Healing, Disruptive Force

Pastor Andrew sent this article to our elders and pastors and I invite you to read it and pray this way.

From Jared Wilson:

"About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way."  Acts 19:23

That is what we long for, deep down. That the Spirit of God would move afresh in our day with wonderful, healing disruptive force-- that he would upend our self-regard and self-sovereignty, that he would come into our temples where we trade the currency of excuses for our sins and present such tidiness in our self-righteousness and turn over all the tables. That he would come with no little disturbance but with great wind and fire of holy love, shaking the nations, the churches, our homes.

Let's share the powerful revival prayer of Charles Spurgeon:

"O God, send us the Holy Ghost! Give us both the breath of spiritual life and the fire of unconquerable zeal! O Thou who art our God, answer us both by wind and fire, and then we shall see Thee to be God indeed. The kingdom comes not, and the work is flagging. Oh, that Thou wouldst send the wind and the fire! Thou wilt do this when we are all of one accord, all believing, all expecting, all prepared by prayer. Lord, bring us to this waiting state! God, send us a season of glorious disorder. Oh, for a sweep of the wind that will set the seas in motion, and make our ironclad brethren, now lying so quietly at anchor, to roll from stem to stem. Oh, for the fire to fall again--fire which shall affect the most stolid! Oh, that such fire might first sit upon the disciples and then fall all around! O God, Thou art ready to work with us today even as Thou didst then. Stay not, we beseech Thee, but work at once. Break down every barrier that hinders the incoming of Thy might! Give us both hearts of flame and tongues of fire to preach Thy reconciling Word, for Jesus' sake!

Amen, May it be so.

A Sobering Reminder

On the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, here is an important article from Dr. Albert Mohler, President of The Southern Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY.  It is a sobering reminder of the evil infecting our country and world and a call to desperate prayer for the sake of babies, parents, families, churches, nations and the glory of God.

http://www.albertmohler.com/2014/01/21/abortion-and-the-american-conscience-2/

That the Word of the Lord May Speed Ahead

Some Thoughts on 2 Thessalonians 3:1

June 12, 2013

This morning I asked Denise Melendez, one of our great staff members, to include this Scripture verse in our newsletter article about missions, outreach and disciple-building this summer:

"Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as is happened among you…"  (2 Thes. 3:1)

What does it mean for "the word of the Lord" to speed ahead and be honored?  This phrase pictures God's word as a runner in a foot race set on attaining the goal—victory, honor, glory.  His Truth will "finish first" and be acclaimed over all other religions, worldviews, and theories.  Christ will be shown to be "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" and that no one comes to God except through Him (John 14:6). 

And in Paul's obvious context of gospel mission and witness, he calls us to pray for this to happen!  The Scriptures will have their life-giving effect in countless people from every people group on the earth as "faith comes from hearing, hearing by the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17). 

"God will indeed cause his word to be glorified, but he does not intend to win the victory without prayer" (Piper, "The Power That Wields the Weapon", Jan., 1985).

That's why I included 2 Thes. 3:1 in this week's newsletter article about a mission trip to Haiti, and outreach/disciple-building ministries at Rocky like the Rock, Little Rock, and S.I.T.  In these strategic ministries, the aim is to proclaim and show Christ and His gospel.  So it is vital for us to pray that the Word would powerfully speed ahead and work in the lives of adults and children in Haiti and Niceville!  The Word is mighty to save!  In the last several months we have had the deep joy of seeing people drawn to Christ for salvation from sin and death—Praise God for His goodness and grace!  Let us pray 2 Thes. 3:1 prayers for more of this, for our joy and the glory of Christ!  And let us pray this way for our missionaries when we meet on June 30 to pray together!

Also, as I meditated on this verse, I thought of another important reason to pray that "the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored".  It is that the Scriptures are essential and powerful for our sanctification and purification as we pursue holiness—lives set apart more and more for the glory of God in everything.

Therefore, let us pray for ourselves and one another that the Word will speed ahead and be glorified in us!  Let us pray that we will gladly "let the word of Christ dwell in [us] richly" (Col. 3:16); that we would be set apart for God as the Lord Jesus prayed in John 17:17, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth"; that our hearts would be purified by to the truth (1 Pet. 1:22); and that we would offer ourselves to the Lord for His surgically precise, convicting and sanctifying work as He applies His Word to our lives (Heb. 4:11-13).

