Monthly Archive for May, 2009

Page 2 of 3

Pray Someone Will Be Blessed and You May End Up Being the Blessing

Published on May 24, 2009 in Chris Brauns Radio Spots and Prayer. 3 Comments

Here is a thought worth meditating on: Sometimes when we pray someone would be blessed, we end up being the instrument God uses to bless the person for whom we prayed.  God answers our praying by saying, “I will bless that person and I am going to use you to do it.”  When this happens, we have the joy of not only seeing our prayer answered, but the joy of being an instrument used by God to encourage someone else.

One of the best examples of this is found in the book of Ruth.  Boaz prays that God would bless Ruth for her faithfulness to Naomi.  God answers that prayer by bringing Ruth and Boaz together in marriage.  Incredibly, God even wrote Ruth into the story of the line of King David and ultimately, of the Lord Jesus himself.  When Boaz prayed that the God of Israel would bless Ruth, he could not have imagined that God would answer his prayer in such a spectacular way.

How about setting a goal to pray for someone in particular every day this week.  Pray the blessing found in Numbers 6:24-26, The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”

Don’t be surprised if God uses you to answer that prayer in some way that you might never have imagined.

How Thrilled Are You About the Good News?

Published on May 23, 2009 in Quotes. 0 Comments

“If you are not aware of the fact that this is the greatest good news that has ever come into the world, or has ever been received by man, it may be due to the fact that you have an inadequate sense of sin, and an inadequate realization of your own sinfulness.”

Dr. David Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Vol. 1 of Romans, 58.

Tranquility is Not Always a Good Thing

Published on May 23, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

You cannot, therefore, take credit for a tranquil kingdom, when there was tranquility for no other reason than because Christ was silent.  I admit that, on the revival of the gospel, great disputes arose where all was quietness before. Calvin’s response to Sadoleto, written in 1538.

Godfrey (page 14) explains the context of Calvin’s response:

Calvin’s treatise was a response to a sharp attack on the Reformation written by Jacopo Sadoleto.  Sadoleto was a bishop and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and a distinguished scholar.  After hearing of the exile of Calvin and other pastors, he wrote to the Genevans in 1538 urging them to return to the old church.  While the Genevan authorities did not regard Sadoleto’s letter as a real threat to the Protestant establishment in Geneva, they did want a strong and effective response written to it.  After careful consideration they finally realized that their former pastor, whom they exiled, was the best equipped to write the answer they wanted.

Calvin must have received their request with some amusement and satisfaction.  Their recognition that they needed him surely made Calvin feel vindicated.

Question: Do More People in our Culture Agree with Lennon or Hebrews?

Published on May 23, 2009 in Soteriology. 1 Comment

I imagine that John Lennon wouldn’t much like the New Testament book of Hebrews.

True: both Lennon and Hebrews pay tribute to the idea of peace.  The benediction at the end of Hebrews begins with the words, “May the God of peace . . .”  Lennon’s longing for peace is well documented: “All we are saying, is give peace a chance.”

But, Lennon’s prescription for peace was to imagine a world in which there was no government, heaven or hell, and “nothing to kill or die for.” 


Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today…

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…

Contrast Hebrews.  The author insists that in a fallen world death is central.  Unless blood is shed, there is no remission of sins (Heb 9:22). .  The word “blood” shows up 14 times in Hebrews 9-10 alone.  And, the benediction in Heb 13:20-21 reads,

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,

Essentially:

  1. The book of Hebrews argues that peace cannot be accomplished without Justice being satisfied. 
  2. Whereas, Lennon opines that we need to forget justice and live as one.

Now for those who read my blog all of this may seem to you like an exercise in the obvious.  But, here is my question for you.  Is it fair to say that the Gospel according to Lennon is winning the day?  Do the majority in our culture believe that John Lennon’s Imagine is the true path to peace?

****************************

(P.S.  If you haven’t heard, The Beatles broke up.  It’s probably worth keeping in mind when deciding whether or not to agree with Lennon or the Bible).

Paul Tripp Talks About What Hinders Community in the American Church

Published on May 22, 2009 in Church and Family. 1 Comment

From Desiring God’s blog:

What is the greatest hindrance to cultivating community in the American church?

