Motherhood: An Unassuming Currency

By / Jun 21

Motherhood is often the sipping of lukewarm coffee. It’s the crunch of Cheerios underfoot. It’s washing dishes and waking to wash dishes…again. Mothering leaves us exhausted. We work around the clock, and the laundry is still half-folded. When we’ve left careers, trade promotions, and external achievements for more time at home, this discouragement is compounded by the fear of not keeping up. In a productivity-driven society, the work of the home lacks the same prestige and influence we gain in our careers. To the world, an emphasis on home is a waste of education and talent.

We can find great comfort in remembering that God invited Adam and Eve to join him in his care and cultivation of the world.[1] Part of that work of stewardship included building a family: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.”[2] This is astounding. In God’s design, our work is a partnership with God. Not only are we to tend to what already exists, but the Creator of all life asks us to be part of creating life.

Our unique role as mothers is one only we can provide—a role in which we were hand-selected by God. This calling is our greatest gift, our greatest currency toward the flourishing of our families. 

Generational Influence

God continues this partnership he began in Eden, choosing us—ordinary women—as conduits for his grace and purposes. We see this truth repeated throughout Scripture. Even in Eve’s rebellion, he chose to make her “the mother of all living.”[3] God’s promise of a Savior is fulfilled as Mary gives birth to Jesus. To this day, God calls us and positions us to make disciples. My heart soars when I read Paul’s words to Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”[4]  We should marvel at the profound influence our role might have on our children and grandchildren. God used Lois and Eunice to cultivate Timothy’s faith, whose ministry has had eternal significance throughout the ages.

Just as Genesis depicts God’s intimate hand in the beginning, so we see the intimacy in which God forms each of us in Psalms: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb…Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”[5]

This remarkable depiction of motherhood echoes the creation mandate and shows that God selects us to mother our children. It emphasizes that children are known by God and paired uniquely with us. We see God’s sovereignty, knowing our children’s days before they existed. In his wisdom and omnipotence, God wonderfully orchestrates the ages to determine our lives to meet those of our children. He guides our experiences, directs our relationships, and uses our trials to equip us for the work he asks, to prepare us for those he entrusts to our care.

Can we think of a lovelier calling than to be chosen to steward life, to have a position of influence and mentorship like Lois and Eunice? We point our children to God when confronted with defiance and guide their minds as they engage with the world. We create a home of beauty and culture, one of rest and life that displays the one who gives it. We have the privilege to show the girls and boys entrusted to us that their value is so great it demands the best of our time, intelligence, attention, skills, and affection. As God calls us to pass on our own “sincere faith” to our children, how can that be done without making them one of our highest priorities, by being the person most present in their lives?

Vocational Stewardship

My desire for career advancement pales when I remember God’s calling to steward my children’s lives and souls. He renews my vision for home when I remember Christ “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”[6] He didn’t come with the glory he deserved; instead, he overturned the expectations of the world. He set aside his rights to love his children. He endured the cross “for the joy set before him.”[7] His death displayed the greatness of his love and the riches of his mercy.[8] These treasures propel us forward through our everyday.

Our motherhood might look like spit-up-stained shirts and a toy-splattered house. It might be 1,000 dirty diapers and toddler tantrums. These aren’t tasks to complete or phases to endure; they are precious moments that teach us to depend on Christ, to serve another in every need, to calm a little sinful heart, and to say Jesus made a way to God.

Our lives must give our children the best of us so that we may disciple their hearts and display God’s love. We must remember this calling demands our physical presence. God’s pairing of us with our children doesn’t end after the newborn stage or the arrival of kindergarten. Mothers are called to a place of primary influence. God’s path to significance is often counterintuitive. He calls us to a life in his upside-down kingdom—a kingdom where the judge sits in place of the guilty, where the last shall be first, and where perhaps the overlooked, unpaid work carries the greatest currency of all.

__________

[1] Genesis 1:26-31

[2] Genesis 1:28

[3] Genesis 3:20

[4] 2 Timothy 1:5

[5] Psalm 139:13-16

[6] Mark 10:45

[7] Hebrews 12:2

[8] Ephesians 2:4-6



The Green Glass Door and The Gospel

By / Jun 19

When I played college baseball, we used to play games on the road to make the time go by faster. My games of choice were either Spades or riddle word games. My favorite riddle was “The Green Glass Door.”

If you haven’t heard, it goes like this:

There is a Green Glass Door. A goose can fit through the Green Glass Door, but not a duck. A deer can fit through, but not a doe. What else can fit through the Green Glass Door? Any guesses?

You might be rattling off guesses right now, or you could be sitting there, like several of my teammates, with more questions than answers.

Here’s the thing—some people would get it, but most wouldn’t.

I would give hints, or maybe dance around the answer, but they still wouldn’t get it.

It didn’t matter how hard they tried to think or come up with different ideas; they couldn’t get it.

Ultimately, they would need someone who knew to help them by clearly speaking the trick to the riddle.

I think this is very similar to how we share our faith in Jesus with others. I hear people talk about sharing Jesus, and I certainly don’t think any follower would disagree with the Great Commission. However, there seems to be a tendency for many believers today to separate showing Jesus in actions from speaking Jesus to the lost.

Don’t misunderstand me; we absolutely must show the love of Christ in our actions and be the ones out front leading the charge to serve our neighbors and community.

However, we should be just as concerned for the Lord to give us opportunities to speak about Jesus, and then have the courage to step into those moments. This is what Paul is speaking of in Colossians 4:2-4:

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.”

We should be praying that God would open a door for us and then pray that we would have the conviction to step through that door and speak the gospel clearly.

So, how can we speak it clearly? Thankfully, Paul gives us further insight in the letter to the Colossians:

“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Colossians 4:5-6

Make it important.

Paul, in verse 5, is praying that we would walk in God’s wisdom to be aware when it is a moment He wants us to speak. God is drawing all men to Himself, so we want to be looking for those moments and then jump on them.

