There is No One Like You (Adv, Days 23/24; HelloGoodBye 09/10) [REPOST]
“I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer.”
–I Timothy 2.8, NIV
There are these days, when it is so difficult to find words that wrap around concepts, that, no matter how concrete in one’s mind, find it impossible to find substance in the barrier we use to communicate called language. In those moments, it seems that experience does precede existence and existentialism, for a moment, seems fun (and fun is clearly the wrong word, but for to-day, for this beautiful-day-before-Advent, will have to do).
Mr. Crowder crowed through the speakers “There is nooooo-one like You…” and in the seconds that followed slivers of eternity slipped through the wall of sound. The elders bowed, the beasts bellowed and the saints sang in holy adoration “Holy, Holy, Holy…”
Hope leaks into life in the most unexpected ways, ways that we’d never ask for, but cannot do without. We’d never ask for them because they hurt oh-so-badly; we cannot do without them because they are the pearls of great price, treasures to be cherished.
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I’ve been more intentional about writing lately (and the reason for that is coming…). The past two-and-a-half years have been epic, at the very least. The genesis of the journey was in March of O-Six, high-lighted by a late-night {spiritual} beat-down in July {thank you, Mark Driscoll}, and punctuated with new life that October. Two months later, on a frigid Friday in December, Pittsburgh was finally in view. Six apartments, three cities, and 80,000 miles on the Interstate later I landed just where I jumped from. I didn’t expect it, honestly, to be back here so soon, if ever…
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“Lord . . .”
artwork and article by Michael Meulstee (click for larger image)
I sit down to write as a way to reflect. At this very moment in my life when there is no other thing to be certain about besides your provision and grace I cling to that and I pray that my sin will not cause me to mishear what you’re doing to shape and mold me into something better than myself.
I feel a sense of Déjà vu; this time last year when I needed your help, your wisdom, more than anything I needed your comfort; you came through in only ways that you can. You took my lack of trust, my discomfort, my fear and blew it away. Took it away and returned with trust that all the promises I made in those prayers; in those talks where I talked at you rather than talked with you… you trusted me, you trusted I would keep my word. You trusted that all of those fearful, manipulative and selfish things that I said would ultimately be used for your good. I said and promised so many things; if you would just come through for me on this one thing… if you just helped me once more I would be a better believer; I would read more; I would pray more; witness more; serve more; do. more.
Decision-Making Non-Answers
“To seminary, or not to seminary?” That’s the question for our newest Contributor, Katie Olmstead, as she navigates the ambiguities and nuances of that most frustrating of mysteries: the Will of God.
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Last February, the decision was made. Everything would change come August. I would leave my home in Phoenix for Philadelphia; continue to work for Food for the Hungry part-time remotely while going back to school. My cross-country road trip was charted, housing scouted out, mental shift made and farewell gifts purchased. I was ready for the adventure of a new city, new friends, classes, books, changing seasons, green and rain (so not the desert), wealth of history and arts to explore, another step towards my long-term dream….blah, blah, blah.
It is now October, the decision deferred for Spring maybe Fall. All my plans were unexpectedly postponed (or maybe canceled, ugh). Although convinced it was the right conclusion in light of changed circumstances, I am still filled with disappointment, anxiety and confusion; faced again with the decision of what is next. I catch myself daydreaming about avoiding it completely: driving my Rabbit, jumping on a plane or catching a train until I’ve explored every new interesting place and escaped this suffocating suburbia. Yet adventures offer no solution and I wake up to reality, decisions still far from clear. (more…)
The Infinite Beauty of Beauty
A nine-month old brain child concerning Beauty and many of its components is finally done being birthed on a blog. Come see…
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In about January of this past year, I received word that seven months from then, in August, I would be giving a message at Epiphany Fellowship on the topic of Beauty, of all things. This terrified me and I immediately began listening to every lecture, reading every article, and checking out every book in the library on the topic to prepare. Then I began working on the manuscript for this message. By the time I finished, I had produced a 43-page manuscript for a 40-minute message. The message answers several questions: Why we long for Beauty? What is Beauty? What Things are Beautiful? and How do we respond to Beauty?
