Book Review, Gospel Spirituality, Jesus

APP REVIEW: Solid Joys Devotions

Solid Joys have been central in my walk with Jesus for the past year. Daily, the team at Desiring God posts a devotional reading. Desiring God describes Solid Joys as a “daily devotional app from the ministry of John Piper.” It can be accessed through DesiringGod.org as well as the App Store and Google Play. Every day the app provides a scripture passage along with a short reading from one of John Piper’s books or sermons or articles.

Last November 16th was a devotional using I Peter 5:7 about anxiety. It was powerful in my life including the call to “make war, not with other people, but with our own unbelief”…which is the “root of anxiety.” Also on anxiety, using Matthew 6:30 on November 4th Piper writes, “the root of anxiety is inadequate faith in our Father’s future grace.” Using Hebrews 10:14 on January 4th I read about salvation as, “not the boast of the strong. It is the cry of the weak in need of a Saviour.” I struggle with irritability and last week I read: “And your agonizing, unplanned detour is not a waste – not if you look to the Lord for his unexpected work, and do what you must do in his name (Colossians 3:17). The Lord works for those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4).”

The app is relatively simple and its simplicity is part of what I love about it. The reader is not bombarded by endless articles and videos and audio files. You just pop it open once a day during your prayer time. However, initially the app had an x-ray mode that enabled the reader to view the article with a black background and white letters. In a recent upgrade the did away with the x-ray option, which I preferred.

I use the app during my daily devotional time. I don’t use it every day, but most mornings I take a couple of minutes to read the passage being referenced then read the article. John Piper certainly isn’t Jesus, but I have been blessed by his insights and theology since college.

If you are blessed by books like “Desiring God” and “Future Grace” and “Brothers, We are Not Professionals” and “Don’t Waste Your Life,” then you will be encouraged by Solid Joys. Make it part of your daily walk with the Lord!

Church, Church Planting, Gospel Spirituality, Jesus, Redeemer Church

lessons I am learning from starting a new church

We moved our family back to Denton late last Summer to start Redeemer Church. Like any step of faith it has been scary at times, filled with ups and downs, yet we can conclude that it has been an amazing joy to be part of this new church. I praise God every day for the opportunity to be the pastor of Redeemer.

We are close to securing a location for our official launch on August 31st which has caused me to really get excited about the future, but also reflect on the past 10 months. I have learned countless lessons since we began gathering people last September. I certainly don’t have it all figured out, but here are a few of the lessons I am learning from starting a new church.

Redeemer Church is largely born through my walk with Jesus so my character and spiritual life are everything. This experience has only further solidified a deep conviction that character is what counts. We have all seen corrupt pastors, and I long never to be one. I firmly believe that churches who have leaders with suspect character are being built on sandy ground. Josh Yen and I constantly talk of the importance of our spiritual health. The new church can’t happen if I am not communing with Christ and loving my family well. I make daily mistakes in those areas and need a ton of gospel grace. This has forced me to be more humble and really live out our mantra of being “broken people who love broken people.” Planting Redeemer Church has caused me to love Jesus more than ever!

Planting Redeemer Church has highlighted the fact that I need to be a priest. That might be strange verbiage for some. One of the networks we are joining is the Acts29 Network. Within that network there is a culture of talking about the giftedness of pastors as being either a “prophet” (or insightful teacher/preacher), a “priest” (or a patient empathetic shepherd), or a “king” (a bold visionary leader). I have always felt that God created me in such a way that I was low in the “priest” department. But, if you are going to start a church you have to be a priest. One of my coaches keeps wisely telling me that most people will follow me if they know I love them. I have loved stripping things down and getting to genuinely just love our people. With joy, I can report that planting Redeemer Church has caused me to love people more than ever!

I have a twin passion for starting new churches. First, it is biblical. New Testament missionary work is exclusively people starting new churches. I don’t think that all missionary work should be just church planting, but it should be our primary way to reach and disciple the world. Second, is how effective it is at reaching the unreached. Many guys look at an area and think they should plant because there is not their brand of church in that area. At the end of the day I fear some guys are planting churches because they want their brand of evangelicalism as opposed to primarily wanting to reach the unreached. It is about reaching the lost not establishing your brand of evangelicalism. Please hear me, this is not a sellout to all things gimmicky. If you know me, you know that I have deep convictions. But, at the end of the day our people care that I am devoted to the Bible and the gospel, trying to walk faithfully with the Lord, and am striving to love them and their family. Convictions are vital, but our missionary conviction should be the ultimate driver of our efforts. Redeemer Church has caused me to love my city more than ever!

Gospel Spirituality, Jesus

Was Jesus Self-Controlled?