Make it beautiful.

We live in a culture that is starving for beauty and transcendence. Paul, in verse 6, says our speech should be appealing. It should draw others in. We have the greatest story ever and the answer to dried-up, weary souls. Share it with confidence knowing you aren’t talking about some product but the very thing we all were made for.

Make it personal.

Paul says if we do these things, we will then be able to answer anyone whenever they have questions about the gospel. The major reason we don’t share Jesus is that we are afraid of not knowing how to respond if someone asks us a question we don’t know.

I understand that fear, but can I ask you to reflect on a question?

How often in your daily life are you interacting with theoretical astrophysicists asking you questions about string theory and superfluidity?

I would bet that’s pretty rare. However, even if you do, just because you don’t know it doesn’t mean that there isn’t an answer.

Tell the person, “I don’t know,” and ask if you can do some research and then meet up again in a week. There are amazing saints who can speak to these questions.

Additionally, yes, the gospel speaks to the cosmic reconciliation of all things through the person and work of Jesus, and God wrote you into the story.

If you don’t know what to say, share your story. Share how Jesus took you from death to life. Share how He delivered you from darkness into light. Our testimony is the most powerful witness we have, so if the conversation gets too “in the clouds,” bring it back down and ask the person, “Can I share with you how Jesus changed my life?”

From there, connect Jesus to their story. Alvin Reid, in his book Sharing Jesus Without Freaking Out, put it beautifully, saying, “Sharing Jesus is as simple as connecting with others around their passion or their pain.”[1] Make it personal because Jesus is personal.

Conclusion

So, did you figure out the riddle yet? I could give you more hints, like: What do Apple and Rooster have in common? I could tell you to focus on how Green Glass and Door are spelled, and you might get the trick. However, it isn’t until I tell you that the key to the riddle is the double letters back-to-back that you finally see it clearly. Green Glass Door.

Just like this riddle, we need to make the gospel clear to those who don’t know Jesus, and the only way to make it abundantly clear is by speaking it.

__________

[1] Alvin Reid, Sharing Jesus Without Freaking Out: Evangelism the Way You Were Born to Do It (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2017), 2.



A New Birth

By / Jun 17

Everyone is born dead. Signs of life are evident—the ability to breathe, the pulse felt on our wrists, and an ever-increasing ability to understand the things of this world. Yet signs of death are lurking in the background. Death is seen in the disobedient child, in the small lies we tell each other, and in the secret thoughts of our minds. Life is lived, but not only will death tarnish every moment, it will bring life to an end. We call this death sin! Not one person is born without sin infecting them. If mankind is to truly live, then we must be born again into a new life, one where death has no hold or power. Without rebirth, we can never experience regeneration.

Death

In Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, he explains how sin has brought death to us all. Romans 5:12 states, “Sin came into the world through one man.” It was Adam’s breaking of God’s covenant in the Garden of Eden that brought sin into the world. Adam disobeyed God’s strictest command not to eat from a certain tree (Genesis 2:17); when tempted, he disregarded the Word of God and ate (Genesis 3:6). Paul continues in his letter, “…and death [came] through sin, and so death spread to all men.” The sin of Adam meant that mankind could no longer enjoy perfect relationship with God. Punishment was due, and death was the price to be paid. Paul notes, “One trespass led to condemnation for all men” (Romans 5:18) and “By one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners” (Romans 5:19). Even to this day, we are born into the wickedness of Adam and must suffer the fate that every person has had to face—the punishment of death. Everyone is born dead! Dead in their sin.

Some deny that they are sinners before God. Just as Peter thought highly of himself (Matthew 26:33-35), we too fall into the trap of thinking of ourselves with high esteem. There are some who claim to be right before God, denying the presence of sin in their lives (1 John 1:8). Scripture makes clear that this denial is deception. Satan has blinded us to our own sin and set us on the path to death. Every man, woman, and child has sinned (Romans 3:23) and deserves the punishment of death (Romans 6:23). It is true that some may indeed be moral people, good people who have done no major wrongs toward others. Yet remember: sin lurks! It exists in our self-exaltation and denial of our need for Jesus. It exists in our willingness to downplay the evil in our hearts and over sell our occasional good deed. Those tempted to deny that death reigns in their mortal body are those who live in arrogance before God. As disobedience entered through Adam, so we are now all wrestling with the arrogance of disobedience. Without rebirth, we will remain languishing in our sin.

Life

In the sovereign will of God, He has provided a way for regeneration. As death entered through one man in creation, so life will be brought through one man and His redemptive power. Paul declares, “One act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men” (Romans 5:18). Jesus, the one who Himself is life, willingly took on death to present us with the free gift of life. Only Jesus holds the power to do so, for only Jesus was born alive without the shadow of death hanging over Him—“so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). Everyone may be born dead, but all can find life. It is not from within themselves that they will find this life, but in the person and work of Jesus Christ. To kill the sin that has infected us, we must be born again (John 3:3).

Still thinking in earthly terms, Nicodemus asks the question that many will consider at this stage—how is one born again? (John 3:4) Jesus responds, “So must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). Those dead in their sin must look to Christ on the cross and place their faith in Him. Only then will they be born into a new life, one marked by the blood of Jesus, not by the sin that once plagued them. In coming to Christ, we are washed by His blood and made completely new. Paul writes, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Faith in Jesus brings death to the old way. Notice how after the old way is gone, “behold” new life is given. The old life must be destroyed for the new life to begin. Therein lies mystery of the new birth. Paul helpfully writes, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4). As we experience new birth, we find that our sin is dead, our sin is buried, and our sin is defeated. Now we can rise into the newness of life in Christ Jesus.

