The Safest Place on Earth

Louise and I used Simon Guillebaud's daily devotional (Choose Life) for a good part of last year and so we felt like we got to know him, in some small way.     When I quickly skimmed his recent blog post I did a double take.   I read how the crisis in Burundi is so bad that after much heart-wrenching prayer they had decided to leave and go home.  I just assumed that it meant that they were coming back to the UK.  But no.  They were, of course, returning to their home - Burundi.

Simon writes:   We are flying back into a very tense, fear-filled and fragile situation. Rumours abound. Dead bodies are regularly found on the streets in the morning. The country is at a critical moment in its history. The kids will have to get used to listening to regular gunfire again (I’ve just downloaded an app for white noise to turn up at night-time to mask the scary sounds). As a husband and father, I feel the weight of responsibility like never before, but as I’ve often preached, the safest place to be is in the heart of God’s will, and safety isn’t the absence of danger, it’s the presence of God. We’re immortal until He calls us home.   We can’t just talk a good game, we have to live those words out.

It put the concerns I have for this coming year and beyond into stark contrast.   I can't just talk a good game.......

Here's a link to the post

Reignite Your Prayer Life

Don Whitney / October 9, 2015

How’s your prayer life?

Hardly any question — unless perhaps someone asks about your evangelistic efforts — can cause more chin-dropping, foot-shuffling embarrassment for Christians than asking about their prayer life.

Why is that? Why do so many followers of Jesus suffer with such unsatisfying prayer lives and consider themselves hopelessly second-rate Christians because of it?

Method Is Our Madness

For almost all followers of Jesus, I believe the problem in prayer is not with the quality of the Christian, but with the method of their prayer.

Of course, no change in method will make prayer consistently meaningful to someone who is spiritually dead. But it’s different for those who are spiritually alive. They are born again through faith in Christ and indwelled by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s presence causes them as God’s children to cry, “Abba, Father!” (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6), giving them a Godward orientation they didn’t have before.

In other words, all those indwelled by the Holy Spirit really do want to pray. And if an individual Christian sincerely seeks to live for Christ, and has no specific sin issue that he or she refuses to confess and fight against, then the basic problem in prayer is not with sin or failure, but with method.

And what is the method of prayer for most Christians? It’s this: when we pray we tend to say the same old things about the same old things. Sooner or later, that kind of prayer is boring. When prayer is boring, you don’t feel like praying. And when you don’t feel like praying, you don’t pray — at least with any fervency or consistency. Prayer feels much more like duty than delight.

The problem is not that we pray about the same old things. To pray about the same things most of the time is normal. That’s because our lives tend to consist of the same things from one day to the next. Thankfully, dramatic changes in our lives usually don’t occur very often.

No, the problem isn’t that we pray about the same old things; the problem is that we tend to say the same old things about the same old things. The result is that we can be talking to the most fascinating Person in the universe about the most important things in our lives — and be bored to death.

So we can experience boredom in prayer, not because we don’t love God, and not because we don’t love who or what we’re praying about, but because of our method.

Solution in the Spirit

What is the solution? Well, whatever it is, it must be simple. God has children all over the planet, and they represent the widest imaginable diversity in language, culture, age, IQ, education, and Christian privilege (such as access to a Bible preaching church, Christian books, Christian content online, and more). If all these believers, despite the various and dramatic differences among them, are invited to pray, then prayer must be doable by all God’s children.

The simple solution to the seemingly universal problem of saying the same old things about the same old things in prayer is this: pray the Bible. In other words, slowly read a passage of Scripture and pray about all that comes to mind as you read.

Do this, and you’ll never again be left to say the same old things in prayer.

Simple, Powerful, Biblical

Praying the Bible isn’t complicated. Read through a few verses of Scripture, pause at the end of each phrase or verse, and pray about what the words suggest to you.

Suppose you are praying your way through Psalm 23. After reading verse one — “The Lord is my shepherd” — you might begin by thanking Jesus for being your Shepherd. Next you might ask him to shepherd your family, making your children or grandchildren his sheep, causing them to love him as their great shepherd too. After that you might pray for your undershepherds at the church, that Jesus would shepherd them as they shepherd you.

Then, when nothing else comes to mind, you go to the next line, “I shall not want.” You might thank him that you’ve never been in real want, or pray for someone — perhaps someone you know, or for a Christian in a place of persecution — who is in want.

You would continue through the psalm until you run out of time. You wouldn’t run out of anything to say (if you did, you could just go to another psalm), and best of all, that prayer would be unlike any you’ve ever prayed in your life.

That means if you’ll pray the Bible, you’ll never again say the same old things about the same old things. You don’t need any notes or books or any plan to remember. Simply talk to God about what comes to mind as you go line-by-line through his word.