This year I have been teaching a high school Logic class at my son’s school. It has been a blessing to journey with my merry little band of philosophers. This week we have been studying Seneca and his complex syllogism on virtue. Seneca was a Stoic and argued that “the virtuous life is the happy life.” He gets there by saying, “He who is prudent is temperate; he who is temperate is constant; he who is constant is imperturbable (calm); he who is imperturbable (calm) is without sorrow; he who is without sorrow is happy; therefore he who is prudent is happy, and prudence is sufficient for the happy life.” I certainly believe the Bible advocates for a virtuous life and that it will lead to happiness. Christians, however, need to link virtue to glorifying Jesus.

We know from Galatians 5 that one yielded to the Holy Spirit is marked by self-control. But is the Christian life really always marked by calm and lack of sorrow?

Recently I have had to have some difficult conversations with a friend. This friend has been very humble and respectful, and I pray I have also been gracious yet convictional. But, in the end I am left with sorrowful emotions. I have cried, felt sick to my stomach, and laboured over how to remain loving yet faithful. I hurt over the status of our friendship and the difficult subject matters we are addressing. I haven’t betrayed my friend’s privacy but have brought a couple of brothers into the discussion to seek their wisdom on how to address the situation. They have been very affirming and encouraging on how I have addressed my friend. My sorrow is not conviction over doing something wrong, but the appropriate emotion. When we love as the gospel calls us to love, there will be sorrowful moments.

As I have reflected on the Stoics I was reminded of the shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” Jesus’ close friend Lazarus has just died. The next verse explains his emotional response as rooted in his love for Lazarus. Jesus’ response was in line with being self-controlled, it was natural, and it was good. There were times that Jesus was sorrowful, and there are times that we should also be sorrowful.

As I discussed Jesus weeping over the death of Lazarus, one of my students was reminded of Jesus clearing out the temple courts with a whip?! Likely included in that group was armed Roman soldiers. That certainly isn’t a picture of what we would typically think as calm and self-controlled. But as my students rightly concluded, this was Jesus and he was perfect so it didn’t conflict with being self-controlled.

In the end, Seneca and the Stoics are helpful, but Jesus is more helpful. I don’t want to be known for flying off the handle, but if you caught Jesus on that day in the temple you might think he lacked self-control. I don’t want to be marked my melancholy, but when people betray us or when we are taken advantage of or when we lose friends we are going to become sorrowful. Frankly, I worry more about the guy who doesn’t get angry when he should and doesn’t get sad when he should.

Jesus’ gospel gives us a glorious taste in this present world of what will be fully consummated in the future. But, it is only a taste. The sorrows and trials of this life only serve to make the next life even more happy. Virtue does lead to happiness, but it is not my virtue. I am clinging to Jesus’ virtue as my ticket to eternal happiness.

Book Review, Church, Gospel Spirituality

BOOK REVIEW: “Church Membership” by Jonathan Leeman

Jesus is our perfect example of love. He combines a compassionate heart with acts of mercy, but also doesn’t wink at sin yet sacrificed greatly to be reconciled with those who have wronged him. Everyone desperately needs to experience that type of love. We need it from Jesus for our salvation but also for our daily spirituality. Jesus is no longer physically with us, therefore how can we experience this type of love? We experience Jesus’ love through Jesus’ body…the church.

The world needs a representation of Jesus; therefore it needs healthy churches that understand the Christian life to the degree of developing healthy church members. Jonathan Leeman’s Church Membership explains how the world knows who represents Jesus. It is a only 130 short pages spread over eight chapters.

“Membership” is maybe not the best word because is conjures up images of clubs and Leeman is adamant that the local church is not a club. He says that the church “is not a voluntary organization where membership is optional for you” (22) rather it is a family we are born into. We don’t join churches, rather we submit to them. This family is to “give shape to my Christian life and yours” (24). Because we connect church membership to the idea of a voluntary club, we struggle to find it in the Bible. But if you understand church membership through the family or kingdom metaphors we see the idea numerous places. Leeman describes the church as an embassy that “declares its home nation’s interests to the host nation” (27).

Leeman’s second chapter is devoted to showing where church membership is found in the New Testament. Including the initial church found in the book of Acts, he identifies membership traits of the early church. Leeman makes deductive arguments based upon ideas like: “Christian leaders are made responsible for specific sheep,” “Christians are responsible to submit to specific leaders,” and “Christians exclude false professors from the fellowship.” The conclusion, based upon the church in Acts, is that a “Christian is to belong to a church” (46). There is also a sense that everyone, including those part of the church and those who are not part of the church, “knows who is meant when Christians refer to ‘the church’ doing this or that” (47). The early church knew who was “in” and who was “out” and embraced their shepherding responsibility for those who were submitted to the church family.

Leeman also explains the Bible’s vision for what church members are, namely those that hold the keys of the Kingdom. He also explains the Bible’s vision for the essence of the church as a group that gathers together to oversee each other’s spiritual lives. He concludes that church membership is simply someone’s public declaration that they are a citizen of Jesus’ Kingdom. The other members are also declaring their commitment and responsibility to care for that person’s soul. I believe church membership is simply about committing to each other as a family.

