Christ has not left us alone. If Paul needed his "fellow workers and fellow-soldiers" to cheer him up in the rainy seasons of ministry, how much more do we need our brothers and sisters in our lives? How often when my gospel shoes don't seem to fit, do I need a brother or sister, whose feet have been shod with a readiness to proclaim the gospel, to come along side me in my weakness and speak that good and heart-gladdening word in season?

May our churches be filled with those, who being filled with the Spirit, "address one another in psalms, and hymns, and Spiritual songs." Because, as Paul tells us in the same letter, when we do speak the truth in love, the body 'grows up into its Head'. That is, the body matures together as we minister to and encourage one another with Christ's life-giving, and life-sustaining, Word (see Ephesians 4:11-16).

If your church has prayer-meetings, or Sunday school, or community groups, or college and career, or youth groups, I would heartily encourage you to prayerfully consider attending one of these corporate gatherings where you can both minister, and be ministered to, with such "good words."

Because, as Solomon, says,

"Anxiety in a person's heart weighs his heart down,
    but a good word makes their heart glad."  (Proverbs 12:25, my translation)

O Jesus, our "good Word" par excellence, please gladden the hearts of Your people even this day! May we be a community of saints who bear one another's burdens, fulfilling Your great law of love.

In Christ, and for His Father's glory to the ends of the earth, through His church,
Pastor Ryan

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

That Your Trust May Be in the LORD, I Have...

As Christians, our greatest desire should be a greater trust in the LORD.

All it takes for me is to read a chapter like Hebrews 11, and I often find myself yearning and pleading and saying, "I want a faith like Abraham's. I wish I could trust in the LORD like Moses. I wish I had the courage of Daniel."

Of course I know that faith is a gift (Eph. 2:8). And yet there are ways to cultivate it. God has given His people means of grace by which His free gift is procured.

So, though it is noble to 'humbly' yearn for a greater faith, there is much more. Yes, God gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). But humility is not to be equated with idleness. In fact, in Proverbs 22, Solomon links the increased trust of a disciple with the disciple's reception and application of his "wise words."

Of course, some will object that this idea seems mechanical, robotic, and perhaps even heart-less. This concern is valid, but it must be remembered that those who belong to the new covenant have not only been given new hearts that are receptive and malleable to God's instructions, the very law of God has been written upon them (Eze. 36:26; Jer. 31:33). Put simply, those who are in Christ Jesus love His commands. John, the disciple whom the Lord Jesus loved, tells us that,
Loving God means keeping His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3, NLT)
If we love God, we will love His commands. And if we love His commands, we will keep His commands. Anyone who reads Psalm 119 can clearly see a man full of God's grace. And yet it seems that the whole psalm is law, law, law. In some Holy Spirit-inspired and mysterious way, God uses His Word, and our obedience to it by faith, to work grace deep into our lives, producing an increased trust, setting in motion a glorious cycle of blessing.

In Proverbs 22:17-19, Solomon tells us,

          Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise,
              and apply your heart to my knowledge,
          for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
              if all of them are ready on your lips.
          That your trust may be in the LORD,
              I have made them know to you today, even to you.

It seems almost too basic. No magical wands. No fluttering feelings in our viscera. No mystical phenomenon. Nope. Solomon simply lays forth words of wisdom and tells his son to hide his words in his heart (cf. Psa. 119:11a).

Paul tells us in Romans 10:17 that "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the message of Christ." Of course, the inevitable objection will be that Paul is talking about missions here. True. But as one reads Paul, it is clear that he doesn't place the gargantuan divide between justification and sanctification that many of us do today. For example, in Romans 1:16, the gospel is the power of God for salvation for all who believe. But this truth is just as true for unbelievers who need to be "saved" (justified) as it is for believers who needs to be "saved" (sanctified). "Salvation" is the umbrella term that includes all 3 aspects of justification, sanctification, and glorification. And "salvation" (including sanctification) comes by hearing the Word with faith (see also Galatians 3:1-6). In this context, increased trust in the LORD comes through letting the Word dwell richly in our hearts (cf. Col. 3:16).

So, let us with the Galatians, and let us with Solomon's son, incline our ears to the words of the wise and apply our hearts to his knowledge. If we do, they will be pleasant as our lips recite them to our wandering hearts. Such glorious truths will become like a solid dock providing deep moorings for our wayward souls.

As we "take up and read" (latin: tolle lege), we with Augustine will find the LORD slowly [but surely] increasing our faith and trust in Him. As the Word permeates and penetrates our hearts, everything will be changed. Our conversation with others will become marked by "psalms and hymns and Spiritual songs" and thankfulness (cf. Eph. 5:18-19). Our lives will characterized by joy. Obedience will become less of a chore and struggle. Those around us will begin to ask us about the hope that is within us.

Though I am not Solomon, my intention of this blog is the same: I have written it because I desire Christ's lambs to have an increased trust in Him. The more we hear our Good Shepherd's voice, the sweeter we will realize it is; the more we hear our Good Shepherd's voice, the uglier the voice of Lady Folly will become as our ears become more 'grace-tuned' (i.e. her belligerent beckonings will sound more and more out of tune with the melody of grace we are increasingly humming all the day long).

Reader, the glorious thing is that these "words of the wise" can be heard and applied everyday. Everyday your trust in the LORD can be increased. Let us then seek early the living Manna of Christ. He promises to bless those who incline their ear to His words and apply their hearts to His knowledge.

Let us then take Him at His word, resolved to draw near to Him (see James 4:8).

      "That your trust may be in the LORD,
           I have made this known to you today, even to you."

In Christ, and for His [increasing] glory in our lives,
Pastor Ryan

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

A Soft Answer Turns Away Wrath

"A soft answer turns away wrath,
    but a harsh word stirs up anger." (Proverbs 15:1)

This past Sunday we looked at James 3:1-12 in our Sunday School lesson. In this section, James reminds us just how powerful such a small instrument can really be. As a small spark can become an unstoppable and uncontainable blazing inferno; as a little dose of poison can kill; as a small leak in the roof can destroy a house, so also our small tongues have the potential and ability to cause great damage in the lives of others.

And yet, though the tongue can wreck great havoc, it also can bring great healing. The answer therefore is not merely to stop talking altogether, just like gouging our eyes out will not eliminate our propensity to lust after the things of this world.

As we study the Bible, and the book of Proverbs especially, we see the inextricable link between the state of one's heart and the words of one's mouth.

For example, in the same chapter, Solomon reminds us that,

"A gentle [literally: 'healing'] tongue is a tree of life,
    but perverseness in it breaks the spirit." (15:4)

"The lips of the wise spread knowledge;
     not so the hearts of fools." (15:7)

"The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,
     but the mouth of fools feed on folly." (15:14)

"The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,
     but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things." (15:28)

This is perfectly congruent with our Lord's own teaching regarding this:

"What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart." (Matt. 15:18)

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of the evil treasure brings forth evil." (Matt. 12:33-35)

So before we seek to apply Proverbs 15:1 to our lives, we need to understand that if we are speaking harshly to others instead of speaking gently, the real issue is that our words and motives are wrong, ultimately because our hearts are wrong.

I agree 100% that a soft answer turns away wrath. I have seen this principle fulfilled in a myriad of contexts in a multitude of ways. But before my words are truly soft, my heart must first be softened; and before I can truly speak life-giving words to others, I must first be letting these life-giving words abide richly in my own heart (cf. Col. 3:16).

In Sunday school, I likened our tongues to a tattle-tale. In grade school, it seemed that there was always a tattle taler ratting me out and getting me in trouble. Our tongues likewise tattle on our hearts. Our tongues express and make visible to others the true state of our hearts. Bitter words evidence a bitter heart. Gracious words evidence a heart marinated in grace.

Living in a fallen world, it is inevitable that circumstances will require us to make a split second decision as to whether we will speak softly and harshly. Your boss makes an unfair accusation. A foe purposefully slanders your reputation. A class mate spreads a fallacious rumour that impugns your character. Your husband comes home and accuses you of doing nothing all day. Your kids comment on how lousy supper is. Your wife, not realizing you've just worked an agonizing 10 hour day, asks you to help with supper, or the dishes, or in getting the kids ready for bed, when all you want to do is rest. Your kids are fighting again, or nagging again, or complaining again. The possibilities for speaking harshly are almost infinite.

