Have Some Traditions Become Idols?

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.’”

~Matthew 15:1-9

The Lord Jesus said to the Pharisees, “you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition.”

Jesus had just been asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

In this specific instance Jesus pointed out that one of the traditions was a man-made rule to keep their own money so they wouldn’t have to give it to their needy parents, which was commanded in the Scripture.

I would hope none of us would stoop to that level, keeping money from our needy relatives, but we do well to ask, “Does Jesus’ statement apply to me?”

Does it?

Many of the traditions that Jesus was attacking were “additions to the law” that were instituted or significantly amended during time between the Old Testament and New Testament. This period of 400 years is commonly referred to as the “intertestamental period.” During this time, many books were written to explain and develop spiritual concepts and methods of worship and law keeping. Methods for temple worship, Sabbath observance and such were rewritten, amended, and firmly established into the daily life of the Jews of that time. Theological organizations were instituted to study the law and develop these methods and systems, the best known of these were the Sadducees and Pharisees.

Sadly, despite all their traditions and books and methods and systems, which were intended to keep them faithful, when Jesus arrived, when the messiah they were longing for finally arrived…many did not recognize his coming.

We see something similar from the history of the church. We know that in the first 1500 years after Christ, the church deformed under Rome and descended into heresy and idolatry of tradition, not unlike that of the Pharisees. Then came men like Jan Hus, John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox and others who were used by the Lord to usher in the Reformation.

We can see it clearly when looking back at these two points in history, but what about right now?

The Reformation is widely held to have ended with the conclusion of the 30 Years War in 1648. That was 368 years ago. Perhaps it would be beneficial to consider that it has been roughly the same number of years since the end of the reformation until now, as it was between the end of the OT and the incarnation- when Christ first came.

What would Jesus think if he came back today?

Would we recognize him?

Or would he utter those words at us?

“You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”

~ Mark 7-8

Let’s be honest. As Reformed folk, we have invested in the same things as those during the intertestamental time:

Many books, articles, essays, blog posts, doctoral dissertations, church orders, confessions, and masters theses, have been written, at great length and in far greater measure today, than in the time of the Pharisees.

Liturgy is just as well defined in our churches as it was then.

Patterns of daily and weekly worship have been developed and practiced, formally within the setting of denominational affiliations and local congregations; and informally through family worship, personal bible study and devotions.

There are bible studies, catechism classes, societies, and committees; theological organizations have been established to study and dissect and amend.

Patterns for law keeping and tradition have been just as firmly established into our daily lives as in time of Jesus.

None of these are bad things, and just like those before Christ, we also expect our traditions to help us better worship God. These things often do help with that, but even the most biblical tradition started with the sincerest intentions can be used to hide Christ rather than reveal him.

It must be stated that Jesus doesn’t condemn tradition. In fact, Jesus approved of tradition – when it was done with the right heart, with the right motives and for the right purpose.

He does not condemn tradition.

Instead, Jesus rebukes the sin of replacing faith with tradition.

When a tradition replaces faith, the tradition itself becomes the object of worship; that is idolatry.

I admit it. I have been guilty of this, we all have, I would assume. For instance, how often do we simply attend two worship services because we are supposed to? I make sure I am dressed up in the right clothes, sing the right songs, bow my head, give the offering…and how often do we just pray the same mindless prayer day in and day out?

In a sermon on Mark 12, from 2010, Rev. Wes Bredenhof gives us the hypothetical man in love with a particular tradition in the Canadian Reformed Churches (CanRC):

Imagine the man who loves the Genevan tunes and the pipe organ…

These are good things that can be used well for God’s glory. And certainly God’s Word calls for us to sing Psalms. … imagine a man who loves those things, not the Psalms as such, but the music that goes with them. When he comes to church, he comes for the traditional Genevan tunes and for the pipe organ. But when it comes to the Bible, he really doesn’t care. When it comes to the gospel, he’s heard it all before and it doesn’t capture his heart. He’s not interested. He doesn’t rejoice to hear about what Christ did for sinners. He doesn’t embrace the gospel for himself as often as he hears it proclaimed. So when it comes to loving God, he tends to think of God as a theological concept or a good debate. God is not even really real to him, and how can you love someone that’s not real? The Genevan tunes and the pipe organ are the ultimate mark of orthodoxy for this man. For the church to lose these would be a sure sign of deformation. The man loves religiosity or maybe religious music, but he does not love God, not at all…

