Pastureland and Provision

V a s t, green stretches of open pastureland – often without a building, or any other human beings, in sight. This was among the most breathtaking sights on my recent trip out west.

The landscape was striking, of course, because of its uniqueness – such vistas don’t open up to us every day in Cincinnati (nor even in many rural places east of the Mississippi, where even the most uncluttered of our open landscapes still hold a house here, a barn there, or some lights on the horizon).

The peacefulness and simplicity of such places is also stunning for us modern, fast-paced, digitally-connected Americans. The rolling hills, the ‘big sky’, the gentle breeze, the sound of birds – they seem to beckon one to just lay down in the grass for an hour or two, looking up at the sky, and forgetting all this complicated world.

And then this reality occurs to me as well – this marvelous countryside not only fills the souls of men with marvel, but also fills the bellies of thousands of cattle, and sheep, and bison, and pronghorn! These vast hills and plains are their pantry, their dinner table, their daily bread! And what a spread it is! How richly our heavenly Father has provided for them (Psalm 145:16)! What a marvelous food supply He has created for their good!

And, as Jesus says about the birds, “Are you not worth much more than they?” If God feeds the birds, Jesus reasons with us in Matthew 6:26, then surely He will also feed us, who are far more valuable than any sparrow, hawk, or dove. And I saw the same logic, on a grand scale, in the western United States. If our Father has provided this vast food supply for the bison, and the cows, and so on … then surely He will provide for us humans who have been created in His own image; and all the more so for those whom He has re-created in His Son!

And, of course, we don’t have to go to Montana or Wyoming to digest this logic. The birds Jesus speaks of live all around us – along with squirrels, and deer, and suchlike. And God is feeding them – often right before our eyes, if we pause to observe it. So pause to observe it! “Look at the birds of the air”! And remember, as William Cowper has paraphrased Jesus’ teaching, that “He who feeds the ravens will give His children bread.”

Glad That We Came

“I was glad when they said to me,

‘Let us go to the house of the LORD’”

So wrote David in Psalm 122. He was glad when it was time to go to worship! Similarly, I have often prayed, in my pulpit prayers, that God would enable us to leave our Sunday gatherings ‘glad that we came’ – glad to have made our way, that day, to the house of God. And I do hope that that is your experience of Sunday worship – that you are glad to go to God’s house, and that you leave glad that you went! So let me give you three suggestions to help you be glad to go, and glad that you went, “to the house of the LORD” from week to week.

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” It will be much easier to be glad to go to worship, and to be glad that you went, if you are not thinking about getting get back home to watch the game; if you are not mulling what you need to pick up at the store that afternoon; if you are not stewing over a list of chores you hope you might complete by Sunday’s end. In short, you will be much more likely to soak in the blessings of the day if you don’t have anything else on which you are fixated, anywhere else to be, or anything else to do on the Lord's Day; if you’ve organized your Sundays such that soaking up spiritual blessings is the order of the day. The less your bread is saturated with distractions, the more capacity it will have for sopping up the honey of the things of God!  See Isaiah 58:13-14.

Walk with God the rest of the week. Enjoy the honey Monday through Saturday, and you will be all the more eager to come to the honey festival on Sunday! “Taste and see that the LORD is good” all week long, and you’ll have a hankering for the big meal on Sunday. But if you satisfy your taste buds with other things all week, don’t be surprised if you feel rather meh about coming to the Sunday feast.

Pray for your Sunday services. Describing the childhood church-going experience of the great missionary John G. Paton and his siblings, John Piper has said that “the meat at the temple was so rich, they were eager to get there.”* Pray that your church services will be like that! Particularly, pray for those who prepare the meat – for those who select and lead scripture readings and songs, and for your pastor and other teachers as they prepare the sermons and lessons for God’s people – that they would prepare and serve you an absolute feast, week by week! Pray that “the meat at the temple” would be “so rich” that you would be “eager to get there” … and then glad that you went!

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*Taken from Piper’s biographical message, You Will Be Eaten by Cannibals! Lessons from the Life of John G. Paton.  Piper is describing, in his own very memorable words, what Paton himself says about his childhood church-going.  The quote is found in the audio version of the message, though not in the written manuscript.

If We Confess Our Sins

"If We Confess Our Sins" new today from Kurt Strassner in our 1st John series looking at 1 John 1:8-10. https://t.co/E8CshqpxKu

— Servantsofgrace (@Servantsofgrace) April 26, 2018

"Lift it up, do not fear"

"Get yourself up on a high mountain,

O Zion, bearer of good news,

Lift up your voice mightily,

O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;

Lift it up, do not fear.

