Thoughts on Revival

Greetings All!

     Today I send out some thoughts on revival.  I do so because it seems clear to most who look around at the contemporary scene that the church stands in great need of God's reviving influences.  Not mere emotionalism.  Not religious fanaticism.  Not a sudden surge of popularity or culture-wide respect for the Church.  And not humanly generated attempts to pump up a fleeting zeal through motivational speeches.  No.  A true heaven-breathed move of the Holy Spirit which transforms hearts and restores in the people of God an all-consuming love for Him and our neighbors, a passion for His glory, a yearning for His kingdom to come, and a true concern for His redemptive will to be done on earth -- regardless of the sacrifice or cost to us.
     I send these to you with the hope that they might guide your prayers for such a blessed move of God in His Church.  May the fresh winds of the Spirit blow through the Body of Christ as we pray, confess, repent, worship, speak of His grace and love as He calls us to love.

"How little time the average Christian spends in prayer!  We are too busy to pray, and so we too busy to have power. We have a great deal of activity, but we accomplish little.  There are many services, but few conversions. The power of God is lacking in our lives and in our work. We have not because we ask not."

R. A. Torrey

“Revival is God breaking in and upon and over His church like ocean waves upon the shoreline rocks.”

Jonathan Edwards

“Revival is the Church falling in love with Jesus all over again.”

Vance Havner

“Revival is a community saturated with God.”

Duncan Campbell

“A revival means days of heaven upon earth.”

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

“Revival is ultimately Christ Himself, seen, felt, heard, living, active, moving in and through His Body on earth.”

 Stephen Olford

“Revival is that strange and sovereign work of God in which He visits His own people, restoring, re-animating, and releasing them into the fullness of His blessings.”

Robert Coleman

“Revival is an extraordinary work of the Spirit that invades the church to re-energize us with God’s eternal purposes in Christ Jesus.”

David Bryant

“Revival is a sudden bestowal of a spirit of worship upon God’s people.”

A. W. Tozer

“A true revival means nothing less than a revolution, casting out the spirit of worldliness and selfishness, and making God and His love triumph in the heart and life.”

Andrew Murray

“Revival is God revealing Himself to man in awful holiness and irresistible power. It is God’s method to counteract spiritual decline and to create spiritual momentum in order that His redemptive purposes might be accomplished on earth”

Arthur Wallis

“Revival comes to the church when we are thoroughly possessed by the hope held out in the gospel—and that hope is Christ Himself.”

David Bryant

With prayers for God's Spirit to stir afresh in your heart, Pastor Jeff

12 Quotes that Touches the Heart

Greetings All,

Today's "thoughts" are a little different than most weeks.  Today, as I was glancing through my Bible, my eye focused on some of the quotes I had written into the side columns and empty page spaces over the last 30 years or so. They are thoughts that obviously touched my heart in some way or I would not have taken the time to pen them into those spaces. Thus I offer you 12 of the many I have written there. I do not know what books some of these came from, but in the cases where I do, I give the reference.  I trust one or two may touch your heart as well.  In fact, if one happens to do so, just out of curiosity, let me know!  Enjoy.

     "God, of your goodness give me yourself, for you are enough for me. If I ask anything less, I know I shall continue to want. Only in you, I have everything." 

Lady Julian of Norwich

     "Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all." 

Isaac Watts, Celebration Hymnal

     "A loud cry in the ears of God is that burning love of the soul that cries out: "My God and my love, You are all mine, and I am all Yours." Deepen your love in me, O Lord. Let your love possess me and raise me above myself with a fervor and wonder beyond imagination.  Let me sing the song of love. Let my soul spend itself in your praise, rejoicing in your love."

Thomas A'Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

"Oh, Lord!  If I worship you from fear of hell, burn me in hell; 

and if I worship you form hope of paradise, exclude me from it.

But if I worship you for your own sake -- 

then withhold not from me your eternal beauty." 

Anonymous

     "There was once in man [before the Fall] a true happiness, of which there now remains to him only an empty trace which he vainly tries to fill with things from his environment. Yet all these efforts are inadequate, for the infinite abyss can only be filled with an infinite and immutable object, that is, by God Himself."

