Barnabas Piper's Blog, page 23

The World Has Been Overcome

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Do you ever feel like the world is a runaway train heading off the rails? Sometimes it feels like an impending disaster that keeps getting worse. In a sense, this is true in a fallen world–there is so much evil and chaos around us. But Jesus refuses to leave us to our hopelessness.

John 16:33 says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

That you may have peace–that is his desire for His people. The world of his day wasn’t less chaotic or evil than our present world. They had dictators, divisions, cultic worship, wars, natural disasters, manipulators, abusers, and liars. To follow Jesus was crazy and dangerous, yet He offered peace. How?

Because Jesus overcame the world. His life, death, and resurrection were the kill shots of evil, sin, chaos, and death itself. And they were the promise and proof that He would return to make all things new one day.

So today, we can have the peace of Jesus Christ in the midst of this world’s trouble because He has won and will win. All who believe in Him are assured of eternal peace.

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!

Photo by Nubelson Fernandes on Unsplash

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Published on May 06, 2024 02:40

Kindle Deals for May 4

A few Kindle deals worth your mind and money today:

Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir by Doris Kearns Goodwin

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I Was Right On Time by Buck O’Neil

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I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography by Jackie Robinson

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The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America by Joe Posnanski

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Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season by Jonathan Eig

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Tinker to Evers to Chance: The Chicago Cubs and the Dawn of Modern America by David Rapp

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The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament by Andreas Kostenberger, L. Scott Kellum, & Charles L. Quarles

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Church History 101: The Highlights of Twenty Centuries by Sinclair Ferguson, Joel Beebe, & Michael Haykin

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God Is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China by Liao Yiwu

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Published on May 04, 2024 05:56

Kindle Deals for May 3

A few Kindle deals worth your mind and money today:

The God of the Garden: Thoughts on Creation, Culture, and the Kingdom by Andrew Peterson

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The Christ-Centered Expositor: A Field Guide for Word-Driven Disciple Makers by Tony Merida

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Jesus Christ: Teacher, Servant, and Savior (John Stott Bible Studies)

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Published on May 03, 2024 05:06

Curious Curmudgeons Episode 1: From Grunt Tasks to Dream Jobs

Ever wondered how a job can be more than just a paycheck, or pondered the spiritual significance behind the daily grind? Join Adam Read and me as we consider career paths, job satisfaction, and the deeper meaning of work. This inaugural episode begins with brooms in hand as church custodians and moves on to explore the catalysts that prompt career changes, whether it’s financial provision, pursuit of growth, or the alignment of personal ethics with professional endeavors.

Debating the dignity of all work, from factory floors to executive suites, Adam and I discuss how even the most repetitive tasks can be a form of worship and a calling. We tackle (i.e. mercilessly kick around) the oft-quoted advice of chasing a passion-fueled career , diving into the reality that even the most beloved work comes with its trials and tribulations.

And we top things off with some levity and grumpiness discussing career what-ifs and the drudgery of digital communication., Listen in.

Listen to Episode 1

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Published on May 02, 2024 14:03

Kindle Deals for May 2

A few Kindle deals worth your mind and money today:

Justified by Faith Alone by R.C. Sproul

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The Gospel for Disorder Lives by Robert D. Jones, Kristen Kellen, & Rob Green

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Problems of Christian Leadership by John Stott

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Navy SEALs: Their Untold Story by Dick Couch & William Doyle

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Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics by Ross Douthat

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Published on May 02, 2024 05:07

Questions about Faith and Doubt with Ray Ortlund

Ray Ortlund is a dear friend and mentor who is the founding pastor of Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee (where I now have the privilege of serving). He is the author of several books including The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ and Proverbs: Wisdom that Works .

1) What does “I believe, help my unbelief” mean to you?

Well, who doesn’t have a hard time making up their mind, especially when everything important to us is on the line? We’re talking about the ultimate meaning of our lives and the eternal consequences that hang in the balance. We have to get this right, because we have no reason to believe we’ll have a second chance after this life. That is very sobering to me. But it leads me to this realization. My capacity for belief is not measured by my certainty but by my need. Faith is not my bringing the great questions of existence under my control; faith is turning to the Lord, in his all-sufficiency for my desperate need, to hear and receive what he has to say to me. “I believe” is that childlike capacity to accept whatever he says, and “help my unbelief” is that standoffish pride of mine that folds my arms as I listen to him and responds, “What else you got?” When I am unsatisfied, I have to ask if it’s because I am being unsatisfiable.

