Thanks Mom

This is a tribute to my mother.  She is in the final days* of her life having fought cancer for almost nine years as chronicled in her blog John's Wife.  


I want to publicly thank and honor mom (and dad - it is hard to separate them after almost 60 years of marriage as they have shown what Paul described in Ephesians 5 as a "picture of Christ and the church" in their marriage.  They both have the gift of encouragement and use it freely and frequently!)


Mom has fought the good fight and trusted God in an honest and transparent way as she has described her victories, defeats, times of waiting and times of disappointment all the while continuing to believe in the goodness and sovereignty of God.  She has not "wasted her cancer" (as described by John Piper), but has used her cancer as a basis of encouraging those who are suffering, and using it as a way of "bringing glory to God" in an illustration of Jesus' answer to the question posed in John 9 about the man born blind.  


For many years I have mostly prayed that mom would not "lose heart" (2 Cor 4), and in God's mercy she has experienced the inner renewal day by day as her joy and trust in the Lord has steadily increased to the point that she recently said she would not trade this cancer for anything in the world because through this she has come to very deeply know the sweetness of Jesus.  In her fight through cancer I have come to really appreciate Laura Story's song Blessings.

¹⁶ So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.  [2 Cor 4]

As Job said ".. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”



(*update:  mom went to be with Jesus on Tuesday, April 24)

That Brief Span

Scotty Smith:  A Prayer for Wise Choices in This Brief Life

     O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Ps. 39:4-7

     Sovereign Father, though I have no desire to know the exact day or means by which you will take me home, I’m more committed to live with that day in view. Because the gospel is true, I no longer have a fear of death. As your son, I know that be absent from my body will mean that I am immediately present with you. The sting of my death has been removed. The grave has been robbed of its victory over me and my body. I can honestly say with Paul that “it’s better by far to depart and be with the Lord” (Phil. 1:23). What great peace and assurance…

     But until that departure, how do you want me to invest the rest of my days? I’ve spent enough years bustling about in vanity, heaping up stuff that will only end up on the ash heap one day. Should you give me one more, ten more, twenty-five more years, how can I best steward that brief span to your glory? In light of the gospel of your kingdom and the riches of your grace, establish my priorities, Father.

    What do I need to make a bigger deal about, and what doesn’t deserve one more sleepless night or second thought? What things do I simply need to let go of? Who should I be spending more time with, and quite honestly, less time with? What broken relationships do I need to keep on my radar screen, with the hope of reconciliation?

     According to your Word, the two things which frame history are your commitment to redeem your pan-national family and your commitment to make all things new through Jesus. How do you want me to engage with both of those stories, with my friends and church?

     Indeed, give me greater love for people who don’t know Jesus, Father. I spend way too much time just with other Christians. And help me live more intentionally as an agent of redemption and restoration in my community and neighborhood.

     I’m not asking for an angel to visit me or some supernatural sign giving me a detailed plan for the rest of my life. It’s enough to know that you are the God who opens doors I cannot close and the One who closes doors I cannot open. I will keep my heart and feet in gear, and trust you to lead me, Father. So very Amen I pray, in Jesus’ magnificent and merciful name.

On A Mission

Henri Nouwen Society:  Fulfilling A Mission

When we live our lives as missions, we become aware that there is a home from where we are sent and to where we have to return.  We start thinking about ourselves as people who are in a faraway country to bring a message or work on a project, but only for a certain amount of time.  When the message has been delivered and the project is finished, we want to return home to give an account of our mission and to rest from our labours.

One of the most important spiritual disciplines is to develop the knowledge that the years of our lives are years "on a mission."

Don't Want Charity?

Tullian Tchividjian post:  Hiding From God Behind His Law

There are two ways we can miss the mark of righteousness before God, two ways the relationship can be destroyed.

One is more or less obvious: outright sinfulness, unrighteousness, lawlessness, self-indulgence, what the Bible would call “worldliness” or, perhaps in more modern dress, carelessness or heedlessness. In other words, we can just say to God, “No thanks, I don’t want it, I’ll take my own chances.”

The other is much less obvious and more subtle, one that morally earnest people have much more trouble with: turning our back on the free gift and saying in effect, “I do agree with what you demand, but I don’t want charity. That’s too demeaning. So I prefer to do it myself. What you are offering is too cheap. I prefer the law to grace, thank-you very much. That seems safer to me.”

What this means, of course, is that secretly we find doing it ourselves more flattering to our self-esteem–the current circumlocution for pride. The law, that is, even the law of God–”the most salutary doctrine of life”– is used as a defense against the gift. Thus, the more we “succeed”, the worse off we actually are. The relationship to the giver of the free gift is broken. The relation is broken because these too turn us quite simply against grace…the Almighty God desires simply to be known as the giver of the gift of absolute grace. To this we say “no”. Then the relationship is destroyed just as surely as it was by our immorality. To borrow the language of addiction, it is the addiction that destroys the relationship…One can be addicted either to what is base or to what is high, either to lawlessness or lawfulness. Theologically there is not any difference since both break the relationship to God, the giver.