Leeman’s book is solidly biblical, but also a short read. It addresses common objections to church membership as well as thoughtfully navigates issues that arise when a church or an individual Christian commits to biblical church membership. I highly recommend it for any Christian contemplating joining Redeemer Church or any other church.

Church Membership provides helpful biblical answers to your questions about why you should join a church like Redeemer Church. We feel so strongly about the issue of church membership and the usefulness of this little book, we will make copies available to you for free at our next worship service. If you have questions about membership in our church you can visit RedeemerDenton.com/Membership or email me at micah@redeemerdenton.com.

I close with a moving and humbling quote from the book:

“What’s unexpected about Christianity is that its hero doesn’t risk all for a damsel but for what the Bible likens to a harlot. Then he calls everyone that he saves to submit themselves to this same harlot – the bride still being made ready, the church.” (102)

Pray for us as we seek to be a broken people loving broken people.

Gospel Spirituality

The Worth of Image Bearers

Genesis 1:26 famously describes all humans as being created in the image of God. The essence of what it means to be human is to be an image bearer of God. Additionally, the goal of God’s working in the lives of Christians is found in Romans 8:29 where the Bible teaches that we are “predestined to be conformed to the image” of Jesus. Obviously we are not God, but in what ways are we like God? What are the practical daily implications of being made in the image of God?

Many scholars believe that the famous mathematician and philosopher Rene Descartes pulled Western Civilization out of the Dark Ages with the idea “I think, therefore I am.” Most recognize that our ability to reason is central to what it means to be human. Humans, unlike animals, sense that we sense.

Creation is another aspect of what it means to be human. Genesis 1:26 is part of the creation account where God speaks things into existence. The first thing that we learn about God is that he is a creator. If we are like God, then we must also be creators. Humans, unlike animals, start coffee shops and birth families and paint pictures and grow companies and make movies. Genesis 1:26 expands on this idea of creation and extends it to caring for the world. We are commanded to “have dominion” over creation. Humans are thinkers and creators, but are also to care for the things we create.

But, what are the practical implications of being creators and caretakers? There are endless applications of these ideas. But, one implication of all these truths is that each of us is valuable to God and loved by God. Many times we try to parse out the meaning of being created in the image of God and forget that this truth means that you are valuable to God.

At different points in all of our lives we will feel shame over something we have done. We might feel unworthy based upon our thoughts or our actions or something awful that has happened to us. In these moments we need to believe that our worth is not based upon what we do…but whose we are.

In those moments of shameful feelings or unworthy feelings or depressed feelings, remember that you are inherently valuable to God Himself. He created you in his image, you are his workmanship, you are his great work of art that he is passionate about. We have young children and when they disappoint us they are never a disappointment to us. Deep in our hearts they are always beloved. Likewise, because you are created in his image, you are loved by him. You are inherently valuable because you have been given the image bearing stamp.

Gospel Spirituality, Jesus

How Do You Beat Your Chest?

Living with an 8-year-old boy is a funny experience. Regularly I am walking through the house and out of no where I am lept upon by the dude as if he is a lion hunting his prey. Daily Mason stands in front of me with a glimmer in his eye, in football ready position, and says, “hey Dad, want to wrestle.” My stories of taking Judo has resulted in Mason constantly asking me if he can flip me?! The other day I heard, “wow, there is a real muscle in there?!” I came around the corner to see him with his shirt off flexing in the mirror marveling at the little apple that was popping up in his bi-cep.

We have all seen gorillas, and 8-year-old boys, beat their chests in powerful pride in order to imtimidate their opponent. Beating your chest can mean “you’re mine.” Beating your chest can be one of the most powerful symbols of pride, but it can also demonstrate humble brokenness.

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus:‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get. ’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner! ’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)

Pride versus humility are in full display in Jesus’ parable. By all earthly and human measurements the Pharisee was the more righteous. He studied and knew the Scriptures. He was a decent and just man, not cheating people like the tax collectors. He was faithful to fulfill his religious obligations and gave his tithes. If I was his father there is a lot for me to proud of…somebody raised this guy right!

But, pride is the object of Jesus’ wrath in this parable. Morality is good, but moral superiority condemns. Decency is desired, but judgmentalism brings God’s wrath. Faithfulness to the law is right, but self-righteousness will lead to a sermon illustration about you!

Jesus doesn’t desire the moral kid if he takes pride in his own morality. Jesus doesn’t want the nice kid if the kid boasts in his politeness. Jesus wants a humble broken sinner in need of his mercy.

Are you the corrupt tax collector in this parable? If so, beat your chest in humble brokenness, then let Jesus save you. Are you the self-righteous religious guy in this parable? If so, beat your chest in humble brokenness, then let Jesus save you.

MicahCaswell.com

experiencing Jesus' grace

Category Archives: Gospel Spirituality