Then, as we internalize the Word of God and welcome its life-shaping, sanctifying power applied by the Holy Spirit, we will assuredly be more and more fitted as conduits through whom "the word of the Lord will speed ahead"  as we proclaim Jesus Christ in witness and missions.

O God, cause your precious, strong Word to speed ahead in us and through us!

Thank You for Sabbatical Rest!

Rynette and I returned from our sabbatical on Tuesday night after being away for four weeks.  I believe the purpose of our time was fulfilled because we have come home rested and spiritually rejuvenated.  We thank you, our elders and church family, for this extraordinary, beautiful gift!  We needed the rest and the Lord has graciously granted us invigoration by His Spirit through the Word.

Some of you may wonder why the elders gave us sabbatical following seven years of ministry.  Two reasons come to mind: 1. Sabbatical is a biblical idea that first appears in the creation account of Genesis.  After doing His creative work for six days, the text says, "And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.  So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation" (2:2-3).  Was God all worn out from creating all that was made?  No, we know that isn't true.  But he did establish a rhythm and pace of life for created beings (like you and me) because he knew we would need to rest and take time to focus on him.  Later God even established this pattern for Israel's land, calling the people to rest their farmland every seventh year (Exodus 23:10-11).  Therefore, the elders seek to honor God's Word by providing a sabbatical rest for pastors, acknowledging divinely designed rhythm for life; 2. I think the elders also have in mind that pastoral ministry is unique in its demands and stresses.  In 2 Corinthians 11, the apostle Paul reflects on the suffering and hardships of his ministry and concludes with these words: "And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches" (11:28)."  And my thought is: Even Paul experienced pressure and anxiety in ministry, and so it is for other pastors like ours.  Therefore, I am deeply grateful for our elders' and church family's understanding and generous kindness expressed in the gift of sabbatical rest.

One more reflection to share now is this… Something Rynette and I practiced together last month was reading God's Word to one another aloud.  This is valuable and beautiful because it requires dedicated time together around the Bible; speed-reading and skimming doesn't occur; scriptural themes and emphases are heard more clearly; and good discussion and application inevitably results.  We love doing this and I strongly encourage the husbands of RBBC to make a way to read the Word aloud with your wives!

Whether I Live or Die, God Wins

Please take a moment to watch this video.  It is a Christ-centered testimony for all of us, but especially those of us suffering life-threatening illnesses, to help give us perspective for future suffering and illness.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/05/02/whether-i-live-or-die-god-wins/

A Meditation for Good Friday

Love Lustres at Calvary  from The Valley of Vision

Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy, 

cast off that I might be brought in,

trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend,

surrendered to hell's worst that I might attain heaven's best,

stripped that I might be clothed,

wounded that I might be healed,

athirst that I might drink,

tormented that I might be comforted, 

made a shame that I might inherit glory,

entered darkness that I might have eternal life.

My Savior wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes,

groaned that I might have endless song,

endured all pain that I might have unfading health,

bore a thorned crown that I might have a glory-diadem,

bowed his head that I might uplift mine,

experienced reproach that I might receive welcome,

closed his eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness,

expired that I might forever live.

Follow-up After March 3's Sermon

The preaching text on March 3 for my sermon, "How To Pray for One Another", was Ephesians 3:15-18,  Here it is:

"For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, have the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints..."

Paul prayed for fellow believers in Christ at Ephesus, and he teaches us to pray for one another, that we would have knowledge of God-- "a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him"...and that we may "know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints..."

So we have the amazing privilege of praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus that we will know more of God's promised spiritual blessings (v. 3), including divinely seen wisdom and revelation, and hope and a gloriously eternal inheritance, by knowing more and more of God.  I say that because Paul surely know that the knowledge of God is infinite in measure because He is infinite.  His riches are unfathomable, and verse 19 tells us that his power is immeasurably great! 