New Creation

Faith in Jesus leads us from death to life through the mystery of a new birth. You are no longer dead, but alive. You are a new creation, free to worship the Lord and to draw close to your Heavenly Father. There was once a time where death had its strangle hold on you, but not now! Now you are lifted high by the very hands of God and seated in the heavenly realms as renewed, refreshed, and regenerated. New birth through Christ Jesus brings a new stunning reality—you are a child of God. You were once born dead, but now you are born alive! So live, oh child of God! Live life to the full! Enjoy your creator and the gifts He bestows upon you. Live in the knowledge that sin is defeated. Live as one born to life!



What the Christian Does

By / Jun 14

Editor’s Note: Excerpted with permission from The Great Commission: A Sermon Collection by Charles H. Spurgeon, edited by Jason K. Allen. Copyright 2024, B&H Publishing. Available now from B&H and wherever Christian books are sold.

What the Christian Does[1]

I will take it for granted that every believer here wants to be useful. If he does not, I take leave to question whether he can be a true believer in Christ. Well, then, if you want to be really useful, here is something for you to do to that end: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

What is the way to become an efficient preacher? “Young man,” says one, “go to college.” “Young man,” says Christ, “follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men.” How is a person to be useful? “Attend a training class,” says one. Quite right, but there is a surer answer than that—Follow Jesus, and he will make you fishers of men. The great training school for Christian workers has Christ at its head, and he is at its head not only as a tutor but as a leader. We are not only to learn of him in study but to follow him in action. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

The direction is very distinct and plain, and I believe that it is exclusive so that no man can become a fisherman by any other process. This process may appear to be very simple, but assuredly it is most efficient. The Lord Jesus Christ, who knew all about fishing for men, was himself the Dictator of the rule, “Follow me, if you want to be fishers of men. If you would be useful, keep in my track.”

I understand this, first, in this sense: he separates unto Christ. These men were to leave their pursuits. They were to leave their companions. They were, in fact, to quit the world, that their one business might be, in their Master’s name, to be fishers of men. We are not all called to leave our daily business or to quit our families. That might be rather running away from the fishery than working at it in God’s name. But we are called most distinctly to come out from among the ungodly, to be separate, and not to touch the unclean thing. We cannot be fishers of men if we remain among men in the same element with them. Fish will not be fishers. The sinner will not convert the sinner. The ungodly man will not convert the ungodly man, and what is more to the point, the worldly Christian will not convert the world. If you are of the world, no doubt the world will love its own, but you cannot save the world. If you are dark and belong to the kingdom of darkness, you cannot remove the darkness. If you march with the armies of the wicked one, you cannot defeat them.

I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church. Nowadays we hear Nonconformists pleading that they may do this and they may do that— things that their Puritan forefathers would rather have died at the stake than have tolerated. They plead that they may live like worldlings, and my sad answer to them, when they crave for this liberty, is, “Do it if you dare. It may not do you much hurt, for you are so bad already. Your cravings show how rotten your hearts are. If you have a hungering after such dog’s meat, go, dogs, and eat the garbage.

Worldly amusements are fit food for mere pretenders and hypocrites. If you were God’s children you would loathe the very thought of the world’s evil joys, and your question would not be, “How far may we be like the world?” but your one cry would be, “How far can we get away from the world? How much can we come out from it?” Your temptation would be rather to become sternly severe and ultra-puritanical in your separation from sin, in such a time as this, than to ask, “How can I make myself like other men, and act as they do?”

Brothers, the use of the church in the world is that it should be like salt in the midst of putrefaction, but if the salt has lost its savor, what is the good of it? If it were possible for salt itself to putrefy, it could but be an increase and a heightening of the general putridity. The worst day the world ever saw was when the sons of God were joined with the daughters of men. Then came the flood, for the only barrier against a flood of vengeance on this world is the separation of the saint from the sinner. Your duty as a Christian is to stand fast in your own place and stand out for God, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh, resolving like one of old that, let others do as they will, as for you and your house, you will serve the Lord.

Come, you children of God, you must stand out with your Lord outside the camp. Jesus calls to you today and says, “Follow me.” Was Jesus found at the theater? Did he frequent the sports of the racecourse? Was Jesus seen, think you, in any of the amusements of the Herodian court? Not he. He was “holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.” In one sense, no one mixed with sinners so completely as he did when, like a physician, he went among them healing his patients. But in another sense there was a gulf fixed between the men of the world and the Savior that he never assayed to cross and that they could not cross to defile him. The first lesson the church has to learn is this: Follow Jesus into the separated state, and he will make you fishers of men. Unless you take up your cross and protest against an ungodly world, you cannot hope that the holy Jesus will make you fishers of men.

__________

[1] Published in Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 32 in 1886 by Charles Spurgeon. This is an excerpt from sermon 1906, delivered in 1886, exact date unknown.



The Missing Ingredient In Too Many Marriages: Joy

By / Jun 12

Like cupcakes that are missing sugar, there are too many Christian marriages that are missing a key ingredient. This missing ingredient in too many marriages doesn’t mean it’s not a marriage, just as a cupcake missing sugar doesn’t mean it’s not a cupcake. But neither “tastes” good.

When we realize that what is at stake is not a bad batch of baked goods, but potentially being a poor reflection of the gospel through our marriage relationship, we will do all we can to put the ingredient of joy back into our marriages. Many Christian marriages, including many ministry marriages, would be sweet again if husbands took the lead in loving their wives joyfully.

My wife is usually pretty positive with me, but one evening she looked at me and said, “Did you know you’re pretty grumpy most of the time right now?” I was knocked a little off-kilter. She knew that things had been stressful at church recently. She had been supportive and prayerful with me. But after I stopped defending myself in my mind and started to think about what she had the courage to point out, I asked her more about it and realized that she was right. I was getting so consumed with trying to stay on top of pastoral ministry, while dealing with multiple fronts during a difficult season in our church, that it was negatively affecting my parenting—and our marriage.

