Are we ready for tough times ahead?

2 March 2009 TBLeave a comment

The coddled Western world will sooner or later give way to great affliction. And when it does, whose vision of God will hold? Where are Christians being prepared for great global sorrows? Where is the Christian mind and soul being prepared for the horrors to come? Christians in the West are weakened by wimpy worldviews. And wimpy worldviews make wimpy Christians. God is weightless in our lives. He is not terrifyingly magnificent. His sovereignty is secondary (at best) to his sensitivity.

— John Piper, Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of God (13)

We don’t have to imagine as hard these days to envision tough times in our country. But tough economic times aren’t the same as tough times to be a follower of Christ. It is good to turn to Christ for comfort, but some times we need more than just comforting words. We need words of warning. There is evil in this world and it touches every one of our lives. The fact that we live in comfort in our Western world is a providence of God, but we should not look at it as the only way.

In John Piper’s Spectacular Sins, cited above, he examines how evil in our world not only fail to nullify God’s purpose to glorify Christ they — by his providence — succeed in making his purpose come to pass. And through understanding this, we can be strengthened in our own lives in the difficult times that will surely come.

The book is one of many that you download for free as a PDF onto your computer. If you still prefer to hold a book in your hand, you can purchase it here.

The evil of 9/11 and spectacular sins against God

11 September 2008 TBLeave a comment

John Piper's latest book is Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ — John Piper's latest book is "Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ"

On this day, seven years ago, terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center, another into the Pentagon and crashed another into a Pennsylvania field. More than 3,000 people died that day in an openly evil act. Our nation’s history was dramatically altered on that day.

With the thought of evil on my mind, I became aware that John Piper’s new book “Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ” has now been released. This is what it says about the book at the Desiring God Web site:

What does the fall of Satan reveal about Christ’s glory? How does Adam’s sin magnify our Lord? How does the glory of Jesus shine through in Judas’ betrayal? How is the honor of Jesus at stake in the sin and evil, the suffering and the calamities and the wickedness, which abound in the world today? In this book John Piper seeks to provide a biblical perspective on God’s sovereign and righteous governance over even the sinful acts of men. History’s greatest sins do not thwart God’s purposes to save his people and glorify his Son; they fulfill them. And being grounded in this hope is the key to “Christ-exalting strength in calamity and Christ-exalting courage in conflict.”

We see indescribably evil things happen each day in our world. There is no escaping it. When we think of these things we may wonder how God can allow it and, if so, how does it fit into his plan. John Piper recently explained what he hopes to accomplish with the book:

The aim of this book is not to meet felt needs, but to awaken needs that will soon be felt, and then to save your faith and strengthen your courage when evil prevails.

And, even though the events of Sept. 11, 2001, are receding into history, I think none of us who lived through that day will ever feel we are free from the presence of evil. And, for that reason, it would be good to understand the purpose of God in “spectacular sins.”

ALSO SEE: How Sept. 11, 2001, proved 10 truths about God’s sovereign love

Miscellanea: Piper’s “Specatular Sins,” Responding to the Poet, Pray for China, Stop Tinkering and Face God

11 August 2008 TBLeave a comment

News and notes after a long break from blogging:

PIPER’S NEW BOOK: You can now pre-order John Piper’s latest book, “Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ” from the Desiring God Web site for only $5. The 144-page book comes from a series of sermons Piper preached in 2007 at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. From the site:

“What does the fall of Satan reveal about Christ’s glory? How does Adam’s sin magnify our Lord? How does the glory of Jesus shine through in Judas’ betrayal? How is the honor of Jesus at stake in the sin and evil, the suffering and the calamities and the wickedness, which abound in the world today? In this book John Piper seeks to provide a biblical perspective on God’s sovereign and righteous governance over even the sinful acts of men. History’s greatest sins do not thwart God’s purposes to save his people and glorify his Son; they fulfill them. And being grounded in this hope is the key to “Christ-exalting strength in calamity and Christ-exalting courage in conflict.”

RESPONDING TO THE POET: Abraham Piper, on the DG site, shares an encounter a missionary doctor had with a Muslim man recently at a wedding. It is a great example of how the Holy Spirit gives us the right words at the right time. It reminds me of the sermon today at church on Acts 4 and how Peter spoke before the religious leaders.

PRAY FOR CHINA: Again, from the DG site, we are reminded to pray for China during the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games in the coming weeks. A good resource, mentioned there, is the China Games and Beyond 40-day prayer journal.

STOP TINKERING WITH YOUR SOUL: From the wonderful Of First Importance site, great words today from A.W. Tozer:

“While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves – blessed riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ, the very thing he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him.”

– A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, Inc., 1993), 85.