When these unforeseen situations arise, the state of our hearts will determine our decisions. If we have been immersing ourselves in anything other than the gospel, the battle is already lost, just as a man surfing the internet with his heart on "gospel empty" will inevitably choose porn if and when it is offered. Likewise, in a heated discussion, whatever is filling our hearts at that moment will consequently fill our mouths, and ultimately fill our hearers' ears.

The solution is found in one of the most important verses of all the Bible: "Above all keeping, keep your heart." (Prov. 4:23) Why? "Because out of the heart flow the issues of life", or as the NLT translates it, our hearts "determine the course of our lives." Likewise, the state of our heart "determines the course of [or "coarseness of"] our speech."

And so this day, let us gaze intently upon our glorious God of grace. Paul says this is done by immersing our minds and hearts in the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3:18; 4:6). As we contemplate the underserved mercy that we have received from His beneficent, nail-pierced hands, we - including our tongues - will be transformed from one degree of glory to another. As we regularly renew our minds in the Scripture via the Spirit (see Eph. 4:23), we are enabled to both put off the speech of our old man and put on the new man's speech, which is created in the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:22,24).

When we truly keep the great commandment (Matt. 22:37), namely loving God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, as well as loving our neighbour as ourself, we will ultimately speak soft words that seek healing and reconciliation. As we are built up in the gospel of truth (Eph. 4:15-16), we will inevitably seek to build others up in that same truth, out of love.

When we are presented with the choice of speaking words that edify or words that vilify, there is hope, if our hearts and hopes are, in the words of Isaiah, "stayed on Thee" (26:3, KJV).

May we all seek to be filled with the Spirit, and consequently speak Spiritual words that bring healing, and not hurt (cf. Eph. 5:18-20; Col. 3:16-18).

In Christ, and for His glory in His people,
Pastor Ryan

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Poverty and Riches in Proverbs 10:1-6

Today is October 10th. Therefore, as is my custom, part of my devotional reading for the day is from Proverbs 10. Reading one chapter of the Proverbs every day has been a habit of mine pretty much since my conversion, and I would strongly encourage the reader to give reading a chapter of Proverbs each day a 'test drive.'

In fact, I would be so bold as to say that to do so is even more beneficial than eating an apple a day, which, at best, can only keep the doctor away. As Proverbs 1 makes abundantly clear, those who acquire and appropriate  and apply wisdom will be delivered from a multitude of follies and calamitous circumstances that are common to life "under the sun." My life bears testimony to this.

Not surprisingly, the working out of this principle - namely, being delivered from a wasted, foolish life through the application of wise counsel - is seen in chapter 10. Those who heed Solomon's wise sayings will not only be spared the consequences of folly, but will be richly rewarded for walking in wisdom.

As we read the chapter, we note that there is an intentional structure that Solomon uses, comparing and contrasting the "ways" of the wise/righteous versus the foolish/wicked. Perhaps breaking each of the verses in the immediate context will help us to better understand and interpret what the Holy Spirit, through Solomon, is trying to communicate to us in this section:

10:1 - A wise son makes a glad father
10:2 - Righteousness delivers from death
10:3 - The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry
10:4 - The hand of the diligent makes rich
10:5 - He who gathers in the summer is a prudent son
10:6 - Blessings are on the head of the righteous

It was not until one realizes this structure that a verse like 10:3 is properly understood. It is a maxim (that is, a general rule of thumb) that the LORD does not let the righteous go hungry. But when we see it aright in its original context, we also see the means of how the LORD sovereignly brings this provision of food about: those who are righteous are are also wise, diligent, and prudent. That is, as a general rule, the righteous do not go hungry because they are diligent workers who gather their food with prudence and wisdom. Having sufficient food is, at least in this context, one of the clearest and most obvious "blessings" on the heads of the righteous (v.6).

On the contrary, Solomon says that the LORD will thwart the craving of the wicked. The reasons are seen when we look at the context of the verses in the negative:

10:1 - A foolish son is a sorrow to his mother
10:2 - Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit
10:3 - [The LORD] thwarts the craving of the wicked
10:4 - A slack hand causes poverty
10:5 - He who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame
10:6 - The mouth of the wicked conceals violence

What causes poverty? In a word, folly (v.1). Instead of being wise and doing what is "right" (v.2) - as God commanded Adam in the garden before sin entered the picture - the fool tries to gain his treasures in an ungodly way. Ironically, the insatiable desires of the wicked are never satiated (v.3), since they are contravening the very creation order God instituted in the beginning. Instead of working hard as to the LORD, the fool's hand is "slack" - he is a lazy sluggard (v.4). Instead of making the best use of his time when the fields are white unto harvest, he decides a short siesta is in order (v.5). Rather than eating of the fruit of his labors, his mouth is filled with treachery and violence (v.6).

To put a spiritual spin on this concept of eating versus staving, as even Jesus was wont to do (see John 4, 6, etc.), we may say that the reason many of us languish spiritually is because we are not walking wisely and redeeming the time (cf. Ephesians 5:15-17). Those whom the LORD is letting go hungry have chosen to go hungry: we choose sleep over study, laziness over diligently harvesting the field of God's Word, entertainment over prayer.

We tell others that we truly crave to be nearer to God. But unfortunately, our intentions remain just that (read James 1:22-25). Instead of feeding our souls with the living manna, we fill it with the unsatisfying lies of the world, which in our day and age, is basically entertainment and technology (read: watching way too much T.V., playing way too much video games, spending way too much time on FaceBook, checking our emails way too much, and wasting way too much precious time watching braincell-killing YouTube clips that have absolutely no relevance to our lives).

Reader, are you a wise son or daughter that makes your Father glad by how you use the time He has allotted you on this earth? Are you making "righteous" decisions that deliver you from spiritual death? Is the LORD letting you go hungry? Is your hand diligent in spiritual matters? Are you prudently gathering the bounty of God's Word while it is yet summer time? Is the blessing of the LORD on your head?

May God, in His lovingkindness, draw us back to Himself in cords of love, enabling us (by the Holy Spirit) to look carefully how we live - not as unwise, but as wise. May we, who are the new creation in Christ, live in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called, and make the best use of the time, for the days are evil.

Let us simply take God at His Word, and make it our goal to return to the LORD afresh, for as the prophet reminds us, "in returning [i.e. repentance] and rest you shall be delivered" (Isa. 30:15). May we not be like foolish Israel, who were unwilling to yield to God's loving reproof, and said "No" (30:16).

Remember, the blessing of the LORD makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it (10:22). How different from all the 'blessings' the world offer us, which so often become like gravel in our mouth when we foolishly and blindly partake of them!

May the blessing of Christ be lavished upon each one of our heads, to the glory and honor of our loving Father, whom we simply want to make glad in all that we say and do. Amen.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Attending Prayer Meetings - Their Importance

Erroll Hulse writes,
You can tell with a fair degree of accuracy what a church is like by the demeanour or substance of the weekly prayer meeting. Is there genuine evangelistic concern? If so, it will be addressed in the prayers. Is there a heartfelt longing for the conversion of unconverted family members? If so, that is sure to surface. Is there a world vision and a fervent desire for revival and the glory of our Redeemer among the nations of the world? Such a burden cannot be suppressed. 
I would add, that for the most part, you can tell with a fair degree of accuracy what a Christian is like by the importance and weightiness they ascribe to the practice of prayer, including of course the corporate prayer meeting. As Solomon wisely wrote, "As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man"(Proverbs 27:19). Or, as Jesus says, you will know a tree by its fruit. Does a person make every effort to pray? Or do they find every excuse under the sun to avoid praying, whether privately or corporately? The fruit reveals the root.

Edwin Hatfield says that those who conscientiously and habitually participate in the church's prayer meetings usually "experience more sweet and pure delight in their very exercise, grow more rapidly and steadily in grace, become the most devotional, active and useful Christians, and become the life and soul, as it were, of the Church." To which Beeke asks the reader,
What about you? Is that not what you want to be? Do you support your church's prayer meetings with secret prayer and with your presence? Have your grasped their purposes and value? Do you believe that God is sovereignly pleased to tie together revival and prayer? Do you understand that the success of your minister and missionaries is intimately bound up in your prayers?
Do you realize the value of attending the prayer meeting together as a family - the value of teaching your children verbally and by example that just as your own family is bonded together by praying together, so the church family grows and stays together by praying together? Teach your children that besides the actual worship services on Sunday, no church activity is so important as the congregational prayer meeting. Train them to know that true Christians - not politicians or worldly powers - hold the key to the future of the family, the church, and the nation through the instrumentality of private and corporate prayer...If every God-fearing family in every God-honoring church around the world took the congregational prayer meeting seriously, what impact would that have around the world? 
Prayer is the normal means that God uses to shower His heavenly blessings on earth. As Beeke insightfully reminds us, though we are apt to miss our congregational prayer meeting, Jesus never does.