As John Piper puts it, “Open the Bible, start reading it, and pause at every verse and turn it into a prayer.”

If nothing comes to mind, go to the next verse. If you don’t understand that verse, go to the next one. If the following verse is crystal clear, but doesn’t prompt anything to pray about, read on. If you want to linger long over a single verse, pray from and about that verse as long as you want.

By this method, your prayers will be guided and shaped by Scripture, and be far more in conformity to the word and will of God than they will if you always make up your own prayers.

Jesus prayed the Bible in Matthew 27:46 and Luke 23:46, and the early church prayed the Bible in Acts 4:23–26, and so can you.

The Promise of God in Threatening Pain

This morning I read a blog post that started with the words:

We live in a society that is petrified of suffering. Each day starts with a thousand moments of flinching at pain — at our alarm clocks, at the shower’s cold water, at missed emails that threaten loss and tragedy. We resent suffering, and what it could mean for us. 

I was captivated.

"That's so true!" I thought, that's me....flinching at little stabs of pain the whole day long. And so I read on. The post is written by a pro American Football player who I'd never heard of - you probably haven't either - but who knows his theology. It really strengthened me and my grip on joy-infused gospel centeredness was made just a bit tighter.

I want to commend it to you. It flies in the face of the culture's view of suffering, a view that has become the air we breathe in much of the contemporary western church, and for that reason alone it's worth a look.

http://bit.ly/1Uyvwi3     

How to Read Your Bible

Have a look at this great video from the guys at Whitehorse Inn

  https://youtu.be/YCenfA5eKqs

Vintage Worship: The Glory of Historic Hymns

Here's another great post from Matt Boswell.  I think he makes some good points that the wider church needs to hear.   

I love old hymns. I keep a stack of hymnals on my nightstand, and have an ever-growing collection in my library. I cut my teeth on Charles Wesley and John Rippon. I hope to write academically on the pastoral theology of hymns. I even have a dog named Watts.

While I certainly don’t think that historic hymns are the only thing we should sing in corporate worship, I am concerned that omitting older hymns in our gatherings silences the rich voices of church history. Some churches seem uninterested in any song that is more than two years old, much less two hundred years. Yes, the church will continue to write and sing new songs (Psalm 96:1), but it is also good and helpful for us to sing old songs.

What’s New Is Not Always Best

When I mention historic hymns, maybe you cringe as you recall a “worship war” in your local church. Maybe you’re eager to only sing the old hymns. Or maybe you wonder why it is important at all. My aim is not to renew local church disputes or bolster mere sentimentality, but to commend something else altogether — to encourage younger churches to remember their history by joining with the countless men and women who have shared these songs over hundreds of years.

Our society is fixated on what’s new and what’s next, but hymns remind us that what’s next is not always what’s best. Singing the historic hymns of our faith reminds our congregations that we are not the first generation who have wrestled and prayed, asked and believed. We are not the first to write hymns of praise to God. We walk gladly in the footsteps of our fathers who have written praises to Christ that have stood the test of time.

With a steady diet of merely new choruses, we can develop both modern idolatry and historical amnesia. Perhaps we should adopt this paraphrase of C.S. Lewis?Sing at least one old hymn to every three new ones.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise him all creatures here below,
Praise him above ye heavenly hosts,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
–Thomas Ken, 1674

Hymns Teach Us

Hymns are portable sermons that articulate, exegete, and pronounce biblical truths. They shape the way we view God, man, Christ, and how we are to live in light of the gospel. The truths they communicate preach to us throughout the week following the style of Deuteronomy 6 — at home and away, when lying down and waking. As R.W. Dale famously said, “Let me write the hymns of the church and I care not who writes the theology.”

Singing is a form of teaching that uses poetry to open to us the word of God. When Isaac Watts published Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, his intention was not to sing Scripture line by line, but to create poetic and emotive renditions of Scripture that enabled the church to sing the truths of Scripture.

Singing for the Christian is formative and responsive, and therefore must be informed by Scripture. We learn what we sing.

The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation
By water and the Word.
From heaven He came and sought her
To be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her
And for her life He died.
–Samuel Stone, 1886

Hymns Admonish Us

Throughout the week, other things call for our praise, attention, and affection. Singing hymns of God’s character reminds us of his greatness. Singing hymns of our sin reminds us of the role of confession. By singing hymns of the atonement, we remind one another of the efficacy of the work of Jesus. Hymns of consecration remind us of the dependence of the Christian upon the steadfast grace of God.

We sing to admonish the weak and weary that their salvation is in God. We sing to admonish the doubting to believe and be renewed. We sing to admonish the suffering that they have a hope that is unwavering.

