Top Retellings of Classic Tales

Barnabas Piper's Blog, page 22

May 13, 2024

Fullness of Joy

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence, there is fullness of joy.” (Psalm 16:11:)

 

I don’t like being told what to do. Being commanded to do just about anything, at best, annoys me. (Usually, it makes me downright angry and resentful, so I start looking for opportunities to rebel.) This means that for the longest time, when I read verses like Psalm 119:47, which says, “for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love,” I had no idea what to do with it. I actually thought David, the Psalmist, might just be crazy.

It was actually another Psalm that helped me see why David was right (obviously), and I was so wrong. Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence, there is fullness of joy.” What is this path of life that God shows us? It is living according to his commandments, and that’s where true, deep, fulfilled life is found.

On top of that, it is the path that leads directly to God’s presence, where there is fullness of joy. So, of course, there is a deep delight in God’s commands when we realize they draw us close to Him and his steadfast love.

My heart still bucks against commands. But I see now that following them is actually walking deeper into joy and closer to the heart of God who loves me.

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 May 13, 2024 02:46

May 11, 2024

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Published on May 11, 2024 04:25

May 10, 2024

Remember God’s Mercy – He Reads Truth

Genesis 6:11-22, Genesis 7:11-16, Genesis 8:1-22, Genesis 9:12-17, Ephesians 2:8-9

When we read the story of the flood in Genesis, “mercy” isn’t likely the first word that comes to mind. It seems like the opposite of mercy. We see God wiping every living thing off the face of the earth, giving the impression of a vindictive God, not a merciful one. If we look more carefully, however, we can see the merciful heart of God through this apocalyptic story.

“Human wickedness was widespread on the earth,” and this was not an overnight occurrence. Since the fall in Genesis 3, people had progressed deeper and deeper into rebellion against God. Creation as a whole had turned against its Creator God. He had been profoundly patient when His created world turned on Him—that is mercy.

Even in the flood, God showed mercy. He could have eliminated all of creation, but He gathered Noah and his family and instructed them how to be saved. What is more, He commanded them to bring “two of everything—​from the birds according to their kinds, from the livestock according to their kinds, and from the animals that crawl on the ground according to their kinds” (Genesis 6:20). God’s intent was to redeem creation, not vengefully eliminate it.

After mercifully sustaining Noah’s family and all those creatures on the ark for many months, God then gave visible, tangible symbols of life and promise through the raven and the dove that Noah sent out. God gave proof of life (Genesis 8:11).

In the aftermath of the flood as Noah’s family faced a bleak and empty world, God showed His heart of mercy most clearly. After commanding and blessing Noah to fill the earth and rule over it, God offered the rainbow as a sign that He would never again flood the earth. Then He said, “I will remember my covenant between me and you and all the living creatures: water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature” (Genesis 9:15). He gave a sign, a physical and beautiful manifestation of His mercy. God is not whimsical or capricious. He will not condemn the earth again in this way—He will keep His covenant of kindness to the whole earth, and we can look to the sky on a rainy day for proof.

In this beautiful sign of God’s mercy, we are reminded of His constancy. Our merciful, patient, and restoring God has never changed. He is the same God that came as Christ to redeem His people and creation. Christ and His cross are the ultimate signs of God’s mercy. They are God’s offer of salvation, by grace, to all who believe. So we remember and celebrate God’s unmatched mercy and unwavering faithfulness to wayward people.

I have the privilege of contributing to He Reads Truth, a website of whose purpose is “To help men become who we were made to be, by doing what we were made to do, by the power and provision that God has given us to do it, for the glory of Jesus Christ.” They do this by providing scripture reading plans accompanied by reflections that can be accessed for free online or purchased as print books. This is one of the pieces I wrote for the Encounters with Christ plan.

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Published on May 10, 2024 03:15

May 9, 2024

Do You Feel Guilty for Being Happy?

This is Randy Alcorn’s foreword for my book, Hoping for Happiness.

Spoiler alert: I loved Hoping for Happiness.

Barnabas Piper hooked me when he said, “One of the main reasons I wrote this book is because I was tired of wrestling with guilt over having fun and enjoying myself. It seemed strange that God would give so many wonderful gifts only for me to feel guilty for enjoying them.”

I grew up in a home with no knowledge of Jesus or the good news. I was often unhappy, spending night after night listening to music that promised happiness but failed to deliver it. Gazing at the night sky through my telescope, I longed for a connection to the wonders of the universe but couldn’t find it.

When I was in high school, Jesus drew me to himself. Everyone, first my mom, noticed the change. The most obvious difference? I became much happier.

I loved my first-ever church, but it struck me as strange when the pastor said, “God doesn’t want you happy; he wants you holy.” Well, I was holier than I’d ever been, but I was much happier too. Was something wrong with me?

That wonderful pastor often cited Oswald Chambers’ great book My Utmost for His Highest, which I eagerly read. But at the time I didn’t know enough to disagree when Chambers said, “Joy should not be confused with happiness. In fact, it is an insult to Jesus Christ to use the word happiness in connection with Him.”

