The Web Site and Blog of Pastor Chris Brauns
A fascinating and helpful discussion between pastor/author/seminary dean Russell Moore and Justin Taylor. I have not yet watched the entire video, dinner calls!, but after the first minute I was hooked.
Justin Taylor Interview – Russell Moore, “Tempted and Tried” from Crossway on Vimeo.
Tim Keller:
Years ago, on the advice of an older and wiser Christian, I began trying to pray through the Psalms once every month. Don’t be too impressed—I seldom make it through all 150 of the psalms every 30 days. However, by making that the goal I am able to eventually ponder each one at least several times a year.
One psalm especially has always caught my attention—Psalm 71. It might be entitled a ‘Psalm for Old Age.’ In verse 5 the psalmist says, “For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth,” and in verse 9, “Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone.” This text has been of more interest to me as I have grown older, but I usually think, “no use preaching on this psalm to a young congregation like mine.” And yet, I’ve come to see there is a lesson here for all of us, and especially for the young.
The psalmist says that from his youth he has relentlessly worked at three things. He has “always” taken refuge in God during times of distress (verse 3), “always” praised God as an act personal discipline (verse 7), and “always” put his hope in God for his future. The first practice has to do with how he has processed his suffering and disappointments, and the second practice has to do with daily prayer. He recounts that he has never let anything turn him aside from these disciplines:
Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me upC9I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; my lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you—I, whom you have redeemed. (Psalm 71:20,22-23)
The third is the most foundational of all. He does rigorous self-examination regarding the fundamental trusts of his heart. He is careful to know what he actually rests in and lives for, and he continually re-focuses his soul’s deepest hopes on God.
HT: Z
When we eat right, good food tastes better. There is a spiritual lesson here. When we cram our hearts and minds with cultural sugar, we have little appetite for a feast of God’s Word
As mentioned previously (see here), one of my sabbatical goals is to be more disciplined in terms of diet and exercise. To that end, I have made a real effort to remove junk food from my diet (especially carbs/sugar).
While the overall aim is not so much to lose weight as it is to be a better steward of my health, I am, so far a loser.
To this point, I have noticed two benefits:
Have you noticed the same thing? When you are eating right, do vegetables and salad taste far better?
Are you disciplining yourself to get the right nutrition for your soul?
Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control (Proverbs 25:28).
Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control (Proverbs 25:28).
Self control is a spiritual issue. When we lack discipline, we are open to every invader that can come our way, whether it is what we watch or what we eat. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I am working on my personal discipline where eating is concerned.
In my case, another part of the problem is that I need to better educate myself what kinds of foods I should eat. My friend, Dr. Steve, has been helping me in that regard. specifically, he has been teaching me about sugar/insulin/carbs etc. You can click over to his site to read more.
At the same time, an Atlantic Essay considers why America’s obesity is a very complex problem. It is written by a young man who had bariatric surgery because of his weight problem.
By 2015, four out of 10 Americans may be obese. Until last year, the author was one of them. The way he lost one-third of his weight isn’t for everyone. But unless America stops cheering The Biggest Loser and starts getting serious about preventing obesity, the country risks being overwhelmed by chronic disease and ballooning health costs. Will first lady Michelle Obama’s new plan to fight childhood obesity work, or is it just another false start in the country’s long and so far unsuccessful war against fat?
HT: Crunchy Con
I lost 7-8 pounds (depending on which way I lean on the scales). More important, I was more disciplined in my eating; I didn’t allow food to run my life and I was a better steward of my physical health.
Proverbs 25:28 – Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.
Earlier this week, I made myself accountable for sticking to a meal plan with a goal of being more disciplined in how I eat. The program was recommended by a friend of mine who is a doctor (read more here).
It was a challenge, but I followed the letter of the law which meant that I subsisted on special shakes, provided snack bars, and one serving of fruit or vegetables per day. Literally, the only exception I made to the program was communion on Thursday night.
Of course, 5 days is easy. The goal is to be disciplined over a significant period of time.
Proverbs 25:28 says that a man without self-control is like a city whose walls are broken down. In recent months, my self-control has not been strong where sugar is concerned. In the words of the late John Candy, “I’ve swallowed a lot of aggression along with a lot of pizza.” I realize this is a spiritual issue, so I taking steps to be more disciplined in my eating.
At a doctor friend’s advice, I am doing the USANA Reset program. (You can learn more at my expert consultant’s web site here. Watch the reset video). The goal of this isn’t so much weight loss, as it is to get my sugar intake etc back in line. This is my second day – - so, far, I’ve adhered strictly to the program. I have had coffee without cream or sugar. (I didn’t look to see if that was allowed because I planned to do it either way. As a pastor, I am allowed to break the rules in this way, but if you are not a pastor then you may need to go without coffee).
Briefly, the program means surviving on provided shakes, some fruit, and a radish here and there.
So, here’s the deal. On Saturday, you can ask me how I did. If I confess that I snarfed down some milk duds, then you are empowered to admonish me.
Most of us know what it takes to kill something. You have to be vicious. One day when I was mowing my yard I saw my neighbor run out of his garage with a shovel in his hand. He ran into the flower bed by his house and began pummeling the ground.
I didn’t see for sure what he was hitting, but I have a working theory. I think that while he was cleaning his garage a mouse or some rodent surprised him. And, my neighbor who does not wish to share his garage with mice, much less be surprised by them, decided to pulverize his uninvited guest with a shovel. My guess is he was trying to kill it.
I know that at any given time, there are many dead mice in the world. But, I can assure you that none of them are deader than this one. It met a violent end.
The Apostle Paul said that Christians should do with sin what my neighbor did with that mouse. Paul said it baldly.
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.(Col 3:5-6).”
My neighbor didn’t make friends with the mouse. He didn’t try and reason with it. He didn’t invite it into his home. He killed the thing.
So many times we befriend things that belong to the earthly nature. Maybe we don’t approve and yet we invite certain television programs into our home or look at the wrong things on the computer. We cultivate materialism and greed.
But, the Bible teaches that we are to kill sin, not make friends with it. Let’s pick up a shovel and beat it to death. Because of such things, the wrath of God is coming.
*Reposted from October of 2007.
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.
Studying Colossians 3 for the weekend. Paul admonishes the Colossians (3:5) to put to death sin.
How many times is our approach more like the clowns in certain beef-jerky commericals? With a similar, though worse, outcome.
Feeding your wild side doesn’t end well. Kill it.
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