Charles Spurgeon preached this on June 3, 1877-- "The most of the subjects which mortals study here will be forgotten in the world to come; the profoundest of them will be too trifling to be pursued amid angelic thrones.  The honors of classical and mathematical attainments will shine but dimly amidst the glories of of heaven, but the knowledge of Christ Jesus will still be priceless, and it will cause those who possess it to shine as the sun.  He that knoweth Christ shall go on to sit at his feet and still to learn, and as he learns he will tell to principalities and powers the manifold wisdom of God in the person of Jesus Christ.  Se ye, then, beloved, that the apostle for the sake of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord still counted all the things that he had once gloried in to be but loss."

So, dear Rocky family, let us pray for one another in terms of Paul's example in verses 15-18.  And in these times of increasing uncertainly in the world, let us pray that Christ will be our hope.  He is our hope of glory (Col. 1:27)!

As we prepared for communion on Sunday, I spoke this invitation to the table: "Come to the Lord's table...rejoicing and remembering that our hope is built on nothing less that Jesus' blood and righteousness, and our inheritance is sure because of Him, and His substitutionary, atoning death in our place and his resurrection from the dead."  Some of those words are quoted from the following hymn, by Edward Mote, 1797-1874:

"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name."

"When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; 

In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil."

"His oath, His covenant, His blood support me in the whelming flood;

When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.

"When He shall come with trumpet sound, oh, may I then in Him be found;

Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain-

"On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, 

"All other ground is sinking sand." 

Praying for you like Paul prayed, in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Pastor Carey

An Unlikely Convert

Pastor Travis Cook, filling the pulpit in my absence, shared the story of Rosaria Champagne Butterfield and the story of her conversion from a radical lesbian to a redeemed Christian.  If you would like to read more, check out this blog post:

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/from-radical-lesbian-to-redeemed-christian

To See God's Glory

Here is Pastor Carey's 2012 Advent poem, read at RBBC's Quiet Christmas Eve Service.

To See God's Glory


What a wonder is the coming of the Word, sent forth from God
           when He said the time was right;
With life and light in Him to overcome the dark of sin and
           show God's glory in plain sight.

Oh, what a wonder this is, because it wasn't always so—
          God's glory for men plain to see;
Glimpses had come, yes, and yearnings for more, until that day--
          "Hail the Incarnate Deity!"

When Israel grumbled about being stuck, hungry in the desert—
          "In Egypt we had bread at least!"
The LORD said, in grace, to Moses, "Look, I'm going to rain manna
          that you can gather for daily feasts."

He did this to test the people, to see if they'd trust and obey
            Him by following the rules He set;
And not only bread but daily meat God promised too,
            though their gripes were against Him, He said.

Then Aaron told the people, "Come near before the LORD now
            because your grumbling He hears."
When he spoke the congregation looked, and behold the glory
            of the LORD in a cloud appeared.

Later, God called Moses to Sinai to receive His law,
            to the cloud-shrouded mountain top;
To the people below the look of God's glory on the peak
            Was like fire that burned white-hot.

Descending the mount with God-engraved tablets in hand, Moses
            found Israel dancing round a god of gold;
Punishing them with a plague, the Lord did not erase the nation--
            to Moses, "Go to the land as I've told."

"Take the people to the promised place, but I won't go among them,
            lest I kill them for their stiff-necked ways."
When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned
            while Moses went to the Lord to say—

"Show me now your ways, that I may find favor in your sight and
            Consider, we're yours, and please stay near."
"My presence will go with you and I will give you rest," God assured.
            "If not, do not send us up from here."

"For is it not in your going with us that we are distinct
            from other peoples on the earth's face?"
The Lord said, "This very thing that you have spoken I will do,
            For your name I know by my grace."

In a cloud, and in fire, God's glory had appeared and now
            Moses boldly asked Him for more:
"Please show me your glory!" "My goodness will pass before you,
            And my name I'll proclaim, 'The LORD!'"

"I'll be gracious to whom I'll be gracious, and have mercy
            On whom I will have mercy.
But you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live."
            Goodness seen by grace-- life spared in mercy.

And God said, "By me there's a rock where you'll stand, and I'll put you
            in a cleft of that rock and cover you
until I have passed by. Then, you uncovered will see my back,
            but my face you cannot view.