I’m sure we could think of more examples beyond music in worship and some of them might hit a lot closer to home. We should also think of the love for one’s neighbour. How many love their religiosity, the outward trappings of church going and church membership, but don’t really love their neighbour? Something to think about.

Something to think about indeed.

Psalm 134; Anglo-Genevan Psalter

When the Lord gave us the second commandment on Sinai, he did not just mean that we can’t worship anything or anyone but Him, rather we are taught that it is possible to worship God sinfully through our idols. As the Heidelberg Catechism teaches, “We are not to make an image of God in any way, nor to worship him in any other manner than he has commanded in his Word.”

The Pharisees used their traditions to justify having less grace for others. Is that something we do? Perhaps we put more trust in our traditions and less trust in God. Either way, the idolatry of tradition causes many to fall short of intimacy in relationship with Christ.

Recently I published a satirical news article about a fictional church that was supposedly in the CanRC. This fictional church had voted to remove the pipe organ and the Genevan tunes from use in worship. It was intended to be a pro-Genevan tune and pro-pipe organ article, but some people thought I was attacking these traditions of the CanRC. I wasn’t. That is the problem with satire. There was a small group that voiced their displeasure with me for “attacking the church”, others stated that they were offended, and still others were horrified at the title of the article and assumed that the CanRC was on the fast track to deformation and heresy.

Coming into the CanRC as an adult, these cultural traditions have never been that important to me.  In fact they were a major distraction for me until I adjusted to them and they became normal. Now, I have grown to love them over the past 20 years. These traditions are intended to assist us in worship of God. But when they become the reason, or the only permissible method, or when we look down on those who have different traditions, or when we begin fearing the loss of these traditions, or we grow angered at someone poking them, we ought to examine ourselves and ask, “Why?”.

What is the reason that bothers me?

The satirical article was obviously false, when we consider the polity of the CanRC. Church Order article 55 makes that clear. But let’s put that aside for a moment. Let’s say for just a moment that article 55 was amended so that member congregations were not required to use the Genevan tunes. Would that amendment to the Church Order bother me? Would it bother me if one member congregation in the CanRC then chose to sing the Psalms with melodies other than the Genevan tunes?

If my answer is yes, I do well to ask myself why. What is the reason it bothers me?

Change for the sake of change is not a good a thing, but change in itself, like tradition, is not necessarily wrong. If we decided to remove the Genevan tunes because we are kicking back at the traditions of the preceding generations, or just because we want change, that would be wrong. On the other hand, if we decided to change the tunes we used for Biblical reasons, out of a love for God and our neighbour, that would not necessarily be wrong.

Losing the Genevan tunes (or the pipe-organ) in worship would be a sad loss of a tradition for the Canadian Reformed Churches. Many of us have grown up with them, and they are dear to most of us… but to lose them would not be deformation; it would not be tragic. On the other hand, losing the Psalms in our worship would be deformation.. and that would be tragic.

Have our traditions become idols to some of us?

 

I don’t know the answer to that.

We do well to consider where we put our trust.

What is our response to Jesus’ rebuke: “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”?

Here is my favourite version of Psalm 134 with the Genevan tune by the Psalm Project.

Jesus: Relationship or Doctrine?

Recently, on a social media website, a friend posted a book by a famous Christian author.  There was a lot of debate on whether we should read books by this author.  I jumped into the fray as my wife had asked me what I thought about the author. I am not going to get into that issue here on the blog, but I would like to address a comment someone made that got lots of “likes.”