Blaise Pascal, Pensees

     "The saint has spiritual joy and pleasure by a kind of effusion of God upon the soul. In these things the redeemed have communion with God; that is, they partake with Him and of Him." 

Jonathan Edwards,  On Knowing God

     "We must return to New Testament Christianity, not in creed only, but in complete manner of life as well.  Holiness, obedience, humility, simplicity, earnestness, self-control, modesty and cross-bearing must again be made a living part of the total Christian concept and be carried out in everyday conduct. We must cleanse the temple of hucksters and moneychangers and come fully under the authority of our risen Lord once again."

A. W. Tozer

     "Prayer for revival will prevail when it is accompanied by a radical amendment of life and not before. All night prayer meetings that are not preceded by practical repentance may actually be displeasing to God -- to obey is better than sacrifice [I Samuel 15:22]...  God is not interested in increased church attendance unless those who attend amend their ways and begin to live a holy life [Isaiah 1:10-20]."

A. W. Tozer

     "As grace is at first from God, so it is continually from Him and is maintained by Him... Men are dependent on the power of God for every exercise of grace, for carrying on that work in the heart, for subduing sin and corruption, for increasing holy principles, and enabling us to bring forth fruit in every good work."

Jonathan Edwards, from the sermon, "God Glorified in Man's Dependence." 

     "Can one be spiritually content apart from the continual experience of the divine presence? Can one be a true Pilgrim without a passionate yearning for the Divine Reality?" 

Anonymous

     "Strength and struggle go together. The supreme reward of struggle is strength. Life is a battle and the greatest joy is to overcome. The pursuit of easy things makes men weak. It is in following the path of least resistance that makes both rivers and men crooked."

Ralphe Parlette 

     "A leader is a person who, on a large scale, is able to rise above their own fears and anxieties and so succeed in changing the world. They can work for years at their purposes, but they also have to have something absolutely mold their vision. What is not before their eyes must be more real to them than what is. When people have a vision of what they want to do and are willing to accept torture, danger, difficulty, anxiety, instability, insecurity and even death, then they are leaders. And if they are successful, then that certifies it." 

Norman Mailer, TV Interview  (Mailer originally used the word "hero" in place of "leader.")

In the Service of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

What Jonathan Edwards Can Teach Us About Politics - Part 2

Greetings All,

As promised last week, this week's thought contains Jonathan's Edwards last three thoughts on the Christian's involvement in political things.
     Once again, it is taken from the article by Gerald R. McDermott entitled, "What Jonathan Edwards Can Teach Us About Politics."
     Hopefully you have been introduced to Jonathan Edwards (as he was one of the godliest and greatest thinkers to pass through the American scene).   Some of his writings are hard to follow (as those who have read, "The Nature of True Virtue," or "The Freedom of the Will" can testify).  Yet they are well-worth the time if you want some intellectually and spiritually challenging reading for your summer vacation!  With that being said, here are the last three of Edwards' six points on "public theology."   (To refresh your memory of the first three see last week's post at - www.thoughtfortheweek-jeff.blogspot.com )  Enjoy!

     "4.) Christians should remember that politics is relatively unimportant in the long run.  The key moments of history, Edwards taught, are not important elections or decisive wars, but spiritual awakenings. Therefore, the most important thing Christians can do for the good of their country is to pray for revival. Spiritual transformation brings more positive change to the world than political or social revolution.  From God's perspective, "one true Christian, however humble his birth and low his standing; however poor or ignorant or unknown (is more valuable than) many great men of the world, kings and princes, men of great power and policy... that are honored and make a great figure... [but] are wicked men and reprobates." God delights to "choose the foolish things of the world to confound the mighty... and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are" ((I Corinthians 1:27-28). For this reason Edwards did not hesitate to use a four-year-old girl's piety to recommend revival in a public treatise published in an era when children's and women's testimonies were widely considered unreliable. 