The message went really well, but of course, a lot was cut out of the full manuscript for the sake of time. For that reason, a couple of months ago, I started a series on my blog that went through the various sections of the manuscript in bite-sized chunks, so that others could read it. Well, yesterday, three months after the original message was given, I finished that series on my personal blog and I wanted to plug it to the readers of this site. Below, you’ll find a complete directory of the fourteen parts of the series, along with links to the full audio and original manuscript that the message was based upon. I hope this is helpful and edifying to all of you. Be sure to send feedback, as I hope to build this out even more in the future, perhaps into a book-length project. We’ll see. Enjoy.
REVIEW: “Fearless” by Max Lucado
Max Lucado, a Christian publishing powerhouse, releases his new book today to millions of struggling Evangelicals needing real theology applied to real problems. Does this book address that need?
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Imagine Your Life Without Fear.
That’s the subtitle of Max Lucado’s new book Fearless. A daunting call indeed – sensationalist, even (or that’s the fear, at least). Lucado spends fourteen chapters going through different things that we as humans fear. There includes chapters on insignificance, poverty, death, doubt, and (surprisingly) a fear of God proving your doctrine of Him wrong. He opens each chapter with a story or image that depicts this kind of fear in action, he then describes what this fear is, and then why humans fear this. The last half of every chapter is a presentation of a Biblical passage that addresses this fear and application of it.
As I’ve written before, I was expecting this book to be pop evangelical light fare. No talk of sin, no reference to wrath, no mention of the Gospel, just good ol’ Pharisaical moralism wearing the clothes of Christianity. You know, things like “God says here ‘Do not fear’, so a good obedient Christian shouldn’t fear. It’s disobedience, so if you’re fearing something, you’re disappointing God, and you don’t want to do that, do you? So stop it.” No dealing with real issues, no wrestling with the human heart, just a bunch of spiritual milk, when we all need meat.
The first chapter began to show me I was wrong about Max. He opens up with the account of his brother’s sudden, heartbreaking, painful, death. After that, though, I’ll admit, the first several chapters of this book began confirming that original theory of mine. For example, the first “fear” chapter is about the fear of insignificance. Lucado’s answer? God made you! He doesn’t make mistakes! And because He’s so awesome, and he made you, you can hold your head high and get that promotion or relationship you’ve been waiting for. If you hang your head low, then you won’t get those things! Joel Osteen couldn’t have said it better. This isn’t the Biblical answer. There are many things that God makes that he will willingly destroy. What is the Gospel answer to this fear? Jesus loves His people and His Glory shown in them, so He dies so they can get lost in something bigger and more meaningful than themselves. This gives them purpose and hope in the midst of that poor job and relationship, not necessarily to escape it. Our hope in this is that even in our weakness and very real earthly meaninglessness we can work for the glory and sake of an eternal kingdom. (Admittedly, the “Discussion Guide” in the back of the book gets at some of these issues, but it frustrated me that Lucado wouldn’t go there himself.) This is the way Chapters 2-6 are.
I was so ready for Lucado to prove me wrong and as I read the book, you can see my notes in the margins of my copy grow increasingly frustrated that he wasn’t doing so. His Introduction, and explanation of why we fear these things was so amazing. He understands the human heart so well. Not only that, even unpacking the Biblical passage was very well done. He was explaining Greek, Hebrew, and historical contexts in a way that shocked me. But I just couldn’t understand why the application of that passage kept being so incomplete.
Turning the T.U.L.I.P. On Its Side
Can the classic Five-Points of Calvinism, notorious for inspiring complacency and judgmentalism, actually cause relationships that are gracious, self-sacrificing, and long-suffering?
by Stephen Hess
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[Editor's Note: For those unfamiliar with the historical Five-Points of Calvinism (a.k.a. "TULIP"), click here for a quick guide, or here for a full article on it]
At Chapel time recently (every Tuesday and Friday at Covenant), I got the privilege to hear from Dr. Robert Petterson, a Covenant graduate and the Senior Pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Naples, FL. Out of John 13:34-35, he gave a message entitled, “Turning the Tulip on Its Side: The Sociology of Soteriology.” This was the first chapel message for the year (my first ever as a Covenant student). This message was perfectly timed for me (and I am sure, for many others). Not to mention the passage that Pastor Petterson focused on was the biblical motivation for myself and four (then five) other brothers in Christ to meet together in college weekly. To this day, despite the changes over time and the different post-college locations, these guys are still my closest brothers in Christ.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
Pastor Petterson’s main point: A soteriology of grace without a sociology of grace is illusionary.