I certainly didn’t want to insult Jesus by saying he was happy or he made me happy! And I couldn’t for the life of me figure out the difference between joy and happiness. (In fact, they are synonyms for everyone except Christians who’ve been taught otherwise).

After a steady diet of such teaching, I became wary of happiness. Had I seen this book Hoping for Happiness back then, I’d have thought, We shouldn’t hope for what God doesn’t want us to have. I’d never have believed I’d one day write a book titled Does God Want Us to Be Happy? And I would have assumed the answer must be a resounding no!

Like Barnabas, I felt guilty for being happy. The message seemed to be, “You could impress God if you chose a life of miserable holiness.” It took me decades to realize that wasn’t merely a misguided and thoroughly unbiblical idea; it was a lie from the pit of hell. It undermined the “good news of happiness” (Isaiah 52:7, ESV, NASB).

Barnabas writes, “Everyone, whether they believe in God or not, has a deep internal yearning for eternal significance and happiness.” That’s why it’s counterintuitive and counterproductive to pit happiness and holiness against each other. Jesus himself, the most holy human there’s ever been, got invited to parties and was the life of them. (His first miracle was rescuing a wedding celebration that ran out of wine). Children loved him. Had he been stern and unhappy, they wouldn’t have.

Instead of, “Don’t seek happiness,”—a command impossible to obey anyway—why not, “Seek your primary happiness in Jesus, and fully enjoy the derivative happiness in his countless gifts, including family, friends, food, work and play”?

We love and serve one who reveals himself as a “happy God” (1 Timothy 1:11; 6:15). We are to put our hope in “God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17).

Barnabas calls on us to see God as “a generous Father, who showers you with good things day by day and invites you to enjoy them freely, daily, for your pleasure. “

The years I devoted to researching and writing various books on happiness were life-changing. I discovered Scripture speaks of exactly what I’d experienced: not a flimsy superficial optimism, but a happiness that’s biblically grounded in the rock of Christ’s blood-bought promises. Truth is, the good news should leak into every aspect of our lives, even if we’re not consciously talking about God or witnessing to someone. The “good news of happiness” should permeate our lives with, well, happiness. True holiness is happy-making, and all ultimate happiness is holy-making.

Barnabas couldn’t be more right when he says, “A laughing Christian who relishes good things is a compelling, magnetic Christian—the kind who draws people to truth.”

This echoes what J. C. Ryle wrote 150 years ago:

It is a positive misfortune to Christianity when a Christian cannot smile. A merry heart, and a readiness to take part in all innocent mirth, are gifts of inestimable value. They go far to soften prejudices, to take stumbling blocks out of the way, and to make way for Christ and the gospel.

There is no greater draw to the gospel than happy Christians who are full of grace and truth, quick to laugh and quick to weep for and comfort those who suffer.

My wife Nanci and I have been married 43 years. In the last three, as we have faced her cancer together, we have found a deeper happiness in God and each other than ever before. We have known firsthand the “hopeful, grounded realism” Barnabas writes of. Trusting in Jesus has brought us great happiness in Him, even amidst suffering and the threat of death.

In this delightful book, you’ll see that Barnabas loves Jesus, family, sports, food, fun, God’s creation, and life in general. So do I. We don’t pass our peaks in this life. We don’t even begin to reach them. A New Earth awaits us. I envision Christ’s laugh will be the loudest and longest at all those great feasts ahead of us. But why wait? Why not frontload our eternal happiness into our here and now and give ourselves and others a taste of Heaven?

Hoping for Happiness says, “Hang your happiness on the right hooks, hang your hopes on God’s promises, fear him, and obey his commands—and in this you’ll find happiness, now and forever.”

I know how good this book is. I’ve read it. Now it’s your turn!

This is an excerpt from my book Hoping for Happiness – the foreword by Randy Alcorn. A biblical framework for living a grounded, hopeful, and genuinely happy life, this book gets far beyond the topic of work and helps us to throw off both the unrealistic expectations that end in disappointment and the guilty sense that Christians are not meant to have fun.

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Published on May 09, 2024 05:02

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Published on May 09, 2024 04:41

May 8, 2024

Curious Curmudgeons Episode 2: Unpacking Life’s Moves

Join us on the Curious Curmudgeon podcast as we unpack moving through different stages of life. We share our own nomadic journeys, spanning countless states and homes, and reflect on how these transitions have reshaped our lives. From the thrill of adventure when flying solo to the intricate dance of relocating with a family, we tackle the less discussed human costs that accompany the financial ones.

In this week’s conversation, we shine a light on the nuances of creating a new life in a new place. Moving isn’t just about a change of scenery; it’s about the communities we leave behind and the ones we hope to forge. We delve into the role of faith communities in providing a bedrock of support for families in transition.

Finally, we navigate the what we learn through parenting teens, finding those moments to impart wisdom and demonstrate Christ’s love. But it’s not all heavy topics – we also share our weekly ‘curmudgeon moment,’ lamenting the lost art of face-to-face interaction and the rising tide of smartphone distractions in our daily lives.

Listen to Episode 2

Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Amazon

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Published on May 08, 2024 05:12

May 7, 2024

May 6, 2024