In a cloud, in fire, from a rocky cleft, God's glory had been seen.
            Then in the fullness of time
God came down, Christ the Lord— became as nothing, a man, a bond-slave!
            Born a babe, fullness of God--sublime!

To a created virgin, the Creator was born the God-man,
            to justify us by His blood shed,
and to rescue rebels from sin, death and His Father's wrath—
            propitiation laid in a hay bed.

Born heaven's Sun, the life and light of men shining in darkness-
            Whom the darkness cannot defeat-
to be the Light of the world and His people's Good Shepherd
            and lay down His life for His sheep.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, God's glory to show,
            His Son full of truth and grace.               
No wonder, then, heaven's multitude exulted, "Glory to God!"
            And shepherds found Jesus in haste.

God's mercy shielded Moses from the overwhelming glory
            He would see in the Lord's face,
But now shepherds, looking at a baby, see the Lord:
            Glory, Goodness, Mercy, Grace.                     

What a wonder! The Glory of the Lord--so intense
            That Moses huddled in a stone--
Now huddles in a manger, so that to the whole world
            God's boundless love is made known.

What a wonder this is: That God so loved the world that He gave
            His Son, His only Begotten,
that whosoever receives and believes in Him should not
            perish but have eternal life.

Have you seen the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ?
           O God, shine in each heart, give the light
of the knowledge of our glorious God in the face of Jesus Christ!
            Open our eyes to this glorious sight!

On Voting in the 2012 Election

In all my years of ministry, I don't recall an election like the one coming in less than two weeks.  I have read an article by one pastor giving his reasons for deciding not to vote because he cannot agree with voting for either one of the major party candidates for President.  He vote is not voting.  I know that some believers, as a matter of conscience, will vote for President, but not for either the Republican or Democrat.  And I have listened to a Christian leader whom I greatly respect, Dr. Albert Mohler (President of The Southern Baptist Seminary, Louisville, KY) make a case of distinction between the two major candidates in which he rather plainly communicates which of the two he will vote for.

Because voting is a small but very real opportunity for us as followers of Jesus Christ to be salt and light in the world (Matt. 5:13-14), I cannot agree with declining this opportunity to vote.  As a matter of conscience some believers may vote for a candidate affiliated with a minor party.  And while evidence is abundant that neither of the major candidates is a Christ-exalting lover of the Scriptures with a Biblical worldview, it is good to be reminded that Paul's instructions for believers in relation to governing authorities and governors were written in the context of life under a Roman system that was hostile to the apostle and to all Christians.  Yet he called for being subject to governing authorities because their power was God-given and instituted by God (Rom. 13:1).  Further, in 1 Timothy 2:1-3 Paul wrote--- "...I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.  This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior..."  

Since Paul counsels us to pray this way so that "we may live a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way", it follows that our voting would be directed toward candidates who will govern in manners that will result in environments and opportunities for such God-honoring living. 

As I have said before during elections seasons I most certainly encourage all of us to stand for the preciousness of all God-given life and against abortion and euthanasia as we vote.  I continue to be amazed at God's patience with a nation in which it is legal to slaughter unborn little ones, and even those who have emerged from the birth canal!  (And now this year, we have a party platform that openly calls for freedom to pursue infanticidal murder and countenances immorality.)  In this sense I am a one issue voter, and other issues of moral importance must be taken into consideration as we vote if we are to stand for the absolute truth of God's Word and design.  However small you perceive one vote to be, I encourage us to stand against such evil and for truth with our vote.

Finally,, here are some resources you may find helpful as you prepare to vote:

* A fine sermon by Dr. Mark Dever--  www.capitolhillbaptist.org/2010/09/jesus-paid-taxes-makr-1213-17/

* The American Worldview Test-- www.albertmohler.com

* "Is A Vote for Mitt Romney a Sin Against God?", by James A. Smith, Executive Editor of the Florida Baptist Witnes-- www.goFBW.com, current issue

More On Loving One Another

Dear Rocky Family,

The subject of last Sunday's sermon, Loving One Another, is very, very big and there is much more to say about the importance of "one another" relationships with fellow disciples in the body of Christ.  There are many verbs describing the benefits of loving one another in the church-- encourage, build up, pray for, forgive, restore, be kind, exhort, help, stir up-- as we seek to grow in faith in Christ Jesus together.

