What does a Missional Lifestyle look like?

Missional Living Is Unmistakable

The military is full of what’s known as “cultural Christians.” They have been to church; they have said a prayer; they have been baptized; they own a Bible. But apart from these few truths, no one would ever mistake them for a disciple of Jesus Christ.

So as a man who has been bought, redeemed, forgiven, and then given a mission, what does it look like to be a missional believer while serving in a job where you can’t call in sick if you have a migraine, take vacation whenever you feel like it, walk in and give your two-week notice, and are surrounded by enough porn to be considered on par with Primetime TV?

Read the rest here.

Wisdom: how do I get it?

Psalm 107:43:

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

I make this my daily goal. It will keep me out of trouble. It will make me look to Jesus. It will make me embrace the cross. It will make me run to the glorious gospel.

A Plea for Heart Devotions and Head Study

A short, concise plea from John Piper concerning the matter of our personal time with God:

This is a plea that all of you would build into your lives both personal devotions and purposeful study of God’s word.

Both:

Daily prayerful meditation seeking personal application of God’s word to your own heart and life.

And:

Regular study in a class or with a book where the (living or dead) teacher has seen more than you have and can give you insight in 30 minutes that might otherwise take you ten years to see.

The reason I plead for both is that without a book or a class about what some part of the Bible means and a teacher who is ahead of you, your devotions will probably flatten out at a low level of insight.

Year after year you will go over the same biblical ground and find it as perplexing as before. There will be little advance in understanding. This will tend to take the heart out of devotional reading, because the lack of growth cannot sustain the joy.

Seek out preaching, books, and classes which take you further in grasping what various books and texts in the Bible mean.

Ryan Furgueson recites Psalm 145

Ryan Furgueson is a fantastic example of the reader I encouraged us to be in my last post. He has memorized many passages of Scripture, and I truly believe God is glorified through his ministry. Enjoy and be encouraged:

Reading the Word of God correctly is absolutely imperative

When I hear people read a storybook to children, they read with so much emotion and confidence. Why, then, do Christians typically read the Word of God aloud like they would read the obituary in the local newspaper? Our job as the reader of the Bible or any other book is to relay what the writer is trying to convey to his audience.

The other day I heard a friend read a Psalm and I was disheartened at how poorly he relayed the emotion that was packed in those precious words.

God has blessed me with many fine examples of reading the Bible correctly. I will mention just a few: Mike Tong, Brian DeWire, Joe Rigney, and my Pastor, John Piper. I’m invigorated every time I hear these men read Scripture. But for every one of these men, there are many Christians doing the Word of God an injustice by reading it like they are downhearted or morose by what they are reading.

May we read the Word of God in light of the great work that he has done in our lives. May we love God through our reading his Word with happiness and joy.

7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
8 Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.

11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!

Psalm 57:7-11

Win A Calfskin ESV Study Bible

Boomer In The Pew is giving away an ESV Study Bible. Check it out!

How’s your theology?

Every Christian must be a biblical theologian.

If we do not become theologians, we cannot fulfill the commands given to us by Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus commands us to making disciples from every nation, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

If we do not know the Word of God well, how can we teach it correctly to others?

Who gets to live on God’s holy hill?

I want to, but I’m not sure how well I am doing with this checklist:

Psalm 15

1 O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
and speaks truth in his heart;

3 who does not slander with his tongue
and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the Lord;
who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

5 who does not put out his money at interest
and does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.

First Sign of Life: Crying

I know this may not be a completely accurate statement, given that fact that breathing must come first, but one of the first signs of life is crying.  When a baby cries, we know he is alive.  When a baby cries, we know he is breathing.  When a baby cries, we know he is needy.

The same is true of our spiritual lives.  Crying is a sign of life—spiritual life, that is.  We “cry” to our Father when we pray.  Jesus, in Luke 11:2, says to his disciples, “When you pray…”  He didn’t say if.  He says when.  In other words, for the believer, crying, or praying, is a given. If we have life, we are crying to our Father.  If we have life, we are praying to our Father.

In Romans 8:15, the Apostle Paul states, “You have received the Spirit of Adoption, by who we cry, ‘Abba! Father!'” We, like a newborn baby, are in need of a father.  Not just any father, but the Father that will not let us down like our earthly fathers will.

Have you ever wondered if you truly are a believer?  Have you ever wondered this about someone close to you?  I know I have wondered on both accounts.  We may be able to answer our questions by asking one very important question: “Do I (they) cry?  Do I (they) pray?  Do I (they) truly need a Father?”

And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”

Luke 11: 2-4

(There are two motivating factors for writing this post:  1) A sermon given by Pastor Kempton Turner on 1/11/09, and 2) hearing the needy cries of Malachi James Halladay, born on 1/9/09 at 11:11PM, 4 lbs. 13 oz.)

Bible Reading Plans for 2009

Looking for a Bible reading plan that “fits” you well?  Justin Taylor helps with the decision-making process here.