I had to ask for forgiveness, and start to make changes. Nothing was immediate, but through choice by choice, joy began to seep back into our marriage and family. As I evaluated what happened, I realized that in trying to be Jesus for my church, I had not loved my wife like Jesus loves the church. Ephesians 5:25 is loud and clear on our calling: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…”

One specific way that Christ loved the church, a way that God calls us to echo his love in our marriages, is that Jesus loved the church joyfully. He loves to love us. Do we love to love our wives?

Jesus doesn’t just put up with the church. He receives joy by giving us joy (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus doesn’t grudgingly love but persistently loves the church. He joyfully and persistently loves us. Jesus’s love doesn’t change based on how we are doing in our relationship with him any given day.

When wives are loved this deeply, knowing that their husbands love to love them, there is a security in marriage that develops and strengthens over years. This security frees a wife to be an even greater blessing to others. Also, when we love our wives so joyfully that it’s obvious to her and others, there is a sweetness that develops. When a pastor and wife exude this sweetness to their church and others through the genuine joy in their marriage, their marriage “smells” like the gospel. A joyful marriage covenant points to the New Covenant.

Here are four ways to cultivate more consistent joy in your marriage as you strive to reflect Christ in the love you have for your wife.

1) Spend intentional time together

Jesus delights to be with his bride. Yet, I am shocked at how quickly I can coast in marriage. The demands of ministry, bills, raising children, home repair, and just making it through each day can mean that I look up and we haven’t had enough intentional time together. We have found that a weekly date night is unrealistic in this season of five kids including toddlers to teenagers. But we can still purposefully set aside one night or more a week to cuddle on the couch together while we watch a movie or talk. And we can still intentionally carve out times that we do go out together without kids, both for a few hours and occasionally for a few days. Are you as intentional to spend time with your wife as you are to follow up on shepherding issues at church?

2) Talk about what God is teaching you

Joy ultimately comes from Jesus (Luke 2:10, Matthew 28:8, 1 Peter 1:8, 1 John 1:4). When you are both investing personally in your relationship with Jesus, true joy will begin to seep into your marriage. I have found that when we talk about what God is teaching us, whether spontaneously or as an intentional question, it not only encourages each other’s walks with the Lord, but it also begins to spill over into our marriage relationship. Pastors, God is teaching you in the Word every week. Share some of that with your wife not as an additional sermon, but out of the joy of knowing Jesus.

3) Act like Jesus is King

One of the greatest pieces of advice I have ever heard from another pastor is to talk about church matters as appropriate or needed with your wife for just a little bit when you get home. Then pray together about it before moving on with the evening if there’s a pressing issue, but act like Jesus is king. It is easy to bring things up again and just go around and around about ministry. That is ok to a degree if it is helping you to serve others together, but at some point you need to have discussions that are not ministry related, especially if the issues are stressful. Give it to Jesus, and let it go for the evening (Matthew 6:34).

4) Serve together in some way

Serving as a pastor does not mean that I am automatically serving Jesus together with my wife. It can be okay to serve in different areas of the church or family life depending on season of life and giftedness. After all, she is not a pastor because she is married to you. But I have found that it has been helpful to do some sort of ministry purposefully together. For us it has looked as varied as visitation, foster care, planning an outreach together, or both being on the worship team together. Serving together purposefully can bring joy to your marriage, reminding both of you that God brought you together to glorify him.

Brothers, does your wife not only know that you love her, but know that you love to love her, as your Savior does? The marriage of A.W. Tozer leaves us with a somber warning. In his book I Still Do, Dave Harvey recounts: “Tozer was a spiritual giant—a man of spectacular faith, incredible insight, and compelling godliness. But Tozer neglected his wife, Ada, and their family in some pretty stunning ways…After Tozer’s death, Ada remarried a man named Leonard Odam. Dorsett [Tozer’s biographer] writes of a poignant moment when Ada was asked to describe her life with her new husband. ‘I have never been happier in my life,’ Ada observed. ‘Aiden [Tozer] loved Jesus Christ, but Leonard Odam loves me.’”[1]

Brothers, we can love both Jesus and our wives well. We are called to love both. A marriage that “smells” like the gospel will have one often-overlooked ingredient: joy.

__________

[1] Dave Harvey, I Still Do (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2020), p. 193.



Unstoppable: Fuel for Service from Isaiah 40

By / Jun 10

My wife, Tracy, and I had spent all day on a bus. We had just arrived in a rural town; we stepped off the bus into the pitch black; we weren’t completely sure which way we should be walking. But we could hear it.

We didn’t know which direction the sound was coming from. We didn’t know how far away it was. We didn’t know its precise location. But we could hear it; we knew it was there.

We were visiting Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

The word awesome is overused, but seeing the Falls in person is awesome. Victoria Falls is powerful, majestic, and impressive. It is just over a mile wide, more than 100 meters tall, and at least a million liters of water pour over the falls every second. Victoria Falls is awesome.

Now, imagine standing at the bottom of Vic Falls, looking up at the million liters of water falling 100 meters for a whole mile every second. As you stand there looking up at this, someone whispers in your ear, “Try and stop it. Go ahead—try and stop all that water flowing over the falls.”

It would be impossible.

Likewise, with our God. It is impossible to stop Him. This waterfall in southern Africa is only one of the many things that the One True God spoke into existence. This God is truly awesome.

Isaiah 40

The majesty and power of our God is beautifully presented in Isaiah’s words from Isaiah 40:10–31. Isaiah, mingling comfort and warning, begins with, “Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him” (41:10). This is God’s Word to each of us. His awe and majesty bring reward and recompense. This is why we need to be reminded of our awesome God who is tender in His care.

There’s nothing more important for us to remember than God’s incomparable majesty for the good of His people. Isaiah communicates this in a most compelling fashion in 40:10–31.

