Prayer of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

“O Lord, come quickly and reign on Thy throne, for now often something rises up within me and tries to
take possession of Thy throne; pride, covetousness, uncleanness, and sloth want to be my kings; and
then evil speaking, anger, hatred, and the whole train of vices join with me in warring against myself
and try to reign over me. I resist them, I cry out against them, and say, ‘I have no other king than
Christ.’ O King of Peace, come and reign in me, for I will have no king but Thee! Amen.”

What an amazing prayer from this 10th century monk! We need to remember our brothers and sister in Christ on whose shoulders we stand on. Understanding the history of the church is so important for many reasons such as: 1. To see God's work and grace in the protection and growth of his people. 2. To seek forgiveness for mistakes and work to avoid repeating them. 3. To know that our time is not a time of "innovation" or "new trends" but rather a time of trust in the steadfast of God. 4. To get to know the family history we are apart of and connected to by the blood of Jesus.

I have been currently going through the book "The Story of Christianity vol.1" by Justo Gonzalez in a class I am taking from Covenant Seminary. I will be studying vol. 2 in the spring. I have really been enjoying this book and recommend it as a great starting place to understand church history.

Young People in the Church

From Z:
"Of course, it is only natural for young people to default to spending time with other young people, but the church is not a “natural” agency. The church is a phenomenon that can only be explained by the operative grace of the Holy Spirit at work through the gospel of Christ. Part of the discipleship of young people is encouraging and equipping them to be willing participants in a diverse congregation.

A further benefit of this integrated approach to reaching and discipling young people is the way they then contribute to the actual shape and color of the community. Leaders take the presence of young people actively into account as they plan the life of the church. Young people matter, not because they are the “church of tomorrow,” but because they are an integral part of the church today. They too need to understand the word of God as it is taught. They need to hear the truth as it is in Christ applied to their hearts, their idols, their struggles, their joys.

Listen to what Martin Luther had to say on the subject of teaching God’s word to the gathered congregation:

When I preach I don’t look to the doctors and magistrates of whom there are about forty in this church. I have an eye to the many young people, children and servants of whom there are
more than two thousand. I preach to these, addressing myself to their needs. If other people don’t want to listen to this approach then they can always walk out! An upright, godly and true preacher should direct his preaching to the poor, simple sort of people . . . when preachers talk to me they can show off their learning—they will be well put to their trumps! But to sprinkle Hebrew, Greek and Latin in their public sermons, suggests they are merely showing off."

- Tim Chester and Steve Timmis, Total Church, p. 186, 187

Excitement and Dissappointment and A New Day

I want to start of saying that I am disgusted by the horrors of the holocaust of abortion. Abortion has taken the lives of over 45 million people since the passing of 'Roe vs Wade'. I believe abortion to be about life and death, not faith or politics, although both do play roles. With that said, there is quite a bit of disappointment on the views of our next president who has been very pro-abortion in his voting.

My disappointment is also tempered by joy and excitement. I woke up this morning and realized that my children will probably grow up with the first memory of a president as an African-American. What a joy, what a day this is!! This step is maybe the biggest step since the abolition of slavery and one that EVERY Christian should praise the Lord for! It feels like a new day in America and it should in many ways.

I would say though that while there are reasons to rejoice and to be excited we need to be cautious too. We need to be aware that President-Elect Obama is not our Hope, he is not our Savior. Jesus Christ is our ultimate King and Lord, He has placed Obama in office. Barack Obama is a "servant of God" as Romans 13 states. This should temper our joy in a man, and our disappointment in results, whatever side you are on.

Below are various links to responses to this historic election:

Abraham Piper's shared joy for our kids

Al Moehler's discussion on disappointment, joy and obiedence

JD Greear

Trevin Wax on Racial changes may forshadow Value of Life changes

Riddleblog on remember the City of Man is not our hope

Joshua Harris on How to Pray for President-Elect Obama

Randy Alcorn on how the fight for the unborn goes on

In God We Do Not Trust

Mark Driscoll offers great advice and pastoral wisdom in this post. In it he states that we do not look for presidents for our hope, but to Jesus. I fear that whatever side of the electoral map you are in that it is easy to hope too much and fear too much when election time comes around. Driscoll's advice is truly wise.

This election season which has dominated the cultural conversation for many months has been particularly insightful regarding the incessant gospel thirst that abides deep in the heart of the men and women who bear God’s image. Without endorsing or maligning either political party or their respective presidential candidates, I am hopeful that a few insights from the recent election season are of help, particularly to younger evangelicals.

First, people are longing for a savior who will atone for their sins. In this election, people thirst for a savior who will atone for their economic sins of buying things they did not need with money they did not have. The result is a mountain of credit debt they cannot pay and a desperate yearning that somehow a new president will save them from economic hell.