As I read in the book of Hebrews on Monday, I was struck with how important it is to be connected in "one another" relationships as together we battle temptation and sin and live in obedience to Christ, for our joy in Him (John 15:11). The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thess. 4:1-4  "Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.  For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor..."  

In Hebrews we find that being sanctified in Christ is what John Piper calls a community project.  We are called to encourage one another to grow up in Jesus and fight sin together.  Here are two passages that show how very vital and serious this is:

Hebrews 3:12-14    "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.  But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today', that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.  For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end."

Hebrews 10:23-31    "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.  For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.  Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.  How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?  For we know him who said, 'Vengeance is mine; I will repay.'  And again, 'The Lord will judge his people.'  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Sobering, to be sure.  Isn't it a great blessing that the Lord of the church has designed his body, the church, so that fellow believers are granted and called to the blessing of caring for the church by spurring one another on in going hard after Christ as we do life together and abide in and obey him for our joy?  So let us move toward each other and unite together in worship, Bible study, LIFE groups, and ministry, helping one another "bring about the obedience faith for the sake of his name" (Rom. 1:5).

And one more passage to encourage you in this: Jesus said, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full"  John 15:9-11.

For His glory and your joy,

Pastor Carey   

Questions from Jonah

I am thankful for a request to post the response questions posed at the end of Sept. 23's sermon from Jonah, "And Should I Not Pity Nineveh?"  Here they are:

1. If you have heard the call of God's compassionate grace and received rescue from sin and death through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, you have a calling like Jonah.  What an amazing privilege to be called to speak for Christ!  Are you obeying Him or running away?  If He calls you to a very hard, even threatening place, will you go?

2. Are unbelieving observers and listeners to your life drawn to acknowledge God and perhaps move toward worshiping Him (as the pagan sailors were)?

3. Are you continually astounded at the loving-kindness, patience and compassion of God toward you through Jesus Christ?

4. Is yours a theology of God's greatness and glory or of self-centered "sovereignty"?

5. Are you open to the proclamation of God's Word, especially when it brings conviction of your sin?

6. Will you long for and pray that God would move mightily through preachers and witnesses of the Word?  Through your own witness?

7. Do you believe that God can and will move astonishingly among people-- even entire cities and people groups?  Or do you say, "That was then, this is now?"  And will you believe that God will bring about the gospel's spread through turmoil and tragedy in today's world?

8. Down deep do you rule out certain people as undesirable and undeserving of the gospel of Christ because they are who they are, like Jonah did?  Islamists; drug gangsters; abortionists; colleagues and relatives who are "burrs under the saddle" of your life; others?

9. Do you quickly assent to the truth that people from every tongue and people group will be won to Christ, but you would much rather not be used to bring it about because of what it would cost you?  Or would it even be fine with you if you were dead before it happens?

10.  Do you place limits on God's sovereignty and resent Him when He calls you to hard things or takes away your "shady place" in life?  (Added after Sunday-- Are you angry with God when you know well what following Jesus requires of you, especially in very hard circumstances, and you want to rebel (even in a premeditated, planned way as Jonah did)?  For example, you know that following Christ calls for you to stay in your difficult marriage and you are angry and thinking of getting out?  Or, following Christ calls you to hold lightly to your children and the thought of having your son or daughter live in a dangerous place for the gospel's sake upsets you to the point of distress and anger?)

11. How does your compassion measure with God's?

Tip: Please bring this list with you to the All-Church Prayer Meeting on Sunday evening, Sept. 30, 6pm.

Prayerfully continuing to process these questions for myself, and praying for you who read and answer the questions,

Pastor Carey

Shall We Fear?

A few minutes ago I read that China is rattling sabers against Japan.  "Friendly allies" kill American soldiers in Afghanistan.  Murderous violence is intensifying against the U.S. and other western nations in Muslim countries.  The economies of our nation and world seem bent on implosion as unfathomable debt continues to mount.  Shall we be afraid?