     5.) Christians should beware of national pride (or patriotism).  Edwards commended patriotism as a natural and loving response to the needs of one's nation. But, in words reminiscent of Samuel Johnson's remark that patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, Edwards warned that patriotism often serves self-interest.  It is particularly susceptible to self-deception, he argued, because its loyalties extend to a large number of people, making such loyalties appear altruistic. Look at the Romans, he suggested; they considered love for country to be the highest of all virtues, yet they employed their patriotism "for the destruction [subjugation] of the rest of mankind."  Edwards would be very wary of contemporary calls to regard America as a Christian nation needing to return to its lost Christian roots. No nation has ever been Christian, he insisted. There has never been a country where the majority of citizens were born-again or even regular church goers [Edwards even testifies that at the height of the revival only 25% of Nothhampton were true believers, with about the same colony-wide].  Most citizens of so-called Christian countries are not regenerate, and even the regenerate have an abundance of sin. No people has ever been righteous, least of all the colonial New England to which he preached. Edwards condemned eighteenth-century New England for it's religious hypocrisy, social strife, lack of compassion for the poor, and exploitation of the Native Americans.

     Edwards would also be critical of those who assume that America's future must be bright because God has favored her with so many blessings. This Northhampton (Massachusetts) prophet acknowledged that New England had been the recipient of unprecedented blessings, both spiritual and political. But, in a move missed by nearly all Edwards scholars, he said that such blessings could be a sign of impending judgment.  It is a familiar pattern in [biblical] history, he observed, for God to pour out spiritual revival just before He unleashes terrible judgement. Revival came to the Jews in Jesus' time, just 40 years before Jerusalem was brutally destroyed. God dealt similarly with Israel's ten lost tribes, the churches of North Africa and the Middle East after the rise of Islam, and the Protestant churches in France after the Reformation. Therefore, Edwards warned that it is foolish for a people to think its religious and political freedoms will guarantee a happy future. If a society is morally and spiritually corrupt, it will collapse despite having wonderful freedoms. Edwards repeated this warning to colonial New England during the French and Indians Wars.

     6.) Christians should care for the poor. Edwards was sharply critical of those churchgoers who, "pretend a great love to men's souls [but] are not compassionate and charitable towards their bodies."  When Boston's liberal preachers Charles Chauncey and Jonathan Mayhew were preaching that the poor were undeserving and their poverty was their own fault, Edwards told his congregation they should not be content until poverty was eliminated from their community.  It was not unusual for Puritan preachers to teach charity to the poor.  But Edwards was unusually fearless when confronting those he considered negligent. When Northhampton built a new church building that placed the poor in the worst seats, Edwards boldly declared that those with the best seats may have no seats at all in heaven.  He charged those who gave only their [unwanted things, or their worthless things to] the poor with lying to God, like Ananias and Sapphira, who God struck dead for their dishonesty (Acts 5:1-11).  In the 1740's Edwards established a deacon's fund specially for the poor and regularly called on wealthier Christians to make "frequent and liberal (generous)" contributions.

     Edwards taught that charity to the poor is at the heart of biblical theology.  Preaching from Matthew 25, he said that God is present in the poor, whom he constitutes as the "receivers."  Since we cannot express our love to God by doing anything to profit him, God wants us to do something profitable for our poor neighbors, whom he delegated with the task of receiving Christian love...  Edwards supported a state welfare program.  Since all human beings, even true Christians are naturally selfish, he contended, private -- even church -- charity is unreliable.  Hence, government shows it's "wisdom" when it administers a welfare program to assist the deserving poor.  Those who are poor because of laziness, or prodigality, however, do not merit such assistance.  Biographer Samuel Hopkins, who lived in Edwards home for six months, said Edwards himself was a stellar example of giving to the poor but usually gave secretly. One time, for example, Edwards heard of a family in another town that had fallen upon poverty because the father had become sick. Edwards, who rarely had enough to make ends meet, made arrangements to have the man receive a bundle of money without knowing from whom it came. On his deathbed, Edwards (who was well-known and well-respected) ordered that his own funeral be conducted "without pomp and cost." Any money that might have been spent for that purpose was instead to be given to the poor and needy."

