Psalm Immersion

Time for a good Psalm soak!  Reasons To Soak Yourself In The Psalms by Chris Bruno at TGC

Just before Thanksgiving in 2015, I was having lunch with a friend, and we were discussing how we teach our kids the gospel. He mentioned he was focusing on the Psalms since he realized the current generation of Christians might be the least “Psalms-literate” generation ever.

As I reflected later, his point hit home. For centuries faithful Israelites read, sung, and memorized the entire Psalter. Jesus likely knew all 150 Psalms by heart. For generations stretching back thousands of years, the Psalms have been the hymnbook of God’s people. Indeed, until recently, being part of the church for any length of time meant regular and systematic exposure to the Psalms.

So I decided to read through the Psalms once per month for a year. As I did, my eyes were opened to fresh depth and richness. Here are four reflections.

1. The Psalms are messianic.

From the blessed man who delights in God’s law (Ps. 1) to the Anointed One cast off and rejected (Ps. 89) now sitting at God’s right hand (Ps. 110), the Psalms tell the story of God’s people in the first person singular.

And this story finds its true meaning and ultimate fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus the Messiah. As we read the Psalms, Jesus’s sorrows, victories, and saving reign ring clear. If we are united to him, we share in all those experiences. The Psalms becomes our hymnbook and our prayers because they were first his hymnbook and his prayers.

2. The Psalms teach us God’s people have always suffered.

One of the central threads running through the Psalms is that Israel and her king must continue trusting their God in the face of suffering. Psalm 88 is the only one without a turn toward hope; it reminds us that some days will be bleak, and relief may not come quickly.

Psalm 2 teaches us that throughout history the earth’s kings will take their stand against the Lord and his anointed. He who sits in heaven laughs at everyone who opposes him, and his people will ultimately experience deliverance. This is why Jesus’s lament on the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1), is an expression of hope that God has not hidden his face, but has heard his anointed’s cry and answered him (Ps. 22:24).

3. God’s promise of redemption is not far from the surface in the Psalms.

The Messiah suffered in hope because he knew his suffering was the way God would redeem his people from slavery to sin and death.

As you read through the Psalms you’ll see repeated pictures, symbols, and reminders of God’s salvation for his people and judgment on his enemies. For example, Psalm 78 tells the story of God’s unrelenting faithfulness to rescue the Israelites from Egypt and bring them into the land he promised. Although they continued to rebel, God chose David to shepherd his people—and through the greater David, the Lord would one day redeem them.

Again and again, the Psalms point Israel back to God’s mighty works in the exodus (Pss. 18:20; 80:8; 105:37; 136:11). And these reminders anticipate the second exodus, when God would deliver his people from slavery to sin and death through the death and resurrection of the Messiah.

4. The Psalms remind us of God’s sovereign glory and call us to praise him.

The Lord is the sovereign ruler over everything: “Our God is in the heavens, he does all that he pleases” (Ps. 115:3). Because of this, he is worthy of all praise and glory.

God will redeem his people through the Messiah, and this should drive us toward worship. I think this is why the Psalms close with a crescendo that is an increasingly loud call to praise (Pss. 146–50). We encounter an almost deafening cry to praise the Lord with trumpets, tambourines, dancing, shouting, and crashing cymbals. The book ends with the summons for everything that has breath to praise the Lord (Ps. 150:6). When we see God’s sovereign glory and salvation through the suffering of his Messiah, there is no other fitting response. 

Enrich Your Life

After spending a year getting to know the Psalms better, I couldn’t agree more with N. T. Wright’s conclusion that, while we should compose new hymns and songs, “to neglect the church’s original hymnbook is, to put it bluntly, crazy.”

If you don’t know the Psalter well, try spending a month or two or 12 in the Psalms. To read the Psalms in a month you’ll need to read about five per day. Most are pretty short, which should leave time for prayer, reflection, and reading elsewhere in the Scriptures.

Even on the day you read the 176 verses of Psalm 119, it won’t kill you.

Let’s join with God’s people through the millennia and again learn to sing the songs of the Messiah.

Over 40, Under 40

I've found it a good policy to listen when Ed Stetzer speaks. Check out Ed's Does It Really Matter: How Generational Dynamics Impact Our Evangelism

How should generational dynamics affect evangelistic methods? Or we could put it this way: “How is reaching people over the age of 40 different from reaching those under 40?”

