Honor Those Who Give Their All for Christ

After giving the Philippians a further incentive to persevere in their faith by promising to send Timothy to them, Paul then mentions a second Christian who exemplifies how Christians should live: Epaphroditus. Paul plans to send Timothy in the near future, but presently he sends Epaphroditus with this letter back to the Philippians. Paul’s instruction to the Philippians concerning Epaphroditus is to receive him with joy, honoring him and others who give their all for Christ.

The backstory

Verse 25 tells us that Epaphroditus is a trusted friend of Paul: Epaphroditus is Paul’s “brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier.” That he is Paul’s brother identifies Epaphroditus as a fellow Christian. That Epaphroditus is Paul’s fellow worker identifies him as someone who works to advance the gospel. (The designation”fellow worker” places Epaphroditus on the same level as Timothy [1 Thess. 3:2], Mark, Luke [Philem. 24], and others.) That Epaphroditus is Paul’s fellow soldier indicates that Epaphroditus has suffered for the gospel.

Specifically, Epaphroditus has suffered by being “ill, near to death” (v. 27). Epaphroditus was the Philippians’ “messenger and minister” to Paul. He was the one who had delivered the Philippians’ “gifts” to Paul (4:18). And along the way, Epaphroditus had “nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life” to get the Philippians’ gift to Paul (2:30).

The reasons to send Epaphroditus now

There are three reasons to send Epaphroditus back to the Philippians immediately. The first is because “he [Epaphroditus] has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill” (v. 26). Epaphroditus wants to be back home with his fellow church members, those brothers and sisters in Christ to whom he was closest. He doesn’t want them to continue to be “distressed” on account of his illness: “God had mercy on him,” and he is better (v. 27)! Epaphroditus loves his fellow believers and wants to be reunited with them.

The second reason to send Epaphroditus back to the Philippians is so that they “may rejoice at seeing him again” (v. 28). Since the Philippians are concerned for Epaphroditus’s wellbeing, seeing him alive and well would certainly give them great joy!

The final reason to send Epaphroditus back is so that Paul “may be less anxious” (v. 28). Don’t forget that when God had mercy on Epaphroditus, he had mercy “not only on him but on me [Paul] also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow” (v. 27). Paul is glad that Epaphroditus is better, and he wants to send Epaphroditus back to the Philippians so that he “may be less anxious” (v. 28). What is Paul anxious about? He is anxious about the Philippians’ growth in holiness, Christlikeness. Remember that one of the reasons why Paul wanted the Philippians to work out what God was working in them was “so that in the day of Christ I [Paul] may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain” (2:16). Paul is concerned with the Philippians’ holiness, and that is also why he was sending Timothy later: after Epaphroditus delivers this letter back to the Philippians, Paul was sure that he would be “cheered by news of you [Philippians],” news of their obedience to Paul’s letter, upon Timothy’s return to him (v. 19). So the final (perhaps ultimate) reason for sending Epaphroditus now was for Paul’s letter to reach the Philippians so as to help them grow in the faith.

The appropriate response to Epaphroditus’s return

Concerning Epaphroditus’s return to Philippi, Paul instructs the Philippians to “rejoice at seeing him” (v. 28). They are to “receive him in the Lord with all joy” (v. 29). Because the Philippians love Epaphroditus as a brother in the Lord Jesus, they are to “receive him in the Lord with all joy and honor such men.”

And therein lies the application for us today: there are Epaphroditus-es among us. We all know someone in our church who gives their all for Christ. Maybe, like Epaphroditus, they push themselves so hard that they are ill. Not many people today, at least in American churches, “nearly die for the work of Christ,” but do believers not still “risk their lives” (at least insofar as their reputations) today to serve fellow Christians, as Epaphroditus risked it all to serve Paul? Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:40; whatever we do to any “of the least of these [Jesus'] brothers,” we do to Jesus himself. To humble ourselves before other believers and serve them, to unite with fellow Christians in the church even when we don’t have a perfect relationship with them, that is the “giving your all” for Christ that Paul is talking about. This is what denying yourself and taking up the cross daily looks like. And Paul tells us, today, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit who indwells us Christians, today, to honor those Christians who give their all for Christ by receiving them with joy and thus loving them in the Lord.

I first preached these verses in a sermon along with Philippians 2:19-24. You can listen to the sermon here.