     This gives you an idea of what one of the most God-centered and Christian thinkers in American history thought of a Christians attitude and involvement in politics and social issues. I trust that as this election year proceeds, you might consider his thoughts, since they come from a zealous evangelist, ardent revivalist, biblical thinker and godly husband and father.
     After all, as being "in the world but not of the world," the Christian is not really able to avoid "politics" completely.  Believers are simply asked to think, act, and hold to truly Christian ideals as they live out their faith within the realities of an imperfect society run by imperfect people like him or herself.
     In fact, in keeping with Edwards, what matters most are not the ideas, platforms, or policies held by any particular political party, for each one is terribly flawed and cannot escape being corrupted by the lure of money and the desire for power. Contrary to the persuasion of some, our country will never truly be "fixed" so long as it is run by sinners (be they sinners who are Democrat or Republican, or whatever other party one affiliates with)!  A host of individual citizens, committed to that which honors and reflects the nature of our just and merciful God, will do more to bring about healthy changes in society than any party's agenda or platform.  That's how I see it anyway, and I think Edwards would agree.

In His Service, Pastor Jeff

What Jonathan Edwards Can Teach Us About Politics

Greetings All,

     In light of the coming election here in the States (which has many people from both sides a bit discouraged with the final candidate alternatives) I thought some biblically-based political insights from a man who lived long ago -- Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) -- would be useful in helping us choose wisely, regardless of which side of the divide you stand on.  Even those who have determined in protest -- not to vote at all, or vote for a write in -- could benefit from his thoughts on the issue. Although I must add that it's good to remember that Edwards wrote at a time when no constitution had yet been drafted, and the United States had not yet become the United States!

This "thought" is taken from an article written by Gerald R. McDermott, entitled: "What Jonathan Edwards Can Teach Us About Politics."  In his article he shares six of Edwards's views, though I have chosen to limit this week's post to the first three and give you the last three next week.  And before all my friends overseas press the "delete" button, I must add that the insights he shares are timeless and by no means restricted to U.S. politics!  Wherever you may live, I trust you will find them helpful.  Enjoy.

"Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) is widely regarded as the greatest theologian this continent has ever produced. As a key figure in the religious life of colonial America, Edwards was a multifaceted thinker whose total catalog of ideas is still being discovered. ... And while scholars have long recognized that Edwards possessed one of the most creative and powerful intellects on American soil [just to give you a sense of intellectual prowess, it helps to know Edwards entered Yale University at 13 years old, having already learned Latin, Greek and Hebrew], most have thought [because of his famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"] he was happy to let the world go to hell -- in both senses of that phrase. 

     But recent research indicates that Jonathan Edwards carefully observed the social and political currents swirling about him and developed an elaborate theory of what it means to be a Christian citizen in a civil community... The following is a six-point summary of Edwards's public theology:

     1.) Christians have a responsibility to society beyond the walls of the church. The election of a president who openly supports social policies repugnant to most evangelicals has prompted some Christians to suggest the church abandon efforts to change society.... Yet Edwards (well-known for his leadership in spiritual revivals) insisted that Christians should care about the material and social well-being of those outside the church. God has made us dependent upon our non-Christian neighbors for help, he taught, and therefore to fail to acknowledge our interdependence "is more suitable for wolves and other beasts of prey, than for human beings."  Edwards's convictions on this point stemmed from his belief that we are made in the image of God, who is always reaching out in relationship to others and cares for their bodies as well as their souls. Christians should do the same... Edwards practiced what he preached. Throughout a seven year stint on the Massachusetts frontier, for example, the New England theologian fought for the rights of native Americans who came to his mission church. He argued that Indian girls should be able to go to school, and wrote repeated letters to the Massachusetts Assembly urging the colony to honor its treaty obligations to the Housatonuk Indians...  

     2.) Christians should not hesitate to join forces with non-Christians in the public square to work toward common moral goals...Edwards argued that Christians have much in common with non-Christians: The same basic sense of good and evil, since God has engraved his moral law on every human conscience; similar appreciation for beauty, both material and moral; the same fundamental religious knowledge (that there is a God, and that He is good); and basic human feelings (pity for the poor and love for family).  Using Edward's principles, an evangelical could work together with a Muslim to fight pornography in their community. Both see pornography as a moral wrong, threatening the integrity of marriage and family.... Similarly, his public theology does not call for Christians to create new, separate political communities, or to shun communities outside the church. Rather, it encourages Christians to work together with like-minded citizens, Christian or not, to transform existing communities according to God-given principles of conscience. [Edwards, says McDermott, would have rejected "the historic Anabaptist approach, who choose not to join with those outside the church as equal partners in common work for the community, but remain separate from the rest of society in an alternative community intended to stand only as a distant witness to the rest of culture.]

