Tag: God

Is it revival? Test it with doctrine.

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John Piper, on the Desiring God blog, writes about the aftermath of the Lakeland revival and the need for discernment:

Charismatics will not be the only ones who follow the Antichrist when he rises. So will the mass of those who today in thousands of evangelical churches belittle the truth of biblical doctrine as God’s agent to set us free (John 8:32).

Discernment is not created in God’s people by brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance. It is created by biblical truth and the application of truth by the power of the Holy Spirit to our hearts and minds. When that happens, then the brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance will have the strong fiber of the full counsel of God in them. They will be profoundly Christian and not merely religious and emotional and psychological.

The common denominator of those who follow the Antichrist will not be “charismatic.” It will be, as Paul says, “they refused to love the truth.”

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

Our test for every Lakeland that comes along should first be doctrinal and expositional. Is this awakening carried along by a “love for the truth” and a passion to hear the whole counsel of God proclaimed?

The one question you need to ask yourself

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It would be good if we asked ourselves whether we needed something to really make us happy or are we just hoping to fill some hole with more stuff.
It would be good if we asked ourselves whether we needed something to really make us happy or are we just hoping to fill some hole with more stuff.

I came by this by way of Neatorama. Its creator made it as an anti-adverstising statement, but I think the sticker statement holds for anything. We are a consumer society and, especially in this country, we don’t always consider the question of whether we actually need something before we get it. As a Christian, I think it speaks to me as a question of whether I am relying on myself or God to satisfy my desires. Do I trust what the Bible says in Psalm 37:4?

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

And what are those desires? I think, if we delight ourselves in God, they are things that please God and bring us more satisfaction in him. Delighting ourselves in God brings us more and more pleasure, not in the earthly sense, but in the sense that we are not feeling like there is a lack in our lives. Think about how many times in your life — and I speak to this out of my own experience — you’ve gotten something you really wanted bad and then found yourself feeling like it wasn’t enough not long afterward. I think we can all picture the scene of the child on Christmas Day who opens all the presents and yet by the end of the day is bored or looking for just one more gift. So, ask yourself, do you need it?

What impresses God

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While we are soaking in the pageantry of the Olympics this summer in China, let us not forget what life is really like for the Christians there. In a great post at The Blazing Center, Mark Altrogge compares what we see with what God sees:

The Lord who spoke the worlds into existence is not impressed by our pomp and technology and fireworks. But he is impressed by his people glorifying him despite persecution by a wicked government. His eyes are on his precious sheep singing his praises behind closed doors of their homes or praying under their prison covers.

When you watch the Olympics this week, lift up a prayer for the persecuted saints in China. Ask Jesus to have mercy on them, fill them with his joy and give them the grace to persevere. Ask Jesus to bring his kingdom, the most impressive kingdom of all, to earth.

Team Jedi

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My younger brother Merv is a career Army guy. He joined the Army out of high school in 1987 and has risen to his current rank of major since that time. He has served in two wars — The Gulf War and the current war in Iraq — and has been deployed all over the world.

But calling him “an Army guy” is just not enough. This is a guy, I remember when we were growing up, who always had a great sense of humor, was a great athlete, a talented writer and actor, a musician and a budding theologian (he memorized Galatians). Pretty awesome. He is a well-rounded guy, for sure.

I don’t see him that much since he’s usually training or traveling all over the world working to keep America a safe place for people to complain about what a crummy place this (you know who you are). For me, it was a thrill to see him in June at our Brott family reunion and for my kids to see and talk to him some.

These days he is back in Iraq serving with a unit he helped train from Fort Riley, Kan. The difference this time is that he is blogging for his hometown paper, The Sulphur Springs News Telegram. His blog, called Jedi’s Blog, will recount his unit’s preparation and yearlong mission in Iraq. I think it’s great for Merv to give people a glimpse of what life is like for the guys who serve in the armed forces. Besides being a decorated and outstanding soldier, he is also a very gifted writer. This is just a sample from his latest post, entitled “Nomads”:

We are still at the adapt and survive level, so the constant hum of the massive diesel generators powering our life-support systems is reassuring. These behemoths look like they were plucked from mammoth bulldozers. It’s kind of like listening to your own heartbeat. The constant thump-thump is intriguing, but there’s a little voice in the back of your head wondering, “What if it stops?” You hope you never hear silence with the big diesels.

