From One Degree to Another

In a thought provoking response to a previous post, David Powlison urges us to get away from “quiet time” and tells us that “[God] wants to catch your ear to awaken your voice. When you have your ‘quiet’ time, or as you walk outdoors, or during your commute, may the decibel level rise to joyful noise and cries of need–and may God listen to the sound of your voice!” Read more here.

On the church website, we’ve recently added a page devoted to HomeWord with all the audio of each one so far. Here is a summary:

05/2007 God-Glorifying Marriage mp3
06/2007 Introduction to Roles mp3
07/2007 Husband’s Role mp3
08/2007 Wife’s Role mp3
10/2007 Communication mp3
11/2007 Communication (2) mp3
01/2008 Communication (3) mp3
02/2008 Sex mp3
03/2008 Money mp3

On Hillsong United’s CD – “All of The Above“, there is track called “Hosanna” written by Brooke Fraser. I love the bridge of this song. We are going to be doing it at HomeWord next month. Here are the lyrics:

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your Kingdom’s cause
As I walk from into eternity

May this be your prayer as well.

Yesterday, I was visiting with a gentleman at Starbucks (enjoying a Vanilla Skinny Latte) and we were discussing methods I employ in studying the Scriptures, so, with pleasure, I reiterated my stew method.

I find it helpful to relate to something as basic as, um, food. Take stew for example. Yeah, you can use ground beef for a quick fix, but stew meat usually takes time to get tender. Then you add in all those flavors and veggies for a rich, full-bodied stew. The longer it cooks, the better it seems to get. Let it cool and reheat it, and you will get a bigger surprise at how good it tastes.

This is the method I use in Bible study. (By the way, I love my new Personal Size Reference ESV.) Anyway, I take a passage and read over it day after day, looking for new gems, asking God to reveal truth to me. I am trying to “throw it on the back burner” for a while. Then I start adding some touches. I will ask questions, like “Who, What, When, Where, Why, How, or what are some questions I have, what are some obvious applications, what does God want me to live by, what does this reveal about God, how does the Gospel square with this?” In the course of this, I am looking at the Greek/Hebrew text to see what nuances emerge. So, things are just coming together on that “back burner.” Then I look at commentaries and think about what they see. (This is much like consulting a cookbook. Oh, that’s interesting, they used this seasoning or that flavoring in the stew.) Then I let all this steep and stew for a while and what emerges is a text I understand with several directions for living this text. This is the STEW method. It is effective in my life.

For this week’s free audio of the week, I want to keep going on the “conflict” theme and recommend to you C.J. Mahaney’s excellent sermon “Cravings and Conflict.”

Here’s a description from the website:

Are you ready for marriage? If you are already married, is your relationship with your spouse free from strife? There is a relational conflict awaiting you in your immediate future.

C.J. Mahaney opens this session sharing stories about the courtships and engagements of all three of his daughters. Speaking to single adults, C.J. offers some of the premarital counseling he gave to each of his daughters and their fiancés. With James 4:1-2 as his text, he explores the cravings that cause conflict, especially within the context of marriage. Conflict is worse than we think: it reveals the sin in our hearts. In order to end the conflict, we must address our sin and deal with our wrong heart attitudes.

This edition of the message was delivered at New Attitude 2004.

This message had a profound effect on me when I first heard it. We need new eyes to see what exactly causes conflict. We consistently think the problem is others, but this is merely pridefully failing to see the problems that lie within. Listen and be convicted and encouraged.

Here’s is a follow up article to Part 1 of my Conflict Marriage Monday series. The article is entitled, “Conflict an Opportunity? I Hate Conflict!” This article, by Ted Kober, highlights how the 4 G’s can make all the difference in the world in resolving conflict. Plus, I think many of us don’t view conflict as a way of growing in our sanctification. We view it as sin spiraling out of control. God has bigger plans for your conflicts, though. Check out this article.

For the next few weeks on Mondays, as part of my Marriage Monday segment, I am going to be addressing the subject of conflict. For many of my posts, I will be quoting from Ken Sande’s excellent book, The Peacemaker. Ken serves in a ministry called Peacemaker Ministries. This ministry also blogs at the Route 5:9 Blog.