Awesome in Power

First, our awesome God is just that, awesome. Nothing is beyond His control. Only God’s purposes and plans will ultimately prevail. He is the One who spread out the skies and brings the princes of earth to nothing (vv. 21–23). He is the One who made, named, and numbered all the stars—keeping them in place by His might (vv. 25–26). If He can do that, He can sustain us in whatever we face. God is unstoppable. Satan cannot stop God. Sin cannot stop God. You cannot stop God. I cannot stop God. He is awesome in His power.

Tender in Care

Second, our awesome God is tender in His care. Despite the unmatched power that God possesses, in 40:11 Isaiah makes it clear that this awesome God is tender in His care. He tends his flock; He gathers, carries, and gently leads His people. At the end of the passage in 40:29–31, it is made clear that this awesome God strengthens those who wait on Him. The One True God could crush us, but instead He comforts us. In all the stresses, strains, and struggles of life, never forget the omnipotent God is tender in His care.

Relentless

Third, our awesome God is relentless. Throughout this chapter, God questions His people. Many of these questions point to God’s unrivaled power: Who else has held the waters of the earth in their hand? (v. 12) Who else has measured the starry skies with the span of their hand? (v. 12) Who else knows all things?  (vv. 13–14; cf. 25, 27, 28). The most pointed question is asked twice: To whom will you compare this God? (vv. 18, 21). These rhetorical questions are intended to back us into a corner. He relentlessly pursues Isaiah’s reader with a series of questions which underscore how unstoppable this awesome God truly is. Of course we know, of course we’ve heard—there is none like our God.

Conclusion

Commenting on this section of Isaiah, Geoffrey Grogan (Isaiah, EBC, p. 723) notes, “The incomparable majesty of God set forth in [here]…will give strength to his frail people.” Considering God’s power and care, we cannot remain unmoved and inactive. Just as Paul urges those who desire to serve as deacons in 1 Timothy 3:10, I urge you—as I urge myself—to prove yourselves blameless. The reality that our God is unstoppable should fuel our service for Him and His glory. We must and we can strive on in service confident that nothing can stop our God—He is relentless, unstoppable.



Preach, Preach, Preach Everywhere

By / Jun 6

Editor’s Note: Excerpted with permission from Preaching: A Sermon Collection by Charles H. Spurgeon, edited by Jason K. Allen. Copyright 2024, B&H Publishing. Available now from B&H and wherever Christian books are sold.

Preach, Preach, Preach Everywhere[1]

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:15–16)

Before our Lord gave his disciples this commission, he addressed them in tones of serious rebuke. You will observe that, appearing unto the eleven as they sat at dinner, “he upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart because, they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.” So honorable an estimation did he set upon testimony; so marked a censure did he pronounce upon those who neglected it. The reprimand they received on such an occasion may well serve as a caution to us, for unbelief unfits the Christian for service. It is in proportion to our personal faith in the gospel that we become competent witnesses for teaching it to others. Each one of us who would get credit for sincerity must say with David, “I believed, therefore have I spoken,” or else a want of faith of ourselves will effectually deprive our speech of all its power over our fellow men.

There can be little doubt that one reason why Christianity is not so aggressive now as it once was, and exerts not everywhere the influence it had in apostolic times, is the feebleness of our faith in Christ as compared with the full assurance of faith exercised by the men of those days. In vain you hide a timid heart behind a modest face when the attitude we should show and the living force that should constrain us is a bold reliance upon the power of the Holy Spirit and a deep conviction of the might of the truth which we are taught to deliver. Brothers, if there is to be a revival of religion, it must begin at home. Our own souls must first of all be filled with holy faith and burning enthusiasm, and then shall we be strong to do exploits and to win provinces for the scepter of King Jesus.

Having thus made a note upon the context, I want you to refer to a parallel passage in Matthew. There we learn that in delivering this commission our Lord assigned a remarkable reason for it, and one that intimately concerned himself. “All power,” he said, “is given unto me in heaven and in earth, go you therefore and teach all nations” These words were adapted to strengthen the faith of his disciples, of whom it had been just observed that “some doubted.” Do you not see the point of this announcement? Jesus of Nazareth, being raised from the dead, tells his apostles that he is now invested with universal supremacy as the Son of Man. Therefore he issues a decree of grace, calling on all people of every clime and kindred to believe the gospel with a promise of personal salvation to each and every one who believes. With such authority is this mandate clothed, and so imperative the duty of all men everywhere to repent, that they who do not believe are threatened with a certain penalty of damnation. This royal ordinance he will have published throughout the whole world, but he enjoins it on all the messengers that those who bear the tidings should be thoroughly impressed with the sovereignty of him who sends them. Let the words then ring in your ears, “Go ye therefore.” They sound like the music of that glad acclaim that hails the Redeemer installed with power, holding the insignia of power in his possession, exercising the full rights of legitimate power, and entrusting his disciples with a commission founded on that power, “Go ye into all the world.”

Yet another remark before we proceed to the text. The commission we are about to deal with was the last the Lord gave to his disciples before he was taken away from them. We prize greatly the last words of his departing servants, how shall we sufficiently value the parting words of our ascending Master? Injunctions left us by those who have gone to glory have great weight upon our spirits; let obedient lovers of Christ see to it that they act according to the last will and testament, the last desire expressed by their risen Lord.

I claim for my text peculiar attention from every disciple of Jesus, not indeed as if it were a mournful entreaty but rather as a solemn charge. You remember Christ’s own parable, “The kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.”[2] Look at this as the last direction Jesus gives to his stewards before “he went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.” It seems to me that as when the mantle of Elijah fell upon Elisha, Elisha would have been much to blame if he had not caught it up, so when these words fell from our ascending Savior before the clouds concealed him from the disciples’ sight, we ought to take them up with holy reverence. Since he has left them as his parting mantle, they ought to be lovingly cherished and scrupulously obeyed.

