Monday Meditation: Gratitude

Since this week we get to celebrate Thanksgiving I thought it would be good to share posts this week of things I am grateful for. Not nearly enough do we express our gratitude to the Lord for all He is and has done for us, and yet this is reasonable worship to Him. So much grace has been given to me that I rarely take enough time to thank Him for that grace and spend much time taking His grace for granted, as if He was obligated to me in some way or another. The reality is different however. He is under no obligation to me whatsoever. So this week I am going to spend some time reflecting back on the last year, and publicly giving thanks to the Lord for what He has done. What are you thankful for?

Psalm 75:1 We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.

Bantering with Bali: Reflections on Church Buildings and Poor People

I don't know if this will become a regular feature, but certainly something enjoyable to do today.  Bali is my good friend from college who served for 7 years in Detroit, MI with a college/career ministry of a local church.  Over the last year he has been in Ireland with Greater European Mission doing some work to assist in church-planting and evangelism in the city of Dublin. He stood with me in my wedding, taught me the intricacies of playing 007 Golden-Eye, and has been a dear friend and brother to me since our time at Moody.

On his blog he recently posted a call for churches in the US to stop being building-centered and using the resources God has given us to build multi-million dollar facilities with all the latest and greatest stuff.  His justification of that call was to view the great societal injustices that are happening all over the world, and the calling of Christ upon the church to be the upholder of righteousness and justice for the poor and downtrodden in the world (James 1:27).

I want to raise a question here that sparked my thinking on this (and maybe Bali will jump in and banter with me on this).  My question is:  if your eschatology (view of end-times) is a pre-millennium, pre-tribulation view of the Rapture, and that is the view of your local church, why would you or your church leadership invest a significant amount of finances to build a church building?  If you don't have a view of eschatology or don't know what that even is, answer this question: why do you think a congregation of people should invest a significant amount of money to build a new facility to meet in?

I would encourage you to read Andy's post, and comment on my question.   Remember this is not a question about your eschatology - but a question of how does your theology and your practice interact together?  Comment away!

Thinking about Things We Don't Think About

Owen Strachan has written an excellent post on the use of Twitter, Facebook and other social-networking sites, and the good and bad that it has in our ability to think as Christians.  I recommend you check it out.

Music for the Men...

Sorry to alienate any of you ladies... (actually you might like this) but I wanted to suggest/commend a new album by Bob Kauflin of Sovereign Grace Music.  Last March the Together for the Gospel conference was held and close to 6000 pastors and church leaders were in attendance.  Out of that conference came more than just biblical teaching on the church, the gospel, and pastoral ministry.  Worship flowed as well.   Next month Sovereign Grace Music will release this CD with the music from that conference.  

If you are a guy and want a great worship CD that isn't feminine prom-songs to Jesus check this out.  If you are a lady, maybe hearing 6000 guys sing to Christ will encourage you, and maybe a dude you know would benefit from having it.  It makes a nice Christmas gift.    Anyway you slice it, this is a wonderful album of great lyrics, simple music and heart-felt worship to Christ.  Check out the website and download a few free songs!

Monday Meditation: Christ and My Idolatry

Isaiah 44:21-22
Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.   I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.

I'm an idolator.  I know it.  I love my stuff, my technology, my entertainment.  Plain and simple I love many things at times more than I love my God.  And those things merely replace God, stand in as a substitute to Him and become a source of joy and satisfaction that my twisted heart often perceives as greater joy and satisfaction than Christ.  

So where does that leave my soul?  Mostly pretty dry, and mostly pretty distant from God.  My affections for Him and dulled, muted, and quenched.  Hearing Him in the Word isn't a joy, or a delight.  More than anything it is a duty.  Just get through it so I can mark off the check list that I did my time in the Word today.  And I'm off to worship at the god I really love. 

The plain reality is that I am an idolator.  

