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November 8, 2024

3 Things I Like – November 8

Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.

1. Fredrik Backman

The first Fredrick Backman book I read was Beartown. If you asked me what it was about I would something like “Well, it’s a book about a hockey team, but it’s not a sports book. It’s about family and all the pressures and misunderstandings that pull one apart, but it’s pro-family. And it’s about friendship and betrayal and loyalty and coming of age. And it’s a mystery.” Then I read A Man Called Ove, and it is about an old cranky man who thinks he has run out reasons to live but is persuaded otherwise in charming an unexpected ways by charming and unexpected people. And that, friends, is why I love the writing of Fredrik Backman. Every single one of his books is about whatever his characters love and hate whether that be hockey or family or place or legacy or shame or secrets or whatever. He is a brilliant writer because he is a brilliant seer; he sees humanity in layers and at levels that almost no other novelist captures. Backman’s novels are brilliant. His reflections on parenting are brilliant. You should read him.

 

2. The Chick fil A Spicy Chicken Sandwich

There seems to be a growing contingent of people who feel a sort of smug superiority about insulting Chick fil A. “It’s really not that good.” “It’s so over rated.” “There are other better chicken sandwiches.” I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Any time something gains massive popularity for good reason a segment of populations feels obliged to posture against it (see also: Taylor Swift or The Super Bowl). But here’s the thing. Chick fil A is that good. Consistently. Always. And with great service. And yes, the great service does make the food more enjoyable. Are there better spicy chicken sandwiches elsewhere? Sure, but not ubiquitously, consistently, affordably. When you roll into a Chick fil A and order the number 4 value meal you know exactly what you are going to get, every time, in timely fashion. It is never over or under cooked. The spice level is always precisely the same. The bun is not high quality, but it is lightly toasted and delicious. And you are happy. And isn’t that the point, after all?

 

3. Southeastern by Jason Isbell

It’s rare to find an album without a bad song on it, and this is one. Not only that, half the songs on Southeastern are better than anything most successful songwriters have ever produced. Isbell released it eleven years ago, and I love it as much or more today as ever. It is a story-telling album, a heartfelt album, an album with layers. It is sad without being whiny and hopeful without being chipper. It has soul. Southeastern takes dozens of listens to catch all the lines and images and evocations, and by the time you have found them you’re ready to rediscover them. My favorite song is Traveling Alone, but if you picked any number of other songs on it you’d be right too.

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Published on November 08, 2024 05:23

November 7, 2024

Kindle Deals for November 7

Some Kindle deals worth your mind and money today:

Finding My Father: How the Gospel Heals the Pain of Fatherlessness by Blair Linne – $2.99

Counter Culture: Following Christ in an Anti-Christian Age by David Platt – $3.99

On Earth as in Heaven: Daily Wisdom for Twenty-First Century Christians by N.T. Wright – $2.99

Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright – $1.99

Holy Sexuality and the Gospel: Sex, Desire, and Relationships Shaped by God’s Grand Story by Christopher Yuan – $4.99

Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship by Jonathan Gibson – $7.99

Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments by Joe Posnanski – $4.99

The Last Great Fight: The Extraordinary Tale of Two Men and How One Fight Changed Their Lives Forever by Joe Layden – $2.99

Unbeaten: Rocky Marciano’s Fight for Perfection in a Crooked World by Mike Stanton – $2.99

Ghosts of Manila: The Fateful Blood Feud Between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier by Mark Kram – $2.99

MY BOOKS:

Belong: Loving Your Church by Reflecting Christ to One Another – $8.99

The Pastor’s Kid: What it’s Like and How to Help – $8.99

Help My Unbelief: Why doubt is not the enemy of faith – $8.99

The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life – $4.99

Hoping for Happiness: Turning Life’s most elusive Feeling into Lasting Reality – $8.99

These links are Amazon affiliate links.