Here is how the Bible answers that question: No, do not fear, but humbly trust God.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. "  Psalm 23:4

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"  Psalm 27:1

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  Isaiah 41:10

"I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body,and after that have nothing more that they can do.  But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell."  Luke 12:4-5

"And [Jesus] said to his disciples, 'Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life,what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.  For life is more that food, and the body more than clothing...And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?  Is then your are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?"  Luke 12:22-23, 25-26

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."  1 Peter 5:6-7

The Word of God does not call us to some sort of naivete; the world is an evil and wicked place in which scary things are commonplace and uncertainty is ever prevalent.  But our God is vastly, infinitely greater and He is WITH US as our LIGHT, SALVATION AND STRONGHOLD!  He promises to strengthen, help and uphold us.  He will provide for us and free us of deadly fear and care for us.  So let us trust and believe Him in these raging, unsettling times, and let us help one another to trust and believe Him.

And here is another thought to contemplate.  The unrest, tensions and fears of the world present opportunities for us to speak of Christ to those in our influences circles who are caught up in it because their security does rest in the Lord.  So as the events of the coming days unfold, be alert for opportunities He affords you to 

More About Joel 2, Returning and Repentance

As I've prepared to preach and meditated on the book of Joel, I've been impressed with the importance of repentance for sin and turning to the Lord as part of our sanctification.  As followers of the Lord Jesus we are called to living lives pleasing to God and abstain from sin-- "for this is the will of God, your sanctification" (1 Thess. 4:3).  While once we were slaves to sin, by God's grace we have been set free from pervasive slavery to sin.  So now we are to "present [our] members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification" (Romans 6:19).  Having been mercifully by the substitutionary, atoning death of our Savior, we are to "work out [our] own slavation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12-13).

Therefore, as the Lord continues his saving work in us, let us give ourselves to his "sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth" (2 Thess. 2:13)  As he thus reveals sin in us, let us ask the Lord to "bring [us] back that [we] might be restored, for you are the LORD my God" (Jer. 31:18).  Let us learn to pray, for ourselves and our church and all the body of Christ, "Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored.  Renew our days as of old..." (Lam. 5:21).

Let us learn how to pray and live repentantly.  Prayer is such a crucial element of life in pursuit of God's glory and pleasure and battling the flesh and sin! 

Here is a beautiful prayer from The Valley of Vision collection, that illustrates such praying, and how we may respond to his awesome saving work in us!

"O God of Grace,

You have imputed my sin to my Substitute, and have imputed His righteousness to my soul, clothing me with a bridegroom's robe, decking me with jewles of holiness.  But in my Christian walk I am still in rags; my best prayers are stained with sin; my penitential tears are so much impurity; my confessions of wrong are so may aggravations of sin; my receiving the Spirit is tinctured with selfishness.  I need to repent of my repentance; I need my tears to be washed; I have no robe to bring to cover my sins, no loom to weave my own righteousness; I am always standing clothed in filthy garments, and by grace am always receiving change of raiment, for you always justify the ungodly; I am always going into the far country, and always returning home as a prodigal, always saying, 'Father, forgive me,' and You are always bringing forth the best robe.  Every morning let me wear it, every evening return in it, go out to the day's work in it, be married in it, be wound in death in it, stand before the great white throne in it, enter heaven in it shining as the sun.  Grant me never to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the exceeding righteousness of salvation, the exceeding glory of Christ, the exceeding beauty of holiness, the exceeding wonder of grace." 

O Lord, teach us!  Grant us the gift of continual repentance, that we would get real about remaining sin in our lives, and rend our hearts over sin, and return to you again and again.  Grant that we would see our sin for what it is and flee to Christ, thus magnifying the enormity of his gracious love, grace and purifying power.

When Death Is All Around: Reminders of Truth for My Dad and Mom (and Us, Too)

When Death Is All Around: Reminders

Of Truth for My Dad and Mom (And Us, Too)

 

Last Saturday night at about 11:00 P.M. my mother's best friend, Betty Welch, died of ovarian cancer that had spread rapidly in her aged body.  It was a blessing for Betty.  Mom had known Betty for 70 years, having gone through nurses' training as young women in St. Paul, MN.  And for almost as long, Dad was a very close friend of Pete Welch as they went through college and seminary together after the war.  Mom married Dad and Pete married Betty and they were great friends for life.  Now Betty has gone to be with Jesus and Pete is in very frail health.  And Mom and Dad are very sad.