Come we, then, to invite your earnest heed to the command the Savior here gives: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”[3] It was given to the apostles representatively. They represent the whole body of the faithful. To every converted man and woman this commission is given. I grant you there is a specialty to those gifted and called to surrender themselves wholly to the work of the ministry, but their office in the visible church offers no excuse for the discharge of those functions that pertain to every member of the body of Christ in particular. It is the universal command of Christ to every believer: “Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

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[1] Published in Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 15 in 1869 by Charles Spurgeon. This is an excerpt from sermon 900, delivered in 1869, exact date unknown.

[2] Matthew 25:14.

[3] Mark 16:15.



Prayer and Evangelism Reinforce One Another

By / Jun 4

Editor’s Note: The following excerpt is by Joe M. Allen III, published with permission from Before You Go: Wisdom From 10 Men on Serving Internationally, edited by Matthew Bennett and Joshua Bowman. Copyright 2024, B&H Publishing. Available now from B&H and wherever Christian books are sold.

Prayer and evangelism go together like chocolate and peanut butter. The two practices mutually reinforce one another and enhance the other spiritual disciplines. The dynamic happens like this: the more you pray, the more you attune your heart to God’s heart, and specifically, God’s heart for the lost. The more you seek to evangelize, the more you sense your need for the Holy Spirit’s divine enablement and long for his intervention. Prayer should lead to gospel proclamation, and gospel proclamation should intensify your prayers.

The irony is that prayer is often a solitary activity that appeals to introverts, while evangelism is a social activity that appeals to extroverts. Regardless of your personality, maintaining a close interrelationship between prayer and evangelism will push you out of your comfort zone and force you to grow. When you join prayer and evangelism, watch out! Something special is about to happen.

Jesus links prayer and evangelism in Luke 10:2 when he says, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” Jesus instructs his disciples to pray for harvesters and then, in a surprising twist, he sends them to be the answer to their own prayers! The same thing might happen to you, so when you pray, be ready to obey.

A verse that I find myself returning to time and again when I think about prayer and evangelism is Romans 10:1. Here, we get a glimpse of Paul’s heart, which proves instructive for us. He writes: “my heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation.” As we consider the importance of prayer and evangelism in the life of a missionary, let me make three observations about this verse.

First, Paul cared deeply. His desire was not a shallow, fleeting desire, but a core longing that sprang from the center of his being. If you do not feel deep compassion for the lost, go back and review the gospel. Consider afresh the glory of the One who calls you into fellowship with him. Meditate on the majesty of God as revealed in Scripture. Think about the sacrifice of Jesus and the depth of the love that bought your salvation. Contemplate the joys of heaven and the horrors of hell until your heart is stirred for others to know the gospel. Feed your godly desires so you can say with Paul, “My heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation.”

Second, Paul prayed fervently. The people of Israel had rejected Jesus as their Messiah, but Paul remained hopeful that they might be saved. Paul did not give up on them, and he did not leave his heart’s desire unexpressed; he acted. That action first took the form of prayer. We must do the same. Do not bottle up your desire; let it bubble up and overflow in prayer. Give expression to your desire through intercession.

Third, Paul prayed specifically. He did not pray ambiguous prayers for some amorphous spiritual blessing. Instead, he prayed for their salvation. Elsewhere, Paul prayed for boldness (Eph. 6:18–20), for opportunity (Col. 4:2–4), and that the Word of the Lord would spread rapidly and be glorified (2 Thess. 3:1). A couple of years ago, I realized that if I only make vague or general requests with lots of qualifications and caveats, then I would never be able to tell if God had answered. So let me encourage you to pray such focused prayers for the salvation of souls so that you can recognize God’s answers and rejoice.



The Indispensable Necessity of Doctrinally Rich Young Adult Ministry

By / May 20

I’ve worked within student ministry in some capacity for 12 years. If junior highers smell like body spray and if high schoolers can smell fear, then young adults (YAs) have a nose for inauthenticity. They see right through the smoke machine and lights. They quickly pick up on lack of depth. And they know on first whiff whether the “answer” you just gave to the question that’s plagued them or their friend’s faith (or is sitting at the bottom of their lack thereof) is worthy of consideration or if you’re just grasping at straws. They pull no punches, and they are awesome for it!

If I could encourage those attempting to reach or minister to college-age people toward one thing besides knowing their Bibles and enjoying God, it would be this: you and your ministry must be doctrinally robust. Your acquaintance with the issues YAs raise, and even more importantly, your familiarity with the answers from Scripture and Christian tradition, are indispensable in engaging GenZ 18- to 20-somethings. Whether it’s the unsaved skeptic, the new believer, or the mature believer, there will be no fruitful ministry among GenZ college students and young adults apart from deep, rich, and robust doctrine.

Evangelistic and Apologetic Need

As Derek Rishmawy, himself a campus minister, has said in regard to reaching GenZ college students, “Nerdy theology really does matter for evangelism. Doctrineless evangelism simply will not work.” Amen. The universities where YAs live lack no robust secular doctrine that refutes Christianity. Bart Erdman does not pull any punches, and neither should we. Young adults need to know the church has sufficient and coherent answers to their theological questions, and we who pastor them should be ready to offer those answers (1 Peter 3:15).

The Need for Adult Answers to Adult Lives

Young adults face new life stages and challenges. They have questions about dating, marriage, finance, politics, culture, and more. They often no longer rely on their parents or tradition for answers. They need deep, robust, and coherent doctrine that addresses the complexities and hardships of life. You might get away with shooting from the hip in youth group, but young adults will suss out a run-of-the-mill answer in a heartbeat. Not only this, but as a generation coming of age amid heightened turbulence (American political context, COVID) and lack of solidity (social media), they long for rootedness and concreteness. A concreteness only deep doctrine can provide. YAs need mature doctrine so they can mature into adulthood (Hebrews 5:11-14).