In other words, “turning the TULIP on its side.” The biblical soteriology of Reformed theology is often captured in the acrostic TULIP. Dr. Petterson described the five truths in these ways: (1) there’s not a single molecule of my being that is not corrupted by sin, (2) God has chosen to love me unconditionally, (3) he loves me specifically, (4) his love for me is irresistible, and (5) his love will persevere to the end.
When Jesus says, “so you must love one another,” he is saying that it is not enough to have a vertical relationship with God. That same love relationship must become horizontal in the same way with others.
After such rich beautiful description of this soteriology, he went on to explain about an angry, old Dutch Calvinist that he recently counseled. This man had memorized the five points as a child in catechism classes. He would pound anyone who would listen with the doctrines of Sovereign Grace. But this man had been estranged from his daughter for over five years. His wife could barely tolerate him–they slept in separate rooms. And he kept blowing through churches that weren’t reformed enough for him–creating controversy all along the way.
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The Scarlet Cord
How a prostitute can both save a city in the past and teach us how our souls are saved in the present.
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Our dear brother Paul of Burkhart not long ago wrote a letter asking that a theme of “women in ministry” be written on. As I am in graduate school and life has taken me in its undertow, over a month has passed since. I have been thinking all the while about this, though, and I thought of all the women whose ministries have deeply engraved Christ in my heart and mind. Women like Elizabeth Elliot, Kristyn Getty, Grace Driscoll, Grace Irwin (who wrote a book called Servant of Slaves), Brooke Fraser, and women only some have been graced to know, as Susan Hermes, Helen Toroian, Rachel McConnell, Lisa Rodebaugh, and Linda Sieben. I believe all of us have known women who have indelibly nurtured Christ in us.
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red as crimson, yet . . .
painting by Sarah Stevens
How a winter ride home from church taught me more about the Gospel than the service itself.
by Stephen Hess
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I was raised in a nominally Catholic family. By nominally, I mean that church was seen as an obligation, that somehow going to church meant you were a moral person. We would dutiful attend mass on Sunday mornings or occasionally Saturday nights, but an actual faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior was absent and frankly inconsequential the other six days of the week. I left college and experienced the reality of my own sin and received the free gift of saving grace through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. But when I am back in Rhode Island over holiday breaks, I attend mass with my parents, setting aside the banner of my reformed theological views in order to spend time with them.
As I was in the passenger seat of my mom’s car on our way to the 5pm Christmas mass at St. Mary’s Church in Newport, Rhode Island, my eyes were fixed upon the cold landscape. For the very first time, it occurred to me that the look of the snow in New England was the perfect metaphor for the depraved state of the world that the second person of the Trinity entered into in the form of a helpless and vulnerable infant. When the snow first falls, it is absolutely picturesque. The pure, clean, white snow covering everything remains one of the most breathtaking and beautiful images that I have seen first-hand. But the purity of the winter snow is fleeting. Driving, just a few days after the first snow falls, one does not glance out onto pristine snow, but blackened, dirt-filled slush lining the roads–a product of cars and SUVs travelling up and down those very roads.
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Redemption’s Song
I’m mostly a listener of the older hymns, but the lyrics of this song by Israel Houghton have grown on me…it’s like my life in a verse…everything from depravity to God’s Sovereign grace…I attempted to add scriptures to the parts of the verse…may God be glorified in the Redeeming work of Jesus Christ…
- I was lost.
- (Isaiah 53:6; Isaiah 6:5; Luke 15:24; Ezekiel 34:6; Romans 3:12,23)
- I was desperate and broken.
- (Genesis 8:21; Jeremiah 2:13; Psalms 51:5; John 3:19; Ephesians 2:1-2)
- Wounded heart.
- (Jeremiah 17:1,9-10; Ezekiel 36:26; Psalms 51:10,17; Mark 7:21)
- And the wounds were still open.
- (Ephesians 2:4-6; Romans 5:8, 7:5)
- That’s the way You found me.
- (Colossians 1:12-13; Romans 5:8; Luke 19:10; Matthew 9:13; John 10:16)
- Turn the page. By Your hand.
- (Romans 9:15-16; John 1:13; Ephesians 2:8; Ephesians 1:4-5; John 15:16)
- Yesterday washed away as You write in the sand.
- ( John 8:1-11; Isaiah 53:4-5; Ezekiel 36:25; Romans 4:24-25; Hebrews 10:22
- My accusers.
- (Job 1:9-10; Luke 22:31-32; 1 Peter 5:8-9; Romans 8:1)
- Where are they?
