The Web Site and Blog of Pastor Chris Brauns
“Watch” Abraham Piper and his people cross the new bridge in Minneapolis. They were giddy. I can’t imagine that Moses and the Israelites were any more excited crossing the Red Sea.
I put this under “eschatology” because if these guys were this stoked about the bridge, I look forward to seeing how pumped they are when the queue up for the New Jerusalem.
John Piper and Bethlehem Baptist are located close to the bridge that collapsed last year in Minneapolis. The new bridge is open and John Piper reflects on how God is at work.
A Tribute to Flatiron Constructors and Their Maker
Today in Minneapolis the I-35W Bridge opened at 5 AM, one year and 48 days since it collapsed into the Mississippi River at rush hour (6:05 PM) on August 1, 2007. There are more reasons here to give thanks to God than meet the eye.
From the vantage point of one year later we may offer God several kinds of gratitude that were hard to express last year. Without minimizing the massive pain to the families of those who died, consider this.
If the bridge had collapsed at midnight and 13 people had died, the media would have been (rightly) filled with amazement that only 13 people had died, and officials would have been expressing relieved gratitude that the bridge did not collapse at rush hour. For if it had, surely hundreds would have died.
But the fact is, there was heavy traffic on the bridge at 6:05 PM when the bridge went down and still only 13 people died. This is simply astonishing. It could not be said out loud last year because even the pain of 13 lost (and 145 injured) is not to be minimized.
But now it must be said. Whatever reasons God had for not holding up the bridge at rush hour, he was merciful to spare hundreds of lives. For that we should thank him.
A second kind of gratitude should rise for the common grace of God in the rebuilding of the bridge. God gave the employees of Flatiron Constructors astonishing skill to finish this bridge 98 days ahead of schedule.
Read the whole thing here.
What are you doing today for the least of these brothers of Christ?
In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus vividly describes the last judgment. The importance of this teaching can scarcely be overemphasized. Frederick Dale Bruner writes:
“This depiction of the Last Judgment is especially important because it is the final story in Jesus’ public teaching ministry. This may be the teaching Jesus most wants imprinted on people’s conscience. Only the Beatitudes at the beginning rival this Last Judgment scene at the end for importance in Matthew’s catechism.”
So, what are you doing today for “the least of these brothers of mine”?
“ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”(Mt 25:31-46).”
Read an excellent interview regarding the current economic crisis on Justin Taylor’s blog:
David Kotter is the Executive Director of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. I’ve found him to be a reliable, insightful voice on the intersection of theology and economics. He has an MBA, has taught economics, served as a finance manager for Ford Motor Company, and has done a lot of thinking on the topic. So I decided to ask him a few questions in an attempt to think biblically about the banking crisis that is currently underway.
What is happening in the present banking crisis?
Last night the federal government committed to lend $85 billion to the insurer American International Group (AIG), on top of the $200 billion of capital promised to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac solvent in July and $30 billion for Bear Stearns in March. In other words, more than $1,000 for every man woman and child in the country has been directed in various ways to resolve the present banking crisis. At this point, you might be wondering why this happened and what benefit you can expect to receive from your thousand-dollar share.
Click here to read the whole thing.
Tullian Tchividjian quotes Cornelius Plantinga and reminds us that we are fighting in a great cosmic battle. (Click here).
Too often Christians forget that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion and wants to crush souls in his jaws. We’re in a war. The great Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper wrote:
“If once the curtain were pulled back, and the spiritual world behind it came to view, it would expose to our spiritual vision a struggle so intense, so convulsive, sweeping everything within its range, that the fiercest battle fought on earth would seem, by comparison, a mere game. Not here, but up there – that is where the real conflict is engaged.. Our earthly struggle drones in its backlash.” Abraham Kuyper.
Did you have a conflict free day?
Probably not.
But, if you did – - be ready for relational storms tomorrow. In a fallen world, conflict is never far away.
C.J. Mahaney wisely preached:
“In fact, it is with great confidence that I can predict: You will face relational conflict in your future. Not only your distant future, but your immediate future. . . For as sinners living in a fallen world, conflict is inevitable and in fact, is heading your way right now. You can count on it. C. J. Mahaney.”
Thanks be to God who offers grace in his Son and shows us through Him and His word how we can unpack forgiveness.
