I am teaching a Christian Education class this summer based on J I Packer’s bestseller Knowing God (InterVarsity Press, 1973, 1993).  I have asked the class members to choose and submit favorite quotes from the book and to tell why they chose that particular quote.  Here is one of my favorite quotes which comes from the forward to the book:

The conviction behind the book is that ignorance of God—ignorance both of his ways and of the practice of communion with him – lies at the root of much of the church’s weakness today… Christian minds have been conformed to the modern spirit: the spirit, that is, that spawns great thoughts of man and leaves room for only small thoughts of God.

Why is this one of my favorite quotes? This sets the tone for what is to follow: that Packer will challenge the status quo of the vast majority of Christians and churches who are content to seek their own glory and success and keep God as a resource to be turned to in dire straits, if at all.  He challenges the status quo of the preacher that focuses on felt needs and sacrifices the truth about God’s holiness, wrath and judgment in favor of attracting the largest possible number of consumers with a distorted view of God, as the cosmic cupcake.

If you are in the class (or if you aren’t but you like the book) feel free to reply to this blog with your favorite quote and why.

Here is a link to the Westminster Bookstore if you would like to learn more or purchase the book.

Read reviews and purchase \”Knowing God\”

Today I got to the bottom of my pile of mail which had been waiting for me since vacation.  I found a really good letter from a friend in the Navigators.  It reminded me of how God takes one person’s apparent failure and uses it for good in the lives of many others.  Click on the link below to learn how a cadet flunking out of the Air Force Academy 43 years ago led to great blessing for others to this day.  Don serves as a missions leader.

Don Ned & Tork DOC080510-002

In 2 Corinthians 12 9-10 Paul explains why God did not take away his weakness.

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

What failures and weaknesses has God “blessed” you with?  How has He used them for your good and His glory?  Maybe you are another Owen Torkelson or Paul.

We received this report from Tim and Cheri Hoke, our missionaries at the African Bible University in Kampala, Uganda.  This is how God is changing Africa through the gospel.

Out of Africa: Sacrifice & Survival

After preaching on hell from the text of John 3:16 (“whosoever believes in Him shall not perish”), I met a man after the church service who told me his personal story of the hell he has experienced on earth. It made me realize once again why Cheri and I are here and how the power of the gospel changes lives.

This Ugandan gentleman is in his 40s and has been preaching the gospel in Ugandan villages for several years. When he was a nine-year-old boy, some people in his village offered him up to their gods as a human sacrifice. That’s right – a human sacrifice! Even though the local newspapers here report such atrocities from time to time, I had wondered if such things truly happen. The man did not go into all the details of his torture, but he told me that these idol worshipers had almost taken his life when, for some reason unknown to him (but not to God!), they changed their mind and dumped him off at a local hospital.

Now, please do not think of nice American hospitals, for it was anything but that. The medical care was far below what Americans are accustomed to but, wonder of wonders, the Lord spared the young boy’s life. As he lay in the hospital bed, somewhere between death and life, some Christians came to visit him. They cared for his needs and began to explain that God would help him. “I want God to help me find my family,” he told them. Gently, they replied, “We can talk about that later, but that is not why we’ve come to see you. We’ve come to tell you how you can be forgiven for your sins and have a relationship with the God who made you in his own image and loves you.”

The boy listened as these Christians shared the good news of Jesus Christ. He thought about what had happened to him and how much worse it could have been. He knew that he really could have been killed as a human sacrifice, but that God had spared his life so that he could hear this message of grace.

Realizing that Jesus had suffered sacrificially in his place, thereby satisfying the justice of God,  this young African rested his eternal future in the Lord Jesus Christ. He also asked his Christian visitors to pray that he could be reunited with his family. The answer to that prayer came a short time later when his mother was reunited with her son.