- ( Romans 8:1-2; 31,33,34,35-39)
- One by one in the silence they all walk away. ..
- (Isaiah 54:17)
- And I will worship You
death and titans/death and taxes (an ode to zwan and crassness)
Everything just feels like rain…
There are these days, the cold and lonely April days (this reminds me of oh-seven) when a cigarette would be really nice. Had I not been so close to one hundred days, I surely would have smoked it. Maybe even a pack; all at once. Or one after the other. Seven minutes a piece. Done in one hundred and forty minutes.
That’s a lot of smoking. I coffee’d instead. (Prince, Bucks, Coffee Co – the girl there was cute. She liked my Bible.)
Lars loves Schrott crassness; it is no secret that none of us have tact.
There are days when you just wanna say it. They’re that shitty. But it’s always been true that when things go low, redemption is at hand and Christ is made sweet(er) than before. It is difficult to see though the fog that is now and it becomes suffocating. Time slows its high paced rhythm and seconds drag like months.
Tick. Tock. Tick…
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Praying for Discipline, Standing on Grace [Praying for Prayer; Pt. II]
Previously, we covered: The Conception of a Disciple, The Miracle of Birth, and Changing the Diapers. Now the conclusion-
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Razing Cain
Mortification of the flesh which we war against is the constant goal in the process of sanctification. We must always be seeking to raze, or burn our sin to dust in the hopes that Christ will be revealed in us. As I sought to pray and to seek God in a new way, this was my chief goal. With the Liturgy of prayer before me, I had a powerful tool against the devices of the evil one.
With this in mind, I bowed before the throne of the Sovereign LORD and, with the aid of my Advocate, I spoke boldly. I began with an Invocation, asking the Lord to meet with me. I believed that He would meet with me, yet I could not assume anything; I didn’t want to.
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Praying for Discipline, Standing on Grace [Praying for Prayer; Pt. I]
In a two-part series, Austin Rickett’s explores the depths of prayer: it’s difficulty, discipline, and delight.
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The Conception of a Discipline
When I first decided to attempt a spiritual discipline, I thought that I would do something with worship. I was going to try to see God wherever I could. Maybe I would notice His handiwork in the sunset of the day. Perhaps His provision in my life would be evident in the cheeseburger I was eating at the time. Possibly God was allowing me to relax with the advent of an overcast and drizzly day, which often instills a somber mood within me.
As I set out to begin this experiment, I was joyfully hindered. It seemed as though the Lord was saying, “Find something new, you already practice this discipline quite often.” And so, I decided to take God’s advice because I hear that He’s omniscient, therefore He probably knows what He’s talking about. Without much hesitation I moved on to something new.
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4.14.2009 (Reflections on Kalas and Easter) [a myspace import]
Facebook is too public for private matters. Everyone’s there. Even those who pay me. They should not be privy to the private. (Did I just say myspace is less public? Truth. No one’s here. That’s why).
Mr Kalas passed yesterday (I prefer not to euphemize, but, to-day, I will). He was the voice that was larger than baseball itself; at least for the Philadelphia area. Even I, a Philly-Sports hater and diehard fan of all things Pittsburgh loved the voice of Summer. I loved him even more than our own dear Fratare, and he was special in my 10, 11 and 12 year old heart (think: Bonds and Bobby-Bo). Yet even when someone that special leaves us, the world does not stop its spin, the game goes on, and though we grieve, their vapor has passed. The world and yes, even the game, stops for no one. What a humbling thought this is. We are only specks in the theatre of life; life that has stretched countless millennia. Our span is nothing.
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Wickedness, Righteousness, & Changing Culture
“The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. . . When the wicked rise, people hide themselves but when they perish, the righteous increase.” — Proverbs 28:1, 28
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Looking at the verse above, we see an interesting thing: wickedness and unity are negatively correlated. When the wicked rise, people “hide themselves.” In other words, wickedness and humanism go hand in hand. As righteousness decreases within a society, people begin to think less collectively and more in terms of self-preservation, self-exaltation, and self-esteem. Why is this? I think there is a principle within humans I’m calling “moral entropy.” The law of entropy is that “all things will move from a state of order to disorder, unless a greater force is acted upon it.” This is the state of all created things, and I would argue it is also the state of the moral state of human beings. Unless a force greater than the wickedness of humans is exerted upon them, people will move ever increasingly to further moral disarray. So what happens when this “greater force” is exerted on humans to such a point that their wickedness begins to perish? Not only does righteousness itself increase, but a righteous people characterized by unity is formed (see. the end of verse 28).