Make it a goal to understand how the message of Christ is central not only to God forgiving us, but also the model of how we should forgive one another.
I have a limited number of copies of my book available. You can order them directly from me. Otherwise, they should be more widely available next month.
Click here.
Crunchy Con explains why he thinks Sarah Palin has so energized the GOP.
Reading this story, I understood more than anything else I’ve read about Sarah Palin why she’s made that gut connection with so many Americans. She really is from a small town, and does not seem to have forgotten that. Think about the powerful message this sends to small-town, rural and working-class voters. Think about what it says about the place she comes from internally, and how she interprets the world. This is a woman who goes to the small-town beauty shop to trade hunting stories with her girlfriends, and to pray with them through their crises — and she didn’t stop going there when she became governor of the state.
Read the whole thing here.
Here’s a quote to meditate on. It’s not from the Bible and I am unsure of its source but it is a wise insight.
“Discipline, not desire, determines destiny.”
Let me give it you again,
“Discipline, not desire, determines destiny.”
Isn’t that so true? The problem isn’t that people don’t desire to lose weight or get their finances under control or quit looking at the wrong things on the Internet. But, it isn’t enough to simply want the right things. We also need to be disciplined or self-controlled.
But, for all our desire to be more personally disciplined, we live in a culture of vanishing self-control. Addictions, debt, and poor health rule too many lives.
The reason that so many fail in the area of personal discipline or self control is that they don’t know how to move forward with God’s help. They don’t know how to be disciplined, “by grace.”
In a new series, beginning October 5, I will explain a Christ-centered foundation for self-control. Through biblical teaching, together we will learn how the foundation of a disciplined life begins with Christ and his power and works out through all of life.
Where is the grace of God? How does God work powerfully in my life?
Titus 2:11ff teaches that the very grace of God which brings salvation also continues to work in our lives, teaching us to say “no” to ungodliness. The grace that saves also sanctifies so that we are increasingly conformed us to the image of Christ.
Get this: If you are truly a believer, then the God who spoke Creation into existence is at work in your life.
Your average Christian then asks, “Well, concretely, how can I expect this to take place?” Why am I not experiencing more victory? Why can’t I change?
And, the Protestant answer to that question has been that God works through certain appointed means. It is as we study God’s Word, pray, fellowship, and worship that God pours out his grace in our lives. This is not to be understood in a mystical sense. Nor, is it to imply that God does not work graciously work throughout the day. But, there is a focus on being sanctified through these central activities of the church.
Berkhof writes, “Sanctification takes place partly in the subconscious life, and as such is an immediate operation of the Holy Spirit; but also partly in the conscious life, and then depends on the use of certain means, such as the constant exercise of faith, the study of God’s Word, prayer and association with other believers. L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology, Fourth ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976), 534.
Grudem adds, “The New Testament does not suggest any short-cuts by which we can grow in sanctification, but simply encourages us repeatedly to give ourselves to the old-fashioned, time-honored means for Bible reading and meditation (Ps. 1:3; Matt. 4:4, 17:17), prayer (Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6), worship (Eph. 5:18-20), witnessing (Matt 28:19-20), Christian fellowship (Heb. 10:24-25), and self-discipline or self-control (Gal. 5:23; Titus 1:8).
So, if you aren’t in God’s Word, with God’s people, praying, worshiping, then don’t expect to experience God’s grace. (Moreover, you should probably question the authenticity of your faith!)
Want to study more? Read an intersting article by Fred Sanders on Wesley’s views (click here) of the means of grace here. I don’t mean to imply that I am in complete agreement with Wesley’s positions, which honestly I haven’t studied that well.
Read endorsements for Unpacking Forgiveness here.
Click here to order Unpacking Forgiveness.
“. . . Chris Brauns has done a magnificent job in helping us understand the true nature of biblical forgiveness. Every Christian will profit from reading and applying this book.” Jerry Bridges.
“ . . . Unpacking Forgiveness is an engaging, convicting but emphatically encouraging treatment of this hugely important (and sometimes mindbogglingly challenging) part of life. Dr. Brauns writes from the standpoint of a faithful, wise, experienced and caring pastor . . .” Ligon Duncan, First Pres, Jackson, MS
A Brick in the Valley
