After it sitting on my desk for 3 months I have finally started Humility by C.J. Mahaney. It is a pretty good book. It is basic, written in a very easy to read style, and discusses a subject that all need help with. As I read, I have been struck by the following thought; Humility is not something we can seek after, and if we do seek after humility it will result in pride. One will find oneself so delighted and proud of being so humble. The only way to gain true humility is to seek something greater than ourselves, namely God. Only when we get a sense of his greatness, wonder, and being can we properly view ourselves and walk in humility. And if we do gain a true sense of who He is we will have no other response but humility.

Lauren turned 5 this weekend and couldn’t have been more excited about her birthday. She got a lot of dolls and a pink billfold with some money in it. She had asked me what she could do with her money. One thing she wanted was a build-a-bear and an outfit. She had a gift card to build-a-bear so we told her she could use some of her cash for the outfit. We also talked about how some of it should go to God. Sunday she brought her billfold and money. Offering time came. I usually give each of the girls some money to put in the plate. I got ready, but was informed Lauren had her own. Then to my surprise she started handing out money to the row for the offering. I got a dime. I think the usher got a kick out of that.

After Sunday evening, when I preach, Lauren rode home with me. As we got in Alistair Begg was preaching on the radio. Lauren promptly said, “He is a good preacher,” then added without any further thought, “better than you.” Of course I know this to be true, but one has to hope that their 5 year old daughter is biased towards daddy. That took care of any pride left for the day.

Tuesday was Kara’s first day of kindergarten. This was a big day for her and an even bigger day for Heather and me. We were all ready for this though. She loved it. She is now officially a Lapel Bulldog.

It is the story of a farmer who one day went happily and with great joy in his heart to report to his wife and family that their best cow had given birth to twin calves, one red and one white. And he said, “You know I have suddenly had a feeling and impulse that we must dedicate one of these calves to the Lord. We will bring them up together, and when the time comes we will sell one and keep the proceeds, and we will sell the other and give the proceeds to the Lord’s work.” His wife asked him which he was going to dedicate to the Lord. “There is no need to bother about that now,” he replied, “we will treat them both in the same way, and when the time comes we will do as I say.” And off he went. In a few months the man entered his kitchen looking very miserable and unhappy. When his wife asked him what was troubling him, he answered, “I have bad news to give you. The Lord’s calf is dead.” “But”, she said, “you had not decided which was to be the Lord’s calf.” “Oh yes,” he said; “I had always decided it was to be the white one, and it is the white one that has died. The Lord’s calf is dead. We may laugh at that story, but God forbid that we should be laughing at ourselves. It is always the Lord’s calf that dies. When money becomes difficult, the first thing we economize on is our contribution to God’s work. It is always the first thing to go. Perhaps we must not say “always”, for that would be unfair; but with so many it is the first thing, and the things we really like are the last to go. “We cannot serve God and mammon.”

I enjoy the new Apple commercials where the two guys are in boxes discussing their capabilities as computers. The Apple is all ready to go while the PC needs help. Both the Apple and the PC are computers that will do similar things, but the commercials suggest that the Apple is a better way to go. Supposedly Apples are easier to use, they cannot get viruses, they just make computer life easier and stress free. It seems most choices in life are this way, there are several options, but some are better than others. Could it be that some view the gospel this way? It is often marketed as a better choice; one that will give you purpose, make you more complete; help you be a better you. Too often the gospel is pitched like a Mac, a valuable commodity which adds value to one’s life. But what if I am happy with my PC? I already know how to use it, I may not know what I am missing, but ultimately they accomplish the same purpose. Many people are already happy with their life. They like the way things are going; they already have purpose and can accomplish joy and peace on their own. When the gospel is offered simply as a better or more rational alternative, it becomes optional, not necessary.

The gospel is not a just another choice. We are taught in scripture that it is new birth, bringing what is dead to life. It is not an alternative or better way of life, it is life! It is not about making you a better you, it is about making you right with God. This is what all men need and must see. The gospel is not about enhancing your life, it is about the Holy Spirit giving you life in Christ to keep you from perishing in your sin. We do not offer the lost a better life, we offer them the only way to live when they stand
before God.

Pastor John Piper:

“We were not made for mirrors.”

This quote came in a brief discussion on why we travel to see the Grand Canyon, or the ocean, or the Alps, or want to watch the Olympics. It is because we were made to behold greatness, namely God’s greatness, not to look in mirrors.

Normally we consider getting what our hearts desire to be a good thing.  For some it is the ultimate goal of life.  However, did you ever stop to consider that getting what you want is not always the same as God blessing you?  Sometimes God gives us the desires of our heart because of our hardness of heart or lack of dependence upon him.  This is a scary place.  One thinks everything is great and going their way, and might even say that God is being so good to them.  Is He?  Yes, because he has given you what you want, but no he is not truly blessing you because what you want when you are not dependent upon God will ultimately destroy you and/or distant you from God.  Sometimes the promotion at work is not what you should take, sometimes all that free time is not what you should wish for, sometimes, that relationship you long for an get is not a good thing, sometimes easy street leads to destruction, sometimes our happiness is not truly blessing.  There are many biblical examples, Sampson with Delilah, the kings of Babylon, Assyria, and Persia, and others.  What is the application then?  Do we have to live in fear of being happy, or getting what we want?  No, the answer to to seek first the kingdom of God, seek to glorify God, seek honor him.  This means you won’t seek your glory and your honor.  If you do this you never have to fear getting your hearts desire.

Here is a great quote by Martin Lloyd Jones on Preaching

The Apostle as a debtor tells us that he has got something to give, and that all need it. He can give it to all and you and I must be able to give it to an intellectual kind of person as well as to the person who is not intellectual, and vice versa. There are no specialists in this matter. If I cannot preach, I say again, to everybody, well then, for myself I say I cannot preach to anybody. Let me illustrate that statement. I remember a challenge that came to me once, and I think it puts my point very neatly. I had preached here on a certain Sunday, after which I went off on my holidays to the country. I had not intended preaching that first Sunday away, but there was an oldish minister in the place where I was staying, and he was due to preach three times. It was a very hot day, and I felt I could not let him do this, so I volunteered to take his afternoon service for him. That meant going up to a little place halfway up a mountain, and my wife and I went there. I went into the pulpit and looked at my congregation. Including my wife, the congregation consisted of five people! Let me admit it quite frankly and honestly, the devil came to me and tempted me, and he did so in this way. ‘Well, of course, with only five people - just give them a little talk!’ Quite apart from the fact that I am not good at that kind of thing, I recovered myself, and this is what I said to myself: If you cannot preach to these five people in exactly the same way as you preached last Sunday in Westminster Chapel, the sooner you get out of the pulpit the better! By the grace of God I was enabled to do so, and I have never enjoyed a service more in the whole of my life! The preacher who is dependent upon his congregation is unfit to enter the pulpit.

I am curious as to what my readers think about the recent Driscoll video from Desiring God. Are Driscoll and Lloyd Jones saying similar things? Is Driscoll biblical in what he says?