The Discipleship Need

Many, if not most, YAs have no clue robust theology even exists. They rarely read theological books and haven’t sat under good preaching and teaching. I pick up on this when some of the YAs in my church don’t understand the need for church membership, the significance of baptism, the habit of tithing, and so on. YAs, mature or immature, need good doctrine that will instruct them in how they ought to live and stir them up to taste the depths of the knowledge of God so that they might be further formed into his image (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Resources

So, if pastors or volunteers or parents want to effectively engage and disciple young adults, they must equip themselves in knowing, presenting, and defending “what accords with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1, Cf. Titus 1:9; 1 Timothy 1:10). And we will become so by not only going deep in our Bibles, but going wide in our familiarity with solid Christian theology and growing in our ability to wield it for the good of those young people we long to reach and disciple.

So, as one step toward this, what should one be reading/doing to prepare for ministering to college agers?

Historical Theology

YAs don’t need new answers. They need age-old answers applied to contemporary phrasing of age-old questions. And thankfully for us, the Christian tradition is in no small part the history of answering the most foundational questions humans have ever wondered about. Metaphysics, morality–these are the same questions GenZ has, though staged somewhat differently.

Pick a (preferably not from this century) systematic theology or theologian and dedicate yourself to ingesting it/them. Go slow and let the sound theology seep into your bones. Recognize how the answers given centuries ago are the answers needed today, just with your own presentation.

And let the 21-year-old know where you’re getting these answers from. This will not only give you the next most solid foundation outside of Scripture with which to grapple with the questions young adults have, but it will also provide a rootedness to the young adult asking as they see this isn’t something thought up last week.

You can’t go wrong with Herman Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics. Or, if four volumes is understandably a bit much for a first bite, Louis Berkhof’s one-volume Systematic Theology is a great place to start. For a modern presentation, look at John Frame’s.

Biblical Anthropology

You knew you needed to read in this area. And you knew why. If YAs have questions about anything, it is about our bodies. What are they? Am I my body, or am I inside of it? Do bodies matter? How much do they matter? How do we know they matter more than what my mind says? Speaking of, what’s a mind? These are just the snowflakes of the iceberg.

But these questions aren’t theoretical. YAs have these questions because they have friends whose lives hang in the balance of these questions, or so it seems to them. These are live questions for YAs because they deal with lives. That is why they matter to YAs, and they should matter to you because those very lives might walk into your campus or church young adult group.

But you don’t just need to know what you think about LGBTQ+, the goodness of the material body, God’s design for marriage and family, abortion, assisted suicide, and the like. You need to know why you know. And you need to know and be able to explain why the Christian answer is not only true, but also the most beautiful and genuinely good option in the marketplace.

Here’s a starter pack:

  • The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory, Abigail Favale
  • Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues, Alistair MacIntyre
  • Begotten or Made?: Human Procreation and Medical Technique, Oliver O’Donovan
  • Whatever Happened to the Human Race?, Francis A. Schaeffer

 

Miscellaneous Apologetics

We must also be familiar with the various topics that YAs are likely to ask questions about. Especially for those YAs going to college, they are interacting with peers and professors who operate from a different worldview. This raises a range of questions for YAs, most of which can be categorized into a broader field that we would do well to engage. This will require us to know the best arguments of the other side. Doing so enables us to gather our own compelling and sound answers, while also being able to formulate our own questions for those worldviews to reveal their inadequacies. A few general areas in which to be well read are

  • Exclusivity of Christianity as the one true religion, and the claims of the main world religions
  • The authority and trustworthiness of the Bible and what makes it different from other religious texts
  • The relationship of Christianity to science
  • Epistemology (how do humans know what they know?)
  • Old Testament “problem passages” (God’s commanding violence, allowances for slavery, presence of polygamy, etc.).

 

Write

Finally, consider writing as you read. Writing solidifies ideas in your mind and heart. It helps you synthesize the large amounts of information you take in through books. There are countless ways of doing this. I (Dan) have a running doctrinal statement along with documents on theological topics that I add to and tweak as I read new theological material. I try to keep the writing short (100-200 words) but carefully written. Writing will make you more confident and clear when you are in an off-the-cuff conversation with a YA on a theologically dense or apologetically precarious topic.

Conclusion

Take heart, God is pursuing YAs in this generation as he has in every generation before. He formed them and knows the hurdles they have to faith in his gospel and greater growth in it. He has many people in this generation (Acts 18:10) and is more than capable of saving them. His arm is never too short. And be encouraged, while he is not dependent on you, he wants to use you to reach them. So pray for them, go on fast food runs or coffee shop meet-ups with them, hear them out for hours at a time if needed, and arm yourself with robust doctrine so that when they ask their questions or the questions of their friends, you are ready to give a sound response.



Spurgeon’s Love of Poetry: An Excerpt from Christ Our All

By / May 17

Editor’s Note: This article is taken from Christ Our All: Poems for the Christian Pilgrim and used by permission of B&H Academic. The book is now available everywhere Christian books are sold.

Spurgeon’s love of hymns began at a young age. Once, during a summer holiday, his grandmother offered him a penny for each Watts hymn he memorized. With his gifted mind, young Spurgeon memorized so many that his grandmother soon had to change her offer or risk financial ruin! The money earned was eventually spent, but his love of hymns remained with him for the rest of his life, becoming a part of his theological vocabulary. “No matter on what topic I am preaching,” he wrote, “I can even now, in the middle of any sermon, quote some verse of a hymn in harmony with the subject.”[1] As Spurgeon grew in his knowledge of hymns, his sermons would come to include not only Watts, but Toplady, Cowper, Wesley, and many other great hymn-writers of the Christian faith.

As the pastor of a church, Spurgeon sought to pass on his love of hymns to his congregants. In addition to preaching, he planned the liturgy for the gatherings of the church, including the selection of hymns. When he first arrived, there were two hymnbooks in the pews, one by Watts and the other by John Rippon. But watching people fumble with multiple books convinced Spurgeon that something had to change. So, in 1866, he compiled and published Our Own Hymn-Book, containing 1,130 psalms and hymns. As reflected in the title, Spurgeon’s concern was the church. This was not Spurgeon’s hymnbook; this was the church’s hymnbook. One of his top priorities was to pull together psalms and hymns that reflected the church’s doctrinal convictions. After all, Spurgeon understood that a church’s hymnbook was often the only book of theology most church members would ever read.