The comment was along these lines, “(The Author) writes from a relational perspective like Jesus, not a doctrinal one. “

Sounds good on the surface doesn’t it?  Especially in our corner of Christianity where we Reformed people place much emphasis on doctrine.  But I would like to assert that the two “perspectives” cannot be separated. That is, Jesus is both intensely relational and intensely doctrinal.  Not only that, but one cannot write a “relational” book about Jesus without being “doctrinal.”

Let me ask you a question: Which comes first? Knowledge of Jesus or a relationship with him?

Tricky huh?  But really the answer is easy… it is impossible to have a relationship with Jesus without knowing something about him.  We cannot have a relationship with Jesus unless we know what that relationship is based on.  Every Christian, regardless of denomination, says that Jesus is their saviour. What did he save us from?  From our sin?   But why do you need saving from your sin?  So you can be successful in this life?  To overcome addiction? To be a better person? Or was it because you had separated yourself from a holy and just God and in order to restore that relationship He became flesh and saved you from His own wrath by taking it all upon himself?  Did he just save us from sin?  Did he save us from ourselves?  From Satan?  From this world?  Did he perhaps save us for himself? What does it mean to have a personal relationship with Jesus?  What does it mean that Jesus is Lord?  What does it mean to follow him?  You can see that what you believe about Jesus will affect your relationship with Him. And what you believe about Jesus is, in fact, doctrine – look it up.

My point in all this is that when we speak of having a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus (and I do often speak of it) it is doctrinal. It is based on some text of scripture, or some image of Him created in our minds.  The same is true of anyone who writes a book about Jesus.  You can’t write an “un-doctrinal” book about Jesus.

Now, I understand what the person who made the comment was getting at.  As I said to earlier, we Reformed Christians are often guilty of becoming heated in debates and cold in our doctrinal stances.  We strive to be sound Biblically, so we study and learn and exegete and read and cling to our confessions…and there is nothing wrong with that.  But we may end up putting Jesus into a little box and say “Look, this is Jesus.  This is what he died for.  This why he died.  This is what we should believe.”  And then we sit there and look at our Jesus in the box and don’t engage him in relationship as intensely or as fervently as He wants us to.  Jesus is not just a doctrine.  That type of thinking turns people off – it turns me off!  Some people in response to this cold doctrine turn their back on “doctrine” and theology (or in this case Christology) and seek a relationship only.

In our human nature we tend to go from one extreme to the other.  It is not unlike the pendulum between legalism  and antinomianism.

Big words…sorry.  Let me explain.

An example of this is when a person is raised in a legalistic home or church.  We hate the Pharisaical laws and rules, and the “that’s the way it’s always been done” attitude –  so we shed that sinful system and go to the opposite sinful extreme of Antinomianism – or anti law.  We make the error that we can do whatever we want and our catchphrase becomes, “GRACE!”

I hope you get the point I am making: When we emphasize the relationship over doctrine we err, and vice versa. We should delight not just in the truth of Jesus but we should delight in those truths and in Him personally.  Because of doctrine, because of what we understand through the historical truths of Christianity because of his love for us we become the very bride of Christ.  We become his body…and those are both very intimate, and doctrinal, relationships.

 

What Happens When God Sings?

The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing. ~ Zep. 3:17

When God speaks what happens?

Light happens.

Dark happens.

Stars are born.

Planets are spun into their orbit.

Humanity is made alive.

The universe comes into existence.

Think of it… Stars, billions of times the size of the earth are spoken into existence by an almighty, incomprehensible, all powerful God.  Stars, so powerful that they would destroy us and our planet and our sun in an instant, if they were not held in their place by the laws of physics spoken into existence by God.

And…

He SINGS over us!

What happens when God sings?

If his speaking will birth all that is and ever will be, just imagine the power of his singing!

When I read this passage I am simply dumbfounded that he would sing over me. He exults, he rejoices, over my good with all he is. If you are wondering if God really does love you, if you do not feel worthy of his love, just look at this verse in Zephaniah.  

He sings over you!