Who’s Afraid of the Holy Spirit? A Book Review

Daniel B. Wallace and M. James Sawyer, eds. Who’s Afraid of  the Holy Spirit? Dallas: Biblical Studies Press, 2005. ix+319 pp.

Who’s Afraid of the Holy Spirit? is a series of essays about the Holy Spirit’s ministry today. Many authors build their cases from Scripture, although others come from either a historical or modern ministry perspective. These essays are important because they are written from a cessationist perspective, for cessationist believers. Cessationists believe that certain gifts of the Spirit ceased with the end of the apostolic period of writing the New Testament (ca. AD 95), and a relevant question for cessationists,  then, is “What is the Holy Spirit’s ministry today, since his sign gifts have ceased?” That is what the contributors to this book seek to answer. Below are the essays and their respective authors. My following review will focus on three of the essays.

• “The Holy Spirit in the Hebrew Bible and Its Connections to the New Testament,” Richard E. Averbeck
• “The Witness of the Spirit in Romans 8:16: Interpretations and Implications,” Daniel B. Wallace
• “The Spirit and Community: A Historical Perspective,” Gerald Bray
• “The Witness of the Spirit in the Protestant Tradition,” M. James Sawyer
• “The Ministry of the Spirit in Discerning the Will of God,” J. I. Packer
• “The Spirit’s Role in Corporate Worship,” Timothy J. Ralston
• “God, People, and the Bible: The Relationship Between Illumination and Biblical Scholarship,” Richard E. Averbeck
• “The Holy Spirit and the Arts,” Reg Grant
• “The Spirit in the Black Church,” Willie O. Peterson
• “The Holy Spirit and Our Emotions,”David Eckman
• “The Holy Spirit and the Local Church,” Jeff Louie
• “The Holy Spirit in Missions,” Donald K. Smith
• “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Scriptures?” M. James Sawyer

The first two essays I will focus on in this review are the two that most positively affected me. This first is Dr. Wallace’s contribution, “The Witness of the Spirit in Romans 8:16.” My preferred translation is the ESV, and like many other translation, the ESV Romans 8:16 reads, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” Wallace counters arguments for translating the verse as “with our spirit” as well as providing direct arguments for translating the verse as reading “to our spirit.” His arguments are very persuasive, and I believe they unlock Paul’s original intended meaning for this verse. This contribution is important to the work as a whole because it effectively argues that an important aspect of the Holy Spirit’s ministry today is assuring believers of their salvation.

The other essay that most affected me personally was Dr. Averbeck’s second essay, “God, People, and the Bible,” which I quoted in my last blog post. The thesis of his essay is that another aspect of the Holy Spirit’s current ministry is to illumine biblical truths to Christians so that their lives are transformed to be more loving both of God and of other people. He applied this general truth to biblical scholars, such as seminarians and pastors by arguing that they should not merely seek to unpack the grammatical, historical, and literary meaning of a given Bible passage, but biblical scholars should also seek to unpack the application of that passage to their audience. As Averbeck writes,

Love is of primary importance in our lives as Christians, even as biblical scholars. In fact, it seems to me that one of the most important goals we could set for our scholarship is to bring the word of God to bear upon the people of God in such a way that they go forth and love God and people better. … Not only “do we get it?” but are we keeping others focused on “getting it” by the way we do our scholarship and our teaching? (154)

While Wallace’s article on Romans 8:16 was probably the most exegetically exciting of the essays, Averbeck’s essay on the importance of “God, People, and the Bible,” to biblical scholarship, whether written or taught, was the most convicting and challenging to me personally. If Wallace’s essay most stirred my mind, Averbeck’s essay most stirred my heart.

Again, most of the essays in this book were like the ones I above reviewed in greater detail. Some, however, were more akin to the essay I review in this paragraph, Jeff Louie’s “The Holy Spirit and the Local Church.” Louie’s topic seemed somewhat repetitive of Ralston’s article (“The Spirit’s Role in Corporate Worship”), and where Wayne Grudem in his “Response” appended to the book was more critical of Ralston’s essay, I am more critical of Louie’s. Don’t get me wrong: Louie had some valid insights and a rather needed encouragement for prayer to be a greater part of a congregation’s corporate worship. He was spot-on that prayer should have an important place in corporate worship, but I believe he went too far in writing:

When Jesus chased the moneychangers out of the temple in Mat 21, he said, “My house will be called a house of prayer.” Though our churches cannot be equated with temple worship, the principle of prayer being at the center of corporate worship can be applied. If we are to have churches that have the spiritual vitality of Christ, prayer must be one of the focal points of our ministries, if not the main focus. (225)

Prayer is not “at the center of corporate worship”; from the human end, the preaching of God’s Word should be the center of public worship. Paul charges Timothy, one of the first post-apostolic church leaders, “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching” (1 Tim. 4:13). In his final letter, Paul charges Timothy similarly: “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2). Paul instructs Titus likewise: “teach what accords with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). Finally, Hebrews 13:7 describes church leaders as “those who spoke to you the word of God,” and Paul in 1 Tim. 5:17 identifies church leaders as those who “labor in preaching and teaching.” There is no mention in these verses of prayer being “at the center of public worship.” No! These verses rather indicate that preaching is the central role of pastors leading in public worship and thus the center of public worship.

Don’t get me wrong; prayer is vital to public worship! Prayer is vital in preparing our hearts for public worship. Prayer is vital for admitting our need of the Holy Spirit to apply the sermon to our hearts. Prayer is vital going from corporate worship so that we would “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (Jas. 1:22). BUT prayer is not “the center of public worship.” Preaching is the center of public worship. And I feel like Louie also unnecessarily degrades the preaching of God’s word by saying,

I used to enjoy preaching the most. I still look forward to proclaiming the word of God, but now I deem it a greater honor to lead the people in prayer. I have come to the conclusion that I would much rather have the people talk to God than listen to me. Who am I compared to God? (229)

The humility of these words is encouraging. Humility is a virtue, and I applaud the evidence of it in Louie’s life! However, I believe he went too far. Preaching that is from God’s word and communicates the point of a biblical passage to a congregation is not a man merely spouting his opinions; it is God speaking his word through that man! Notice the importance that Paul puts not only on a preacher’s personal holiness but also on the content of his sermons: “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Tim. 4:16). As Paul furthermore says in Romans 10:17, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

I heartily agree with Louie that we are nothing compared to God, but I disagree with him that prayer is more important than preaching. Further, I believe that it is wrong to say, “Either prayer is most important, or preaching is most important.” I believe it would be better to say, “Although preaching is the most important aspect of public worship, prayer is a vital aspect of public worship in preparing for worship, participating in worship, and living life in a stance of worship even when apart from other believers.” I don’t think we should pit prayer against preaching. Each has their own important place within public worship. We certainly don’t have to demean preaching in order to properly uphold and affirm the value of prayer in public worship. And don’t get me wrong; Louie made some excellent practical suggestions for how to better include prayer in public worship. I found his example of allowing time for silent prayer in response to the sermon very appealing and even preferable to some other options. I just think he went a little too far in somewhat demeaning preaching in order to uphold and affirm the importance of prayer.

That disagreement with Dr. Louie’s essay aside, this book was a wonderful read. For any of you who are interested in learning about the Holy Spirit’s ministry to believers today, this is a great book. If you struggle with the Holy Spirit’s relationship to the application of Scripture in our lives, this is a great book. But what these writers said best, they said from Scripture. Whether or not you read this book, John 14-17, Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 2, Galatians 5, Ephesians 1-2, and Revelation 2-3 are examples of Bible passages that you should read to get a better picture of how the Holy Spirit works in our lives today. Because ultimately, the Bible’s record of the Spirit’s work is what the Holy Spirit himself inspired (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21).

“You Are Serving the Lord Christ”

Summer soon will be over, and we will return to our normal schedules. The rest and relaxation of summer break (even if only a one- or two-week vacation) will give way once more to “the daily grind.” As with all things, the Bible gives us God’s word to bear upon this aspect of life. Through Paul in Colossians 3:23-24, the Holy Spirit says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

This passage teaches that as we Christians work our “real-world” jobs (for kids and youth, this corresponds to school), we are actually “serving the Lord Christ.” He is our boss even more than our supervisor, manager, or teacher is! It is only sensible, then, to “work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” Furthermore, Paul teaches “that from the Lord [we] will receive the inheritance.” The inheritance to which Paul here refers is eternal life in heaven with God; as he writes earlier in Colossians, the Father “has qualified [us] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light,” which is to be moved “from the domain of darkness … to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (1:12-13).