     3.) Christians should support their governments but be ready to criticize them publicly when the occasion demands. Edwards believed that government is, "a great and important business," that, among other things, prevents, "citizens from tearing one another apart." He preached that a Christian should be "greatly concerned for the good of the public community to which he belongs," and willing to, "lay out himself... for the good of his country." .... But Edwards also warned that political leaders are prone to abuse their power, and encouraged citizens to criticize "the management of public affairs, and the duty of the legislature, and those that are at the head of the administration." More than once he used his pulpit to tell rulers how they ought to behave. One Sunday (with local politicians present)...he boldly advised the congregation that bad politicians seek only to, "enrich themselves, or to be great, and advance themselves on the spoils of others." The good magistrate, however, is not willing to "grind the faces of the poor, and screw their neighbors for filthy lucre." Little wonder that these politicians conspired with others to fire Edwards some months later."

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     I must confess I'm one of those people who are "discouraged" with the options left to us this November.  And I'm not alone if the lack of placards in people's front yards, and the noticeable absence of bumper stickers on cars are an indication of the lack of enthusiasm for either candidate. Yet despite that prevalent air of discouragement many feel, Edward's thoughts are helpful -- especially the thought that we live in a community, with Christian and non-Christian neighbors, whose physical and spiritual welfare IS to be my concern.  And it is helpful to remind ourselves that "God has made us dependent upon our non-Christian neighbors," and we should "acknowledge our interdependence," and that we do have "much in common with non-Christians,"  and should seek to "work together with like-minded citizens, Christian or not."

     After all, our God (who is sovereign over all), has left us here to be "salt" and "light."  Light which dispels the darkness, and salt which is NOT to remain separate, but be mixed into the whole to give it a better flavor.

Just some food for thought, Pastor Jeff

The Life and Diary of David Brainerd

Greetings All,

     I had a breakfast with a few friends today and the name David Brainerd came up. It led me to think of offering you some thoughts regarding his missionary activity among the Indians in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey between June 1744 through June of 1745. He ministered near the Susquehanna, the Forks of the Delaware River, and in Crossweeksung, before succumbing to tuberculosis, riding his horse from there to Massachusetts, and then passing away in the home of Jonathan Edwards at the young age of 29.
     Brainerd was born in Haddam, Connecticut, on April 20, 1718. His father died when he was nine, and his mother when he was 14 -- leaving him (his four brothers and four sisters) orphaned.  In July of 1739 (at the age of 21), he was so overcome by the sense of God's wrath against his sins, and the imperfection in all his religious duties, that it drove him to seek -- by faith in Christ alone -- "that way of salvation that is entirely by the righteousness of Christ." 
     He started at Yale College in New Haven in September of that year, studying to enter the pastorate. Though he was at the top of his class, and likely to be the valedictorian that next year at graduation, he was casually asked by two friends what he thought of one particular professor (Mr. Whittelsey).  He answered that he had no more grace (in him) than the chair he was sitting in. Another student, who happened to overhear his remark, told the faculty and Brainerd was dismissed from the college or ever returning. It would be hard to describe the shame and brokenness of spirit this caused Brainerd -- since without a degree from Harvard or Yale, or a European college, one could not gain a pulpit in New England.
     Yet, by the providence of God, this led Brainerd to his short but impactful life's work among the Indians.  Due to the severe conditions of working outside, and traveling with the Indians, he succumbed to tuberculosis and died in 1747. Jeshua Edwards (Jonathan Edwards 17 year old daughter) fell in love with him as she nursed him during the last six months of his life in their house.  In the last week of his life he told her: "If I had thought that I should not see you, and be happy with you in another world, I could not bear to part with you..."  She herself contracted tuberculosis from him and died the next winter at the age of 18.