And yet in the midst of my idolatry Isaiah 44:21-22 comes and hits me right where I live.  Remember that idols are nothing, remember they can't give lasting joy and satisfaction, remember those who worship them are worthless.  Remember God formed me, He called me to be His servant, He will not cease to forget me or let go of me.  He has sent His Son to stand in my place for all of my idolatry and take all the shame and guilt that were mine.  On that cross Jesus became the idolator, and I the one who never loved any other but God.  Christ was the idol worshipper, I was the true believer.  Christ was the sinner, bowing down to the bronze statue, worshipping the creation rather than the Creator, he was the idolator.  I was the righteous one.  My sin was blotted out, my transgressions removed.  

"Return to me" the Lord cries, repent of your idolatry... forsake your wood-worshipping ways.  Turn from placing stuff, and prestige, and entertainment, and this world and it's garbage before Me.  Forget walking in the way to demonstrate your affection for celebrities, and sports and passions and lusts of your own.  "Return to me, for I have redeemed you."  Remember? Remember.

Back to the Fellowship

If yesterdays post was any indication, I am back to blogging and posting after about a one year hiatus.  What prompted this return to the realm of the blogosphere?  Well, a few things probably:  

• I wanted to pick up the discipline of published writing once again.  I know I have a small audience but I like having the realm of community to articulate my ideas too.  It forces me to think through issues to better communicate it publicly.  


• I have been reading a few other blogs that are short, one in particular limits himself to 22 words each post.  I want to exercise the discipline of saying important things briefly.  Blogging helps me do that.


• I want to serve Christ and the Church by what I write.  The whole aim of this blog is to point people to Christ and resources and thinking that are Christ-centered as well.  I admit my "bookaholic" nature and love to share the resources that I have found beneficial and solid to others.  Plus I'll throw in my two cents on stuff I don't think is good for the believer every now and again.  

So that's a few reasons as to why I'm writing again.  I look forward to the year ahead and being able to share from The Fellowship!

2009 Journaling Bible Initiative

Did you know that 2009 is about 7 weeks away? I realized a few things will be happening in the next 7 weeks that have pushed me to get ready for 2009 in manner that I have not thought about before. First of all the holidays are approaching, and normally things are so busy there I rarely have time to sit down and plan out some important things (like Bible reading) for the year approaching. Secondly, I'm turning thirty in a few weeks and have just a large sense of need to be really intentional with the next 30 years of my life. That's not to say I won't goof-off here or there, but I am realizing my youth is gone and it's time to be very intentional about how I live for the next 30 years (if the Lord should permit).

Part of that intentionality is to be intentional about my reading of the Scriptures. However I don't want to just read through the Bible as if I was reading through some Tom Clancy novel or something like that. I want to continually be hearing the voice of Christ as I read and be constantly growing out of my reading of the Scriptures.

So what is my plan? The Journaling Bible Initiative. Here's how it looks:

1. Get one of these: ESV Journaling Bible.

Here's the thought behind this particular Bible. The margins are wide enough (and lined) that I can journal some thoughts in each day. But it doesn't make a good verse-for-verse note taking/marking Bible. So if I get my pen out, mark the date at the top and journal about what I read on those pages I get life application in context right in the pages. Plus I get a dated system that reminds me what God taught me on particular days so that I can review at the end of the year where I was and where God has spoken to and brought me.

2. Read 3 pages each day. Notice I didn't say chapters. If I did my math right (or "maths" as they say in Britain), there are 1042 pages of Scripture text in this particular edition of the Bible. If I divide that by 365 (so I have to read each day), I get 2.8547945205479452, or roughly 3 pages a day. That will get me through the Bible in a year.

3. Journal about what I read.


So I am very excited about it. And I want to invite you to join the Fellows in it too this year. Here's how you can do that.

1. Get an ESV Journaling Bible.
Amazon has them too... but it looks like Monergism Books has them the cheapest.

2. Comment with me.
Monthly I will be posting a few of the things I was struck by from my reading right here at the Fellowship. I encourage you to post your observations in the comments as well. As believers we can encourage one another on in this project and by what God has been speaking to us about.

3. Win a free ESV Journaling Bible!
Incentive huh! Here's how you can win a standard ESV Journaling Bible:

Subscribe to the Fellowship blog by email or RSS. (What is RSS?)

Email me to say that you are a subscriber - new or old.

I will draw a winner on December 12 and post the results here!