True Spirituality
True Spirituality is different than spirituality. And no, I’m not just trying to be cute.
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I don’t know about you, but too often I divorce spirituality from the Holy Spirit. Now don’t get me wrong, I fully have understood the idea that “spirituality” in the proper sense is a matter between my spirit and the Holy Spirit. But I too often define spirituality as fundamentally being about my spirit. Stirring it up and syncing it up to God. My thoughts turn to thoughts on how to make me “feel the Spirit more”. If I’m honest, I too often think that a healthy and vibrant Spirituality is defined by intense spiritual experience (emotions, gifts, fruits, and such). Now, these things are certainly a product of a vibrant spirituality, but that causes me to seek those things, thinking that if I achieve them, I have been “successful.”
Free Anathallo Hymns to stir your heart
The point here at Reform & Revive is to show the world various expressions from the hearts of believers whose lives have been impacted by the truth of who God is (also known as “Theology”). We share the commitment that right doctrine will (and must) always lead to both right practice and worship.
Nothing I know of best encapsulates this idea more clearly than Hymns. They are some of the most passionate expressions of who God is, but they come from theologically informed minds. The hymns we still sing today are the ones that most resonate with us as expressions from a heart impacted by a clarity of doctrine and vision of the things of God.
That is why I’m putting this post up. The great band Anathallo, recorded an album of hymns a few years back. It is now out of print, so they allow it to be posted on sites and blogs to be given away for free. I just recently put this on my personal blog, so I want to extend this offer to the readership here at Reform & Revive. A free, amazing, album of hymns? Who can resist?
Here’s the link to the post where the album is.
May it stir your affections for Christ ever increasingly.
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There is No One Like You (Adv, Days 23/24; HelloGoodBye 08/09)
“I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer.”
–I Timothy 2.8, NIV
There are these days, when it is so difficult to find words that wrap around concepts, that, no matter how concrete in one’s mind, find it impossible to find substance in the barrier we use to communicate called language. In those moments, it seems that experience does precede existence and existentialism, for a moment, seems fun (and fun is clearly the wrong word, but for to-day, for this beautiful-day-before-Advent, will have to do).
Mr. Crowder crowed through the speakers “There is nooooo-one like You…” and in the seconds that followed slivers of eternity slipped through the wall of sound. The elders bowed, the beasts bellowed and the saints sang in holy adoration “Holy, Holy, Holy…”
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A Prayer to Our Great High Priest
I try not to double-post, I really do. But, that being said, I did with this post. As anyone who has perused my numerous links knows, I have a whole slew of blog “Bible Studies” that have seen no action for the past year or so. Until now. I have a newfound motivation and excitement to get a whole bunch of these done, especially in the next month and half or so until school starts back up. So, feel free to keep up with my Burkhart Bible Studies. This is a recent meditation I pulled from my journal for my Hebrews blog.
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.”
–Hebrews 4:14-16
praise christ for pudendal neuralgia (advent, day 9)
The world just screams and falls apart
–Jeff Magnum, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, 1998
Thank you God for food. I love to gorge myself on it.
Thank you God for friends. I love to slander them behind their backs.
Thank you God for family. I love to use them for too many things to count.
Thank you God for my bed. I love to sleep when there are more productive things to be done.
Thank you God for money. Can’t forget money. I love money. What would I do without money? I couldn’t buy shit I don’t need without money.
So many generic Thank Yous we offer up. And, while these are not horrible things to be thankful for, though perhaps our reasons for loving them so much are. Rather, these are wonderful things to be thankful for (well except for maybe an abundance of money – unless we are giving it away – but we’re probably not because if we were really thankful for it, it would be our top priority to see others enjoy the very same blessings we have been gifted), but there seems to be a disconnect in our weak minds. When do we praise Christ for the miserable things in life? After all, these are the things that will draw us near him. These are the truly valuable things — the priceless things.
When disaster strikes, the cry of “Where was God?!” self-righteously rings out among the masses – as if we feel we have some hold on how God should behave. Nevermind the countless circumstances that have gone our way as we smugly think to ourselves that we somehow had something to do with it (when, in most/all cases, we did not). We will take all the credit when things go our way and we will defame the name of the One who spoke us into being when major (or even minor) tragedy strikes. The injustices we strike on our fellow man on a daily basis are ignored as insignificant, at least until we are the one who we feel has been treated unjustly.