In applying these texts from Colossians to our daily lives as believers, we ought to “work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance,” which is deliverance into God’s eternal kingdom, “as your reward.” Students, this means do your best in school. Do your homework faithfully and don’t cheat on tests. Use the intelligence that God has given you, and seek to increase your knowledge by paying attention in class and by studying your books diligently. Adults, this means to do your best at whatever work you do because all work is a calling from God, if you are a Christian.

Martin Luther understood this and had this to say on the matter: “A cobbler, a smith, a farmer, each has the work and office of his trade, and yet they are all alike consecrated priests and bishops, and every one by means of his own work or office must benefit and serve every other, that in this way many kinds of work may be done for the bodily and spiritual welfare of the community, even as all the members of the body serve one another.” So, Christian, whether at work in an office, factory, field, or classroom, work to the glory of God in Christ Jesus, for he will reward you in heaven—not because of the work you do on earth but because you are his child.

This post was originally written for the Calvary Baptist Church August 2011 Newsletter, which will be released this Sunday, July 31, 2011, prior to morning worship.

Should Sermons Be “Relevant”?

Is relevance good, a necessary evil, or altogether abominable? Based on the proliferation of sermons that are not based on what the Bible actually says, some preachers would say that relevance is altogether abominable. But relevance is not the problem; it is not inherently bad. Rather, relevance must be determined by the Bible. As Graeme Goldsworthy writes in his book, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture: “Since it is the gospel that, by revelation, shows us the real nature of our human problem as well as God’s answer to it, relevance has to be assessed by the gospel” (61). Goldsworthy later concedes, “There is nothing wrong” with addressing commonly felt needs, but “unless the felt problem is then redefined by the gospel, we are in danger of reducing the Christian message to a pragmatic one of helping us feel better or make the world a better place to live in” (62). Some may take umbrage at Goldsworthy’s words, objecting, “Shouldn’t we want people to feel better? Shouldn’t we want the world to be a better place to live in?” The answer to these questions is yes, but as Goldsworthy notes, such goals must be worked toward under the greater and dominant goal of faithfully proclaiming the gospel.

Even those who object to Goldsworthy’s comments must admit that the gospel makes people feel better in an ultimate way; a saved person, by the gospel, knows that he or she is a child of God for all eternity! What can make a person feel better than the grace that God offers in Christ? Likewise, the gospel makes the world a much better place to live in, not by magically suddenly erasing all the world’s ills the moment a person is converted, but by giving the converted person hope in a renewed world that will come at the end of time. Unsaved people have no hope of ever making the world truly better; any solution for the “betterment” of the world apart from the gospel is actually hopeless; man-made solutions will only perish. In fact, the redemption of creation cannot happen until the end of time. As Paul writes in Romans 8:20-21, “For creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Creation will be recreated as our bodies are raised immortal, at the return of Christ (1 Thess. 4:13-18).

So, from Goldsworthy’s analysis, in what way should sermons be relevant? Sermons should show people “the real nature of our human problem as well as God’s answer to it.” In short, a relevant sermon shows from Scripture that people need salvation and that this salvation is found only in the person and work of Christ Jesus our Lord. Should sermons be relevant? Yes. Sermons should be relevant by presenting the gospel and by showing how the gospel affects every aspects of a Christian’s life. Relevance is not achieved by preaching to felt needs; relevance is achieved by preaching the gospel to people and showing them from Scripture how the gospel answers their every need.

Don’t Fear People – Love Jesus!

Update: The day after I posted this blog, John Piper posted a blog concerning this issue. His take on “the new calamity” is fresh and insightful. I’d highly recommend it to all of you.

Last Friday, New York became the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Its Senate voted 33-29 in favor of the measure, and Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law shortly thereafter. As Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, notes, this means that fully one out of every nine Americans lives in a place where same sex marriage is “the law of the land,” and if California’s Proposition 8 is ultimately declared unconstiutional, then over 33 percent of Americans will live in such a place.

Later in the same article, Dr. Mohler has this further analysis:

One of the lessons learned in this sad spectacle is the fact that enough Republican senators changed their positions on the issue under intense pressure, thus enabling the passage of the legislation. The same was true for the minority of Democratic senators who had previously voted against the measure. One of these, Carl Kruger, changed his vote because the nephew of the woman Kruger lives with was so outraged over the issue that he had cut the couple off from an ongoing relationship. “I don’t need this,” the Senator told a colleague, “It has gotten personal now.”