Beeke closes his book with the following:
We customarily record our appointments on our calendar. Will you not mark your church prayer meetings on your calendar as engagements of the highest priority for your entire family? Will you not prepare for them, and try to bring a friend or two with you? Make it a solemn duty, a habit, and a privilege to be there.
Dear friends, let us treasure prayer meetings. Let us engage in them with all our heart, remembering that revivals usually begin with prayer meetings. As one divine put it, "the Holy Spirit loves to answer petitions that are appended with many signatures."
Let us simply take God at His Word. Who can tell what He will do? As Beeke wrote, "If every God-fearing family in every God-honoring church around the world took the congregational prayer meeting seriously, what impact would that have around the world?"

In Christ, and for His glory through His [praying] church,
Pastor Ryan

P.S. I truly believe that the pathetic state of the church is due to the pathetic state of her desire to pray together. I would be surprised if even 10% of the evangelical churches in the city I live in even have a prayer meeting. We are a busy society, and we have every excuse of why we can't pray together. Yet, as Spurgeon once said, one of the most condemning verses in the Bible is, "Be it unto you according to your faith." James says, "You have not, because you ask not." Solomon says that our God hears and accepts the prayers of the upright. Paul, writing to the Corinthian church, says, "You [plural] also must help us by prayer, so than many [plural] will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many [plural]."

With so much testimony in the Word of God, do our excuses really hold up to the omniscient scrutiny of our God who "weighs the heart"? If we spent more time offering to God our prayers instead of our excuses of why we don't pray, imagine what Christ's church would look like.

Oh may God stir up the hearts of His people to humble themselves, repent, and return to Him!

For those who would like to purchase Beeke's book, it is a small, easy-to-read, and affordable book I heartily recommend. It can be purchased from most online Christian book stores, and I am certain your local Christian bookstore would be able to obtain a copy for you.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Attending Prayer Meetings, Part 4 - Their Purpose

In this short chapter, Beeke offers 15 purposes that corporate prayer meetings serve. For the sake of brevity, I am only going to highlight some of the ones that stuck out to me, as many of those listed by Beeke could also be listed as 'benefits' of attending a regular corporate church service on Sunday (e.g. fellowship, accountability, etc.).

1. Intentionally gathering together to pray guarantees that Christians engage is this essential means of grace Christ has given His church. On Sundays, we gather to hear the Word proclaimed together, to sing together, and to enjoy Christian 'fellowship.' However, praying for one another is a rarity on Sundays. This is the beauty of the midweek prayer meeting.

2. Praying together is often the means God uses to initiate or increase revival.

3. Praying together provides an important spiritual oasis in a busy week.

4. Praying together increases unity in the church. As Peter Masters put it:
In the prayer gathering, preoccupation with ourselves as individual believers slips away, and we become a group of people longing for the blessing of others, and for the prosperity of the cause. In the prayer gathering we are refined and honed as a united body of people. It cements unions, and promotes respect. To adopt a well-worn phrase, the church that prays together, stays together.
5. Praying together utilizes the spiritual life of the church for the good of all the church's ministries.

6. Praying together increases the Christ-centeredness of believers. If Christ is the answer to all of our prayers, then as we pray together, we point one another to the King of Glory, in whose Name we pray together.

7. Praying together is the best way to teach Christians how to pray. Masters wisely writes,
Believers grow in the gift of prayer as they hear others pray. They learn to appreciate specificity in prayer, passionate pleading, Christ-centered wrestling, and fresh modes of expression. Iron sharpens iron. Young believers learn from older ones, and older believers are encouraged by the sincere petitions of the younger.
8. Praying together enhances private prayer.

For these reasons and many others may we seek to gather together as churches to pray to our great and glorious prayer-answering God.

In Christ's Name, and for His glory through His [praying] church,
Pastor Ryan

Monday, September 2, 2013

Attending Prayer Meetings, Part 3: Their History

Prayer meetings have been a key part of evangelical Christianity throughout church history. It is especially noteworthy to point out that prayer meetings have been particularly influential in times of persecution and times of revival.

Though Beeke mentions many such examples of how persecution, prayer, and revival were inseparably linked (e.g. in Scotland, England, Holland, etc.), I will mention only two.

1. The great New England Revival in the 18th century

This revival was most likely the result of Jonathan Edwards' book entitled, "An Humble Attempt to promote an explicit agreement and visible union of God's people through the world, in extraordinary prayer, for the revival of religion and the advancement of Christ's kingdom on earth", written in 1747.

The reason Edwards wrote this treatise was that he realized that the revivals of the mid-1730s and the early 1740s would not reoccur until God's people engaged in earnest prayer for revival.

Edwards was inspired to write this in response to the great revivals that were taking place in Scotland, which was, not surprisingly, in answer to the intentional prayers of gathered Christians for God to revive their nation. This call to united prayer in Scotland, originally seen as a 2 year 'experiment', summoned Christian leaders and churches to unite all prayer groups and praying Christians in their nation to a common 'prayer strategy'.

They called for focused revival prayer on every Saturday evening and Sunday morning, as well as on the first Tuesday of each quarter. By 1746 they were so encouraged by the impact of their 'experiment' that they composed a call to prayer to the church worldwide to conduct a new 'experiment' that would last this time for seven years.

Edwards' chief text was Zechariah 8:20-22, where the prophet tells God's people that God's rich promises are meant to encourage His people to expect great success from corporate prayer. In Edwards' own words, "That which God abundantly makes the subject of His promises, God's people should abundantly make the subject of their prayers." He concluded that when believers persevere in united 'concerts' of prayer, God will grant a fresh revival, which "shall be propagated, till the awakening reaches those that are in the highest stations, and till whole nations be awakened."

As history proves, Edwards' treatise become the major manifesto for the Second Great Awakening in America in the late 1790s, as ministers took seriously the power of united times of corporate believing prayer. Even in subsequent generations, revival would break out in pockets of America as this tiny treatise fell into the hands of ministers willing to implement its subject in their churches.

Oh that this would be repeated in our own generation!

2. Prayer meetings conducted by C.H. Spurgeon

Though regarded as the "Prince of Preachers", anyone who has read C.H. Spurgeon knows that he was first and foremost a great man of prayer.

In the 1860s, Spurgeon organized prayer meetings at the Metropolitan Tabernacle at 7 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. every day. On Monday evenings, it is recorded that more than 3000 people would regularly attend. Beeke notes,
One evening a visitor asked Spurgeon what accounted for the success of these meetings. Spurgeon walked his visitor to the sanctuary, opened the door, and let him watch the participants. Nothing more needed to be said.
Though one of the most glorious ministries of the post-Reformation era, we must realize that Spurgeon linked the revival of God's elect not to the preacher's great eloquence, abundant abilities, or winsome character in the pulpit. No. Revival began in the "furnace room", which Spurgeon called the engine of the church. It was here where the seeds of revival sprouted, as the fervent prayers, entreaties, and supplications of God's saints were lifted up to their faithful, covenant keeping God.

It is also interesting to note that prior to Spurgeon's arrival in London, that for many years members in the church were praying for revival. These aromatic prayers were gloriously answered with the coming of Spurgeon, a young, inexperienced country boy, whom God would make His instrument to unleash the power of His preached Word and reap a great harvest of souls.

We could go on and on with examples in church history of how Christians, when gathered together for and united in prayer, saw great movements of God in revival. I hope these two samples will both whet our appetites and encourage us as Christians to make both private and corporate prayer more of a priority in our lives. We can sing and talk about revival all we want. But are we willing to give up our precious time to ask for it in corporate prayer?

As the hymn writer wrote, "Mercy drops round us are falling / But for the showers [of revival] we plead." Revive us O God!