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Published on November 07, 2024 05:28

November 6, 2024

The Most Important Quotes From “The Pastor’s Kid”

The following quotes are the ones I see as most indicative of the message and tone of my book, The Pastor’s Kid: What It’s Like and How to Help. I hope some of them pique your interest, strike a nerve, or rattle your brain and heart a bit.


The life of a PK is complex, occasionally messy, often frustrating, and sometimes downright maddening. It can be a curse and a bane. But being a PK can also be a profound blessing and provide wonderful grounding for a godly life. Often the greatest challenges are the greatest grounding and the biggest falls are the best blessings. This polarity exemplifies the challenge it is to be a PK.


The congregation has more responsibility than it knows to care for and ease the burden of the pastor and his family.


A child doesn’t know the call of his pastor father. All he knows is the effects it has on his life. He doesn’t feel moved to ministry, because he’s not. Yes, it is the call of the child to honor his parents, but that is not the same as a call to vocational ministry.


A PK might hear ten comments or questions on a Sunday from ten different people, each of whom has no intention whatsoever of prodding or snooping. Even the sheer number of people who greet the PK by name is constricting. It all adds up to a feeling of being watched. And watched is what PKs so often do feel, all the time, in everything. It is life in a fishbowl, exposed, on display.


PKs want to be known, not just known of.


We don’t gain relationship with God by osmosis from our dads, regardless of their scriptural studies or dynamic preaching. Our moms’ faithful service can’t do a thing to wash away our sins. No, we need to get to know Jesus and be won by Him.


God’s grace is very big, and there are numerous ministry families that are healthy. But this cannot be assumed. Ministry is a burden on families, one that is worth bearing for many, but a burden nonetheless.


Often the church is not a safe place to have doubts, or at least it doesn’t feel safe.


There is a huge difference between knowledge of biblical facts and confidence in biblical reality.


So often we assume a person has leadership qualities because of the family name or the good looks or the booming voice.


Legalism creates false expectations. It is a false standard of holiness based on some extrabiblical standard, some man-made understanding of morality.


Legalism creates more than just an inability to reach the moral standard. It creates an inability to even figure out what that standard is because it breeds hypocrisy.


There is a straightforward, blunt, in-your-face expectation that PKs will behave “better” than our peers. We will have inherently better judgment, avoid temptations common to our age and gender, express none of our baser thoughts or feelings, and generally reflect positively on our parents and their position. Which is total nonsense.


We don’t drink, we don’t chew, and we don’t go with girls who do. Alcohol is of the Devil. TV rots your brain. Dating is bad, so you should only court—or better yet, have an arranged marriage. Smoking will not only kill you, it will send you to hell. Tattoos are evil. Syncopated rhythm is the gateway for the Devil to enter your body and make you move in sensual ways. If Jesus comes back while you’re watching an R-rated movie, He’ll leave you behind.


Few people can do hypocrisy more smoothly than a PK. On the outside he is devout, polite, and involved. On the inside he is cold, angry, and detached. Or maybe he is simply confused.


I spent all those years knowing all the right answers about everything, convincing everyone I was all good. But at no point did I know what I believed. I knew answers, but not reality. I knew cognitive truth, but not experiential truth.


It is only grace that has restored me. It was the awful power of God’s grace that peeled back layer after layer of hypocrisy, my onion self, to expose my heart to what I knew answers about but truly needed to believe.


A more important identity question faces PKs than “Who am I?” and that is “Who is Jesus?”


Being around Jesus-related teaching, literature, and events all the time makes Jesus rote in the minds and hearts of PKs. Rote is mundane. When Jesus becomes mundane, He ceases being life-changing and life-giving.


Jesus is Dad’s boss. Jesus is the job. Jesus is boring. Jesus is all seriousness and no fun. Jesus is judgmental. Jesus is a religious blowhard. Jesus is legalistic. Jesus is a soft-spoken wimp. Jesus cares about poor people and despises the rich. Jesus cares about rich people and ignores the poor. Jesus is a hard-line teacher with no room for questions or doubts. Jesus is white. And so on. Every one of these descriptions is a reflection of a church culture or a caricature of a single aspect of who Jesus is. But none of them is Jesus.