The first thing that comes to mind is frenetic western-culture busyness.

I read a book on stress a few years back, and the author made a side comment that I thought was so insightful. He said that the highest value of materialistic western culture is not possessing. It’s actually acquiring.

If you’re a go-getter you never stop. And so the guy who is lavishly successful doesn’t quit, because there are greater levels of success. "My house could be bigger, I could drive better cars, I could have more power, I could have more money."

And so we’ve bought an unbiblical definition of the good life of success. Our kids have to be skilled at three sports and play four musical instruments, and our house has to be lavish by whatever standard. And all of that stuff is eating time, eating energy, eating money. And it doesn’t promote community.

I think often that even the programs of a local church are too sectored and too busy. As if we’re trying to program godliness. And so the family is actually never together because they’re all in demographic groupings. Where do we have time where we are pursuing relationships with one another, living with one another, praying with one another, talking with one another?

I’ve talked to a lot of families who literally think it’s a victory to have 3 or 4 meals all together with one another in a week, because they’re so busy. Well, if in that family unit they’re not experiencing community, there’s no hope of them experiencing it outside of that family unit.

We have families that will show up at our church on Sunday morning with the boys dressed in their little league outfits, and I know what’s going to happen. They’re going to leave the service early. Now what a value message to that little boy! Do I think little league is bad? I don’t think it’s bad at all. I think it’s great. But they’re telling him what’s important as they do that.

You can’t fit God’s dream (if I can use that language) for his church inside of the American dream and have it work. It’s a radically different lifestyle. It just won’t squeeze into the available spaces of the time and energy that’s left over.

Read the whole thing here.

Hopeful Words from Mary Beth Chapman

Published on May 22, 2009 in suffering. 1 Comment

As you probably know, the Chapman family was called to walk through a very deep valley when their daughter died in an accident a year ago.  Mary Beth Chapman posted today about how we can pray for them as a family.

Never in a million years would I think I would be sitting here on May 21, 2009 writing to you, my faithful blog friends about this.  Most of my words will seem empty today because I’m kind of in a surreal place in my heart as I try and express this Journey that the Chapman family has been on this past year!  Here is what I FEEL as this day starts out.  Sad beyond sad that she isn’t here, angry and mad that this had to happen, confused and bewildered that it had to involve Maria’s big brother that absolutely adored her, paralyzing fear that I won’t be able to pull through the pain and be able to completely let her go…because she wasn’t mine to begin with, and speechless to know how to grieve my baby girl who gave me soooo much laughter and joy and then turn around and hold tightly to the young man who is walking through this tragedy at 18 years old…Maria’s buddy, Will, (the bravest young man I know!), and at my darkest place, I wonder…..God, where are you and why in the world would you choose us to walk this out….It isn’t fair!  And then, all of a sudden, I hear this other voice in my head that reminds me over and over again of not what I FEEL, but what I KNOW….

Read the whole thing here.

What We Encourage Our Graduates to Remember

Published on May 21, 2009 in Church. 4 Comments

Graduation is here again. As a pastor, that means that I will once again be sharing a letter with graduating seniors. Every year I make it a point to graduating seniors to never forget that:

Jesus Christ is the only solution. He paid the penalty for those who give their lives to him. The alternative is unthinkable (John 3:16).

Many people think they are Christians when they are not (Matthew 7:21-23). Be sure you know the proper basis for being sure of salvation.

There is a need to grow as a Christian. Otherwise, it will be very hard to make good decisions in life. You need a church home. Don’t think you can simply put church on hold for the next few years. Find a church; get involved. In the next few years, you will make decisions that affect the rest of your life. Do that amid being involved in a good church.

The Christian life is the blessed or “happy” life. Certainly it isn’t always peaches and cream. And everything doesn’t always fit together as neatly as you would like in the short run. But Psalm 1 is absolutely true. The person who walks with God is the one who will be blessed. And especially, the one who pursues a knowledge of him through his written word. Pursue the joy of Christian life. God promises that you won’t be disappointed.

And the way of the sinner is hard. Please don’t be deceived. Don’t buy the lie that you can make wrong choices and not reap the consequences. As believers you must make God honoring decisions or you will face the consequences of wrong choices. Choose to sin, choose to suffer.