     The excerpts that follow are taken from his journal and diary which were never intended to be public, or published.They were discovered by Edwards after he died, who after editing out some of the more personal content published them under the title: "The Life and Diary of David Brainerd."  It was one of the volumes which William Carey read that inspired him to pursue foreign missions. My son David is named after him.  Enjoy.

     Saturday, October 5, 1745: "Preached to my people (the Indians at Crossweeksung, N.J.) from John 14:1-6.  The divine presence seemed to be in the assembly. Numbers were affected with divine truths and it was a season of comfort to some in particular. Oh what a difference there is between these Indians and the Indians I had lately ministered to at the Susquehanna!  To be with them seemed like being banished from God, and all His people; but to be with these, is like being admitted into His family, and to the enjoyment of His divine presence!  How great is the change lately made upon numbers of these Indians, who not many months ago were as thoughtless and adverse to Christianity as those upon Susquehanna! And how astonishing is that grace which has made this change!"

     Sunday, Lord's Day, October 6, 1745: "Preached before noon from John 10:7-11. There was a considerable melting among my people. The dear young Christians were refreshed, comforted and strengthened, and one or two persons newly awakened (or made alive in Jesus). In the afternoon I discoursed on the story of the jailer in Acts 16, and in the evening expounded Acts 20:1-12. There was at this time a very agreeable melting spread through the whole assembly. I think I scarce ever saw a more desirable affection in any number of people in my life. There was scarce a dry eye to be seen among them, and yet nothing boisterous or unseemly. Nothing that tended to disturb public worship. But rather, to encourage and excite a Christian ardor an spirit of devotion. Those who, I have reason to hope, were savingly renewed, were the first affected, and seemed to rejoice much, but with brokenness of spirit and godly fear... appearing to be the genuine effect of a Spirit of adoption.
     After public service was over I withdrew (being much tired with the labors of the day) and the Indians continued praying among themselves for nearly two hours together. These continued exercises appeared to be attended with a blessed quickening influence from on high. I could not but earnestly wish that numbers of God's people had been present at this season to see and hear these things, which I am sure must refresh the heart of every true lover of Zion's interest..."
     October 24, 1745:  "Discoursed from John 4:13-14. There was a great attention, a desirable affection, and an unaffected melting in the assembly. It is surprising to see how eager they are of hearing the word of God. I have oftentimes thought they would cheerfully and diligently attend divine worship twenty-four hours straight, had they an opportunity so to do."

     October 25, 1745: "Discoursed to my people respecting the resurrection, from Luke 20:27-36. And when I came to mention the blessedness the godly shall enjoy at that season; their final freedom from death, sin, and sorrow; their equality to the angels in regard to their nearness to, and enjoyment of Christ (an imperfect degree of which they are favored with in the present life, and from whence springs their sweetest comfort)... numbers of them were much affected and melted with a view of this blessed state."

     October 26, 1745: "I was asked to help assist in the serving of the Lord's Supper at a nearby congregation (of Englishmen). Invited my (Indian) people to go with me. In general they accepted the opportunity cheerfully, and attended the several discourses (in English) with diligence and affection, most of them now understanding something of the English language."

     Lord's Day, October 27, 1745: "While I was preaching to a vast assembly of people, there was one Indian woman, a stranger, who never heard me preach before, nor ever regarded anything about religion. She was persuaded by some of her friends to come to meeting, though much against her will. She was seized with pressing concern for her soul, and soon after expressed a great desire of going home, more than 40 miles distant, to call her husband, that he might also be awakened to a concern for his soul. Some other of the Indians also appeared to be affected with divine truths this day. The pious people of the English (numbers of whom I had opportunity to converse with) seemed refreshed with seeing the Indians worship God in that devout and solemn manner with the assembly of His people. And with those mentioned in Acts 11:18, they could not but, "glorify God, saying, "Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."

     October 28, 1745: "Preached again to a great assembly, at which time some of my people appeared affected. And when public worship was over, were inquiring whether there would not be another sermon in the evening, or before the celebration of the Lord's Supper ended, being still desirous to hear God's word."

     About a year before his death (September of 1746) he wrote in his diary: "My heaven is to please God, and glorify Him, and to give all to Him, and be totally devoted to His glory. That is the heaven I long for. That is my religion, and that is my happiness, and always was ever since I suppose I had any true religion in me."