Let us plead for the mercy to praise the One from whom all blessings flow, for, in reality, our blessings are most often the very things we count as our miseries, not the other way around.
eleven months, one day and a thorn in the flesh (volume one)
To-day, we marvel at the wonder of the overcast day. Blankets of grey clouds fill the sky and through them rains down soft, beautiful, and perfect light. Thank you dear Sun for hiding your face and until Spring, let it remain anathema.
To-day, we also marvel at the wonder of the India Blend at Prince St Cafe, the barely 2 year old coffee shop on the the corner of Prince and King Streets, across from the Opera House and parallel to the Market House. While we’ve definitely had better coffee in the past (as long ago as 2004 that made its way from State College to Philadelphia while inducing sleepless nights and heart arrhythmias) it is the best the small (but strong) city has to offer. When India is on tap, you know you are Home.
Home is a funny thing (and by the way, I/we think I/we use the word funny all too glibly, but I/we will continue to do so until reprimanded by someone of higher authority). Just under two years ago, Pittsburgh was about to become our home and in the early part of this year, Richmond, Virginia was supposedly the very same. Pittsburgh tried to spit us out with its uncommonly warm March and subsequently snowy April (Who wants to watch a Pirates game in sub-30 temps? And to be honest, who wants to watch a Pirates game all?), but by Steelers’ Season, the city had etched itself on our hearts and it’s six-month winter (Halloween through Tax Day) was shortly seen as endearing rather than brutal; the drunk Uncle you can’t help but hug, even as he cusses you out and spills beer and cigarette ash on you. Richmond posited a different set of problems – primarily a lack of consistent income and a rare and diffcult to treat neuralgia – home was a word it never wanted to attach to us; not to mention the coffee was far below mediocre.
And now, almost two years to the day (12.8.06) and after thousands of miles on the Eisenhower Interstate System we are Home, sitting gently, with jittery-coffee-hands, in the very same coffee shop where the decision to leave was made.
So we grew up in cultural-Christianity, where church was somewhere you went, not something you were. Where information preceded belief and ultimately behaviour. Where alcohol and tobacco were not used in gentle moderation not because the Bible said so, but because the church covenant deemed them immoralities that would damn you to The Pit. Where dresses were demanded of the women and missing mid-week service for a Little League game was the unpardonable sin. Where community was a thing based on likeness, not diversity united by Christ and everyone kept up their facade because, apparently, Sanctification, like Justification was once and done; cracks were not permitted here because we’re no longer broken people. And that’s why we don’t listen to rock devil music, smoke, drink or cuss and that’s what gets us to Heaven, of course, if the Rapture doesn’t happen first.
Fear of eternal Hell cannot produce true saints, and we lived in that misguided preconception up until age twenty-six. Jesus was our get-out-of-Hell-free-card and we used him for what he could give us, rather than love him for who he was. This smacks of as much idolatry as the false gospels that have other names attached to them (ie: prosperity) for it forces us to love things rather than Christ and use him to get to our very own ends. Living in the blood-soaked atonement changes us and we will never be the same.
We had seven hundred dollars in our pocket and nothing more. Rent was due on 95 South 22nd Street in just four weeks and that was more than half of our available funds. Saving one dollar on Brillo Pads at Giant Eagle was something to be jazzed about; so was keeping the gas bill under eighty and electric under forty. Internet was free if the wind blew just right, especially at night. There was no Farmer’s Market or coffee-shop of our liking but this was the price to pay to flip a city on its head we arrogantly and naively thought. We thought this was our purpose here, but time revealed that it was only Training for Utopia.
Humility was Session One and its Lecture is far from over.
“In Him, we live and move and have our being” says the great Apostle. The Body, to function properly, needs to function with the thickness of blood. Anemia will not do. Thick authenticity comes only with superior sacrifice. Our propensity to go wide but not deep shelters us from the penetrating cuts that will bind us to-gether more tightly; that will weave into us the spirit of Shalom and healing. When we go brother-to-brother and sister-to-sister emptying our souls to and for them in prayer, the blanket is woven with chains. When people matter more than possessions or power the Body scabs its wounds and another step toward Shalom has been taken.
Seven days short of two years later and we’re only crawling.
my eyes are small but they have seen the beauty of enormous things
Art & Article by David Schrott
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O, Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of Death? Thanks be to Christ Jesus our Lord.