You might think that this is the end of the story, but it is not. He told me that he had held much hatred and resentment in his heart for his abductors and would-be murderers. It took him a long time to recover physically and an even longer time to heal spiritually and mentally. But he shared that God has given him forgiveness for those wicked people and that he had dedicated his life to going into villages such as his own, preaching the gospel of grace. He reported that many witch doctors are being saved and that the gospel is having a profound effect wherever it is preached.

And then he told me something that struck a cord in my soul. He had just heard me preach on hell from the words of Jesus. “Pastor,” he said, “it is vitally important that such biblical messages are proclaimed clearly throughout Uganda. There are many false cults and they lead the people astray. I am trying to convey the truth of God’s Word in the villages.”

It may interest you to know that this fine brother in Christ is an elder in the Presbyterian Church of Uganda. May I encourage you that this is precisely why Cheri and I are committed to serving the Lord Christ here in East Africa. For, if the people are not taught rightly, they will not minister rightly.

Thanks so much for your prayers and financial support and even more for your friendship in Christ; you truly are our lifeline for ministry here in Uganda. We thank God for your commitment to helping us train this African generation for Christ.

To God be the glory,

Tim

For several years Pastor Fred Greco and I have attended the Twin Lakes Fellowship sponsored by Dr. Ligon Duncan and the First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS.  In fact, Fred and I met here 4 years ago when he was still a candidate for the senior pastorate of this church so I missed having him along this year as we met from Tuesday to Thursday.  This annual  gathering is billed as “a ministerial fraternal for the promotion of church health and growth by the ordinary means of grace.”   That is a positive way of saying that we are pastors and elders who believe that our churches will enjoy health and growth by giving priority to the Word of God, prayer and the Sacraments (baptism and the Lord’s Supper) as opposed to faddy gimmicks that appeal to desires for personal success, prosperity or entertainment.

The two nights and three days in MS provide me the opportunity to re-connect with old friends from across the country, to enjoy good singing, Christ-honoring worship and gospel centered preaching.

I’ll mention some of the highlights from this week.

Last night, Dr. Doug Kelly preached on Psalm 62  reminding us of our duty to daily wait on the Lord.  Today we heard from Rev. Martin Downes, a pastor from North Wales UK, whose lecture, “Heresy Never Dies”  warned us to be vigilant because the rejection of truth leaves only limited options and thus the same varieties of false teachings keep surfacing again and again down through history.  Ministers and church members alike need to learn to develop satisfaction in the gospel.  Paul models this when he looks at Jewish culture (that looked for signs) and Greek culture (that looked for wisdom) and responded “we preach Christ crucified” (I Co. 1.23).  The gospel trumps culture.

Tonight, Dr. Derek Thomas preached from John 17.  Jesus, in His prayer just prior to His arrest, trial and crucifixion, prays that His disciples and those who would believe in Him through their word would be “with Him”.   It is truly an astounding thing to see this very practical aspect of the love of Christ for us.

Tomorrow I head back to Katy.  I am grateful for this week and appreciate the generosity of the session in allowing me time to be refreshed through “study leave.”  See you soon.

For those of you who would like to get more information on fasting as a result of the sermon last week, let me recommend a wonderful book by John Piper called A Hunger for God.  It is very readable, both because of Piper’s style, and the fact that it is only around 200 pages long.  You can get a copy for around $10 at:

Amazon

Westminster Book Store

There is even an audio book that you can get now in a download form for $5, and is ordinarily around $20.

The Christian perspective is that suffering in this world is neither  random nor meaningless.  God controls and limits it.  We are not responsible to understand why but only to keep the faith until He appears.

1 Peter 5. 4-11 says:  And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

It is refreshing to hear from someone who in the face of great suffering continues to give God the glory.

Here is the testimony of a young husband and father who is trusting God for recurring inoperable cancer.

Have you ever spent a day in prayer?  If you think that sounds like a challenge for a spiritual Rambo, I have good news.  Years ago as a young Christian, I read this article by Lorne Sanny.  Over the years it has been helpful to me in taking extended time for prayer.  Even if you think you could never take a whole day for prayer, I encourage you to read this and think again.  This could prove to be the best day (OK, or part of a day)  you have had in years.