     May the Lord be pleased to pour out upon the lives of many in our day the same spirit of hungering after God. In God's providence Brainerd was kept from pastoring a comfortable New England church.

     Yet he was driven by his love for souls to preach -- to the Indians -- people he came to love so much that he often pleaded for their rights against the settlers, "complaining of the horrid practice of making the Indians drunk, and then cheating them out of their lands, and other properties, with too much warmth of spirit" (righteous anger).

In His Service, Pastor Jeff

Safety, Fullness and Sweet Refreshment in Christ

Greetings All,

     This week's 'thought' comes from one who's writings have had an immense impact on my thinking. He's one of the most brilliant pastors, preachers, or theologians ever to grace the American scene - Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758).
     This selection is taken from his sermon, "Safety, Fullness and Sweet Refreshment in Christ."  It is found in the book, "Devotions From The Pen Of Jonathan Edwards."  I have taken the liberty to update or paraphrase some of the language. Enjoy.

The Excellency of Christ

"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." 

Colossians 2:9

     "Christ Jesus has true excellency, and so great is that excellency that when believers come to see it, they look no further, but the mind rests there. 

     It sees a transcendent glory and an unspeakable sweetness in Him. It sees that until now it has been pursuing shadows, but that now it has found the substance; that before it had been seeking happiness in the stream, but now it has found the ocean.

     The excellency of Christ is an object adequate to the natural yearnings of the soul, and is sufficient to fill it to its capacity. It is an infinite excellency, such as the mind desires, and in which it can find no bounds. The more the mind grasps Christ, the more excellent He appears.

     Every new discovery of Christ makes His beauty appear more ravishing, and the mind sees no end to it. Here is room enough for the mind to go deeper and deeper, and never come to the bottom. The soul is exceedingly ravished when it looks upon this beauty, and it never wearies of it. The mind never becomes tired of gazing upon His beauty. Christ's excellency is always fresh and new, and tends as much to delight, after it has seen a thousand or ten thousand years, as when it was seen the first moment. 

     The excellency of Christ is an object suited to the superior faculties of man, suited to entertain the faculty of reason and understanding.  There is nothing more worthy, to which the understanding can be focused, than His excellency. There is no other object so great, noble and exalted."

     It's not hard to see that Edwards was consumed with a passion for Christ and His glory. It's also not hard (if you read more of his writings) to see that his words are spoken from the personal experience of having found in Christ all that truly inspires and satisfies the soul.  His was a Christ-craving, Christ-adoring, Christ-satisfied soul.

     In Christ one finds the source of all that the human soul truly desires -- though so many mistakenly and sinfully pursue that soul-satisfaction in the "shadows" of the earthly things He has created. Trace any earthly "shadow" (any noble or worthy desire, yearning or craving) back to the One who's creative hand has cast that shadow, and you will find its true, better, and eternal substance in Jesus.

     Yet, it's only the one who has tasted of the exceeding excellency of Christ through personal experience -- by grace, through faith -- that can testify to the unmatched sweetness of His beauty and glory.  For only when He is recognized as the redeeming Lord of heaven and earth, does that illumination sweeten the taste of one's personal discoveries regarding Christ.

     The words of theologian John Hannah (which I've shared before) apply well here: "The day you find anything more beautiful than Jesus, is the day you can know you never knew Jesus."  Edwards would agree. I trust you do as well. But if not, then remember the invitation of the psalmist: "Taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8).

     Just one taste of the soul-satisfying pleasure of intimate union with Jesus and it is near impossible not to be driven to want more. Yet you have to experience it to ever know it.

In the Bonds of Christian Affection, Pastor Jeff 

The Problem of Evil

Greetings All,

     This week's 'thought' comes to you from Franklin Graham and is entitled, "The Problem of Evil."  It is found in "Decision" magazine, June 2013 issue.
     I found his thoughts interesting (though I doubt they will ever be popular) because he points out that so many today look for the cause of evil behaviors in a person's past experience.  They look at that person's upbringing, or for some type of abuse, or to some present situation of being bullied -- anything they can point to -- except the possibility that human nature is just plain flawed from the start. Unpopular as this thought is to the contemporary mind, Mr. Graham handles it well. Enjoy.