In Christ, and for His glory in His [praying] church,
Pastor Ryan


P.S. Another noteworthy revival that should be read is the great "Business Man Prayer Revival" in 1757-58 in New York City, which would inevitably spread to many other cities in the U.S. Truly, it is amazing what can happen when God's people begin to pray together! For more info, just google it, or, you can read about it in Colin's Hansen's Book, "A God-sized Vision: Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir".

Monday, August 26, 2013

Attending Prayer Meetings, Part 2 - The Biblical Warrant

This chapter is not really a review of Beeke's chapter, since I was really uncomfortable with many of the Scriptures he cited as proof for the necessity of corporate prayer meetings. As I believe the Puritans were often guilty of, there was - in my opinion - a little too much eisogesis (reading into the texts), and not enough exegesis (drawing out of the texts).

However, despite the fact that Beeke and the Puritans read more into many of the Scriptures he cites as proof of corporate prayer meetings (e.g. Genesis 4:26; 21:33; Psalm 66:16; 137:1-2, etc.), it does not mean that the Bible is silent on this issue. In fact, as we read the Bible intelligently, we see that it has much to say about the discipline of corporate prayer, especially in the NT, where it seems to be a normative practice of what fellow Christians naturally did when they gathered together as a community.

The Bible, both the OT and NT, assumes that God's people pray. Immediately, we who are engulfed in the world we live in assume that this refers to individual prayer (which of course it does). However, when one remembers that the people of Israel were a corporate nation that did life together (much like many of the "tribal" areas of the world), prayer was not merely an isolated practice, but often a corporate form of communion and fellowship. Often, then, when people prayed, they prayed together - as families, tribes, and as prescribed by the law, they prayed together as a nation at least 3 times a year.

For example, when Jesus' disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray (see Matthew 6:5-15), it is interesting that Jesus' answer assumes a corporate setting of believers praying together (all the verbs and pronouns are in the plural: for example, we pray "Our Father", not "my Father", etc.). Not surprisingly, the early church assimilated "the Lord's Prayer" into their corporate liturgy in public gatherings and services.

Though Jesus often and consistently prayed alone, the gospel narratives show that Jesus also prayed much with His 12 disciples (e.g. Luke 9:18; John 17, etc.).

However, I think that the clearest biblical warrant for the practice of regular, scheduled, corporate (i.e. church) prayer meetings is found in the book of Acts and Paul's epistles.

After Jesus' ascension back to the Father, Luke tells us in Acts 1 that the apostles were "with one accord devoting themselves to prayer, together with the woman and Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers" (verse 14). The Greek tenses of the verbs used here emphatically tell us that this was an ongoing, habitual practice, and not a one time ordeal. When they needed to make a decision as to who would replace Judas, they did not go their separate ways into their personal prayer closets, but rather prayed together to seek the Lord's will (1:24-26).

In the very next chapter, after the Spirit had fallen on Pentecost and over 3000 people were converted under Peter's preaching, Luke again tells us that corporate prayer was normative for all the believers: "And [the believers] devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." (2:42). As in 1:14, the Greek tenses of the verbs emphasize that these were not one-time events, but became the lifestyle of those converted to Christ.

When Satan afflicted the early church with fierce persecution, the NT church met corporately for prayer until the Lord heard their cries. Luke tells us that "they lifted their voices together to God" (4:24).

When deacons were required, again their selection comes about in the context of believers gathered together to seek the Lord's will (see Acts 6:1-7).

When Peter was unjustly put into prison, the church did not merely send out a prayer chain. No, they gathered together for prayer (Acts 12:12).

When Paul and Barnabas were set apart by the Holy Spirit to take the gospel to the nations, it was done in the context of a church prayer meeting (Acts 13:1-3; note that the Greek is very, very similar to what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11). Merely asking for prayer on Facebook (which is not a bad thing of course) was not enough. They gathered together to seek God's will in united prayer. Any time a major decision was to be made in the church life, the church prayed together.

Acts 16 tells us how the first church in Europe was born in a women's prayer meeting as Lydia's heart was sovereignly opened up to the true gospel of Jesus Christ as preached by Paul (Acts 16:13-15).

Intentional, corporate prayer was normative in the early church. This is the only explanation for why there was such explosive growth in the church. Which should cause us to pause and ask, "Why have we abandoned this essential grace as churches in the 21st century?"

Finally, passages such as Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 very likely (again, plural verbs and pronouns) refer to prayer meetings of gathered churches. Other passages would include 1 Corinthians 16:19; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 4:2, 5; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; Philemon 12; 1 Peter 4:7).

If the Bible, especially the NT, shows that this was an essential feature of Christian life together, why has this foundational means of grace been neglected and forsaken by the modern church? I believe that there will be no real revival in Christ's church until the church's corporate prayer meetings are resuscitated.

Perhaps a good dose of persecution would be the best thing for our churches, as it seems that prayer was not merely a tack on for the super-spiritual older people of the church, but rather a way of life for all those who were baptized into the body of the local church. As John Piper so aptly put it, "We will not know what prayer is for, until we know that life is war."

Dear reader, is corporate prayer a must on your calendar? If not, why?

In Christ, and for the expansion of His kingdom through His [praying] church,
Pastor Ryan



P.S. feel free to read the OT passages such as Daniel 9, Ezra 9, Nehemiah 9, 1 Kings 8, etc. for national gatherings to worship and pray to Yahweh, the God of Israel.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Attending Prayer Meetings, Part 1 - The Need for Prayer Meetings

In Beeke's second section of his book "The Family at Church", he focuses his attention on the importance of prayer meetings within the local church.
"We shall never see much change for the better in our churches in general till the prayer meeting occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians."
So wrote legendary prince of preachers Charles Spurgeon in his famous address, "Only a Prayer Meeting." By "the prayer meeting" Spurgeon meant a formal meeting of members of a Christian congregation at stated times for the purpose of engaging in united prayer.

Prayer meetings in America [and Canada] have fallen on hard times. Beeke informs us that less than 10% of members now meet for prayer in churches that once had vibrant, Spirit-led meetings.

This is unfortunate, especially if the following statement by Beeke has any merit or truth to it: "the church that does not earnestly pray together cannot hope to experience reformation and revival." Any one who has read D.M. Lloyd-Jones on revival knows that revival is not something we can manipulate God into by some kind of formula. Yet Lloyd-Jones is quick to instruct us that before the Spirit sends revival to a dry and parched land, He first revives Christ's church to a spirit of personal and corporate prayer. (Also see Colin Hansen's "A God-Sized Vision", where he chronicles some of the greatest revivals of all time; not surprisingly, they all started with - yup, you guessed it - personal and corporate prayer)

If our churches are not praying, we should not be surprised that they are so dull when it comes to spiritual things. As an encouragement and example, let us realize that the Reformed churches in South Korea have experienced more revival than anywhere else in the world. Their secret? Not flashy preachers or cheesy gimmicks. Nope. They simply gather 365 mornings a year for prayer (at 5 a.m. in the summer and 6 a.m. in the winter). Wow. That's what I call glorious!

For those of us who are longing for true, Spirit-led revival (both personal and corporate), let us pray that our churches begin to pray.

In the next five articles, we will review and assess the following chapters of Beeke's book:

1. The biblical warrant for prayer meetings
2. The history of prayer meetings
3. The purposes of prayer meetings
4. Implementing prayer meetings
5. The importance of prayer meetings

May God see fit to stir us all up to a greater urgency to revisit this neglected practice, and may He, in the words of Jeremiah, be found by us when we diligently seek Him with all of our heart! (cf. 29:12-14)

In Christ, and for the glory of God through His church,
Pastor Ryan

Thursday, August 15, 2013

The Family at Church, Part 5 (Practicing the Preached Word, part 2)

How are we to put into practice what God's Word commands us to do? To answer this question, Beeke offers four more practical suggestions to help us to be better doers of the Word, rather than merely being hearers.

1. Listen carefully to sermons that teach us how to live.

Like the Bereans (Acts 17:11), we need to check with the Scriptures to verify whether what is being preached is truth. The first question we must ask is, "Is this true?"

But we must not stop there. If what is being preached corresponds to the truths of Scripture, we must go on to ask a second question: "How can I put this sermon into practice?"