You were lost, and he is the mighty one who saved you and he loves you and he sings over you. Our Father in Heaven really does Love his children!  He exults over us! When we are discouraged or afraid or unsure or anxious or worried or stressed, look to his love and be quieted.  Let us sing His praises! What better reason to sing than that the Lord, the God of the universe who spoke you into existence, sings over you?

“I can’t comprehend your infinitely beautiful and perfect love
Oh I’ve dreamed dreams of majesty as brilliant as a billion stars
But they’re never bright enough after all
You are Holy
Oh Holy
Holy, Holy, Holy!”

 

My Kids Hate Prayer…Do it anyway.

“I am a single mom. I recently became a Christian and  I have  3 young children under the age of 8 and want to have family devotions with them but I am not sure how to do it.  I can read the bible but am not sure what to do. I read you young kids how do you pray with your young kids?  The problem is that mine are not interested and even obnoxious about it.  My kids hate prayer it seems. Any help you can give would be wonderful.  Thank you.” ~ Anonymous single mom.

First, I take my hat off to you for being a single a parent and doing the great job that you are. Raising kids with two parents is tough enough.  I cannot imagine dealing with the hard days without my wife there to tag team.  I hope that you have a support network you can rely on and a church family to help raise your kids.  It is so important to surround yourself with godly people and not isolate yourself.

Second, every Christian parent knows what you are going through. I certainly do. Rarely do family devotions go the way they are “supposed” to go. When visitors come over, my kids are usually well behaved and sit and engage, and family devotions go smoothly…  But is that the way it always is?

NOPE!

There are some days where my kids are just whiny and irritating and they fall off of the chairs and play with things, and yell and poke and fight and fidget  and family devotions are just one big messy pile of crying, sighing, interruptions, frustrated parents, bored kids and short prayers.

But that is ok.

Life is messy, we are messy, our kids are messy, why should family devotions be any different? Stick a bunch of sinners in a confined space and a mess is bound to happen…but…  God is gracious and he knew that we were going to be messy when he saved us.   That is the whole point of the cross.  That we can’t do it perfectly! Whether it is saving ourselves from hell, going a day without thinking a bad thought, or just getting through family devotions.  We need to rely on Him. God is gracious.

Family Worship by Joel Beeke. I highly recommend reading this book. You can find it on the left side of my blog or below this paragraph…it’s the purple book image…click on it to link to download a free PDF copy of it.  Dr. Beeke and The Heritage Reformed Congregations have been gracious to make this available for free. This book was fundamental in forming the Smith family devotions.

How we do family devotions. We start every meal with either a family recitation of the Lord’s Prayer or one of us opens in prayer. We all do it, even Meagan our 4 year old does, but being a “free-spirit” her version of the Lord’s Prayer includes words like “Opa, Grandma, my sister…TV…”  and there is nothing wrong with that. I really encourage engaging the whole family in devotions.  We worship a relational God, not one who only listens to Dad pray. After the meal we read from the Bible and mom or I will ask some simple questions related to the reading.  Then I ask everyone for a prayer request. The prayer is one of praise and thanksgiving for the days blessings, the meal and the reading, with some supplication.  Kaitlyn will usually sing a song or hymn…I am still working up the courage to lead my family in singing.  How sad is it that my 7 year old shyer-than-me-introverted daughter has to lead family singing?  Oh wait that is called “delegation”  right? 😉

We also pray at bedtime with the kids.

Our youngest sings a version of “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep,” a prayer-poem that a lot of people are familiar with:

Now I lay me down to sleep

Pray Thee Lord my watch to keep

Guard me through the starry night

Wake me when the sun shines bright

Keep me free from guilt and spot

And my sins remember not

Wilt unto thy care me take

This I ask for Jesus sake,

Amen.