–Rom 7.24, 25
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; … always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
…So do not lose heart, while the outer self is wasting away, the inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light, momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.
–2 Cor 4.7-9, 11, 12, 16, 17
So, here I sit, in the fifth apartment I’ve lived in in the past 20 months, where Spruce meets Pine in the West End of Lancaster City, skipping church (and the coffee shop) because I simply don’t feel physically up to it (this weekend has been rather difficult). If, a year ago, I thought the early part of 2007 was a tough year, it was only preparation (mere child’s play, perhaps) for 2008. I frequently am left second-guessing the decisions I made at the end of last year and “what if…” pops up daily in my confused thought process. But when grounded with the reality of the Truth revealed to me in the Scriptures, and when confronted with that Truth by friends, I realize such sentiments are only selfish pursuits aimed at the questioning of God’s providence and sovereignty — why me? why now? Instead of such questions, I think, perhaps, the best posture to assume would be that of Job: Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I shall return. The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away — Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1.21). In fact, the better question, in the midst of trying times, should be “Why not me? Why not now? If those of us who claim Christ are to magnify Him in all things, should we not accept our present condition, whatever it may be, to make His name more glorious? If there are those who will not magnify Him in times of great duress (and curse Him instead, or ask the natural, but near ridiculous, question “where was God”?), will not we, his faithful people, be willing to make his name great in our similarly difficult scenarios?
As each year passes, the more I realize that life is brutal and that the reality of the curse remains evident. This reality could so easily lead us into those dark nights of despair where everything is hopeless and where we are lead to believe that nothing will ever get better or change. And they might not. At least in this life (Psalm 30.4-5). But, as I learn, year by year and day by day, there is much to hope for. We are granted all that we need in this life which leads us into godliness; participation in the Divine Nature (2 Peter 1). Daily, thru the difficulties and trials this present, physical age brings upon us, we are made more like Him. The change we oh-so-long-for is happening and is coming. In this life and in the next. We can second guess our decisions and lament this present age, but the power to see real transformation and real change is at hand, and while we tarry for the night, our joy will come in the morning (Ps. 30.5). Paul pleads with us to see thru this lens; it is our only hope of remaining faithful when life collapses on us. When we hold onto His promises, the bleakness of this existence is worth pushing through and on til the end. Creation groans. Restoration will come.
Expectations will remain unmet. This is a reality we have to accept and not become disappointed and angry with God when the reality of this hits. We need to see this as an opportunity to draw near to Him and let him change us in our disappointment — which often reveals to us that we’ve let good things become ultimate things [idolatry]. When I left Pittsburgh for Richmond on Saturday January 5th of this year, there was a lot that I expected to happen. Some did and some did not. Other difficulties seemingly came out of nowhere, and because of the many disappointments I faced while there (and am still dealing with – most of you know of my ongoing medical confusions that I frequently blame on happening only because of my time in Virginia), I fall into regret and into lament. But, as reminded by one of my closest friends the other night, there was purpose in it. Had I not ventured into the Confederate Capital, I would not have had the privilege of meeting three of the godliest Christian men I know (and attended the Vintage21 Men’s Conf, which I can’t describe with words how valuable it was). I learned so much from them in my brief time there that it is near impossible to say that it was a mistake to go (though I often do).
We undervalue the importance of Community (and in that Accountability and Confession). We cannot continue to be Lone Christian Rangers. It will not work. And it was not meant to be that way (Acts 4.32-37, among others). This may have been the greatest lesson that I learned in Pgh and Rva. After visiting and/or attending at least 13 churches in just under two years, I’ve come to learn that it is impeccably foolish of us to think we can go on without community, fellowship and accountability (some of the very factors that ignited the early church and its exponential growth upon growth). We’ve become so individualistic in the West that we think we’re exempt from the commands in Hebrews and elsewhere and that if we show up on Sunday, slip out the backdoor and never come together the rest of the week that this is somehow okay. I think to some degree I am speaking more of Lancaster here than of Pgh and Rva, because these were the great and grand lessons I learned during my time away, and to come back and realize what a gap there was/is here is to some degree frightening. It is all well and fine to come together and spend time hanging out with each other — but are we ready, willing and able to get beyond surface conversations and interactions with each other? Are we serving each other (the local body) and are we serving others (our community) with the hopes of reaching them too with the gospel? I hope and pray that we can begin to foster more and more of this here and throughout our (small) but great city! Doing life deep together builds strength, encouragement and transformation not otherwise known. We absolutely must get beyond keeping each other at arm’s length. The body of Christ cannot fulfill its mission in such a way.