Well, of course it has. But what this statement really means is that many Americans, including many in the political class, simply fold their moral convictions when they conflict with the lifestyles or convictions of a friend or relative.

The above reminded me of a passage in Matthew where Jesus says that Christians should not “simply fold their moral convictions” in the face of relational adversity on the human level. To quote Christ directly:

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (10:34-39)

Carl Kruger is no Christian (he is Jewish), but we Christians should learn from this situation. We must remember that we must not allow cultural pressure to overcome our biblical convictions. And as I have already written in a previous blog from almost a full year ago, the Bible teaches that homosexuality is wrong. So we must not allow those around us to scare us into backing off from our convictions.

There are those who may say, “But Jesus’ own words here are that ‘those who do not love me more than they love their parents are not worthy of me.’ And aren’t we all unworthy of Christ?” Yes, those are Jesus’ own words, but we must allow context to protect us from avoiding a text’s unpopular, though valid, application. How does Jesus conclude this paragraph? “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” So to be unworthy of Jesus (to use this passage’s language) is to lose one’s life from finding life outside of Christ. This is the clear teaching of Scripture (Acts 4:10-12, et al).

To find life outside of Christ is to not love him supremely. To find life outside of Christ is to love father or mother or wife or children more than you love Christ. True faith in Christ includes an all-surpassing love for him that exceeds your love for all others. And let us not forget the Holy Spirit’s words in 1 John 4:18. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” If we truly love Christ, that love will overcome any fear of the people around us who support the legalization of same sex marriage. (And we all know at least someone who supports it.) Let us not be like Carl Kruger, an unbeliever who goes against his previous votes against same-sex marriage “because the nephew of the woman [he] lives with was so outraged over the issue that he had cut the couple off from an ongoing relationship.” (There is also the grievous evil of cohabitation in this situation, but that’s another post for another day.)

Fellow Christian, by the grace of the Holy Spirit of God who empowers you to persevere, keep finding your life in Christ, and don’t be afraid to stand by the increasingly unpopular conviction that homosexuality is wrong. Love Christ more than you love (or is it fear?) those around you who condone homosexuality by advocating for same-sex marriage.

February Sermons

Happy February, everyone! Yes, the month is almost gone, and I’m sure we’re all keeping very busy. (I am, as evidenced by the fact that I haven’t posted anything in over a month!) Thankfully, there are other blogs out there for you to read that should help you “set your minds on things that are above,” and many of them are linked to on the right hand side of your computer screen. (A few are The Gospel Coalition’s blogs and Dr. Mohler’s blog.) By way of updates, I have two new sermons posted on my podcast. The first is a sermon on 1 Timothy 3, dealing with being a pillar and buttress of the truth in our churches. The second is a sermon on John 17:20-26, looking at the love that Jesus wills for us in his high priestly prayer.

I hope you are all having a wonderful 2011! May God bless you all with more experiential knowledge of himself as the year goes on!

Advent: A Time for Joy

We at Calvary Baptist Church are celebrating the Advent in the weeks leading up to Christmas Day. This past Sunday was the third Sunday in Advent, Gaudete Sunday, the Sunday of Rejoicing. Bro. Blake invited me to preach the sermon that morning, and he gave me John the Baptist as my subject from Luke 3:1-20. You can listen to that sermon in its entirety here. Below is an outline of this past Sunday’s sermon:

1. Luke 3:1-6. Contextually, the gospel comes at the time when Israel is under Roman rule.
2. Luke 3:7-9. Before we hear the good news of the gospel, we must first hear the bad news about our sin and the punishment we deserve—the punishment we will receive if we remain apart from Christ.
3. Luke 3:8a, 10-14. The response to the gospel is to repent and to then “bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” The three fruits that John the Baptist mentions are generosity, honesty, and contentment.
4. Luke 3:15-16a. The gospel according to John the Baptist is not about him; it is about Jesus Christ.
5. Luke 3:16b-17. Jesus Christ is both Savior and Judge. He both saves people and casts people into hell.
6. Luke 3:18-20. The gospel will cost us our lives, if not physically, then spiritually, in that we must die to sin and live to God.

How will you respond to the gospel?