Say to the cities of Judah,

'Here is your God!'"

Isaiah 40:9

Some of you will know, and others of you may be surprised to know, that I sometimes struggle with significant fear in the matter of lifting up my voice to speak God’s word. Sermon preparation can, at times, be quite nerve-wracking as I agonize over whether I am getting this or that item right. Second-guesses (not of the Bible, but of myself) also occasionally come into my mind, mid-sermon: ‘Did I say that right? Is the way I phrased that sentence misleading? Did I cite that commentator correctly?’ And then, even after my voice has been lifted up, and the sermon is done, there is the further challenge of putting the sermon online, and wondering the above sorts of things all over again. Pray for me! For, though such fears may sound absurd, they seem very real when I am in the midst of them.

Maybe you are sometimes afraid of (or afraid while) lifting your voice, too. Maybe, when sharing the gospel, or teaching a Bible class, you worry about whether you are getting it right – not because you don’t know the Bible well enough (which is a legitimate reason to second-guess yourself!), but because you’re a worrier, like me. Or perhaps you have a fear of speaking God’s word to people because of the potential of getting a poor response from them. ‘Will they mock me? Will they become angry with me? Will they distance themselves from me, relationally?’ And then there is just the plain old fear (regardless of the content spoken) of speaking in front of a group, or to someone we don’t know well – a fear which can weigh heavily upon us in various situations, including those in which we are called to speak for our God.

How do we overcome such fears? Well, I’m no expert. I often struggle mightily. But one strategy I’ve found helpful is to quote or paraphrase to myself, just before going into the pulpit, those words from Isaiah 40:9 – “Lift up your voice … Lift it up, do not fear.” These words, of course, remind me that I must not fear. But they also imply, it seems to me, that I need not fear; that the God who has called me to speak for Him will be with me in that speaking, so that I can be confident, rather than afraid. And maybe Isaiah 40:9 will be helpful to you in that way, too. Store it in your memory bank, and remind yourself of it when it’s time to speak for the Lord.

Remember, too, that your opportunities to speak “the good word of God”, and any specific gifting you have for doing so, are among the talents (Matthew 25) that God has entrusted you to steward. And you mustn’t hide them in the ground. You must use what God has given you, my friend! You must “lift up your voice”! “Lift it up, do not fear.” You won’t do so perfectly. You won’t always do so painlessly. But, with God at your side, you may do so confidently!

"Let love of the brethren continue"

The following article was composed, specifically, for the Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church family ... but may be of help to others in thinking about (and continuing!) the love that exists within your own church family.  May it be so!

‘What are the strengths of the church?’

That’s the question someone recently asked me, concerning PRBC.  And it's a good question!

I was glad to answer, in the words of one of our other elders (Charles) from awhile back, that the church has proven to be a kind of nest; a safe haven and soft landing spot for those who have needed such – younger Christians, strugglers of various kinds, people who just need a calm and nourishing church atmosphere where they can, for a season, gain (or re-gain) spiritual strength. This is an important ministry!

I was also happy to reply that our church has been, for well over a decade now, relatively conflict and controversy free. The spirit of unity here has truly been a gift from the Lord, and surely has been one reason we’ve been able to be the aforementioned safe haven!

It is also true that the family at Pleasant Ridge truly cares for one another. I am so pleased to see folks giving rides, visiting the nursing home, providing meals, helping with children, and so on. This is a sign of strength! And let me add, here, that a friend of mine recently pointed out to me how much the people of PRBC love me. Thank you, brothers and sisters! Your care for one another has extended wonderfully to your pastor and his family!

Praise the Lord for His kind working in and for us! And thank you, church family, for walking with and serving Him in these ways. It occurs to me that they are all related to that fruit of the Spirit which is love. And let me encourage you, now, to “Let love of the brethren continue” (Hebrews 13:1).

Sometimes we may need to be encourage to begin loving one another in ways that we haven’t been doing. Other times the call may be to rekindle our love for one another. And then there are times when we are loving one another, and simply need to be reminded to continue down this happy path! And so let me encourage you in this latter way.

You have been a marvelous safe haven, PRBC, for so many people. “Let love of the brethren continue.” You have walked together in a Spirit of wonderful unity. “Let love of the brethren continue.” You have cared so well for one another, and for your pastor and his family. “Let love of the brethren continue.”

“By this” said Jesus “all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). So, my brothers and sisters, “Let love of the brethren continue.”