In introducing us to the subject of peacemaking, Ken writes:

This book is designed to help you become this kind of peacemaker. It provides a simple yet comprehensive approach to resovling conflict. Because this approach is based solidly on God’s Word, it is effective in every type of conflict. It has been used not only to resolve the normal differences of daily life, but also to stop divorces, prevent church splits, and settle multimillion dollar lawsuits. This approach to resolving conflict may be summarized in four basic principles, which I refer to as the “Four G’s.”

Glorify God (1 Cor. 10:31). Biblical peacemaking is motivated and guided by a deep desire to bring honor to God by revealing the reconciling love and power of Jesus Christ. As we draw on His grace, follow His example, and put His teachings into practice, we can find freedom from the impulsive, self-centered decisions that make conflict worse, and bring praise to God by displaying the power of the Gospel in our lives.

Get the log out of your eye (Matt. 7:5). Attacking others only invites counterattacks. This is why Jesus teaches us to face up to our own contributions to a conflict before we focus on what others have done. When we overlook others’ minor offenses and honestly admit our own faults, our opponents will often respond in kind. As tensions decrease, the way may be opened for sincere discussion, negotiation, and reconciliation.

Gently restore (Gal. 6:1). When others fail to see their contributions to a conflict, we sometimes need to graciously show them their fault. If they refuse to respond appropriately, Jesus calls us to involve respected friends, church leaders, or other objective individuals who can help us encourage repentance and restore peace.

Go and be reconciled(Matt. 5:24). Finally, peacemaking involves a commitment to restoring damaged relationships and negotiating just agreements. When we forgive others as Jesus has forgiven us and seek solutions that satisfy others’ interests as well as our own, the debris of conflict is cleared away and the door is opened for genuine peace.

Isn’t this material already a breath of fresh air for what many of us experience in conflict or disagreement. Someone upsets us, so we feel like it is our God-given right to let them know why we are upset. Here, we are given an orientation that is explicitly God-centered and suspicious of our own selfish hearts. We may feel compelled to go to someone, but do we do that gently. And finally, what is needed to achieve reconciliation. I can honestly see that I have both failed to give correction in a way that was motivated by the glory of God and suspicious of my own heart. I have failed to do this gently. And I haven’t worked out good reconciliation. Therefore, I need reminded of this material. I hope in these coming weeks, it will be helpful to you as well.

In case you haven’t seen it, there is also this video of Tim Keller recently speaking at Google. In it, Keller explains much of his new book and fields some Q & A time.

USA Today has an article asking, “Has the ‘notion of sin’ been lost?” Among those weighing in are: the Pope, Al Mohler, Joel Osteen, Michael Horton, Mark Driscoll and Tim Keller. Check it out.

(HT: JT)

God has been so gracious to turn the light on in my soul spiritually today. I was stirred by Lloyd-Jones chapter “The Mortification of Sin” in Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. It is so easy to just coast spiritually. What I mean by that is that we settle into the groove that discipline can so easily create. I am reading the Bible, praying and doing good reading and sermon work, but my heart isn’t necessarily engaged into the deep, holy, heart-stirring truth I am encountering. Lloyd-Jones urges a vigilance, a fight with this kind of thinking.

I was also hearing the audio I recommended yesterday and how C.J., Jeff, and Josh were speaking of the pastor’s care for his soul. C.J. came right out and said that the best way we as pastors can lead and care for the flocks entrusted to us is by keeping our hearts with all diligence. We have to guard our hearts against both sin and weak affections. I was really encouraged, for instance, to be more diligent in prayer. I go through so much of my ministerial day just coasting. I am not casting my cares on God. I am seeking to solve problems and diagnose heart problems with my own finite understanding. When I do this, I am forgetting that I am an undershepherd under THE SHEPHERD. Again, C.J. said it is only on HIS shoulders that the government rests. I wasn’t called to shoulder the burden primarily. I was called to take burdens and cast them on the Lord. I do have a role, but must keep it in its proper perspective.

The cumulative effect of these things in my life today is much spiritual encouragement. I feel the fire returning deep within. (I have also been able to catch up on sleep after an tremendously busy season.) I am thankful to God for His grace and wanted to encourage those of you who might go through seasons like this (because we all do). God hasn’t abandoned you. Receive the struggle He is allowing in your life as a means of grace to draw you back to Him. You’ll find Him there waiting to bring the prodigal home.