Begone unbelief, my Savior is near,
And for my relief will surely appear:
By prayer let me wrestle, and He wilt perform,
With Christ in the vessel, I smile at the storm.
–John Newton, 1779

Hymns Inspire Worship

We should choose historic hymns that provoke thankful hearts. The aim of singing hymns is engaging both the head and the heart. Just as we read and meditate on the Scriptures to see and worship God, so we choose songs that teach robust theological truth that cause our hearts to erupt with praise. The chief end of theology is doxology.

In choosing historic hymns for corporate worship, we should choose those that make our hearts sing. From the content of the lyric, to the movement of the melody, we want beauty and transcendence to come together and serve the people of God. In our pursuit of theological precision, we must not neglect the pursuit of heartfelt response.

A church’s hymn-singing — whether old or new — is not simply an opening act for the sermon. It is not obligatory filler-time to warm up a congregation. Singing is a holy practice. We sing because God has commanded us, and our songs should fill our hearts with thankfulness and delight in God.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.
–Martin Luther, 1529

The New in the Old

Surely the hymns recorded for us in Scripture are meant for our singing today. In these songs of praise and prayer, contrition and confession, we see the breadth and inclusiveness of the hymns the church has sung for ages.

Regardless of the median age or church experience of a congregation, when I lead in worship by singing these historic hymns together, a sense of identity and reverence seems to rest upon the people. These songs unite the body of Christ as they have for generations, joining the youngest and oldest of our congregation and everyone in between, as they consider and hope in the same truths of God and his grace.

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.
–Isaac Watts, 1719

Holiday Reading

Holiday Reading

At LBC we try and rest as a church, during August.  It’s not about going on holiday but about being in a healthy rhythm where we slow down, stopping some regular activities in order to gain space to remember God and his grace shown towards us in Christ.  It’s the Sabbath principle.  One of the ways we can make good use of that time is to read a decent Christian book that will strengthen and encourage us in our faith.

It’s worth remembering that Christianity is a book oriented faith; God has revealed himself in a book, the Bible, and Spirit filled teachers have written other books to help us understand it.  So whether we love reading or struggle with it, it’s important to persevere and try, with God’s help, to receive the blessings that he wants to make available through books. 

“I do not remember 99% of what I read but if the 1% I do remember is a life-changing insight, then I do not begrudge the 99%” John Piper

I’m going to make some suggestions of books that I would recommend to you as your Pastor.  They are books that, if read humbly and carefully, will be helpful to you as you seek to live a fruitful life for Christ.   If you were to read just one of these every six months, perhaps painfully slowly, you would be extremely well served.   In 5 years you could have read 10 excellent books which would strengthen you hugely but would also impact those around you. 

So in no particular order my recommendations:

Knowing God by Jim Packer.     

A true spiritual classic that will open your eyes to the amazing God we celebrate.  If your understanding of who God is and what he is done is thin your worship will be thin too.  This book will help you to grow in you r worship of and love for God.  It was written in 1973 and it will still be being read in another 40 years and beyond. 

Enjoy Your Prayer Life by Michael Reeves. 

At just 48 pages this short book wonderfully conveys what prayer is really all about.  It’s super encouraging and makes you want to pray. 

You Can Change by Tim Chester.  

This is book shows you how the gospel – not trying hard, doing more, learning more or getting special prayer ministry – can change our actions and attitudes.   This is old-time “reformed theology” written for the nitty gritty reality of 21^st century life.  

The Me I Want to Be by John Ortberg.  

I read this “by accident” on holiday last year and loved it.   How can we be the best version of ourselves, the one that looks like Jesus, the one that is flourishing and not languishing?  Deep, profound and at times laugh-out-loud funny.  A book you will want to go slowly through.  

Anything by Tim Keller.  

Literally anything - I bet even his shopping lists will lead you closer to Christ!  As far as I know Keller didn’t write anything for the first 30 years of his ministry but now when he’s a seasoned pastor and evangelist it feels like he’s writing a book a month.  

The Reason for God       How to explain Christianity to a sceptical world.

Kings Cross                     A journey through Mark’s gospel.  The thing you’ll say the most: “Why had I never noticed that….I want to tell my non-Christian friend

The Prodigal God              The teaching he gives here changed my life and ministry for ever about 10 years ago.   There are two ways of being lost…

Counterfeit Gods                Unbelievably helpful stuff about what we trust in other than Christ, why it fails to deliver and how it hurts us.  He then shows how Jesus will always be sufficient and better than anything else that calls for our allegiance.   

 Prayer                              This is on my pile of books to be read.  I cannot wait!