This is a tricky issue. We must first recognize that the categories are nuanced. Generally, generations are divided up into many categories such as Builders, Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. But let’s simplify and just think about the dividing line being above 40 and below 40 years of age. Let me share three points that I believe are helpful.

First, we must understand the whole idea and evolution of tolerance in the American culture. Those over 40 are much more willing to say, “There’s only one way, and if you can convince me that there is that one way, then I might be persuadable.” These folks tend to view Christianity more favorably as a whole as well, creating a bit more openness than those who are below 40.

When you dip below 40, there is a perception that not only is there not one way, but to think there is one way is intolerant and unhelpful. This posture is expressed in a number of ways. In particular, this is where a movement toward pluralism and universalism is rooted.

Those over the age of 40 tend to ask themselves, “Is it right?” while those who fall below that line lean toward the question, “Is it fair?” Fairness has been bent to mean that everyone’s way and truth is valid. Therefore, the exclusivity of the gospel of Jesus Christ is offensive.

Second, there is a distinct difference in how the two groups prefer to be engaged. Reaching folks over 40 is perhaps more effective in a large group setting with a high level of anonymity. This includes things like evangelistic meetings or crusades. Some of you remember evangelistic campaigns. People came to large-group meetings and revivals. These sorts of activities, however, have declined overwhelmingly.

This sort of ‘attractional’ outreach has morphed over time and has turned into what we generally refer to as the ‘seeker movement.’ If you are a Baby Boomer, you were not necessarily invited to a stadium, but you may have been invited to a church with contemporary music, approachable teaching, and a relaxed atmosphere.

But for those under 40, the attractional approach is much less appealing. Instead, these folks prefer relationship. An attractional-type event may play a role in their lives, but it is preceded by a conversation, a connection with a person. We may sum this distinction up as attractional versus incarnational.

Third, the generation before (those over 40) enjoyed a home field advantage. The culture in which they were reared assumed the basic tenets of Christianity. For them, Christianity is real, God is real, and people just need to get right with God.

This is in contrast to those under the age of 40, who are characterized more by a spiritual uncertainty. The milieu in which they have come of age in the United States is more complex, more nuanced. They ask questions like “Who is God?” and “Who is Jesus?”

Those under 40 are actually further away from the gospel than those over 40 because of the vastly different contexts in which they have lived. James Engel devised a scale to help us determine where a person is in relation to making an informed decision about the claims of Christianity. Due to the differing contexts, people in the United States over 40 years of age are generally closer to believing the gospel than those under the age of 40.

That said, when we look at how we are actually doing in sharing the gospel with those under 40, I think it is helpful to look at those in that age demographic who already claim to be born again Christians—How are under 40s doing in sharing their faith? The Barna Group released some research at the end of 2013 on the state of evangelism among born again evangelicals that may be helpful as we consider this issue on a broad scale:

As their report indicated, Millennials are sharing their faith more than any other group:

In fact, in answer to the question of evangelism on the rise or in decline, Millennials are a rare case indeed. While the evangelistic practices of all other generations have either declined or remained static in the past few years, Millennials are the only generation among whom evangelism is significantly on the rise. Their faith-sharing practices have escalated from 56% in 2010 to 65% in 2013.

Not only that, but born again Millennials share their faith more than any other generation today. Nearly two-thirds (65%) have presented the Gospel to another within the past year, in contrast to the national average of about half (52%) of born again Christians.

This is encouraging news indeed, and something that can help form our thoughts, strategies, and methods for reaching those under 40 and over 40 as we look to integrate the passion of under 40s into our plans.

The three factors I mention in this article aren’t the only factors, but they are major. Because of these factors, and others, it’s vital to adjust our approaches and methodologies that are tailored to whatever group it is that you are targeting. Be careful not to dismiss a strategy altogether just because it doesn’t produce fruit with one age demographic. Likewise, be careful not to assume that works with one group is a slam dunk for others.

  This article originally appeared in the Nov/Dec 2016 issue of Outreach Magazine.

How Not To Do It

If you've noticed I post a lot of stuff about spiritual disciplines, prayer, Bible reading, etc..... well, duh! These are the subjects the Lord is speaking to me about more than anything else. So here's Three Ways Not To Approach Spiritual Disciplines by David Burnette at Radical.net

Although Christians should always practice the spiritual disciplines, many choose to jumpstart their efforts at the beginning of a new year. A Bible reading plan, a prayer guide, a strategy for limiting social media, or an intentional effort to share the gospel more—all these are good things. Even if you don't like making New Year’s resolutions, hopefully you’re planning to continue practicing the spiritual disciplines in the coming year. Whatever the case, it helps to pursue them in the right way.