I have listened to guys who have served in the Middle East come back and talk about their mission. I deeply appreciate what they do, but it’s obvious that public speaking is not some of these guys’ strengths. But, without being biased, I can say that the average reader will get a lot of out of the Jedi Blog.

Take a few minutes to check out Jedi’s Blog and, then, to remember the men of that unit, the Iraqis they’re working with and the people they’re working for before God in prayer. Also, pray for the families back here who said goodbye to these men while they do their jobs.

The new ESV Study Bible

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The new English Standard Version Study Bible, coming in October, promises to be a great resource for those seeking to understand better the Word of God.
The new English Standard Version Study Bible, coming in October, promises to be a great resource for those seeking to understand better the Word of God.

The English Standard Version Study Bible will be released on Oct. 15. The word of God is powerful, and this version I believe will be a tremendous tool to help many understand it better. The following video details some of this version’s awesome features and also includes some endorsements.

You can learn more about the ESV Study Bible at its Web site. Among the things you can find there are explanations into what went into this particular edition and free downloads of sample books and chapters in the new ESV Study Bible. And, for those who order a print version, you can get a free online version of the ESV, which features resources not available in the print edition.

Staying married is not about staying in love

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John Piper has an upcoming book on marriage that is based on a sermon series he did last year at Bethlehem Baptist Church. Based on what I’ve heard of those messages, it should be excellent. In one of his messages, Piper talks of the wonder of marriage:

Marriage is more wonderful than anyone on earth knows. And the reasons it is wonderful can only be learned from God’s special revelation and can only be cherished by the work of the Holy Spirit to enable us to behold and embrace the wonder. The reason we need the Spirit’s help is that the wonder of marriage is woven into the wonder of the gospel of the cross of Christ, and the message of the cross is foolishness to the natural man, and so the meaning of marriage is foolishness to the natural man (1 Corinthians 2:14).

And because of that thinking, we are confused about what is intended by marriage. He explains in the following excerpt from that message:

Does suffering always make sense?

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John Piper, on his online program Ask Pastor John, answers the question, “Does Suffering Always Make Sense?”

The Reason for God

Does Suffering Always Make Sense?

Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology: Online

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UPDATE: The person who posted this online did so illegally. Like others who linked, I was unaware of this. My apologies. Rather, go here to see this awesome book.

What this book is about:

The Christian church has a long tradition of systematic theology, that is, studying theology and doctrine organized around fairly standard categories such as the Word of God, redemption, and Jesus Christ. This introduction to systematic theology has several distinctive features:
– A strong emphasis on the scriptural basis for each doctrine and teaching
– Clear writing, with technical terms kept to a minimum
– A contemporary approach, treating subjects of special interest to the church today
– A friendly tone, appealing to the emotions and the spirit as well as the intellect
– Frequent application to life – Resources for worship with each chapter
– Bibliographies with each chapter that cross-reference subjects to a wide range of other systematic theologies.


The best news: What can you learn from a lying, murdering, rapist?

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A lot about what it means to have a tender heart for God. Consider David in Psalm 51:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. “Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

What has led David to this lowly state of remorse? Turn back to 2 Samuel 11:2-5 to see where it started:

It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. . . . Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

And not only does David do this, he compounds his sin by bring Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, back from battle so he can sleep with his wife and thus cover up David’s sin. It doesn’t work and so David has Uriah killed in battle. It is only when the prophet Nathan confronts him that David repents.

And what is God’s response? “The Lord has taken away your sin; you shall not die.” (2 Kings 12:13). From here, John Piper picks up the story and why it matters that we should care why God answers in this way:

And, Piper goes on to show that David’s response to his sin is a good example for us to follow. Piper lays out four ways in his sermon, “A Broken and Contrite Heart God Will Not Despise.”

‘We no longer have a moral compass’

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This story has outraged many people because it shows the utter indifference of our society:

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A 78-year-old man is tossed like a rag doll by a hit-and-run driver and lies motionless on a busy city street as car after car goes by. Pedestrians gawk but do nothing. One driver stops briefly but then pulls back into traffic. A man on a scooter slowly circles the victim before zipping away.

The chilling scene – captured on video by a streetlight surveillance camera – has touched off a round of soul-searching in Hartford, with the capital city’s biggest newspaper blaring “SO INHUMANE” on the front page and the police chief lamenting: “We no longer have a moral compass.”

But is this really something so new? Have we maybe heard this story somewhere before? The point is, none of us is immune to acting this way so we shoudn’t point fingers. Instead, we should open our eyes.