Honest Evangelism, Rico Tice    

I keep meeting people who have read this book and rave about it, I’ve read extracts and reviews but I need to read it and soon!  I need to be stirred to share my faith in only the way Rico Tice can do it.  

Compared to Her by Sophie de Wit

I’ve not read this but it sounds great.   I’ve read another of her books and she’s got a great style.  Here’s the blurb:    "I am a recovering Compulsive Comparison Syndrome sufferer. It causes me to feel envy, despair, pride and superiority. It cuts away at my relationship with God, with my loved ones, and with myself. It has promised me contentment, and yet robbed me of it.  This book is about how to spot this syndrome and its effects in your life; the view of life that causes it; how the gospel treats it; and how you can move beyond it to live a life of true, lasting contentment.”

Is God Anti Gay by Sam Allberry

I’d like everyone to read this.  It’s a short book that addresses the issue of same sex attraction, what God thinks and how Christians should respond.  It’s not the last word but it is super helpful for those who want to live under the authority of Scripture and truly love others.  

The Art of Pastoring by David Hansen

Ever wondered what a Pastor is for?  For many years I wasn’t sure and I was one!  This book is a gift to Pastors who don’t want to sell out to the “pastor as CEO” spirit of the age and it’s a gift to those who they serve. 

A Resilient Life by Gordon MacDonald.  

A wonderfully encouraging book about how to walk with Christ over the long haul and finish strong.   

More by Simon Ponsonby.  

This book was the excellent basis for a Sunday evening sermon series looking at the person and work of the Holy Spirit.   How can we have more of the Spirit when we already have everything in Christ?   Mining the Cross without undermining it!

Living the Cross Centred Life by CJ Mahaney.

I’ve recommended this little book before.   Read a chapter a day and see what God does in your heart.  It’s wonderful!

I think I’ll leave it there for now!    Most of these you will be able to pick up second hand from Amazon for £3-£5.

I really hope that these books will help you as you seek to live well for Christ.

How Bible-reading Can Damage Your Health

I love this article (an extract form John Hindley's book).  I think he makes a good point really well. 

For years, I have struggled with Bible reading. Most Christians I know struggle to read the Bible (though we don’t like to talk about it).

We wonder why it doesn’t seem to make a difference to us. We wonder why we don’t miss it when we don’t read it.

We know we should read its words, but often we don’t really feel like reading it. We know it’s true; we don’t remember it’s beautiful.

Maybe you’re in that position as you read this. Maybe you are in church leadership and wish your church family would read the Bible more (even as you wish that your own Bible-reading was more than doing your duty).

Well, I think I’ve worked out what I was getting wrong about the Bible. I was reading the Bible as though it were about me—my understanding, behaviour, guidance, feelings. But it is not about me. It is about Jesus. And really knowing that changes everything.

When my wife and I were dating, we wrote each other letters. I read Flick’s letters for information on how she had been doing (you might call that reading intellectually), to know how to be a good boyfriend to her (reading morally), or because they made me feel good (reading emotionally). But if that had been it, I’d have entirely missed the point. I read those letters first and foremost because I loved Flick, and I wanted to hear from Flick because of my love for her and her love for me.

  

I read them because I couldn’t not read them—because I loved her.

The Bible is first and foremost a love letter, from Christ, to us as his people. Yes, the words are the words of Moses, Matthew, Paul and so on, but they are the words of Christ’s Spirit, too. This is why Jesus says to a group of people who were very, very good at making time for “quiet times”:

“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5 v 39-40)

The Scriptures are all about Jesus. They point us to him, because they are from him. So reading the Bible is not about me learning more, but loving more. It is my chance to hear from Jesus, to see Jesus, to grasp more fully the love and power and perfection of Jesus.

When we forget that, our Bible reading not only doesn’t grow us, but it can actually stunt us. It can turn our Christian life into an intellectual pursuit, or a moral crusade, or an emotional rollercoaster, or a job on the to-do list. Even a “good” quiet time (I understood the passage, or I saw how I must change, or I felt great, or I got it done) doesn’t really change anything, for very long. Too much of this and I give up Bible reading, or I shrink through Bible reading.

Let’s read the Bible because it’s about Jesus. We’ll need to understand it. It will show us how to live. It will sometimes fire our feelings. It will need to be done diligently.

But it will change so much, and help you grow so much, if you sit down with your Bible and think: I am about to hear from Jesus, about Jesus. I am opening up his love letter. You may need some notes or devotional books to help you. But most of all, you need to know what the Bible is: or rather, Who the Bible is from and who it is about. He is true, and he is beautiful, and he is speaking to us.

Get that, and you and I will read the Bible because we can’t not read the Bible.

This is an edited excerpt from John Hindley’s new book, You can really grow: How to thrive in the Christian life.