I want to offer three cautions regarding bad approaches to spiritual disciplines. There's much more to say on this topic, but hopefully these cautions will serve as encouragements to pursue Christ-likeness in ways that are biblical and wise.

1. Do not practice spiritual disciplines to get on God's good side.

No amount of praying, Bible reading, witnessing, or fasting—or any other discipline—has the power to change your standing before God. Those who are in Christ are declared righteous and cannot be separated from God's love (Romans 8:31–39). If we forget about God's grace in preserving us, then the result will be burnout, discouragement, or some form of works-righteousness. Striving to grow in the spiritual disciplines is important, to be sure, but it shouldn't be the kind of striving that comes from fear or anxiety. Spiritual disciplines should flow from our love for the One who has given his own Son to rescue us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). It will put wind in your spiritual sails to recall that God’s saving mercy has been lavished on you, a sinner deserving of his judgment, and that the ability to pursue spiritual disciplines is itself a gift from God.

2. Do not avoid spiritual disciplines out of fear of legalism.

While spiritual disciplines can turn into a form of mere moralism, they don’t have to. There’s nothing inherently wrong with putting forth effort to grow in godliness. Words like train and discipline aren't un-Christian. In fact, Scripture tells us to “train yourself for godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7), and Paul spoke of disciplining his body to keep it under control (1 Corinthians 9:27). We must be intentional if we want to obey Paul's charge to Timothy to “flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace” (2 Timothy 2:22). This kind of effort is fueled by God's grace, of course, but growing in Christ-likeness doesn't happen by sitting on your couch and hoping for a surge of joy to overtake you. That's not how God has designed it. We are commanded to "run with endurance" as we look to Jesus (Hebrews 12:1), and this takes some spiritual exercise.

3. Do not treat spiritual disciplines as an all-or-nothing pursuit.

Some Christians pull the plug on a spiritual discipline simply because they're not meeting their goals. They begin a Bible reading plan with gusto, but then when work gets hectic or deadlines start piling up at school, they stall out. After missing a few days, they get frustrated and stop reading altogether. But think about it: wouldn’t it be better to read through most of God’s Word in a year rather than quitting in late February? Remember, the ultimate goal is not to complete a Bible reading plan or to pray for fifteen minutes a day; those are means to an end. The ultimate goal is to grow in your love for God. Expect temporary setbacks and occasional resets, and ask for God’s grace to move forward and grow. Spiritual maturity isn’t built in a day, or even a year.

Monday Morning Faith

Where is God in your Monday morning life? What Difference Does God Make On Monday Morning adapted from Why the Reformation Still Matters by Michael Reeves and Tim Chester Via Crossway Books

Soli Deo Gloria

Soli Deo gloria, “glory to God alone,” was one of the key summaries of Reformation thought. The Reformation pushed all the achievement of salvation away from humanity and laid it at the feet of God. No one can say, “I’ve received eternal life because of my good life or religious devotion or my clever reasoning.” All the glory is God’s. In this the Reformers were reflecting the thought of Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:28–31:

God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

But soli Deo gloria also became a summary of a Reformation life. Everyday life became the context in which we glorify God. This emphasis on everyday life stemmed from the Reformers’ rediscovery of the Scriptures, for it reflects biblical Christianity. But it also flowed from their rediscovery of justification by faith.  

Good Works Redirected

The Mass had come to be regarded as a sacrifice, a reenactment of Calvary that secured the blessing of God. Since this secured God’s blessing, then the more it was done, the more pleased God was. And it was not necessary for the congregation to be present. The Mass could be said by clergy repeatedly in a mechanical way. This practice reinforces the idea that the essence of Christianity takes place away from day-to-day life. It leads to a divided world: the spiritual and the secular.

Where does the activity that counts to God take place? If we are justified by infusions of “grace” administered through the sacraments, as the Catholic Church suggested, then the activities that matter are the sacramental activities in the church. Or if we are to achieve union with Christ through mysticism and contemplation, then the activities that matter take place in a monastery. If you are keen on knowing God, then you become a monk. If you are keen on serving God, then you become a priest or friar.