The law is not a remedy for sin. It does not cure sin. St. Paul says it was given to make sin apparent, indeed to increase it. It doesn’t do that necessarily by increasing immorality, although that can happen when rebellion or the power of suggestion leads us to do just what the law is against. But what the theologian of the cross sees clearly from the start is that, even more perversely, the law multiplies sin precisely through our morality, our misuse of the law and our “success” at it. It becomes a defense against the gift. That is the very essence of sin: refusing the gift and thereby setting what we do in the place of what God has done.

There is something in us that is always suspicious of or rebels against the gift. The defense that it is too cheap, easy, or morally dangerous is already the protest of the Old Adam and Eve who fear–rightly!–that their house is under radical attack. Since they are entrenched behind the very law of God as their last and most pious defense, the attack must indeed be radical. It is a battle to the death.

Gerhard Forde, On Being a Theologian of the Cross, pg. 26-28

Moving Us Toward God

Henri Nouwen Society:  Healing Contradictions

The many contradictions in our lives - such as being home while feeling homeless, being busy while feeling bored, being popular while feeling lonely, being believers while feeling many doubts -  can frustrate, irritate, and even discourage us.  They make us feel that we are never fully present.  Every door that opens for us makes us see how many more doors are closed.

But there is another response.  These same contradictions can bring us into touch with a deeper longing, for the fulfillment of a desire that lives beneath all desires and that only God can satisfy.  Contradictions, thus understood, create the friction that can help us move toward God.

Into Eternity

Ray Ortlund post:  You do matter

“His view of death and his own death was having confidence that life matters and that the world matters. . . . Because of that you fight to live, and because of that you need to go out and carry on the good fight.  You do matter, and God does exist.  So you put your hand to the plow, you work and you struggle — you do what you can in all different areas, with passion.  You don’t sit in a corner somewhere and wait to die. . . . What you look forward to is not death but the Second Coming.  You are longing and working for that.  Contrary to what people say — that you can’t take anything with you — yes, you do take your work with you.  It’s a biblical teaching, that what you do matters and will continue on into eternity.”

Deborah Schaeffer Middelmann, regarding her father Francis Schaeffer, quoted in Colin Duriez, Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life (Wheaton, 2008), page 203.

Greatest Temptation

Kevin DeYoung post:  Why Idolatry Was (and Is) Attractive

Most Westerners have struggled at one time or another to understand the attraction of idolatry in the ancient world. What could be so compelling about an inanimate block of wood or chunk of stone? Hard core idolatry feels as tempting as beet juice. It’s likely someone out there loves a frothy glass of obscure vegetable extract, but the temptation doesn’t weigh heavily on our souls.

But idolatry made a lot of sense in the ancient world. And, had we lived two or three millennia ago, it almost certainly would have been tempting to each one of us. In his commentary on Exodus, Doug Stuart explains idolatry’s attraction with nine points. You’ll likely want to save this list and file it for future sermons or Bible studies.

1. Idolatry was guaranteed. The formula was simple. Carve a god out of wood or stone and the god would enter the icon. Now that you have a god in your midst, you can get his (or her) attention quickly. Your incantations, oaths, and offerings will always be noticed.

2. Idolatry was selfish. Scratch the gods backs and they’ll scratch yours. They need food and sacrifices; you need blessings. Do your stuff and they’ll be obliged to get you stuff.

3. Idolatry was easy. Ancient idolatry encouraged vain religious activity. Do what you like with your life. So long as you show up consistently with your sacrifices, you’ll be in good shape.

4. Idolatry was convenient. Gods in the ancient world were not hard to come by. Access was almost everywhere. Statues can be used in the home or on the go.

5. Idolatry was normal. Everyone did it. It’s how woman got pregnant, how crops grew, how armies conquered. Idolatry was like oil: nothing ran in the ancient world without it.

6. Idolatry was logical. Nations are different. People are different. Their needs and desires are different. Obviously, there must be different deities for different strokes. How could one god cover all of life? You don’t eat at one restaurant do you? The more options the better. They can all be right some of the time.

7. Idolatry was pleasing to the senses. If you are going to be especially religious, it helps to be able to see your god. It’s harder to impress people with an invisible deity.

8. Idolatry is indulgent. Sacrificing to the gods did not often require sacrifice for the worshiper. Leftover food could be eaten. Drink could be drunk. Generosity to the gods leads to feasting for you.

9. Idolatry was sensual. The whole system was marked by eroticism. Rituals could turn into orgies. Sex on earth often meant sex in heaven, and sex in heaven meant big rain, big harvests and multiplying herds.

Can you see the attraction of idolatry? “Let’s see I want a spirituality that gets me lots, costs me little, is easy to see, easy to do, has few ethical or doctrinal boundaries, guarantees me success, feels good, and doesn’t offend those around me.” That’ll preach. We want the same things they wanted.  We just go after them in different ways. We want a faith that gets us stuff and guarantees success (prosperity gospel). We want discipleship that is always convenient (virtual church). We want a religion that is ritualistic (nominal Christianity). Or a spirituality that no matter what encourages sexual expression (GLBTQ). We all want to follow God in a way that makes sense to others, feels good to us, and is easy to see and understand. From the garden to the Asherah pole to the imperial feasts, idolatry was the greatest temptation for God’s people in both testaments.

A look around and a look inside will tell you it still is.