For example, if the pastor is preaching on fleeing from certain sins, we should ask ourselves, "How can I shun the sins that the Word is pointing out in my life?" Or perhaps the pastor is preaching on evangelism. If so, we need to be actively praying, "Lord, give me grace to intentionally plan on sharing the gospel with someone this week."

Idly nodding our heads in affirmation and approval is not enough.

2. Ask older, more experienced Christians for advice.

After the sermon, do not be afraid to ask more seasoned Christians what this looks like in everyday life. Or perhaps the sermon was a bit confusing to you. Again, seek the godly counsel and wisdom of those who have been pilgrims longer than you.

This is one of the greatest benefits for attending Community Groups. If you are a new convert, you especially ought to take advantage of this glorious means of grace God has given His church.

3. Thank God for all you receive in the sermon.

How often do we thank God for instructing us through the preaching of His Word? Here is an encouragement to read Psalm 119. It is true that we are to be grateful for the promises of God's Word. But notice how thankful the psalmist is also for the instructions and commandments of God's Word.

Beeke confesses, "Often, I fear, we receive little because we are not grateful for what we receive." Let us then leave thanking God for the fact that He seeks to guide and govern us through His Word. What a privilege to put into practice His commands, instructions, ordinances, laws, testimonies and statutes!

4. Lean upon the Holy Spirit.

Beg God to accompany His Word with the effectual blessing of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 10:44). If this is ignored, the preached Word will bring more harm than good. As Thomas Watson wrote: "The Word will be effectual one way or the other; if it does not make your hearts better, it will make your chains heavier."

How may we know if the Spirit of God is applying the Word to us? Simply put, the fertilizer of the Word will cause the fruit of the Spirit to abound in our lives.

Beeke closes this first section of his book with the following searching words:
Are you an active hearer of God's Word? Are you a doer of that Word? Or do you listen to sermons half-heartedly? If so, repent of you sin and begin to actively listen to His Word. It is not enough for you to attend church, as Thomas Watson spoke: "Dreadful is their case who go loaded with sermons to Hell." Therefore, let us, in the words of Jesus, take heed how we hear!
The next section of Beeke's book will deal with attending prayer meetings.

May God use this for His glory in His church!

Pastor Ryan


Tuesday, July 30, 2013

The Family at Church, Part 4 - Practicing the Preached Word

Beeke goes on to unpack the Westminster Catechism and apply it to how we as Christians are not only to prepare for and listen to the preached the Word, but also how we are to practice the preached Word.

Here are some practical ways he suggests for us to become better "doers of the Word":

1. Strive to retain and pray over what you have heard

Let us, as the author of Hebrews warns, "pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it" (2:1).

"Our memories," says Thomas Watson, "should be like the chest of the ark, where the law was put." Or, as Joseph Alleine once put it, one way to remember the sermon is to come from your knees to the sermon, and then go from the sermon to your knees.

Beeke goes on to recommend, but in no way command, the practice of note-taking. His practice is to review his notes throughout the week, and to pray through them, asking the Lord to help him apply the truths expounded on the Lord's Day. Moreover, he also encourages families to take notes, from which they can compare them together and learn from one another's gleanings. Often, he says, this time is even more profitable than the hearing of the sermon.

2. Familiarize yourself with the truths you have heard.

Beeke advocates the practice of what the Westminster divines called 'the repetition of sermons, especially to one's families.' When you come home from church, speak to your loved ones about the sermon you have heard in an edifying, practical manner (i.e. not spending time having 'roast pastor', that is, criticizing/judging every flaw or mistake he made that day, or rating/comparing the sermon to your ideal 'standard'). Talk about the sermon in words that your youngest child can understand. Share some of the lessons you are learning from the Word.

Additionally, after the sermon, intentionally refrain from frivolous, worldly conversation after the message. Shallow talk about politics, sports, news, etc. is one of Satan's chief ways of sending vultures to pluck away the good seed of the Word.

During the week, meditate upon the truths of the message throughout the week.

3. Put the sermon into action

Beeke reminds us that a sermon is not over when the minister says "Amen." Rather that is when the true sermon begins. In an old Scottish story, a wife asked her husband if the sermon was done yet. "No," he replied, "It has been said, but it has yet to be done."

James 1:22-25 reminds us that merely hearing the Word but not doing it is a deceitful undertaking. The true blessing, says James, only comes in the doing of the Word.

True listening means applying the Word. In Matthew 7, Jesus says that those who are not doers of His teaching are foolish builders who build upon sand, not rock. Elsewhere, He questions some of His hearers, saying, "Why do you say 'Lord, Lord', but do not do what I say?"  This is scary stuff. Sometimes we feel that by merely repeating with our lips what was preached is enough. How often are we like the fig tree, which from a distance looked like it was 'in season', but upon closer inspection ultimately bore no fruit?

To nicely sum everything up: the Word attended must also be the Word applied.

Next time Beeke will show us 4 more practical ways to help us better put into practice what we are hearing from God's Word when it is preached on the Lord's Day.

In Christ, and for His glory through His church,
Pastor Ryan


Wednesday, July 24, 2013

The Family at Church, Part 3 (Receiving the Preached Word)

In this chapter, Beeke exhorts us as Christians to "take heed to how we hear" the preached Word on Sunday, for growth is impossible if the listener does not profit from the Word.

The four practical ways he outlines to help us better receive the preached Word are as follows:

1. Listen with an understanding, tender conscience

Matthew 13 presents us with four types of listeners, all of whom hear the same message.
  • The stony-hearted, superficial listener. Such people are at church only because 'they have to be there.' As a pastor, I grieve over those who are asleep, busy with their smart phone, who are more intent on watching the clock than listening to the gospel. Not surprisingly, such "listeners" leave more hardened than when they came.
  • The easily impressed but resistant listener.  Such people like to add religion to their life, but do not really want to hear about the kind of radical discipleship that involves self-denial, taking up one's cross, and following Christ. When the going gets tough, [true] Christianity is jettisoned for the world. 
  • The half-hearted, distracted listener. This kind of hearer tries to absorb the Word of God with one ear while thinking about business, lunch, sports, money, and anything else under the sun. Such listeners 'serve' God partially, and what is 'heard' is quickly choked by the thorns of this world's cares.
  • The understanding, fruitful listener. Such people have hearts that come prepared. They are eager not only to hear, but to do the Word. Not surprisingly, fruit is abundantly manifest in their lives as they intentionally seek to apply the teaching they have heard on Sunday to their everyday lives throughout the week.
When the preacher stands up to expound God's glorious Word, we must ask ourselves, "how am I going to listen to the Word?"

2. Listen attentively to the preached Word

Such attentiveness involves banishing wandering thoughts, dullness of mind, and drowsiness.

The reason so few listen to the preached Word with anticipation and attentiveness is that so few of us actually regard the sermon as a matter of life and death.

Therefore, we must listen to sermons not as spectators but as participants; the minister must not be the only one working on Sunday! Good listening is hard work: it involves worshiping God continuously.

All too often, many people come to church expecting to be spoon-fed; they often have no desire to think or learn or grow. For us to grow, we must come hungry, willing to exert whatever effort necessary that we might feed on the living Manna.

Finally, a good listener responds promptly - whether in repentance, resolution, determination, or praise.

3. Listen with submissive faith

Faith is the key to profitably receiving the Word. If the chief ingredient of a medicine is missing, the medicine will not be effective.

Hearing is not enough. It must be mixed with faith, or else it will do us no eternal good (Hebrews 4:2 KJV). Actually, hearing without faith has a hardening effect. "Therefore," says the author of Hebrews, "we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it" (2:1).

Let us then not trifle with the preached Word.

4. Listen with humility and serious self-examination

Do we humbly examine myself under the preaching of God's Word, trembling at its impact (Isaiah 66:2). Often we listen to sermons, seeking to apply them to others. But if we are to profit from the Word, we must seek first to apply it to our own lives.

As Robert Burns put it, let us pray that the Spirit apply His Word to "our business and bosom."


May God by His grace enable us to better received the preached Word on Sundays! May we as Fathers especially endeavour to plead before the throne of grace on behalf of our families, that they too might receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save one's soul! (James 1:21b)

In Christ, and for His glory to the ends of the earth,
Pastor Ryan

Thursday, July 18, 2013

The Family at Church, Part 2 (Preparing for the preached Word)

Beeke gives 5 simple, yet practical things Christians, especially fathers, ought to do in preparation of the preached Word on Sunday:

1. Before coming to church to hear God's Word, prepare yourself and your family with prayer.

The Puritans said that just as we dress our body with clothes for worship, we should likewise dress our souls with prayer.