Dads put on a good face, but most of us spend most of the time scrambling to figure out what it means to be a good father. Without grace from both God and our families, we would be lost.


What the PK needs is parents who not only admit to being sinners but actually admit to sins. It is far more powerful for a child to see his parents admitting, apologizing for, and working to correct real, actual sins.


Shame is guilt compounded so many times over that it becomes unbearable and begins to shape us. It is guilt as an identity, the feeling that I am bad because of all the things I have done.


Sin turns everything on its head; it makes truth look like a lie and makes lies look appealing.


Even as Jesus showed such mercy to the dregs of society, He was hard on one set: the self-righteous prigs who burdened others and withheld grace. These were the people who made it harder for others to draw near to God or know Him.


Christianity is full of mystery and unknown depths because God is deeply mysterious. That’s why this faith is so amazing. If everything can be explained in clear terms, the impression the PK is given is that Christianity is a nicely buttoned-up, black-and-white construct.


Partial forgiveness is not forgiveness at all. In fact, that’s a nonsense phrase because partial forgiveness is false forgiveness.


The pressure of keeping my father in his job by being “submissive” is not something that makes me (or any other PK) want to follow Jesus. The tacit reminder that our rebellion may cost Dad his job is not an expression of grace leading to repentance and restoration. It is a cause for resentment.


Jesus’s grace was so profound that it unlocked hearts, evicted evil, and won sinners to Him time and again.


Jesus walked every mile He has asked me to walk.


Pastors, your children need a parent, not a pastor. They don’t need you to bring the expectations of your job into the home.


I believe in callings. I believe God pulls people toward particular positions and occupations. I do not, however, believe that the pastoral calling is a higher calling than any other. Unique? Yes. But not higher.


Sermons at home are even less effective for PKs than those from the pulpit.


We don’t need a prefab faith but rather the learning and materials to build a strong faith in any context.


The pastor needs to be a parent at all times—in the pulpit, the board room, the office, at the Little League diamond, the dinner table, and his kids’ bedsides. His church and his family both need to see his devotion to parenting, to family.


The church must create an expectation of acceptance. Accept that the pastor is finite and fallible. Accept that he makes mistakes, and accept his admittance of making them. Accept that he does not have time for everyone and he never will. Accept that his family is more important to him than the church members.


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Published on November 06, 2024 02:52

November 5, 2024

He Who Sits in the Heavens Laughs

This past December 31 I preached Psalm 2 for my church, Immanuel Nashville. We anticipated 2024 being a year of upheaval, unrest, and uncertainty so we needed to look to the One who sits on his throne and laughs as the nations rage. On this uneasy election day, may this message be biblical ballast for you.

Psalm 2

December 31, 2023

Immanuel Church Nashville

This new year feels different from previous years to me. From what I’ve seen on social media and heard in conversations with some of you, it feels different to a lot of us. Not too many years ago we tended to look forward to the new year with anticipation and excitement. It would be a time of new starts, new opportunities, the best year yet–“this is my year.” 

Some of you may be approaching the new year with that kind of optimism, but I think recent years took some wind out of our sails. We may want to be optimistic about the new year, but we’ve learned  to approach it with trepidation. If you’ve been bitten by a dog before you tend to approach other dogs with much more caution, and the last few years have had some teeth. 

2024 is an election year, and if recent history has told us anything it’s that political discourse and direction in America leaves little room for sunshiny optimism. Many of us are battening down the hatches, pulling in the sails, and preparing to ride out the storm of vitriol and division.

Significant moral cultural battles are being fought in government, in educational institutions, and within the media over matters of gender, sexuality, free speech, religious liberty, and more. 

Globally, wars rage between Israel and Palestine and between Russia and Ukraine–and there is plenty of unrest elsewhere.