About a year ago I began asking my oldest for a prayer request every night, “Is there anything you want to thank God for or anyone you would like to pray for?”  The answers were pretty standard, sometimes “I want to pray for Oma and Opa and Grandma.”  But more often than not she would just shrug her shoulders and say, “No.”  Lately however she has been asking me to pray for things, like “My teacher is sick, can we pray for her to get better?”  or “Help me to not get so mad at my sister.”  The one that really got to me was just the other night, “Can you thank God for sending Jesus to die on the cross for my sins and help me to love everyone more?”

Why do I tell you this?  Because to be a disciple takes discipline.  I am not saying we are perfect parents, I have failed numerous times and in many ways.  Don’t get me wrong here.  But in the end, my desire for my children is being realized in the faithfulness of God when my 7 year old asks me to pray about the gospel of salvation and to help her be more loving to others.

I am not an expert on this. But try what I did.

Just start.

Your kids hate prayer?  It is a struggle?  Do it anyway. Read the Bible and pray.  Humbly. Honestly.  With conviction.  With faith.  God will do the rest.

Advent Family Worship: First Sunday

Last year I started writing an advent devotional for our family worship.  I had a couple people ask me about it for this year.  No I have not finished the book – it is close but not complete, plus I have some things to correct. I will post an advent devotional for each Sunday of the Advent season and for the days in between as well (the days I ahve finished anyway…) I encourage you all to create your own devotions for family worship at your home.  

Please note that the devotional questions are aimed at a young child of 6 or 7 years old, but we can all get something out of God’s word and family worship!

 

Advent Day 1: Sunday Dec 2, 2012

Scripture Reading: 

Isaiah 40:1-5

Isaiah 7:14

Isaiah 9:2

Devotional:

Q. These verses are called “prophecy.” Do you know what a prophecy is?

A prophecy is when God speaks to his people about what he is going to do.  What we read here is called prophecy because God is telling us that he is going to do something to make things right between mankind and Himself once again. We read that the people were walking in darkness.

Q. Why were they walking in Darkness?

The world was in darkness because we had sinned against God.  God was angry with us for living in the darkness. But even though God was angry with us, God loved us and wanted us to be with Him in the light again.  He sent his prophets, like Isaiah, to tell us that soon he would send us a light to shine the darkness.

Q.  What is that light?

That light is the light of hope of a saviour.  (if you are using an advent wreath light the first candle now) God told the prophets that he would send a saviour to make us right with Him and take us out of the darkness.  This candle light represents the light of the hope that we have in our saviour.

Q. Do you know who the saviour is?

Jesus is the saviour! Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus is our hope and He is the only way out of the darkness. Jesus also shows us the way to live a life of thankfulness in the light.

There are lots of lights around us at Christmas time. They are on houses and on trees, on stores and in windows.  They are in all sorts of colours, red, green, blue, yellow.  Some are shaped like icicles, and bells, others are shaped like snowflakes.  And (like this candle,) they are all very pretty, but they are not what Christmas is really about. When we look at these lights we should be reminded that Jesus is the real light of the world. Christmas is really about the hope that we have in Jesus.

Families with older kids include this:

Isaiah looked forward to the messiah, the saviour – Jesus, Israel’s Comfort. Her hard service was ended and her sins were pardoned, because God punished their sins in the messiah. On the cross, Jesus bore the sins of his people.  This is our comfort: that through Jesus’ death on the cross, we have pardon for our sins.

The Heidelberg Catechism asks, “What is your only comfort in life and in death?” The answer is “that I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil.” Jesus is the light of the world and he is our only comfort.

The comfort we read in Isaiah 40 is much more than God giving us a hug or telling us it will be ok. It is the comfort that when we believe in Jesus, his perfect obedience is credited to to us, and all our sins are forgiven because Christ has fully paid for all our sins – not just some – but all!

Sing:

Hymn 15 “Comfort, Comfort Ye My People.”

(The notation and lyrics are below and a video with the tune is at the end – This video has a very slow tempo but gives you the tune, feel free to find one with a faster tempo if that is your preference.  If you have very young children you may find you can only sing one stanza…don’t worry about that.)