Pray for the conversion of sinners, the edification of believers, and the glorification of God's triune name.

Pray for children, teenagers, and the elderly. Pray for listening ears and understanding hearts.

Pray for yourself, saying: "Lord, how real the danger is that I will not hear well! Lord, help me to concentrate on Your Word as it comes to me. Let it have free course in my heart. Let it be accompanied with light, power, and grace."

Pray that you will come as a needy sinner, ready to cling to Christ and the cleansing power of His blood.

Pray that your pastor receive the unction of the Holy Spirit. Pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit to convict, quicken, humble, comfort, and regenerate through the preached Word.

2. Come with a hearty appetite for the Word.

"Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation." (1 Peter 2:2)

A good appetite for the Word means having a teachable heart ready to do God's will. It is foolish to expect a blessing if you come to worship with a hardened, unprepared, or worldly-minded heart.

The Puritans said preparation for worship should start on Saturday evening. Just as people baked bread on Saturday evening so that it would be warm on Sunday morning, so believers should study the Word on Saturday evenings so that their hearts are warm for worship on Sunday morning.

If you know the passage to preached upon, spend time studying, praying, and meditating over it. It's amazing how the message will come alive when you have already been chewing on it for a while.

3. Meditate upon the importance of the preached Word.

The high and holy triune God of heaven and earth is meeting with you to speak directly to you. Of gospel preaching, Thomas Boston wrote, "The voice is on earth, but the Speaker is in heaven."

Since the gospel is the Word of God, not the word of man, come to church looking for God. Though you should deeply appreciate your pastor's efforts to faithfully bring you the Word of God, pray that you see "no man, save Jesus only" (cf. Matthew 17:8). Do not focus on the messenger, but the message.

Teach your children that every sermon counts for eternity. Salvation comes through faith, and faith comes through hearing God's Word (Romans 10:17). As one Puritan wrote, "The nearer to heaven any are lifted up by gospel preaching, the lower will they sink into hell if they heed it not."

Furthermore, remember that every Lord's Day you are receiving spiritual food and supplies for the coming week. The Puritans called Sunday "the market day of the soul." As the Puritans went to market each week to stock up on material supplies, so we should stock up on our spiritual goods for the week by listening well to the sermon, then meditating upon it throughout the week to come.

4. Remember that when you enter the church, you are entering a battleground.

Many enemies will oppose your listening to the preached Word.

Internally, you may be distracted by worldly cares, lusts of the flesh, cold hearts, and a critical spirit. Externally, you may be distracted by the weather, the behaviour or dress of others, even people arriving late.

Remember that Satan seeks to oppose your listening to God's Word with might and main, knowing that if you truly hear it, you will bear righteous fruit to the glory of God (cf. Matthew 13:23).

Therefore, make sure that you and your children get enough sleep on Saturday night. As willing as the spirit might be, how we receive God's Word often is strongly linked to how rested our 'flesh' is (cf. Matthew 26:41).

5. Finally, coming with an expectant faith.

Come pleading the promises of God, that because He is not man that He should lie, His promises will not return to Him void or unfulfilled (cf. Isaiah 55:10-11).

Come with reverential fear of God and His majesty.

Come, believing that He delights to show mercy and grace to those who ask. 

Some of the most condemning words in all of Scripture are when Jesus tells people, "May it be to you according to your faith."

May this not be true of us when we gather to hear and feed upon the living Manna of Christ.


In Christ,
And for His glory in His church,
Pastor Ryan

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

The Family at Church, Part 1

In this "series" of blogs, I want to offer a review of Joel Beeke's tiny book entitled, "The Family at Church."

The reason for this is because I believe that God could actually use this principle to transform the life of our church. Honestly. Really.

In an age that scoffs at and scorns anything that smacks of tradition, the inherent danger is that often in the pursuit of something fresh and new, we toss away things of infinite value and worth. One such grace that has been unfortunately jettisoned whole sale from the church is the idea of intentionality when it comes to preparing our souls - and the souls of our families - for corporate worship.

Since words like discipline and intentionality sound eerily like "legalism", we run as fast and as far away as possible, often under the rubric of "walking in the Spirit." Christ has set us free for liberty, not bondage, right? Rules and regulations sound like the antithesis of such freedom, and so, ignorantly believing the lie of the serpent, we cast away anything and everything that might lead to legalism.

By experience, I have found these principles outlined by Beeke to be extremely profitable. But even above my own experience, I want to show how biblical the idea of intentional preparation for worship on the Lord's Day is for those who call themselves Christians.

Why should Christians come on Sundays as a "people prepared"?

1. The Importance of Preaching

John Calvin often instructed his congregation about rightly hearing the Word of God. He did so for two reasons: first, he believed few people listened well to sermons; second, he had a high regard for preaching. Calvin, in agreement with Scripture, saw preaching as one of the primary means that God used to bestow salvation and benediction. For him, the Holy Spirit is the "internal minister" who uses the "external minister" of the preached Word. Thus, faithful gospel proclamation is one of the chief means by which the Spirit does His saving work of illuminating, converting, and sealing sinners.

If this is true, why do we often come to church so tired and weary, complacent and indifferent, so absent-minded and aloof, so concerned with anything and everything but the preached Word? When we come so nonchalantly to church, we do so at great peril to the well-being of our souls.

In Luke 8:18, Jesus warned His listeners to "take heed how you hear." Why? Because when we don't hear well, what is preached "will be taken away." That is scary. How many sermons we've sat through, all for naught! [notice the preceding context of how many "seeds" never take proper root in the "soil" and bear fruit]

When we 'listen' to sermons with indifference; when all we can do is but stay awake in sermons; when we 'listen' merely to critique the pastor; when our minds are wandering off to the cares of the world; when we 'listen' with bitterness in our hearts; when we 'listen' carelessly, we run the risk of having that very Word taken away from us, the way a bird devours the seed scattered by a faithful farmer.

If we are honest, we must admit that the reason we can't recall so many of the messages given on Sunday is not because it was a poor message, or because the message was delivered poorly. The primary reason we forget so many sermons is because we don't come with our "soil" properly prepared.

So here is my challenge to us as a church: let us endeavor to be more disciplined and intentional in preparing for church on Sundays. In the words of the Westminster Larger Catechism,
It is required of those that hear the Word preached, that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation, and prayer, examine what they hear by the Scriptures, receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the Word of God; meditate, and confer of it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.
For starters, let me give you two practical applications to put into practice THIS WEEK:

1. Go to bed early enough on Saturday night so that you won't wake up rushed on Sunday morning. It's hard to "worship the Lord with all our minds" when they're barely awake and we spend more time trying to not fall asleep than to feast on the Word as it's read, prayed, sung and preached. Moreover, when we sleep in, often - to avoid embarrassment - we get all worked up about not being late. Instead of devoting the morning to God in worship, our minds are elsewhere (I'm positive most of the arguments in the car on the way to church have to do with being late). If we can wake up every other day to get to work by 8, is it too much to wake up enough to make it on time to worship the Lord with His people one day a week?

2. Intentionally make the first thing you do on Sunday morning is get in the Word. Don't read the newspaper, check the weather, check Facebook or your email. Prepare your heart for worship. After setting the standard for the day, I will then try to either meditate on Scripture, or listen to God-exalting music while getting ready for church. By the way, if you neglect #1 above, #2 is virtually impossible.

Next time we will look at Preparing for the Preached Word

In Christ, and for God's glory in the church,
Pastor Ryan

Since God Withholds Forgiveness, Should We? (Part 2)

In our last blog, we saw the biblical precedent and pattern that divine forgiveness is contingent upon human repentance. Or, put negatively, God does not forgive unrepentant sin or rebellion.

What then are we to do with Paul's exhortation to us as Christians to forgive one another as God in Christ has forgiven you? (Ephesians 4:32)

The most important word for our study is "as", which can also be translated "in the same way." Simply put, our forgiving one another is predicated and patterned upon God's forgiveness of us.

Which begs the obvious question, "If God only forgives those who repent, then I am to withhold forgiveness to those who have wronged me but have not apologized or sought reconciliation?"