But even while Our Own Hymn-Book reflected Spurgeon’s Reformed and Baptist traditions, he also sought to introduce a wide variety of traditions, pulling together hymns from all of church history. He wrote:

The area of our researches has been as wide as the bounds of existing religious literature, American and British, Protestant and Romish; ancient and modern. Whatever may be thought of our taste we have used it without prejudice; and a good hymn has not been rejected because of the character of its author, or the heresies of the church in whose hymnal it first occurred; so long as the language and the spirit commended the hymn to our heart we included it, and believe that we have enriched our collection thereby.[2]

Thus, we see in Spurgeon’s collection of hymnbooks a wide variety of hymn writers: Scottish Presbyterians, English Baptists and Methodists, German Lutherans, Anglicans, medieval Catholics, and other nationalities and church traditions, ranging from the nineteenth century all the way back to the medieval and early church. From all these psalms and hymns, Spurgeon sought to bring out the ones that best reflected the historic faith of the apostles and the church’s doctrinal convictions. In his day, Our Own Hymn-Book was recognized as an achievement in Christian hymnody.[3]

But Spurgeon’s love of poetry extended beyond hymns. His library reveals that Spurgeon enjoyed just about every kind of poetry: ancient poetry, poems about nature, love poems, children’s rhymes, and many others. Most of all, however, Spurgeon loved poems about God and the Christian life. Preaching in 1855, Spurgeon declared, “Much as I respect the genius of Pope, or Dryden, or Burns, give me the simple lines of Cowper, that God has owned in bringing souls to Him.”[4] William Cowper was indeed one of Spurgeon’s favorite poets. He usually included Cowper’s famous hymn whenever he signed autograph albums, “E’er since by faith I saw the stream . . .”[5] Fittingly, these lines are etched on his tombstone.

Another poet he loved was John Bunyan. Throughout his life, he read, “at least a hundred times,” The Pilgrim’s Progress, “that sweetest of all prose poems,” which shaped his vision for the Christian life.[6] What he loved most about it was simply how much Bible was in it.[7] Bunyan brought together Spurgeon’s love of Scripture with his love of poetry.

Yet another of his favorite poets was George Herbert. Herbert was a source of refreshment for Spurgeon, especially after a long day of ministry.[8] His wife, Susannah, recounted:

It is the Sabbath, and the day’s work is done. The dear preacher has had a light repast, and now rests in his easy chair by a bright fire, while, on a low cushion at his feet, sits his wife, eager to minister in some way to her beloved’s comfort. “Shall I read to you to-night, dear?” she says; for the excitement and labor of the Sabbath services sorely try him, and his mind needs some calm and soothing influence to set it at rest. “Will you have a page or two of good George Herbert?” “Yes, that will be very refreshing, wifey; I shall like that.” So the book is procured, and he chooses a portion which I read slowly and with many pauses, that he may interpret to me the sweet mysteries hidden within the gracious words. Perhaps his enjoyment of the book is all the greater that he has thus to explain and open out to me the precious truths enwrapped in Herbert’s quaint verse;—anyhow, the time is delightfully spent. I read on and on for an hour or more, till the peace of Heaven flows into our souls, and the tired servant of the King of kings loses his sense of fatigue, and rejoices after his toil.[9]

For Spurgeon, poetry was about more than just entertainment. It gave him the perspective of a Christian pilgrim. It provided spiritual nourishment for his tired soul. And it strengthened him with a renewed joy in God for the week ahead.

Thou Art My All (by C. H. Spurgeon)

Dear Lord, in thee I view my all,
And lovely is thy name.
For though on earth I slip or fall,
Thy love remains the same.

Each day reminds me I am weak
To stand against my foes;
And, but that I thy help may seek,
I’d fall beneath my woes.

But thou hast said my strength shall be
According to my day.
Thy promise has been kept to me,
And still will be I pray.

For what are we if left to roam
In life’s deceitful way?
Yet farther off, not nearer home,
Our feet are prone to stray.

Then never have us Lord to tread
This world without a guide.
And never let the tempter lead
Thine erring sheep aside.

“I will not leave, nor yet forsake
My people here below;
Until in glory they shall wake
And purer regions know.”

For further reflection: Deuteronomy 33:25–27

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[1] Autobiography 1:43–44.

[2] OOH, vi–vii.

[3] For an appreciative nineteenth-century analysis of Spurgeon’s contribution to Christian hymnody, see Josiah Miller, Singers and Songs of the Church: Being Biographical Sketches of the Hymn-Writers in All the Principal Collections: with Notes on their Psalms and Hymns (London: Longmans, Green, 1869), 580–81.

[4] NPSP 1:344.

[5] Hayden, Highlights, 101.

[6] MTP 45:495.

[7] “Next to the Bible, the book I value most is John Bunyan’s ‘Pilgrim’s Progress.’ I believe I have read it through at least a hundred times. It is a volume of which I never seem to tire; and the secret of its freshness is that it is so largely compiled from the Scriptures. It is really Biblical teaching put into the form of a simple yet very striking allegory.” C. H. Spurgeon, Pictures from Pilgrim’s Progress: A Commentary on Portions of John Bunyan’s Immortal Allegory with Prefatory Notes by Thomas Spurgeon (Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim Publications, 1992), 11.

[8] “Frequently, when I return home from chapel on the Sabbath evening, I get down George Herbert’s book of songs; and when I see how much he loved the Lord, it seems to me as if he had struck upon his harp the very notes that he had heard in Paradise, and sung them all again.” MTP 46:106.

[9] Autobiography 2:185–86.