And that’s all out there. Meanwhile, each of us has our own turmoil–emotional, physical, relational, mental, financial. If I took an anonymous poll of this room the results would be daunting. We’re looking ahead and wondering how we’ll navigate challenges and life changes. The new year doesn’t bring a new you. The turning over of the calendar doesn’t magically repair all that is broken in our nation, our world, and our hearts. So yeah, it’s harder than it’s ever been to look ahead and say “this is our year.” 

But just as the relentless manic optimism of several years ago was out of touch with reality, so too is downtrodden pessimism we are tempted toward. Yes, the world is in chaos. Yes, it is overwhelming. But as followers of Jesus, we have a firm foundation to stand on and an unassailable hope to cling to. In fact, we have the only firm footing and reason for hope as we look ahead to uncertainty and upheaval. That’s what we’re going to spend this morning looking at, from Psalm 2, which Omar just read for us.

PSALM 2 – CONTEXT

Psalm 2 is a coronation psalm for a new king in Israel. It is full of promise and blessing for the Lord’s anointed king. But even though this psalm would have celebrated a king of Israel from David’s line, no earthly king ever fulfilled its words, nor could they. David himself didn’t in all his military successes. Solomon didn’t with all his wealth and wisdom. And certainly none of their heirs did either. 

Instead, Psalm 2 looks to multiple horizons–the earthly king, and ultimately the heavenly one–as a fulfillment of God’s covenant to David in 2 Samuel 7, particularly verse 16 – 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” And when an OT promise or prophecy says “forever” we should lift our eyes to Jesus.

So Psalm 2 is a longer, greater promise than one just for the kings of Israel For where did the line of David culminate? In a king conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin mother in a stable in the city of David who was the Messiah–the deliverer–for all peoples, not just Israel.

This morning we’re going to focus on that king and his reign over all the earth through the lens of this psalm. It is arranged in 4 stanzas of three verses each and each one will serve as a point of my message, with one concluding point to cap it off–so 5 points total.  

STANZA 1 – Rebellion against God will fail

1 Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,


3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.”


We can see four crucial things in these verses. 

First, the nations rage and rebel against God. 

“The nations and peoples” refers to anyone who does not submit to God as king. This language of plotting and taking counsel is a picture of the intense, purposeful rebellion against God in the world. The world seeks to free itself from the authority of God. They feel it as oppression, as bondage.

Isn’t this exactly what we see and feel around us–the reason for our unease and feeling overwhelmed? We see and feel rage and opposition and rebellion against God in the world around us. These verses speak of the large scale–national, global, collective rebellion against God. We see it in false religions, tyrannical governments, godless laws, and oppression of the weak and vulnerable. And it’s equally as true for individuals who refuse God’s authority.

In our country, this rebellion expresses itself as profound individualism–I am my God, I determine my best life now, I dictate my future, I select my sexuality. In the words of William Ernest Henley from his poem, Invictus, “It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” This posture, this supreme value, pervades the halls of government and directs the cultural tide in which we live. In short, what Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden, seeking to be God and not need God, has become an agreed-upon cultural value.

Second, this rebellion is against Jesus.

Notice the phrase in verse 2, “against the LORD, and against his Anointed.” Anointed is capitalized because it speaks of the Messiah, the heavenly king, Jesus Christ. This rebellion, this rage in the world around us, is against Jesus. He is the king, the one whom the world hates to be subject to. Nobody is neutral toward Jesus, no matter what they say. There is only submission to him as King or rebellion against him. 

Third, these verses show that Christ already rules.

He is not seeking to gain control or authority–he already has it. Do not miss this. These verses do not portray a contest for power. They portray a furious rebellion against the One who already holds power. This is what is going on around us. We are not wondering if Christ will gain control or get the upper hand. He absolutely has it. 