• “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance”
• Give generously
• Be honest
• “Be content with your wages”
• Witness boldly for Christ (Matthew 10:24-39)
• Count the cost of following Christ if you do not yet know him (Luke 14:26-33)
• “Repent and believe in the gospel” for the first time and thus be saved (Mark 1:15)

May everyone continue having a blessed Christmas season as we celebrate the fact that our Savior came to this earth to live a perfect life, die in our place, and be raised for our justification so that we would be saved from our sins!

The Importance of Investing in Your Children’s (Daughters’) Lives

I first heard this song on the radio shortly before Father’s Day, but Sanctus Real’s song, “Lead Me,” captivated me around the same time, and I forgot about this song. I heard this song again a couple of months ago on the radio and absolutely loved it and its message. This Wednesday, I heard it on the radio, and then they told me its title and songwriter/singer! Below is “Like That” by Eric Greene. He’s the Executive Music and Worship Director at The Summit Church of Birmingham in Trussville, AL.

 

Did you notice that last rendition of the chorus?

Won’t you pray with her?
Daddy, please stay with her,
And be there to hold her close when she’s afraid.
And 25 years from now, she will remember just how
It feels to know that her daddy loves her like that.
It means everything for you, Dad, to love her like that.

Eric Greene gets his lyrics from Scripture. God through Solomon in Proverbs 22:6 commands and promises: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” In Deuteronomy 6:6-7, God commands through Moses: “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” In other words, parents are to raise their children in the Lord continually. Or, as Paul says in Ephesians 6:3, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

Parents, Church is a wonderful thing. Sermons are wonderful things. Both of these are commanded and ordained in Scripture, but God doesn’t want half-hearted, hypocritical obedience. The time we spend in church each week maybe amounts to 1/28th of our weekly time, and that is a very generous estimate of the time we spend singing worship songs and listening to sermons. Let me ask you: do you really think that giving God 1/28th of our time will lead to lives of godliness? No. Could God use that? Yes. But as he uses it, that time with him would by necessity increase! As many have said before me, “God loves us enough to take us as we are, but he loves us too much to leave us as we are.” God changes us. God conforms us to the image of his Son if we are truly his (Romans 8:29). Parents, God has ordained that you be the primary instrument of his grace to your children. Your children are your “heritage from the Lord” (Psalm 127:3).

Parents, when you stand before God and give an account of your life, what will your account look like regarding your children? Will our Lord say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21)? Or will you only be able to say, “I’ve wasted it. I’ve wasted it”?

As John Piper says, “Don’t waste your life.” I’m telling you, Don’t waste your children. Your salvation does not guarantee theirs. But God will use your faithfulness in discipling them in order to draw them to himself. “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Or as Eric Greene sings: “25 years from now, she will remember just how it feels to know that her daddy loves her like that.”

Dads, it really does mean everything for you to love your children enough to pray with them, to stay with them, to hold them close when they’re afraid. You can never be perfect in this life, as the heavenly Father is perfect; but God calls you to be holy, even as he is holy. Show your kids the Father’s love. Pray with them, stay with them, be there for them. Love your children enough to invest in their life.

On just a personal note as an illustration, some of my fondest childhood memories are of going to play golf with my dad. He’s invested in my life (so has Mom, but this post is about fathers, primarily). He’s prayed with me before; he’s stayed with me in sicknesses and literally held me as I’ve gone through some particularly hard physical ailments (debilitating headaches and wisdom teeth surgery in particular, both this past spring). And that means the world to me. God shows us himself through his Word, the Bible … but dads, he’ll also show himself to your daughters—and your sons, as I can affirm—if you will show them his love by your actions. It means everything for you to invest in your children’s (daughters’) lives.

Persecution!

Sayed Mossa is a recent Christian convert in Afghanistan. He was arrested at the end of May for his faith in Christ. He has recently smuggled a handwritten letter from prison. Please read this letter below and pray for Sayed. He has a wife and numerous children, at least one of whom is disabled. JD Greear has other suggestions of how we American Christians can help our brother Sayed at his blog. Below is Sayed’s letter to us:

 

The above images were taken from persecution.org. Not everyone in this world has it as easy as we do in America. Please fellow Christians here, “set your minds on things that are above,” and pray for our brother Sayed Mossa, that our Lord would strengthen him in his imprisonment and release him if it be His gracious will.

Celebration of Life Video

For those of you who did not attend Christian Schmidt’s Celebration of Life November 7, 2010, the video is below.

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/16845911?portrait=0" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/16845911">Celebration of the Life of Christian Schmidt</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3738332">david alan sikes</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>