2. For the herald’s voice is crying
in the desert far and near,
calling all men to repentance,
since the kingdom now is here.
O that warning voice obey!
Now prepare for God a way.
Let the valleys rise to meet him,
and the hills bow down to greet him.

3. Then make straight what long was crooked;
make the rougher places plain.
Let your hearts be true and humble,
as befits his holy reign.
For the glory of the Lord
now on earth is shed abroad,
and all flesh shall see the token
that his word is never broken.

Prayer:

Involve the entire family in prayer. Today, ask each person for a prayer request.  This could be something to praise God for, or a supplication on someone’s behalf, or something they are thankful for etc.  Include these requests in your prayer.

Ideas to add to your prayer:

• Praise God for his justice and mercy and for promising to send his Son to be a light in the darkness;
• Confess that we are sinful and ask God for the forgiveness of sins, the sins that led to living in darkness;
• Thank God for loving us so much even though we were living in darkness.
• Ask God to shine the light of the hope of Jesus in the lives of those still living in darkness;
• Ask God to strengthen our faith and help us shine His love and light to the people around us

Black Friday Zombies

Today I watched some footage of past Black Friday’s and saw the hordes of people stampeding, lurching forward through gates and storefront doors, breaking down barriers, knocking over each other and trampling women and children. Surging forward like one giant being, like a mob of mindless zombies  frothing at the mouth with an insatiable blood-lust, chewing on the rotten corpses of the latest in electronic technology and toys.

Black Friday.  

Aptly named isn’t it?

For does any other day of the year reveal what truly grips the hearts of Americans and Canadians?  Perhaps boxing day…but I digress.

It is Gripped by thier possessions…  their luxury items.  By the biggest, best, latest toys.

And the church is not immune.  Oh perhaps most of us are not lining up at midnight to crash the doors…but…what about that latest gadget or toy?  Do we need that PS4 or Xbox1 or that new TV?  That RV?  That truck?  The fastest computer?  The best rod and reel?  The flashiest suit or dress?

Where is my heart?

In my things?

Do I sacrifice my life on the alter of materialism?  Or do I live a life of sacrifice, in praise and thankfulness for what really matters?

My Christian brothers and sisters, as we line up to get the best deals, or as we go and buy the latest that our western society has to offer…take a moment to think about those Christians who are persecuted in other lands, like North Korea, China, Southwest Asia…who would give up everything for a scrap of the Bible, or to see their pastor released from prison, or to get their families back…

Now let’s get some Biblical perspective.  Our Lord teaches us in Luke 12:15 that a person’s “life is not in the abundance of the things which he possesses,” and in Matthew 6:33 he says we are to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” If things satisfied, if money created contentment,  Solomon would have been the happiest most contented man that ever lived.  He had absolutely everything and had more of everything than anyone, and yet it was all meaningless.  Solomon came to the conclusion that we are to “fear God, and keep His commandments. For this is the whole duty of man.”

This was not lost on the Westminster divines as they crafted the Westminster Catechism.  The first question asks… “What is the chief and highest end of man?” and the answer is “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.”

We find joy in Him.  In glorifying Him.  Not in our stuff.  Not in getting the best deals.  Not in behaving like bloodlusting zombies chewing on the rotten corpses of the latest in electronic technology.

Let’s pray that the Holy Spirit would work in our hearts so that we would be more and more conformed to the likeness of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and that we would find Him all satisfying on this Black Friday, and all the days of our life.

When God Doesn’t Fit in My Jar.

You know how it is. You are probably in a similar stage of life as me. You have a husband or a wife, kids, committees, church functions, friends, school functions, work, appointments, shool, homework… chores… errands… eating… sleeping…  showering… blogging…. am I forgetting anything?

Oh yeah…

God.

Or more precisely, personal devotions.

It’s so easy to forget to put Him on the list when life is busy, isn’t it? Life has been busy for us in the Smith household, and I have been struggling to manage my time well, both at work and in my home life. I find that the first thing to go when life is busy is sleep. Then my private devotions start to slip because I am too tired to get up early and the rest of the day is filled with other things.   (Poor excuses, I know.) So in order to remedy this, or at least try to figure out how to juggle everything, I signed up for a time management seminar – one which I almost missed because of time conflicts!