Luther’s rediscovery of justification by faith swept away the impetus for such activities. God did not require religious duties as a kind of payment toward salvation. If justification is through faith, then the focus and nature of religious activity shifts radically.

So where was the best place to do good works? Not in a monastery or a nunnery. At best, the medieval monasteries had been centers for health care, education, and provision for the needy. But too often they had become a retreat from the world into a private world of self-serving prayer and contemplation. They had become the last place where you could serve your needy neighbor, because your needy neighbor was outside.

What makes something a good deed, a deed that pleases God? Medieval Catholicism could list good deeds: the sacraments and so on. However, according to the Reformers it was not the external form of an act that made it good but the faith in which it was conducted. Faith was what pleased God.

This had radical implications for how one viewed life. In the medieval Catholic world, changing a nappy could never be understood as a good or spiritual act. Meritorious acts took place in churches and monasteries. But if faith was the determining factor, then any deed could please God if done for him as an act of faith. Suddenly the context in which one could serve God had widened from the cloister and the cell to the world. The workshop and hearth were sacred places.

Reading For Others

As if I needed another excuse to read books!- Reading Out of Love For Others by Tim Challies

Reading is a solitary pursuit. You grab your book, you kick back on the couch, and the hours roll by. But even though reading is a solitary pursuit, it is not necessarily a selfish one. Reading can actually be an important way to love others. Here are five ways to love others in your reading.

Read to Grow

You can love others by reading books meant to address flaws in your character or conduct. The husband who reads Dave Harvey’s When Sinners Say “I Do” is reading to better love his wife. The woman who reads Shepherding a Child’s Heart is equipping herself to better love her children by raising them according to the Bible. The church member who reads Alexander Strauch’s Love Or Die is learning to better love his church.

Likewise, the man reading Hannah Anderson’s Humble Roots is better equipping himself to lead his family with humility, the woman reading Robert Jones’s Uprooting Anger is addressing a sinful temperament so she can respond to her children with patience and grace.

In every case the reading is done privately or in isolation, but it is done with a view to helping others. In this way, the reading is an expression of love.

Read to Understand

Another way to make your reading an expression of love is to read books that help you better understand other people. Each of us has a narrow experience of the world and, therefore, a narrow perspective on it. Reading helps us broaden our perspective by accepting the invitation into other people’s experiences.

The husband who reads Sarah Mae’s and Sally Clarkson’s Desperate will come to a sharper understanding of some of the challenges his wife faces as a wife and a mother. If he reads Kimberly Wagner’s Fierce Women he may better understand his wife’s struggle with having a strong personality. Church members who read books on pastoring will better understand the joys and trials their pastors face. Homeschoolers who read Going Public will better understand the joys and challenges of public schooling.

At a time when there is a heightened awareness of racial tensions, white Americans can read Anthony Carter’s Black and Reformed and Benjamin Watson’s Under Our Skin. This will broaden their understanding in helpful ways. And at a time when we read constant headlines about same-sex attraction and transgenderism, Christians would do well to read Wesley Hill’s Washed and Waiting or Rosaria Butterfield’s The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert.

Books allow you to grow in your understanding of the challenges, the joys, and the experiences of other people. This, in turn, allows you to grow in your compassion and in your ability to love.

Read to Recommend

Another way you can love others through reading is to become a kind of recommendation engine. Every church needs to have at least a few people who have read enough that they can steer people toward excellent resources. To do this helpfully, you will need to read widely. You will need to read not only books that interest you and pertain directly to you, but books that have little direct bearing on your life. Even married people can read a few books on singleness so they can recommend the one or two best picks. Even single people can read a few children’s books or children’s Bibles to help resource parents as they begin to teach their children about the Lord.

There is a huge ministry in the church in recommending books. Maybe you need to become that person.

Read to Disciple

A fourth way to love others through reading is to read books with people. Reading books together can serve as a simple but powerful means of discipleship. When you read a book with other people, the author takes on the role of the teacher while everyone who reads gets to be the student. Together you can benefit from the wisdom and expertise of godly authors. I have read Jerry Bridge’s The Discipline of Grace with a group of 35 young adults—one chapter per week, out loud together, followed by discussion. It worked well. I have read Tim Keller’s Galatians For You with Aileen, a few pages per day as we were able. I’ve read Os Guinness’s The Call with two others, meeting on Tuesday mornings long before the sun was up to discuss each week’s reading.

You may begin a reading group like this for mutual benefit, or perhaps primarily for the benefit of a friend or spouse. But, either way, the reading will be initiated and completed as an expression of love for others.