The people of the Red Brick Church love you.

Christians Suffer in the “Delivery Room”

Published on May 21, 2009 in Chris Brauns Radio Spots and suffering. 8 Comments

Let me make an analogy between the physical and the spiritual.

Would you not agree that there is a fundamental difference between pain in the cancer ward and agony in the delivery room? One is suffering that brings life; the other is that of death.

As a pastor, I have watched many people struggle with cancer. It is such an awful disease. I think of one friend who went through so much – - lost her hair during chemotherapy — – had her body ravaged by the disease – and then she slowly died. Her hospital room was a place of pain.

The delivery room is also full of pain. If I ever complain about discomfort, my wife who has delivered four babies is happy to remind me that I am not acquainted with real pain. Never the less, the agony of labor is of a different kind than cancer suffering. Labor is pain based on a beautiful hope.

Everyone in this life will suffer. And, if Christ does not come back in our life time, we will all die. But, for a believer, the sufferings of life are those of the delivery room. Romans 8 says that our sufferings are “birth pains” that will one day give way to the sons of God being revealed.

If you are believer with cancer, then you have all the hope of eternity. Remember, our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

Soon and very soon, Jesus will come back and we will be eternally with Him.

Challenging Low Views of the Church

Published on May 20, 2009 in Church. 4 Comments

Dapper Darryl Dash’s post is worth reading today if for no other reason than to see a tight collection of quotes about the Church.  The one from Augustine makes me nervous.  But, its worth thinking about.

I often talk to people who have low views of the church. Some of the most common:

  • the consumer view – the church just isn’t meeting my needs
  • the voluntary association view – I’ll participate in the church as I would a club, as often as I can given my existing commitments
  • the critical view – I have no time for the church
  • the anti-establishment view – the church isn’t organic enough and therefore I will bail out until it gets its act together  . . .

Lewis also spoke of how the church confronted his own pride:

I came up against different people of quite different outlooks and different education, and then gradually my conceit just began peeling off. I realized that the hymns (which were just sixth-rate music) were, nevertheless, being sung with devotion and benefit by an old saint in elastic-side boots in the opposite pew, and then you realize that you aren’t fit to clean those boots. It gets you out of your solitary conceit. (God in the Dock)

If you want something stronger than Lewis, then these words from John Calvin should do it: “The abandonment of the church is always fatal.” (Institutes)

We need a rich theology of the church. We need to remember what she will one day be – a church of splendor, without any spot or wrinkle or blemish (Ephesians 5:27). We need to challenge consumer views, and we need to challenge critiques from the outside. Humble critiques from the inside are much better.

Maybe Augustine got the tension right: “The church is a whore, but she’s my mother.”

Read the whole thing here.

Children and the Snakes That Will Bite Them

Published on May 20, 2009 in Missions. 0 Comments

Togo Chris with children

I had a lot of reasons to smile in this picture.  (I’m the one with a light complexion).  But, the center of my joy was because the children I’m was with were near the Carolyn Kempton Memorial Hospital, where all kinds of snake bites can be treated.

And, there are deadly snakes in Africa: both kinds.

One of the most deadly snakes in this part of the world is a a puffer adder (as seen in the picture).  There are also various members of the mamba family.

Dr. Russ Ebersole recently wrote about a snake bite they treated in Togo:

“. . . A man arrived [at the hospital] at noon, having been bitten on the scalp by a puffer adder while taking a nap.   With a couple of hours his scalp and face became severely swollen, and his appearance looked almost non-human.  By early evening, he had trouble talking and breathing, and urgent plans were made to place a tracheotomy to enable him to breathe since his airway was swelling shut. . . Throughout the night his blood pressure was almost nonexistent, and he required strong medications just to keep his vital signs compatible with being alive . . . He then slowly improved and 5 days after his admission was able to be discharged. image

But, there is a “snake bite” which is far more deadly than that of a black mamba or a puffer adder.

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

The Carolyn Kempton hospital treats that kind of snake bite too.  Over 40 churches have been planted through the ministries of that hospital.

The situation in northern Togo is far different.  If the children in the picture above lived inside the 10/40 window in Mango, they would have little or no hope of being treated for either a physical or a spiritual snake bite.