The Problem of Evil

     "After the tragedies of the Newtown school shooting and the Boston Marathon terrorist bombing, cultural observers and commentators were at a loss to explain what could have possibly caused such horrific violence.  Could these murderous and wanton acts spring from the misguided influence of friends or family? Was there any behavioral evidence or traits that might have predicted the kind of deeds that shocked a nation?

     Not surprisingly, in a society that increasingly rejects moral absolutes and personal accountability, the search turned to conjecture about genetics. Is it possible that "evil" genes are to blame? 

     After the rampage in Newtown, scientists at the University of Connecticut were asked to analyze the DNA of Adam Lanza to look for a genetic explanation for his coldblooded brutality.

     A May 2011 article in the Wall Street Journal speculated about the chromosomal connection with violent behavior: "It's presumably neither ethical nor practical, but supposing that somebody could sequence Osama bin Laden's genome, which genes would you want to examine to try to understand his violent desires?"

     Well, the Bible is clear on the cause of evil, and it doesn't have anything to do with gene sequencing. Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked."   When sin entered the world with Adam and Eve's rebellion against God, it brought death, destruction and evil.

     The Psalmist David, who himself was responsible for plotting the egregious murder of his loyal soldier Uriah, said "surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5).  David clearly understood that he was directly responsible for his heinous deed, and because of that he confessed his sin and sought God's forgiveness. "For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me" (Psalm 51:5).

     Evil lurks and resides in the heart and soul of man, and its link to behavior is directly connected to rebellion and disobedience to the Lord and His commands. Jesus said: "What comes out of man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit … All these evils come from inside" (Mark 7:20-23).

     Gene therapy can't save anyone from sin. The only cure is to come to Christ and His cross, where God's wrath and punishment for sin was meted out by the Father on His Son, who bore our foul iniquities in our stead. It is only in the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ that man can find forgiveness and deliverance from sin and its evil work in our hearts.

     When we come to Christ in repentance and faith, we are given new hearts that are no longer fully controlled by sin. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees" (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

     Yet even the believer, fully forgiven of his sin, still struggles with evil and its effects in the world. We have an evil adversary, the devil, who maliciously works his woe, but as we trust in the triumph of Christ, we can increasingly and daily experience ongoing victory.

     One day--soon I believe--evil will be eradicated once and for all when Christ returns for His own. Sin, death and Satan will be done away with, and God's justice will prevail for all eternity. Sinners will be judged and punished in an eternal hell, and the righteous-those who have trusted in Christ for forgiveness of sin-will live in eternal fellowship with the Savior.  How I look forward to that day."

     People today (and this unfortunately includes many Christians) want to believe (contrary to Scripture) that people are born innocent, with a totally clean slate and no innate stain of sin or inbred proclivity toward evil.  In this way any issues that a "deviant" person might struggle with can be attributed entirely to dysfunctional parenting, some type of abuse, getting in with the wrong people, etc., etc., etc.  Anything that can help behavioral scientists say that as opposed to the rest of humanity, this was why so-and-so did what he/she did.

     The Bible tells us otherwise. As Mr. Graham rightly points out quoting Psalm 51:5, the bent toward sin is in us from conception.  When two full-grown sinners come together sexually the product of their joint union is a new baby sinner!  The sin may not be as apparent in the little one, but it is there.

     As Jonathan Edwards once stated speaking of John the Baptist's rebuke of the Pharisees as a "brood of vipers" -- children are "little vipers." That is, the gland that will one day produce the venom which adult snakes use to injure or immobilize their victims is in the little snake (in a smaller quantity) from birth. The baby snake doesn't become a viper by some fluke of nature, or hurtful experience, it is born a viper and thus simply grows to be what it is.  "We are not sinners because we sin," as R. C. Sproul says, "we sin because we are sinners."

     In fact, in relation to any sin (even the ones I think myself incapable of) a friend once told me to say to myself: "There, but by the grace of God, go I."  I frequently do, lest I inadvertently succumb to the sin of self-righteousness more than I'm already inclined to do so!

In Christ my Savior, Pastor Jeff