Second, people are longing for a king who will keep them safe from terror in his kingdom. In the Old Testament the concept of a peaceable kingdom is marked by the word shalom. In shalom there is not only the absence of sin, war, strife, and suffering but also the presence of love, peace, harmony, and health. And, this thirst for shalom is so parched that every election people cannot help but naively believe that if their candidate simply wins shalom is sure to come despite sin and the curse.

The bottom line is obvious to those with gospel eyes. People are longing for Jesus, and tragically left voting for mere presidential candidates. For those whose candidate wins today there will be some months of groundless euphoric faith in that candidate and the atoning salvation that their kingdom will bring. But, in time, their supporters will see that no matter who wins the presidency, they are mere mortals prone to sin, folly, and self-interest just like all the other sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. To help extend naïve false hope as long as possible, a great enemy will be named and demonized as the one who is hindering all of the progress to atone for our sins and usher in our kingdom. If the Democrats win it will be the rich, and if the Republicans win it will be the terrorists. This diversionary trick is as old as Eve who blamed her sin on Satan rather than repenting. The lie is that it’s always someone else’s fault and we’re always the victim of sinners and never the sinner.

Speaking of repentance, sadly, no matter who wins there will be no call to personal repentance of our own personal sins which contributes to cultural suffering and decline such as our pride, gluttony, covetousness, greed, indebtedness, self-righteousness, perversion, and laziness. And, in four years we’ll do it all again and pretend that this time things will be different. Four years after that, we’ll do it yet again. And, we’ll continue driving around this cul de sac until Jesus returns, sets up his throne, and puts an end to folly once and for all.

In the meantime, I would encourage all preachers to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and repentance of personal sin. He alone can truly atone for our sins. He alone can deliver us from a real hell. He alone is our sinless and great King. And, he alone has a Shalom kingdom to offer.

Lastly, for those preachers who have gotten sidetracked for the cause of a false king and a false kingdom by making too much of the election and too little of Jesus, today is a good day to practice repentance in preparation to preach it on Sunday. Just give it some time. The thirst will remain that only Jesus can quench. So, we’ve still got work to do….until we see King Jesus and voting is done once and for all.

You can find the rest of the post here at The Resurgence

Jesus Sits and Rules

Tonight someone's candidate will win.
Jesus sits and rules.
Tonight someone's candidate will lose.
Jesus sits and rules.
Tonight people will think their "savior" has come.
Jesus sits and rules.
Tonight people will be angry their "savior" lost.
Jesus sits and rules.
Tonight people will think they found hope.
Jesus sits and rules.
Tonight people will feel lost and defeated.
Jesus sits and rules.
Tonight people will feel safe under a new "king".
Jesus sits and rules.
Tonight people will fear the strength of a new leader.
Jesus sits and rules.
Tonight people will hope change has come.
Jesus sits and rules.
Tonight people will dread the same old song and dance.
Jesus sits and rules.

"The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine.

Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you."

Psalm 33:13-22 ESV

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
Hebrews 1: 1-4

John Piper is Grateful for (Almost) Any Government

From Desiring God Blog:

How does the Bible instruct us to pray for “all who are in high positions”? It says,

First of all, then, 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, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:1-4).

A few observations:

1. Giving thanks “for kings” is hard when they are evil.

And, as Calvin said on this passage, “All the magistrates of that time were sworn enemies of Christ.” This shows us that anarchy is a horrible alternative to almost any ruler.

We should give thanks for rulers because “non-rule” would unleash on us utterly unbridled evil with no recourse whatever.

Again Calvin: “Unless they restrained the boldness of wicked men, the whole world would be full of robberies and murders.” The better we understand the seething evil of the human heart that is ready to break out where there is no restraint, the more thankful we will be for government.

2. The effect we pray for is “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly, and dignified in every way.”

Dignified means “serious and reverent,” not stuffy. I suspect what Paul means is not that we can’t live godly and serious lives during times of anarchy. We can. I suspect he means that peaceful and quiet lives, which are the opposite of anarchy, are often wasted in ungodly and frivolous actions.

So he is praying for a government that would give peace and quiet (not anarchy), and that Christians would not fritter away their peaceful lives with the world, but would be radically godly and serious about the lost condition of the world and how to change it.

3. Using our peace for radical godliness and serious action will lead to more effective evangelism and world missions.

This last observation is confirmed by the hoped-for outcome Paul mentions. Paul says that the reason God delights in such peaceful, Godward, serious action is that he “desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

More people will be saved if our government restrains the horrors of anarchy, and if Christians use this peace not to waste their lives on endless entertainment, but seriously give their lives to making God known.

This is why I heart that man!!!

One Word: Sweeeeet!

New York 35 Dallas 14

Photo Props: CNNSi