The world around us sees submission to Christ as captivity, as the loss of self, the loss of autonomy or freedom or happiness. That’s why verse 3 three speaks of “bursting the bonds” and “casting off” the rule of Christ. They rage at the idea of being ruled and judged and loathe the idea of needing a savior. Make no mistake, Jesus is the Anointed One who rules with power. That is the overarching context for Psalm 2, and for our 2024. 

Fourth, we see that the outcome is not in question.

There is no suspense. When the psalmist asks “why do the nations rage?” he isn’t fretting or worried; he is baffled and incredulous at their foolishness. He is asking “What are you even doing? Why would you bother with this insanity?” They rage and plot in vain; it is right in verse 1. This is not a fair fight or a contest between two evenly matched opponents. The psalmist is not crafting a story in which tension builds until victory is won in climactic battle. He is telling us the end at the beginning. God wins. The Anointed Messiah rules. 

This brings to the second stanza and my second point.

STANZA 2 – God is unworried, not uncaring

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.


5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
    and terrify them in his fury, saying,


6 “As for me, I have set my King
    on Zion, my holy hill.”


Here is God’s response to the world’s rebellion: he laughs. He laughs because his plans and power are certain. He laughs because he sits in the heavens, ruling over all. He laughs because he has set in place his Anointed King to rule. 

These verses might sit uncomfortably with some of you because they make it sound like God is distant and callous, or even mean and mocking. Let me see if I can ease your discomfort. The description of God as “in the heavens” doesn’t describe his distance from our troubles. He is not like a president who retreats to a bunker or to Camp David when the White House is threatened. He is not sheltered behind his protective walls while the world burns. Rather the phrase “in the heavens” signifies that he is  holy, utterly untouched by the crazy of this world. He is not dragged down or frazzled or marked or stained. No–notice his posture: he sits in the heavens because he is relaxed, unworried on his throne. 

But does it make God sound uncaring or heartless, or even unkind because of his derision of his enemies? Or  like he is amused at the suffering and trouble in the world? Notice what he is laughing at. He laughs at the audacity and pride—the vanity and foolishness of the rebellion. God is unbothered at the threat, but not uncaring at the pain it causes. He doesn’t laugh at the chaos and suffering they cause. Scripture is full of descriptions of God’s compassion and mercy and defense of the vulnerable. 

In fact, his laughter is not a reason to mistrust him, but a reason we must trust him. He laughs because he is unworried, and who wants a worried God? All the plots and powers and schemes and rebellions of this world do not phase him a bit. They do not derail his plans, hinder his work, or dampen his love. 

As one who came of age in the 90s and was a rabid sports fan, I have indelible memories of watching Michael Jordan (the greatest ever, sorry young folks)  play basketball on TV. Growing up in Minnesota, I was a Timberwolves fan–and they were very very bad for a very long time. One game against the Bulls, a guard named James Robinson (who you have absolutely never heard of), torched the Bulls in the first half, hit a bunch of threes and the Wolves led going into half. Early in the third quarter, Robinson was really feeling himself and started talking trash to Michael. Michael smiled, then chuckled . . . and my heart sank. I knew it was over then. He proceeded to pull his jersey up over his mouth to mask the promises of utter destruction that he intended to unleash. He went on to dismantle the Wolves and lead the Bulls to victory. This is a silly example of how the one who holds the power can laugh at a little bitty threat then pivot to dealing out appropriate wrath.

In verse 5, we see God move from laughter to wrath, from derision to fury–because he is just. He will not abide rebellion or upheaval against his holiness or Anointed king. He speaks in direct response to the rebels and declares his means of putting down the rebellion: He established his King.

In the third stanza we see the king unveiled.

STANZA 3 – God’s Anointed One is the eternal king

7 I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
    today I have begotten you.


8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
    and the ends of the earth your possession.


9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
    and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”


You’ll remember that I said this was a coronation psalm for a king, and what we hear in this stanza are words that no earthly king ever fulfilled. The sonship of an earthly king of Israel was one of status appointed by God because of the role. It was a status given at coronation and lost by death or disqualification. But in these verses we are hearing words meant for the Messiah–the holy, eternal Anointed king. 