This is an important question. As a pastor I have had this question asked many times, and unfortunately, I have not found an adequate answer in any of the sermons I've heard or other pastors I've asked or blogs that I've read. This is because it is not a petty issue. Unfortunately, most of us have not thought through it for ourselves, and thus a simple Christian cliche is often the only 'counseling' we offer to those going through great and honest turmoil.

As Christians, we need to remember that there actually are other brothers and sisters in Christ who have been greatly sinned against. Will a cliche comfort someone sexually abused as a child by someone who may still be on the prowl? What about those who have been robbed of much money by an unrepentant schemer? Or, as is quite prevalent in our day, what is a wife to do with her husband who has left her and the kids for a younger woman?

To nonchalantly tell them to simply "forgive" the offending party can be taken as a slap to the face. Trust me, I've "counseled" people in this way, and unfortunately, rather than helping them, I've offended them by making them think that because they are struggling with anger and unforgiveness, they are the primary sinners in the equation, which inevitably adds guilt to their situation.

Now of course, I have counseled people who have become embittered and hostile against their unrepentant offenders, which is undoubtedly sin. I have met people who are still stuck in the past, and have made their identity as helpless martyrs who live and feed on the pity of others, whose conversation revolves invariably around vilifying and demeaning the offending party. Such people are living in what I will call "sinful unforgiveness", and must indeed repent of this.

This inevitably begs another question: "Is there such a thing as "non-sinful unforgiveness"? Does the Bible have anything to say about this? Are there any explicit examples of this? Or, are we to unreservedly forgive those who have sinned against us or wronged us, despite the fact they refuse to apologize and make restitution? Are we to go on living with them as though nothing has happened? Can we sweep their iniquities under the carpet, as it were, and pretend all is well?

As we think through this together, please leave some feedback or comments. This is a complex, complicated issue that demands and deserves much biblical contemplation, meditation, and application. Don't be afraid to weigh in on this subject.

Next time we will begin opening up the various texts that deal with this sensitive topic.

In Christ, and for His glory,
Pastor Ryan

Monday, June 3, 2013

Since God Withholds Forgiveness, Should We? (Part 1)

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ also forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32)
This is a glorious verse we as Christians must not only hide in our hearts and minds, but also one that we must live out in our daily lives as we press on towards the Celestial City.

Since we live in a sinful world, and since it is [therefore] inevitable that we will be unjustly sinned against, the question we need to answer is this: if someone sins against us, are we to forgive them even when they refuse to acknowledge their wrong and/or repent?  How are we to understand Paul's exhortation for Christians to forgive others "even as also" God forgave them?

The answer to this question is impossible until we first answer the prerequisite question, namely, "How was the forgiveness we received from God granted?"

The Bible makes it explicitly clear that those who refuse to repent for their sins will not - indeed, cannot - receive the forgiveness that God offers them. Perhaps the most explicit example is one of the most famous OT passages quoted so frequently in the NT. In Isaiah 6, the prophet is commissioned to preach the gospel to the rebellious and impenitent nation of Israel. The prophet's message is simply this: if Israel would but heed the prophet's message and "turn," she would be "healed" (6:10).

The word "turn" is the Hebrew word shuv (rhymes with "groove"), and in most contexts it means "to repent" or "turn back towards." Here, then, it is abundantly clear that if Israel would only "turn from" their idolatry and rebellion and "turn to" Yahweh, He would "heal", that is, forgive them (see Isaiah 53:5 for the same analogy of God's sinful people being 'healed' of their 'disease' [= "sin"]).

Simply put, unless the people heed God's offer and repent, they will not be forgiven.

This is seen in other passages, such as:
"If My people, who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)
"It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that every one may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin." (Jeremiah 36:3)
"Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." (Proverbs 28:13)
"Repent...for the forgiveness of your sins." (Acts 2:38)
Repentance is the necessary prerequisite to the reception of divine forgiveness. The pattern is pretty simple: if A (repentance), then B (forgiveness); if no A, then no B.

Our question, then, is this: does this divine equation apply to us as God's people? Do we have the right, based upon the precedent of Scripture, to withhold forgiveness from those who forget, or even refuse, to seek reconciliation with us as the offended party? Are we able to say, "Well, Paul commands us in Ephesians 5:1 to be imitators of God, and so I'm just trying to follow His example [of not forgiving those who refuse to seek it] as one of His beloved children."

Is it possible for us, in following God's example, to hold out forgiveness while withholding it?

Furthermore, we may reason, doesn't the forgiveness of unrepentant sin contradict the very gospel we cherish so much? When forgiveness is offered so cavalierly, aren't we promoting what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called 'cheap grace'? Does not such a disposition encourage others to sin with impunity?

Logically, does it not seem fair to deduce that even though God really doesn't like (editor's note: make that "hates") our sin or our rebellion against Him, He is yet willing to sweep our sins under the cosmic carpet of His forgiveness, since His greatest desire is not justice, but removing any barrier that keeps us from Him (regardless of whether we want it removed or not)? Though God 'prefers' repentance, will He settle for less?

Really, if we're honest with ourselves, do we not "outdo" God in the department of forgiveness when we forgive others who have not apologized or repented? Are we 'more forgiving' than God when we forgive the impenitent?

These are questions we need to wrestle with and ponder over until I attempt to reconcile this with the explicit NT commands that call God's people to unreservedly forgive those who have offended them, even if/when they refuse to apologize and/or repent.

In Christ, the One in whom God's sheep are fully and forever forgiven,
Pastor Ryan

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

To Do Righteousness & Justice is More Acceptable than Sacrifice

"To do righteousness & justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice." (Proverbs 21:3)
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10, which is His response to the question put forth to him by the expert in religious law.

The question, simply put, is this: "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus answers the man with a question, as He wants to demonstrate to His disciples that there is a great difference between knowing the "spirit" of the law, or knowing merely the "letter" of the law (see Paul's differentiation in 2 Cor. 3:1-6).

At first glimpse Jesus' breathtaking response seems to contradict the glorious doctrine affirmed by the totality of Scripture, namely the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

The man answers "correctly", citing the two main headings of the Decalogue (= the Ten Commandments), namely, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind", and "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Luke 10:27; cited from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18).

Now for those of us who are reformed, we are almost taken aback when we hear this, for the words of Luther and Calvin, and more importantly the apostle Paul, thunder in reply, "No, we are saved [= "inherit eternal life"] by grace alone through faith alone; we are not made right with God by anything we do, including loving God or others!" (Eph. 2:8-9; cf. Gal. 2:16; Rom. 3:21-30, etc.).

What are we to make of this apparent contradiction? Do we inherit eternal life by believing or by loving?

I believe Paul answers this very dilemma in Galatians 5:6, where he tells us that the fulfillment of the law is "faith expressing itself in love" (NIV).

Simply put: love is the expression of faith.

This accords with the teachings of the Reformers, who taught us that though we are saved by faith alone, this faith is a "not alone" faith. That is, faith in [the true] God "works" or "expresses itself in" love.

And since love has more verb-like characteristics than noun-like characteristics, love "does" things.

In Proverbs 21:3, then, loving one's neighbor, the fulfillment of the law (see Romans 13:8), looks like this: "doing what is just and right."

Going back to the parable of the Good Samaritan, the religious priest, likely going to Jerusalem to perform sacrifices for the people, failed to do what was just and right. All the sacrifices he would soon be performing would not be "accepted" or "chosen" (literal translation of the verb in Prov. 21:3) by God.

Similarly, the Levite (NLT = "temple assistant"), likely going up to Jerusalem for temple maintenance - his "sacrifice" - likewise went out of his way to avoid helping the man in need. All his levitical "sacrifice" was not accepted by God, since He "chooses" what is just and right over empty ritualistic "sacrifice."

The Bible teaches repeatedly and emphatically that only the sacrifices of those whose hearts are right are received by the Lord. Repeatedly, Solomon calls such people "the upright". They [literally] live "straight." That is, there is no distinction between the sacred and secular. They don't put on their Sunday face to make "sacrifices" to God, only to return to living selfishly from Monday to Saturday.

How often we in the church live unjustly and unrighteously during the week, only to get religious and offer up our weekly "sacrifice[s]" on Sunday!