I’ll end with this:
And I heard a loud voice from the Throne saying “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with men, He will dwell with them and they will be His people…and death shall be no more; neither shall there be any more mourning, nor crying, nor pain, for the former things have passed away”…And He said, “write these things down, for these words are faithful and true.”
–Rev 21.3-5
the best way to spend time on the PATurnPike
Portable Bible-study with Mark Driscoll in the back seat of a VW Jetta:
One Thing is Needed
How can the Bible’s statement of our need be our greatest offense and greatest joy? Some thoughts on “Humility” by someone who did doctoral research on it.
by Jen Justice
For those who might have been wondering: yes, I am still alive. I started the below article back in April, maybe even March… and then life happened. =) But here I am.
I love that the necessity of humility was brought forth so early here at Reform and Revive. If the gospel is to intersect with our lives and our culture, humility is a necessary ingredient in that process. Why? Because God’s ways are not our ways and to walk in His ways requires that we surrender our drive to live “reasonable” lives. (Perhaps Paul’s comments on our “subnatural” state will help us with this…)
The first step toward walking in God’s ways is acknowledging Him as the eternal Sovereign Lord, which requires more humility than most of us possess (as was pointed out by Whit via Tozer in a previous post). It requires that we admit to being creatures—and subservient creatures at that. As Michael Casey puts it in his book on humility, you will often notice those of our race having trouble forgiving ourselves for any slowness of mind or ineffectiveness of will—essentially, for being human. We refuse to see ourselves as the created subjects we are; we forget that we are not gods. We need to accept the fact that we are humus; our origins are in the earth and not the heavens.
But when we do come to terms with our creaturehood, we find ourselves in a stance to accept God as He is. A wholly Other, uncreated, divine, eternal being … And to recognize our position relative to Him. Mainly, as our Creator, He is the best authority on how we are meant to live.
There are many aspects to the life God calls us to, but in this article I choose to highlight what our Lord described as “the one thing that is needed” in Luke 10:38-42. In this passage, Jesus tells Martha that her sister, Mary, has chosen the one thing that is needed, the thing that will not be taken away from her. What is that One Thing? Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.”
So how do we choose the one thing that is needed?
As always, I think it is a matter of faith—believing that God is right when He tells us that the most important thing we can do in this life is to sit in His presence, to listen to His words, to gaze on Him, to know Him. This is the one thing that will bring the freedom, acceptance, and significance we are all seeking. This is the One Thing that will fulfill the deepest desires of our hearts and transform us into the image of our Savior and King. I don’t know about you, but too often, I just have a hard time really believing this. My faith is weak. I think, surely I must need to be productive and successful in some things and have the love and approval of some men and have my own way in a few matters at least to experience all that I desire of life. But no, we cannot believe it, beloved. Only when the Perfect, Holy, True God is our heart’s pursuit and desire are we free.
Can you believe this? Will you choose to believe? If so, I’d like you to consider all the different ways your life could look when only this One Thing really matters—sitting at the feet of Jesus, meditating on His word, seeking His presence, beholding His beauty and wisdom, listening for His voice, obeying His loving direction. If you choose to believe the words of your Lord, what would this mean for your life? Where could you live? What job would you need? What people would you need around you? What would demand your time?
When considering the possibilities, on the one hand, having only one need is incredibly freeing, but on the other, it wounds our pride and offends our reason. But this is the price we pay, this is the cost we count when we choose to follow God’s ways and not our own, when we submit our lives to the lordship of Another. But be assured, child of God, that He rewards those who diligently search for Him (Hebrews 11:6) and that He is greatly pleased and honored by your faith in His wisdom in spite of how strange it may sound to your creature ears.
I know that I have listened so long to the ways of the world that I have failed to recognize that things such as professional success or personal dreams or the respect of men are expendable in God’s Kingdom. These are the lessons I have been learning lately, and so I ask you what the Spirit has been asking me:
What reasonable things in your life are keeping you from knowing intimacy with God as the one thing that is needed?
And will you humble yourself enough to let Him show you?
It’s worth it, my friends. How do I know? In part because I have tasted the sweet fruits of forgoing what I thought was reasonable, right, and good for more of Him, but more so, I know simply because He says it is so.
Will you believe Him?