Click on this link to see the article:  How to Spend A Day In Prayer

Mark 1.35 ESV And [Jesus] rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

In the past week or so there has been a great deal of news and commentary following a special meeting of the General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (the ARP). The General Synod of the ARP is the church court that represents the whole denomination. Elders from all over the country participate in the deliberations and voting at Synod. The Synod is analogous to the PCA’s General Assembly, which typically meets in June. Because of concerns about the direction of Erskine (which is actually two institutions, a College and Seminary), the ARP Synod passed several recommendations of a Commission it had former earlier this year.

As soon as the results of Synod became public, a flurry of activity and commentary appeared all over the internet, from blogs to newspaper websites. Then on Wednesday, everything changed when a lawsuit was filed against the ARP. Instead of merely being a matter about the internal governance of a school, the matter became a very public example of Christians suing other Christians in a State civil court. For me, that is a very important matter for the Church at large to speak to. Because of that, and because of the request of a good friend, I wrote a commentary piece on the application of 1 Corinthians 6 in the context of the Erskine situation (I say “context” because the principle is more important and broader than the current controversy).

The Apostle Paul was very concerned about the effect of Christians taking their disputes to a civil (as opposed to a church, or “ecclesiastical”) court. He voiced this concern under inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 6:1-8. This passage in 1 Corinthians has been the place where Christians have turned throughout the centuries to warn each other about the dangers of bringing conflicts and disputes into the civil legal system. This passage speaks so powerfully to the dangers of lawsuits among Christians that many have heeded Paul’s call to “rather suffer wrong…rather be defrauded” than to involve the State in disputes among believers.

Read more at The Aquila Report.

At Christ Church, one of my callings is to constantly remind the congregation of the reality of the Lord in their life, and to direct their eyes to the risen Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  We gain our meaning and see our true reality by looking to the worth of the Lord, not by trying to find meaning apart from God.  That means that the Christian life is one of constantly moving toward the Lord, seeking His will for our life, and trusting in His promises by faith.  That is what faith is – it is believing and trusting in another, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Modern (or Post-modern, take your pick) “Christianity” starts in a very different place.  It does not start with God, it starts with us.  It tries to convince us of how great we are, how worthy we are, how much faith God has in us.  This is the exact reverse of the Biblical narrative and directive.  I believe this false teaching is captured well by the Emergent Church’s poster-boy, Rob Bell.  Bell in the following video clip manipulates the Scripture to make it say what he wants: that people are so great that God places His faith in us.  He actually thinks that is the main point of Matthew 14, where Peter walks on water.  If you ever thought that the Emergent Church was not dangerous, watch this video from about 0:14 until 2:20 (after that, this Australian pastor does a good job of correcting the false teaching).

Pastor Greco’s message on the spiritual discipline of meditation yesterday was extremely challenging and practical. You may be interested in starting an orderly program of Scripture memory. One of the best I know is the Navigators Topical Memory System. I checked several online booksellers and the best price was at Amazon.

The Topical Memory System has been around for over 40 years. It comes with 60 verses on cards, a plastic carrying case to keep your verses handy, and a book which explains the program and gives tips on memorizing (and remembering) Bible verses and references. The verses are printed on card stock and come in 8 different Bible translations including ESV, NIV, NASB and NKJV. No more saying, “somewhere there’s a verse that says…”

The end goal of this system is not just to be able to quote 60 verses on 30 topics but to begin a life long habit of regular consistent Scripture memory. I heartily recommend this program.

Edit from Pastor Greco:

There is also a Bible Memorization plan that has one verse per week from the ESV.  It is entitled “Bible Memorization 2009″ but could be used for any consecutive 52 week period.  You can download that here:

2009BibleMemorization-ESV