Now it is important to note that the LORD is not opposed to sacrifice, lest we get all "social gospel" (i.e. devote ourselves entirely and only to helping others in need and [correspondingly] throw out anything that smacks of "religion"). Let us remember that God inspired and devoted a whole book of the Penteteuch - Leviticus - to this very theme.

And yet God, knowing our propensity to wander off into vain and heartless religion, is faithful to remind us that our 'sacrifices', when offered with dirty hands and/or hearts, are not accepted by Him.

Finally, in Luke 10, one man, likely one who is deemed "irreligious" by the "religious", does what is just and right. This man - a despised Samaritan - goes out of his way to help the man on the brink of death. He cleans his wounds, takes him to an inn, and even pays for any additional recovery expenses. This Samaritan was not going to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice (see John 4:20). And yet Jesus is telling us that he was living out the principle of Proverbs 15:3 more biblically than the insanely religious Jews who could "love" in word and talk, but not in deed or truth (cf. 1 John 3:18).

So this day, this week, this month, when we are confronted with either doing what is right or doing what is religious, let us remember this verse. How often, on the very way to 'serve' God, or even in the very act of 'serving' Him, God puts before us someone in great [almost always spiritual] need. The dilemma for us is this: will we pass over to the other side of the street so we can make our 'sacrifice' to God? Or will we sacrifice to God in doing what is just and right?

May God remind us who have been regenerated - and thus given a new heart with the ability to love others - that "to do justice and righteousness is more acceptable than sacrifice."

Sacrifice is good. But sacrifices offered by hands that spend the week doing what is just and right are His true delight. In fact, the very deeds of justice and righteousness are themselves a sacrifice to Him (cf. Rom. 12:2).

May God give us the grace to not lift up sacrifices with hypocritical hearts and dirty, blood-stained hands (James 3:8).

May we learn from rejected Israel, to whom God spoke, "What to Me is the multitude of your sacrifices? I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats." (Isaiah 1:11).

What did Yahweh require of them? "Cease to do evil; learn to do good; seek justice; correct opposition; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." (1:16-17)

Simply put: sacrifice without "righteousness and justice" is worthless. (Bible geeks, read esp. 1 Sam. 15:22)

God grant us a single heart to offer up such sacrifices that are pleasing in His sight!

In Christ, the Sacrifice that sanctifies and motivates His peoples' sacrifices,
And for His glory in His church,
Pastor Ryan

Thursday, April 18, 2013

The Danger of "Going to Church"

"We have thought on Your steadfast love, O God,
in the midst of Your temple.
As Your name, O God,
so Your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
(Psalm 48:8-9)

This was a favorite verse of mine to meditate upon during my third year of seminary. In fact, in the extremely small print compact ESV Bible I used at that time, it was one of the few passages that got highlighted.

As I was meditating on this verse afresh today, the Lord brought something new to me. Something extremely simple, but to me, exceedingly profound.

There is a very real possibility of being "in the midst of [God's] temple" physically, and yet not think on God's great steadfast love. We can "be there" physically, and yet not "be there" in either Spirit or truth (cf. John 4:24). In fact, I would venture to say that if we were all honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that all to often, we have been guilty many of times of gathering for the purpose of 'worship', only to have had our minds and hearts and affections far away.

The Psalmist does merely come to the temple. He comes to the temple to meditate upon God's glorious steadfast love and beauty (cf. Psalm 27:4). This implies that it is not impossible to come to God's "house", and yet fail to meditate on Him, or worse, to meditate upon something else (I.e the sin of idolatry).
 
This is the very thing that Jesus rebuked the extremely religious Pharisees for doing: "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." (Mark 7:6-7, quoting Isa. 29:13)

The question we need to ask ourselves everytime we gather as Christ's bride on the Lord's Day is this: "have we 'done church', or have we truly "thought on [God's] steadfast love"?

The Hebrew word the ESV translates "steadfast love" (khesed) is perhaps one of my favorite words in all of the OT. Though it certainly carries the tones of "mercy" (KJV), it is much richer than that, as it mingles in the ideas also of "love" (NIV) and "grace". Most importantly, this rich word carries the idea of "covenant-love loyalty" (my translation; cf. ESV, NET, NLT).

The best picture of the idea of khesed is seen in the book of Hosea, where Yahweh, Isreal's God, at great pains to Himself redeems and restores His faithless bride (pictured by Hosea's wife Gomer).
The reason why God never lets go? Because God loves His people, and has made an everlasting covenant to be their God, He pursues her - even when she is running away from His love - and reclaims the nation to Himself.

Israel, in response to this "unfailing love" (NLT), in reponse to this "loyal love" (NET), in response to this "steadfast love", is to worship Yahweh. In fact, this is one of the most reoccuring refrains in all of the OT: "Give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever."
Dear Christian, when you come to church, think much, and reflect deeply, upon God's great steadfast love, shown most poignantly and powerfully in the cross of Jesus Christ.

How often we as Christ's redeemed bride gather together, but do anything but think upon God's great khesedi for us undeserving sinners. When we do so, the inevitable result of the Holy Spirit within us, whose great ministry is to magnify the Son, will verses 10-11:

As Your name, O God,
so Your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with rightoeusness.
Let Mount Zion be glad!
Let the daughters of Judah rejoice,
because of Your justice."

Being in "the south", I was able to talk with an elderly lady last night at the airport. Though she had been baptized and had some form of religion, she really and sadly had no concept of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I could only bemoan how many of our churches are filled with such people who come to church Sunday after Sunday, and yet never reflect upon the glorious gospel of God's khesed for us in Jesus Christ.
May we, according to verses 12-13 "inspect" this gospel. May we mediate upon it, memorize it, sing it, preach it, pray it, believe it, act on it.
 In Christ, and for His glory to the ends of the earth,
Pastor Ryan



Wednesday, April 10, 2013

A Call to the Young Men in our Churches

"He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,  
but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame." (Proverbs 10:5)

For the last 3 years, Elisha has had an on-again, off-again chronic cough that keeps her, as well her parents, up at least a couple hours per night.

As I was reading my daily Proverbs this morning, I couldn't help but reflect (longingly) upon the days of yesteryear when I actually had more time to do things I wish I could do more of these days.

Things like reading the Bible for hours on end early in the morning. Things like waking up early in the morning to pray without falling asleep. Things like be able to go on a walk to meditate on Scripture whenever I pleased.

Anyone who has a family knows that families take time. Especially families with young kids. Parents with children know that if you get even an hour or two of "free me time" in a day, that's awesome.

By God's grace, when I was a young Christian, I was able to spend many, many uninterrupted hours reading the Bible in study and prayer. And I am thankful to this day that I "gathered" in my "summer years". I honestly don't know where I'd be if the prime years of my life were wasted on the trivialities that I see so many young men these days immersed in.

Statistics show that the average teenager wastes 13.2 hours per week on video games. I can only imagine that this is even higher for young men who have graduated.

Statistics also show that the average young person (18-24 years old) sends out approximately 110 texts per day. Now I know that they probably can text 10 times faster than me, but still, this is a huge waste of time.

The truth is, I'd be scared to marry off any of my daughters to most of the young men in this world. How can they ensure the sanctification of their wives by the washing of the Word when all they know how to do with their free time is play video games, text their homies, and watch YouTube clips?

Young people, men especially, understand that you are in the prime of your lives. It is "summer time", and a great harvest of free time is yours for the picking. Please don't waste it. I see so many kids "sleeping in the harvest", something that Solomon says brings great shame. Ask any married person , especially if they have kids (or a house to maintain, bills to pay, food to buy & cook, etc.), if they wished they had more time to just spend with God in prayer and the Word, and I guarantee they will answer in the affirmative. 

In the previous verse, Solomon says,

"A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich."

Are you in poverty spiritually? It's because your hand is slack. Be diligent with your time, says Solomon, and you will become spiritually rich. The promise and premise is this: "in all toil there is profit" (Prov. 14:23).

Young person, single person, don't waste the bountiful harvest God has presented you with. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7, "the appointed time has grown short." The context of that verse is Paul's advice on how single people should live in this world. He says that they should maximize their abundant free time in the service of advancing Christ's kingdom.

May God give us all grace to "redeem" whatever time He has allotted us. (cf. Eph. 5:15-16)

For those of us with less free 'me' time, let us also make the most of all the unique opportunities God has given us to minister to our children.

In Christ, and for His glory to the ends of the earth (through His church),