I learned alot, but what really stuck in my head is a story that most of us have probably heard:

The speaker pulled out a jar and filled it with rocks, to which he asked if it was full.

Most of us replied, “Yes.”

He pulled out some pebbles and poured them into the jar. Again he asked if it was full. Some replied yes, others, “Probably not.”

He then pulled out some sand and poured it in the jar. Is it full? We replied, “No.”

He then poured water into the jar until it reached the top.

Now it is full. If the Jar is filled with all the little bits first, like the gravel, the sand and the water, there is no way you’d be able to fit the big rocks in.

The big rocks represent the important things in our lives. If we keep trying to do the not so important tasks and putting off the bigger ones, they’ll never get done.

I saw how everything fit in the jar when the bigger rocks were placed first, and how the big stuff didn’t fit when the little things were put in first. I pictured my schedule in my head, with each rock representing the more important tasks, and all the little pebbles,  sand and water representing all other things. It got me thinking about how I need to take a good long look at my schedule and figure out if those things that are taking up my time are really that important. 

I could go on about the sand  and water – things like Facebook, or maybe blogging…but I won’t.  I simply want to assess how I view God in this Jar that is my life.

Does he fit?

Is there room in my jar for Him?

Obviously there are large rocks like sleep, work, family and school, but where is God?  How does he fit in? How would you rate your relationship with God?  Is it a big rock?  A pebble?  Sand?  Water?  Or have we so filled our jars with other rocks, pebbles, sand and water that we can’t even fit personal devotions in the jar?

When God does’t fit in my jar…I know I have some changes to make.

How about you?

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.  But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”  But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,  but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” ~ Luke 10:38-42

Good Contemporary Music: Water and the Blood

I am tired of Christian radio.  What about you? Songs like, “Steal My Show” and “I Love the Way You Hold Me”…etc. really turn me off.  These songs are nothing but a good beat with some fluff.  They have nothing of any real substance and really don’t glorify God at all. “Christian Rappers” like Shai Lynne and Lecrae often have God glorifying and doctrinally sound lyrics…but I don’t really like rap. I began to wonder if I could find God glorifying lyrics with sound doctrine and a good sound that I would enjoy.

I heard you laugh.

But I found at least one album.   So I guess this is my first music album review. Kinda, but not really.  I come into this album biased.  I first heard a song based on Lord’s Day 1 of the Heidleberg Catechism and was intrigued.  So I researched more about this song…(since midterms are done) and found the album and a bit about the artist.

Dustin Kensrue, a deacon at the Bellevue Downtown Mars Hill Church, wrote the song and has released an album entitled Water and the Blood.   He is a large-ish man with tattooed arms…just the type of guy you would expect to sing songs with lyrics like this…right?:

I was an orphan lost at the fall
Running away when I’d hear you call
But Father, you worked your will
I had no righteousness of my own
I had no right to draw near your throne
But Father, you loved me still

Right?

No?

OK.

But he did. Now. For those of you who know me, you know how critical of Christian music I can be (sorry). It is not often I recommend so-called praise and worship music.  Nor do I often recommend Indie Rock artists.

But this album I do. With songs like:

1. Rejoice
2. Rock of Ages (yes the hymn)
3. Suffering Servant
4. My One Comfort (Based on Lord’s Day 1 of the Heidelberg Catechism)
5. God is Good
6. Grace Alone
7. The Voice of The Lord
8. Its Not Enough
9. Come Lord Jesus
10. Oh God
11. It Is Finished

My new favorite song is Grace Alone.  The lyrics are God glorifying, and the music is easy on the ears.   Oh what I would give to hear more songs like this on Christian Radio.  If you are impatient skip to 1:12 to hear the song.  Lyrics follow the video.  Enjoy and praise God with this song.

Is this a review?  Not really…but I really like this album.