 

The news about Betty hit especially hard, but dying is all around my parents' now.  They are 87 and 88 years old and live in a senior adult community, Trail Ridge, in Sioux Falls, SD.  Almost every week we hear from them that a friend at Trail Ridge has died.  Death is all around.

 

So in grateful appreciation for Betty's life (and Pete's, both dear followers of Christ), I am writing this to remind my parents of Scriptural encouragement they know very well and have given to others over 60+ span of ministry years.  I am adapting my thoughts from Edward Mote's hymn, The Solid Rock.

 

Dear Daddy and Momma,

 

As you experience weakness and fragile health in these "wintertime of life" years, with reminders of death and love all around you:

 

Keep on building your hope on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness, not even daring to trust the sweetest circumstances, but wholly leaning on Jesus' name.  Stand on Christ, your Solid Rock; all other ground is sinking sand.

 

When darkness (like awareness of the enemy of death) sets in and seems to veil the Lord's face, rest in His unchanging grace.  Even in the saddest and most difficult times, your anchor will hold.

 

His oath, covenant and blood will support you in the floods of this life, and when it feels like your soul is about to give way, He is all your hope and strength.

 

The day is coming when Christ will come back, announced with trumpet call; and because you are His, you'll be found in Him.  With His righteousness as your robe, you'll stand faultless before His Throne.

 

You know this hymn, I know.  But here it is for you to sing day by day, for your hope in our living Savior and King!

 

"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name."

 

Refrain

 

"On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand."

 

"When darkness hides His lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace;

In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil."

 

"His oath, His covenant, his blood support me in the whelming flood;

When all around my soul gives way, he then is all my hope and stay."

 

"When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh may I then in Him be found;

Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne."

 

I love you, Daddy and Momma, and pray that you will continually find encouragement, courage and joy in Christ, your hope of glory! (Col. 1:27)

 

Carey

Grateful for God's Grace to Me in Rynette

On Thursday, June 7, Rynette and I will celebrate 37 years of marriage and once again I rise together with our children to call her blessed!  Happy Anniversary, Babe!  I love you so much!  Thank you for being my beautiful, kind, sweet, generous, sacrificial, gentle, loving, understanding, godly, helpful, faithful wife!  You bless me.

Today I am contemplating two things about our marriage: First, the Lord continues to take us more and more into the depths of understanding God's grace and the love of Christ for His church and the gospel and the mystery of oneness (Ephesians 5:22-33) in marriage.  Often I find myself thinking or saying, "I don't have the words it takes to describe the beauty of the mystery of our marriage and what God shows us about Christ and the church."  Amazing love!

Second, our marriage gets sweeter and more profoundly precious (as do Christ and His gospel) as we contemplate mortality-- yes, because we are approaching 60 years of age, but also because people who are dear to us are growing frail as death nears.  I couldn't help but be reminded of this when I read a poem recently, written and recited in his sermon on marriage by Denny Burke.  I quote from his sermon, given last Sunday in Kentucky:

"I wrote a poem for Susan on our third anniversary that was a bit of a vision of how I was hoping and praying we might end up.  It's a story that ends with a short prayer."

"The old man took her tired hand

to hold for one last time.

The years had finally pressed her to

her final breath of life.

Their wrinkled hands in warm embrace

brought back the long-gone years.

The memories of their happy times,

and those dissolved in tears.

The old man saw in her ill frame

the girl that stole his heart.

He saw in her that gracious gaze

that filled their home with warmth.

His mind turned back to lighter days

when she did make her mark,

The children her love reared for them, 

her single heart for God.

He also felt the weight of grace

that marked her many years, 

How she had borne him patiently 

when he did cause the tears.

The old man said, 'My love, the time

was cruelly short to me.

I cannot say goodbye to you

and let your passing be.'

'How can I ever say farewell

or even let you part?

You are my only precious thing, 

the joy of my old heart.'  

And as his eyes began to well,

she reached to touch his face,

And then her quivering voice began

to give one final grace.

'This is the day the Lord has made,

the one He's brought to pass.

This day was written in His book

before my first was past.'

'The Lord has granted us to spend

together all these years.

He's also granted all the joy

and even all our tears.'

