From One Degree to Another

John Piper offers some good counsel on how to wisely use the money coming to us for the kingdom of God.

Here’s an excerpt:

Clue: Nobody in the world will see you spend your money on yourself and conclude that Christ is your treasure. They will assume you are just like them, no matter how loudly you thank God for this boon. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t spend it on yourself (the way we do with most of what we earn). Not everything we do can look different from the world—eat, pay utilities, fill up the car, wear clothes (even thrift-store clothes). And yes, we hope (somehow) that spending on ourselves in some way contributes to our being more Christ-exalting people.

But do we really need this money? Very few do. We would have gotten on fine without it. If we didn’t know it was coming, we wouldn’t even be feeling the desires we are feeling right now.

May I encourage you to be radically creative and hedonistic. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). And those crazy Macedonians in a “severe test of affliction” and in “extreme poverty” had an “abundance of joy” that overflowed in a “wealth of generosity.” They even begged Paul “for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints” (2 Corinthians 8:2-4). They really believed what Jesus said. Really.

Have any of these ideas passed through your mind? Let’s honor God with our money!

I have been anticipating this for a while, but, evidently, the ESV Study Bible will be out this Fall. They have a website where you can register to get regular updates or peruse the features online. Ray Ortlund recently had a novel idea:

I have met people who knew a lot about baseball, a lot about oldies rock and roll [oops], a lot about computers, a lot about a lot, but I have never met anyone who knew the Bible too well. Not one person. Ever. Especially not in these times.

The ESV Study Bible comes out this October. I see an opportunity here. Could we all give ourselves ESV Study Bibles for Christmas and then set 2009 apart as “Our Year of the Bible”? Could we all give less to other things so that we give more to the Bible? Could we bore down together and discover the wonders of this holy Book as never before? Could we acknowledge our spiritual hunger, and thoughtfully, carefully, attentively, daily feed our souls? Could we shut off the noise and listen? Could we re-set our focus from the voices inside our heads to the Voice in the Book? And if we did, is it even conceivable that we could then come to the end of 2009 and say, “Dang. I could have done more TV and more computer and more video games and more dumb stuff. What a loser year 2009 has been! Next year, man, it’s going to be different. No more of this Bible-focus for me. I’m going to LIVE again”? Is there any chance, any chance at all, that could happen? Or might Jesus become more real to us? Might the Holy Spirit be poured out? Might we look back on 2009 as our turn-around year?

October 2008. The ESV Study Bible. Think of the possibilities.

Join the fun! Let’s allow God to impact us through His Word.

For the next few Marriage Monday posts (sorry I’m a day late), I will be posting on the subject of parenting and today I thought I’d begin with a recent post by John Piper. He sent out an excerpt of something he is currently working on. On his writing leave, he is writing on marriage and this includes a chapter on raising children. He writes on the ultimate goal of parenting:

The most fundamental task of a mother and father is to show God to the children. Children know their parents before they know God. This is a huge responsibility and should cause every parent to be desperate for God-like transformation. The children will have years of exposure to what the universe is like before they know there is a universe. They will experience the kind of authority there is in the universe and the kind of justice there is in the universe and the kind of love there is in the universe before they meet the God of authority and justice and love who created and rules of the universe. Children are absorbing from dad his strength and leadership and protection and justice and love; and they are absorbing from mother her care and nurture and warmth and intimacy and justice and love—and, of course, all these overlap.

And all this is happening before the child knows anything about God, but it is profoundly all about God. Will the child be able to recognize God for who he really is in his authority and love and justice because mom and dad have together shown the child what God is like. The chief task of parenting is to know God for who he is in his many attributes, and then to live in such a way with our children that we help them see and know this multi-faceted God. And, of course, that will involve directing them always to the infallible portrait of God in the Bible.

How are you at showing what God is like to your kids? Are you living in such a way that they are given a picture of God? Or are they given a picture of an idol you’re serving? These are questions of deep significance for us. We have to live it before we tell it. May this be true for us.

Our world has become increasingly individualistic and we do all that we can to take advantage of communicating face to face (as God intended?), so when I came across these two articles (from Peacemaker Ministries) this morning on more effective email communication, I was struck with how this is an area that needs to be seized upon and, ultimately used, for the glory of God. Check them out:

The Ten Commandments of Email Communications, which Ken Sande commends as “I commend them to you as an example of biblically-informed wisdom that all of us can benefit from.”

Keeping the Peace – Writing Email that will not Stir up Conflict, an article with helpful commendations from Carolyn McCulley.

While all the talks were exceptional, I thought Piper’s talk really turned the corner and began to press us towards some application. Therefore, I would highly recommend you listen to it:

John Piper: How The Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrifice

I really enjoy reading Mark Bertrand’s Bible Design and Binding Blog. I recently asked him a question and he gave his opinion and had his readers answer on opening a new Bible. If you’ve ever wondered what is involved in rebinding an old Bible that’s falling apart, this blog is for you.

I have mentioned to some of the incredible power of the sung word we experienced at the conference. Bob Kauflin, who led the music portions of the service, has posted on the songs we sang.

Information continues to abound on Together For The Gospel on the web. I thought Tim Challies wrap up of the conference brought together some of the information well.

For today’s marriage Monday, I want to press a thought that comes from the overarching scope of Scripture. When God matched you with your spouse, He gave you a person who complemented you. Remember when Eve was first shown to Adam in Genesis 2, he confessed “This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken from man.” God has given your spouse to you as a tool for your holiness. How often do you avail yourself to this tool?

Often, we think that we have a pretty good grasp on how we are doing spiritually and in other areas of our lives. We tend to give ourselves very good ratings at living the Christian life, honoring God and serving others. It would honor God, though, and serve our souls well if we brought our God-given complement into that discussion. Ask your spouse how it appears you are exercising your role in marriage? Ask your spouse where you could improve in communication? Ask your spouse how you could serve them better? Ask your spouse to expose some weak areas of your life. These exercises will not only expose you to God’s grace (since God opposes the proud but graces the humble) but will allow you to grow in godliness and please the One who has allowed you to enter marriage with that spouse in the first place.

Yes, I know it seems amazing that this is already up, but the audio from this year’s conference is already up and available (for free).