I was an orphan lost at the fall
Running away when I’d hear you call
But Father, you worked your will
I had no righteousness of my own
I had no right to draw near your throne
But Father, you loved me still

And in love before you laid the world’s foundation
You predestined to adopt me as your own
You have raised me up so high above my station
I’m a child of God by grace and grace alone

You left your home to seek out the lost
You knew the great and terrible cost
But Jesus, your face was set
I worked my fingers down to the bone
Nothing I did could ever atone
But Jesus, you paid my debt

By your blood I have redemption and salvation
Lord, you died that I might reap what you have sown
And you rose that I might be a new creation
I am born again by grace and grace alone

I was in darkness all of my life
I never knew the day from the night
But Spirit, you made me see
I swore I knew the way on my own
Head full of rocks, a heart made of stone
But Spirit, you moved in me

At your touch my sleeping spirit was awakened
On my darkened heart, the light of Christ has shone
Called into a kingdom that cannot be shaken
Heaven’s citizen by grace and grace alone

So I stand in faith by grace and grace alone
I will run the race by grace and grace alone
I will slay my sin by grace and grace alone
I will reach the end by grace and grace alone

Give Thanks Even in the Midst of Loss

 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. ~ 1 Chronicles 29:13

I had a Thanksgiving post all ready to go, (it is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada) there was even a picture of a Turkey holding a sign advising us to eat ham…

But I awoke this morning to my wife informing me that a dear sister in Christ had lost her battle with cancer.  It was a somber way to start this weekend.

My prayers are with the Thalen family. Even though she lived and died in Christ’s arms, her loved ones still feel the loss deeply. Give them a hug, a shoulder, an ear. They grieve. There are countless tears…but tears are good. Tears bear witness to the beauty of a gift enjoyed.

And life is a gift.

A mother is a gift.

A wife is a gift.

A grandma is a gift.

But even through all the tears, we can still glorify Christ.  Job is a prime example. When the news came that all ten of his children were dead, it says,

“Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord’” Job 1:20-21

Job wept…but…he also worshiped.  He gave thanks in the midst of loss.

This Thanksgiving let us give thanks in the midst of loss…for the Gospel of salvation. For the love and grace and mercy that our Father in Heaven so lavishly pours out upon us because of Jesus Christ. For family and a covenant community of believers. Pray that the Lord would so satisfy us with His steadfast love that we might both live and die to glorify him…like Linda Thalen did.

“I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” 

This Thanksgiving let’s consider what we should be giving thanks for.

“…because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.  All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.  Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day ~ 2 Corinthians 4:14-16 “

Favorite Hymns 2

Yesterday I posted part 1 of a question a friend asked me about my favorite Hymns.  Here is the rest of that question.  Feel free to answer along in the comment section.

“Second, which is your favorite Hymn that we do sing in our Churches.”

As I was pouring over the Hymns we sing in my church, reading the words of the first stanzas, I just became amazed at the richness and beauty of what has been written over the ages.  I realized very quickly that I would not be able to pick one based simply on the lyrics, so I am going to have to pick a few based both on the lyric and the melody.

Holy, Holy, Holy

The Churches One Foundation

Loving Shepard of Thy Sheep

“Third, which is your favorite Psalm that we sing?”

The Psalms we sing in my church are set to Genevan Tunes.  Coming from an evangelical Church that sang only hymns and more contemporary praise and worship songs, it took me a very long time to get used to the Genevan Tunes.  However, I have fallen in love with the Genevan Psalter for the most part – there are some that I still find awkward.  With that said, a few of my favorite Psalms are:

Psalm 1, 16, 34, 64, 73, 103, 110, 139

Here is a link to the Canadian Reformed Book Of Praise: Psalms

“Fourth, which is your favorite contemporary Christian song?”

This question is hard to answer because it includes praise choruses, modern hymns, and regular “non-praise” Christian songs. Some of my favorites are:

In Christ Alone

My Saviour, My God

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)

How Great is Our God.

My Current Favorite is Lord, I need you.