Read to Protect

Finally, you can make your reading an expression of love for others when you read in order to protect the ones you love. Just as there is a ministry of reading and recommending good books, there is also a ministry of reading and warning about the bad ones.

Sadly, we are inundated with books that are deeply flawed. And, equally sad, the best-selling books are often the worst of all. People in your church are being given these books or perhaps picking them up without knowing just how dangerous they are. You can love and protect your church by reading some of the Christian bestsellers to understand their appeal, to grasp their dangers, and to lovingly warn people away from them.

In these five ways the solitary pursuit of reading does not need to be a selfish pursuit. We can and should read as an expression of love for others.

Marriage and the Gospel

Compromise on Marriage, Lose the Gospel from Crossway on Vimeo.

From Ray Ortlund at Crossway 

"We must not compromise on same-sex marriage. If we had invented marriage, we could reinvent it—there would be no problem with that. We could make it whatever we wanted it to be. But if God created marriage and revealed it—if it came down from above—then it is a unique social institution. It is sacred, it is divine, and it is representative of the gospel itself. If we compromise on marriage, we will lose the gospel."

Our Cosmic Setting

"In some ways these chapters are the most important ones in the Bible, for they put man in his cosmic setting and show him his peculiar uniqueness. They explain man's wonder and yet his flaw. Without a proper understanding of these chapters we have no answer to the problems of metaphysics, morals or epistemology, and furthermore the work of Christ becomes one more upper-story 'religious' answer." 

             ~ Dr. Francis Schaeffer, Genesis in Space and Time

Things That Shouldn't Have To Be Said

“Mothers shouldn’t kill their children. Fathers shouldn’t abandon their babies. No human life is worthless, regardless of skin color, age, disability, or economic status. The very fact that these things must be proclaimed is a reminder of the horrors of this present darkness. And I hate it.”

    - Russell Moore

The Ecstasy of Crowds

Classically, there are three ways in which humans try to find transcendence — religious meaning — apart from God as revealed through the cross of Jesus: through the ecstasy of alcohol and drugs, through the ecstasy of recreational sex, through the ecstasy of crowds. Church leaders frequently warn against the drugs and the sex, but at least, in America, almost never against the crowds.

                   - Eugene Peterson

Feeling Dead on the Inside

Ever have that dead on the inside feeling? Check out and consider When You Feel Dead On the Inside: 10 Questions Every Struggling Christian Should Answer by Jedediah Coppenger

It wasn’t the first time I’d heard it. In fact, it was something I’d been told quite a bit as a pastor. “I feel dead on the inside.” It’s voiced by new Christians and seasoned Christians alike. I’ve said it a surprising amount of times. You don’t see it coming typically. It seems to just happen. The energy-intellectual, emotional, spiritual, or physical-isn’t there like it used to be.

So what do you do when you feel dead on the inside? What do you say to your loved ones when they feel this way? I’ve found that people who reflect on the following 10 diagnostic questions find the life and energy they’ve been missing more quickly and deeply than those that don’t. The way you answer these questions will determine what steps you need to take next.

How Life-Giving Is Your Devotional Life? Every Christian goes through seasons where their devotional life is incredibly life-giving and seasons where it’s a bit dry. In a dry season, you open the Bible or start to pray, but nothing seems to happen. You don’t leave more encouraged and aware of God’s gracious purposes for you and presence with you today. You don’t walk away with a humble confidence as you face your problem filled day. Unfortunately, you feel just like you did before—weary. When a dry devotional life becomes the norm, burnout is typically not far ahead.

How Often Are You Asking God For Help? Every Christian knows that they should pray, but most don’t. As they find themselves feeling more and more discouraged, rarely do they ask God for help more and more. It’s weird that when many people feel their greatest need for help, when they feel their weakest, they don’t ask for help. Is any of this true of you? If you aren’t asking for help from God, then you’re not accessing all of the resources available to you. If you aren’t accessing the divine resources available to you, then you’re looking for divine help from people and places that aren’t able to provide it—including yourself. Be on the lookout for a lack of prayerfulness as you diagnose your struggle.

How Much “New” Are You Facing? It always takes more energy to start something new than it does to do what you’ve always done. It could be a new job, a new project, a new schedule, new city, new relationship, or anything else that takes you out of your comfort zone. Too much “new” at one time raises your chances for burnout.