2) Do you have a favorite passage about belief and doubt?

Yes. Psalm 73. The psalmist walks us through his personal crisis of doubt. He believed in the goodness of God (verse 1), but it wasn’t working for him (verse 2). Why? He saw how everyone does everything wrong on purpose, and they succeed (verses 3-12). Then he got to feeling really sorry for himself, how sacrificial he was, how much fun he was missing out on by obeying God (verses 13-14). But he couldn’t admit to anyone what he was really thinking (verse 15). Just when he was about to cave, he saw something new (verse 16). He thought he had seen too much of reality, but he hadn’t seen enough of reality; he hadn’t seen where it was all going (verse 17). Then, looking again with new eyes, he saw how flimsy the whole God-neglecting system is (verses 18-20). [I think, for example, of John Lennon.] Now he was embarrassed by his own stupidity (verses 21-22). But God had still held onto him, even when he couldn’t hold onto God, and God will never let him go (verses 23-24). Finally, he collapses in contented defeat, having nothing but God in all this world to count on as his own, and feeling rich and amazed and talkative (verses 25-28).

I love Psalm 73 because I identify with the poet at every step of the way.

3) What is belief in God?

Belief in God takes us beyond a naked intellectual persuasion that a Higher Power is out there. Real belief, by apostolic standards, is — to use the language of Jonathan Edwards — a new sense on our hearts that God is really there and really wonderful (Hebrews 11:6). Even more boldly, it is a vivid awareness, an implicit certainty — it is Christ himself dwelling powerfully in our hearts, so that we are rooted and grounded in his love, it is knowing the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that our hearts are filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14-19). Anything less is pathetic. Which means we live much of our lives in a pathetic state. But let’s call it what it is. Real faith in God is living on the edge of inner miracle moment by moment.

4) What do you see as the relationship of faith and doubt?

Wherever the fault line between faith and doubt appears inside me at any given moment, that is where the Holy Spirit is gaining new ground. There are vast continents inside my internal world, most of which remain unexplored and uncivilized, vast jungles of disorganized impulses and moods, dark continents of unbelief I’m not even aware of yet. But the Holy Spirit is bringing the kingdom of Jesus into me, little by little, but inexorably. The struggles I become aware of take place where his power is pushing into my unbelief, debunking by tired old thoughts, creating new faith, advancing the felt presence of Jesus. This will continue, by grace, until my dying day.

5) How can a person strengthen their belief in God?

Read the Bible a lot. Go to a credible church every Sunday. Hang out with believable Christians as much as you can. But hang out with smart non-Christians too. Never shy away from a doubt, difficulty, or question. Finally, take a risk. Put something of yourself on the line, something costly, in obedience to Christ, and see how he comes through for you.

“I believe; help my unbelief” is one of my favorite phrases in scripture. It captures so much of what it means and takes to be a follower of Christ, encapsulating struggle, faith, doubt, obedience, wandering, and repentance. It is deeply theological and personal. For these reasons and more I wrote a book called Help My Unbelief: Why Doubt Is Not The Enemy of Faith which explores what real belief is and its relationship with doubt in the life of a believer. The challenges of that tension are not unique to me; they’re nearly universal among Christians no matter position, maturity, or church tradition.

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Published on May 02, 2024 04:46

New Podcast – Curious Curmudgeons

Today my friend Adam Read and I launched a new podcast called Curious Curmudgeons. “Curious” because we love to explore ideas, life, and truth. “Curmudgeon” because sometimes life is ridiculous, deserves an eye roll, and maybe to be told to get off our lawn.

If you love Jesus, love considering life deeply, thinking through big ideas. . . but you also can’t hold your tongue or help rolling your eyes at some of life’s crazy, then this podcast is for you. In this first season we discuss some of life’s most significant turning points ranging from career changes to moving cross country to stages of parenting to switching churches.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

Subscribe and listen to Curious Curmudgeons wherever you get your podcasts

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Published on May 01, 2024 06:03