'And though this is a bitter day, 

we owe him so much thanks.

Dear, we made it!  By Him we did!

Yes, we made it!  By His grace!'"

********************************************

"Oh Father, grant that we may see

our days as at their end.

Oh let us know the weight of grace 

in every year we spend.

We make this prayer unto You,

for there is no one higher.

The testimony of your grace

we desperately desire!"  

Rynette, I look forward to knowing more of the weight of God's great grace in every year He grants us.  I love you and thank God for giving us one another.

The Story of Ian and Larissa: A Must See

Are you joyfully married?  Do you want to grow in marriage?  Are you struggling in your marriage?  Or looking forward to marriage one day?  Or none of these?

Whatever the case, I encourage you to take ten minutes and view "The Story of Ian and Larissa" at www.desiringgod.org in the blog section.  This is a must-see-and-listen!  You will be encouraged, moved, challenged, convicted, changed, helped and better equipped to pray for marriages, prepare for marriage, and grow in marriage.

In Christ's Covenant Love,

Pastor Carey

Don't Wait To Be A Witness

In April 22's sermon from Acts 22:1-21, I encouraged us all to be prepared to give a defense (witness) for Christ and His gospel.  This doesn't mean that we have to wait until we are thoroughly prepared to speak to lost people!  1 Peter 3:15 makes this plain: "In your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you..."

Always be prepared.  There are several implications to this including these: 1. That opportunities to witness for the Lord Jesus are always before us; and 2. That pursuing preparedness is to be part of our lives as we regard Him as holy.  Preparing and witnessing are to flow together in our lives as disciples as we regard Him as holy-- which means set apart, worthy of all worship, tops in our lives!

So let us not wait to be witnesses for Him!  Let us be preparing to give reasons for our hope!  Let us take up good resources to equip us for effective witnessing.  (Bob and Cindy Huisken's Apologetics Library will be open on April 26, 3pm - 7pm, on the campus of Rocky Bayou Christian School in Grace Presbyterian Church.  Check out this superb resource; talk with Bob and Cindy; get on their e-mail list.)  Let us pray for lost people by name and ask God to grant us boldness and help to speak up for Jesus Christ!  He will help us!  Christ promised, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" (John 14:26).  And the Holy Spirit has come and is in you if you belong to Christ.  He will help!

Don't wait; do witness!

We Are All Natural Evangelists...

This morning I read this from Kevin DeYoung's blog: "We are all natural evangelists for the people and things we love the most."  And I join with Kevin in this: "As I seek to grow as a personal evangelist, and want my church to grow in the same way, my first prayer is 'More Love to Thee, O Christ!'  What we need first and foremost is greater wonder and greater delight in our Savior.  The more we love, the more we love to speak of the things we love...Would that my joy in Christ knew no bounds."

Pastor DeYoung is right.  We are all natural evangelists for the people and things we love the most.  Spouse, family, church, military service, food, sport, travel destination, television, electronic gizmo, movie, author... I could go on and on.

Am I a natural evangelist for the living Christ?  Are you?  The more we know Him and love Him, the more we naturally overflow and talk about Him.  

Resurrection Sunday is four days away.  Jesus lives, so we don't trust a dead teacher's instructions.  We believe in and love the Son of God and Savior who died for our trespasses and was raised for our justification (Rom. 4:25).  Talk to unbelievers about Christ this week; they desperately need to know Him!  Bring them with you to hear the gospel on Resurrection Sunday and afterward pursue an ongoing conversation with them about Christ.  He lives and will help you (John 14:25-26).

Christ's Purpose in Jerusalem

"And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way He said to them, 'See, we are going up to Jerusalem.  And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and He will be raised on the third day.'" Matthew 20:17-19

"While He was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people...Then those who had seized Jesus led Him to Caiaphas the hight priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered." Matthew 26:47, 57

"When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death.  And they bound Him and led Him away and delivered Him over to Pilate the governor." Matthew 27:1-2

"So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, 'I am innocent of this man's blood;; see to it yourselves.'  And all the people answered, 'His blood be on us and on our children!'  Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to be crucified."  Matthew 27:24-26

"And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, He would not drink it.  And when they had crucified Him..." Matthew 27:33-35a

O come, let us adore Him.