He does not merely gain his sonship by being appointed as king, but is the Son of God and has been for all eternity. This coronation didn’t make him a Son, it made him manifest as the Son. We see this come to fruition in the New Testament in the incarnation of Jesus when he became flesh and dwelled among us and  in his ascension to heaven where he sits at the right hand of the Father to rule. 

We see in verse 8 that as the Son, Jesus asked of the Father and received an inheritance of nations, the whole earth. This beautifully foreshadows the request he made of the Father in John 17:5: “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” In the words of John Calvin, “the Father will deny nothing to his Son which relates to the extension of his kingdom to the uttermost ends of the earth.” We see Jesus confirm this in Matthew 28 when he declares “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” This is how his kingdom grows and how the nations are brought in–the making of disciples.  

And Jesus doesn’t merely inherit the whole earth, he is also God’s instrument of judgment. Verse 9 says He will break them with a rod of iron. All these scheming, plotting, rebelling powers that so overwhelm us are but brittle pottery to him. 

We are so accustomed to speaking of the mercy and gentleness of Christ and of his sacrificial saving work. And for good reason! Those aspects of Jesus are magnificent; without them we would have no salvation. But we cannot make the mistake of downplaying the fierce, majestic holiness of Jesus for the sake of his mercy. They are not at odds! He laid down his life at the cross for undeserving sinners, and he ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of the father where all things are placed under his feet. From there he will return, in God’s perfect timing, to cast down all evil and to judge the unrepentant. Jesus the merciful is Jesus the just. Jesus the gentle is Jesus the judge. And he is worthy of all praise and honor for both, which is what we find in the fourth stanza.

STANZA 4 – God summons all people to serve Christ

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

In light of what we’ve seen of the world’s rebellion and the kingship of Jesus, you might expect an ultimatum here–“So get on your knees and plead for mercy.” Instead, God does the unexpected and gives a summons, the firmest of invitations to become subjects of his Son’s kingdom: “Be wise and be warned.” This is jarring in its mercifulness. Jesus is giving a way of repentance to the peoples and a way of reconciliation to his enemies. Why? 

Because Jesus does not revel in the destruction of enemies. He revels in rightful worship by his subjects. He wields wrath to defend and restore what is good, but He is the embodiment of the Father’s love. So even here he calls those who have rebelled against him to repent, to turn from their rebellious ways, and come under his perfect, merciful rule.  

In verse 11 we see the rebels–those who rage and plot–being summoned to “Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.” This calls for an about-face–to hold Jesus in proper awe and submit to him in every aspect of life. It is to give over authority and command of your life to him and to walk in his way. And this is the summons for all people–to find freedom under the rule of king Jesus. 

And to rejoice with trembling is the paradigm for true, deep worship. It is not lip service nor is it surfacy praise. It is the whole-self response to perfect mercy and perfect holiness. We overflow with praise and gladness because of all God has done for us in Christ. And we tremble because of the greatness and majesty and holiness of Christ. The very things that move us to sing and smile should also silence us and move us to overwhelming awe. This is the proper response to the greatness of our King. 

And the summons ends in verse 12 with “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.” Remember, this is a summons to those who have stood in rebellion against God, so this is not the kiss of affection but of fealty–bowing before the king to kiss his ring. Those words “lest he be angry. . . for his wrath is quickly kindled” serve as a reminder of the decisive moral judgment of the king toward those who refuse to submit to him. Jesus is patient. He is slow to anger (why do you think he has refrained from wiping rebellious people from the earth for so long??). But the patience of Jesus does not eliminate his decisiveness and rightness in wrath. He is summoning the peoples to life, giving the nations a chance to submit to him. And any who won’t will face his holy judgment. 

Friends, we may not like to talk of wrath and judgment. We may prefer a version of Jesus that is all warmth and softness. But in this fallen, chaotic world, we need a mighty and righteous king–and we have one. This is a comfort to all who follow Christ. He is not holding threats of condemnation over the heads of those who love and serve him. His wrath is not a threat to those in his kingdom, but rather our protection. We serve a king who is strong enough to laugh at his opposition, humble enough to come down to rescue us, patient enough to summon us from our rebellion, and just enough to punish those who refuse his summons.

Point 5 – Blessed are all who take refuge in him

What is the summation of all this? The last line of Psalm 2 tells us: “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” 

Wrapped in that little word “blessed” is wholeness, gladness, happiness. It is all the things that we once thought a new year or new you would bring us, but they never did. And here it is, the very thing our souls ache for. And we find it by taking refuge in Christ. How do we do this?

Jesus is our King! Serving him is taking refuge. Giving our lives to him, submitting wholly to him, staking all our hope on him, trusting in his perfect power and patience is refuge in every circumstance, come what may.. 

He is a refuge because he laughs in the face of a chaotic, rebellious world.He is a refuge because he does not forget our troubles or take evil lightly.He is a refuge because he sits on his throne in majestic holiness.And He is a refuge because he set aside that glory to step into this world of upheaval and unease and injustice and sin and anxiety and “made peace through the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:20)He is a refuge because at the cross he defeated sin and death.And he is a refuge because no man-centered, self-aggrandizing power scheme can touch him and he will deal mightily with every evil and injustice in his perfect timing. He is not a distant refuge, rather He is an “ever-present help in times of trouble” (Psalm 46:1) And he does not offer theoretical hope or peace, rather “he himself is our peace” (Eph. 2:14) and has “caused us to be born again to a living hope through his resurrection.” (1 Peter 1:3)

Our King is unbothered and unworried even as he is immeasurably merciful and gracious. We fear him and we rejoice in him as we take refuge in him going into this new year. 

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Published on November 05, 2024 03:45

November 4, 2024

Kindness Leads to Repentance

As a dad, my instinctive response when my kids are doing something wrong, rebellious, or just dumb is to warn them of the consequences. “If you don’t quit, you’ll pay for it.”

The Bible has plenty of warnings for us too (because we are often wrong, rebellious, or just dumb), and it’s easy to think that God’s first instinct is to dole out some consequences and judgment. But Romans 2:4 describes a different reality about Him. It says “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.”

This means that God’s default isn’t to threaten, but to show kindness. He is calling us from our sin and rebellion into something better, into mercy and love. He’s not primarily coming at us with a big “OR ELSE.” 

As the perfect Father he does discipline his children as needed, but his heart is that of love, of kindness. And this should make repentance so much easier for us, because it is turning from wrong we are doing toward the warm, smiling, welcoming presence of God.

I originally wrote this post for my church, Immanuel Nashville , in our Daily Pulse email. If you want encouragement from God’s word delivered Monday thru Friday to your inbox, I encourage you to subscribe.

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Published on November 04, 2024 02:12

Kindle Deals for November 4

Some Kindle deals worth your mind and money today:

Rhythms of Grace: How the Church’s Worship Tells the Story of the Gospel by Mike Cosper – $4.99

Faith Among the Faithless: Learning from Esther How to Live in a World Gone Mad by Mike Cosper – $2.99

The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection by Robert Farrar Capon – $2.99

Bourbon Land: A Spirited Love Letter to My Old Kentucky Whiskey, with 50 recipes by Edward Lee – $4.99

The World Atlas of Coffee: From beans to brewing – coffees explored, explained and enjoyed by James Hoffman – $1.99

100 Great Breads: The Original Bestseller by Paul Hollywood – $1.99

Why We’re Polarized by Ezra Klein – $3.99

The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War by Malcolm Gladwell – $2.99

The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson – $2.99

The Gentlemen’s Hour: A Novel by Don Winslow – $1.99

Beach Music: A Novel by Pat Conroy – $1.99

MY BOOKS:

Belong: Loving Your Church by Reflecting Christ to One Another – $8.99

The Pastor’s Kid: What it’s Like and How to Help – $8.99

Help My Unbelief: Why doubt is not the enemy of faith – $8.99

The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life – $4.99

Hoping for Happiness: Turning Life’s most elusive Feeling into Lasting Reality – $8.99

These links are Amazon affiliate links.

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Published on November 04, 2024 01:16

November 1, 2024

Kindle Deals for November 1

Some Kindle deals worth your mind and money today:

Friendship with the Friend of Sinners: The Remarkable Possibility of Closeness with Christ by Jared C. Wilson – $3.99

The Gospel-Driven Church: Uniting Church Growth Dreams with the Metrics of Grace by Jared C. Wilson – $2.99

Gospel-Driven Ministry: An Introduction to the Calling and Work of a Pastor by Jared C. Wilson – $2.99

Through Gates of Splendor by Elizabeth Elliot – $2.99

Lies Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth – $2.99

How to Read the Bible as Literature: . . . and Get More Out of It by Leland Ryken – $2.99

The Characters of Christmas: The Unlikely People Caught Up in the Story of Jesus by Daniel Darling – $3.99

Winter Fire: Christmas with G.K. Chesterton by Ryan Whitaker Smith – $4.99

The Last Lion Box Set: Winston Spencer Churchill, 1874 – 1965 by William Manchester – $3.99

Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year by David Von Drehle – $2.99

A Time to Stand: The Epic of the Alamo by Walter Lord – $2.99

1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created by Charles C. Mann – $1.99

MY BOOKS:

Belong: Loving Your Church by Reflecting Christ to One Another – $8.99

The Pastor’s Kid: What it’s Like and How to Help – $8.99

Help My Unbelief: Why doubt is not the enemy of faith – $8.99

The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life – $4.99

Hoping for Happiness: Turning Life’s most elusive Feeling into Lasting Reality – $8.99

These links are Amazon affiliate links.

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Published on November 01, 2024 06:58

3 Things I Like This Week – November 1

Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.

1. Splitting Wood

I spend the majority of my working hours and energy using my mind, living in ideas and communication, and investing in relationships. All of which are wonderful, but can be exhausting in their own rights. Despite being so exhausting, they also leave me jittery and unsettled because the exhaustion is all internal and the work is never complete. So I need simple, focused physical outlets, and splitting wood is one I have loved since high school. I am not really outdoorsy. I am not particularly rugged. But it so cathartic to split a pile of logs into fire pit sized pieces and stack them neatly in their rack. I love the physical and mental release. I love being able to see the fruits of my labors. I love that the job can be finished. Really the only downside is that I only need to do this a few times a year to meet our fire wood needs.

 

2. Waffle House

Let me begin by stating that I resent–yea, abhor–ironic odes to Waffle House. Insult it. Make jokes about it. But do not falsify claims of adoration. Waffle House might have the most integrity of any restaurant chain in the country: it is exactly what it sets out to be, without fail. I have never been disappointed in Waffle House because I know exactly what they offer and they deliver precisely what is promised. I love that Waffle Houses thrive in the sticks, in the hood, in the burbs, in tourist hubs, and next door to run down motor inns. I love that in any Waffle house you will see people who are headed to work, coming off a bender, students at the local high school, and taking their kids out for a breakfast date. You might see firefighters coming off shift, cops coming on shift, and the felon they are about to look for. I love that nearly every waitress at Waffle House is of indeterminate age but has earned the right to call you “honey.” And to top it off, crispy hash browns smothered, chunked, and diced are delicious.

 

3. The Lone Bellow

I ran across The Lone Bellow sometime around the release of their first album in 2013. I immediately loved their sound–the harmonies, the bluesy undertones, the power, the soul, and all wrapped up in a sort of Americana package. Since then I have seen them in concert five or six times in venues ranging from a local neighborhood festival to the Schermerhorn performing with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. And they are always phenomenal.

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Published on November 01, 2024 05:16