In all things be thankful

“… give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thess. 5:18)

Today, as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow, the will of God is for us to be thankful in all things . To specifically give thanks freely to God. Thanking Him for pain that proves we are alive, for His discipline which shows He cares as a Father, for happy times that are unearned, for frustrations and for triumphs. For a million seemingly little things. Can you join with me in doing today what — if we have been captivated by Jesus — we will love doing forever?

Our destiny is to say these small words forever

Speaking of giving thanks, this reminder from Of First Importance is worth re-posting:

“I have often wondered, perhaps in part simply because the term is so rarely used today, what it might mean to ‘glorify’ God forever. It will undoubtedly mean a great many things, but one of them surely must be that we will continually thank him.

We will thank him for his graciousness and goodness to us, and for inviting us into conversation. Along this line, I would think that we anticipate our ‘chief and highest end’ every time we behold something beautiful and find that after we have exclaimed, ‘Ah, how wonderful!’ we are almost compelled to say ‘Thank you!’

Our destiny is to say these small words forever and so experience the gratitude that is the perfection of happiness.”

—Craig M. Gay, Dialogue, Catalogue & Monologue (Vancouver, BC: Regent College Publishing, 2008), 48-49.

How simple, true, and profound.

Seeing that giving thanks will be our forever practice and joy for all eternity, how do we practically do that, on a day to day basis here and now?

(Please chime in on this…)

A few thoughts on cultivating thankfulness as a lifestyle:

• Sit down and think . We will not be grateful automatically (this depravity thing holds us back from looking outside ourselves).
  • Is there anything “big” that I’m thankful for?
  • Anything relatively “small”?
  • How do those “small” things add up — a tall stack of God’s grace and undeserved kindness.
• Ask someone else, “What are you thankful for?”
  • Gratitude and joy are contagious (as are negativity and self-absorption).
• Tell God what you are thankful for.
  • Go ahead, He’s listening! (Eph. 3:12)
• Preach the Gospel to yourself every day.
  • Can you articulate the grace of God in Christ, who is the substitution for Your sins and the only way to God?
  • We never outgrow our need for the Gospel. (It is for us Christians to.)
• Tell someone why you are thankful for them .
  • We are each blind to our own fruit and daily need encouragement.
  • A hand-written note is a small item that can sustain a burdened soul through trying times. Take the time to show them you care, because you do. (see here )
  • God often puts different people on your heart to pray for and encourage - directly.
  • Call, write, even text others to affirm their being created in God’s image.
  • They might choose to return the favor, but who cares if they don’t. Be a free-grace-giver.
• Why are you/me/we generally un-thankful? (if you are not bent towards joy and gratitude, as a lifestyle or at this particular moment)
  • Remember that all problems are Gospel problems. They all stem from a lack of proper orientation to the Gospel. In other words, the gospel transforms our hearts, our thinking and our approach to absolutely everything.
• Repeat…

Any to add?

Where’s Ryan, redux

B/c I covered up his post with another, it’s worth re-answering the question, “Where’s Ryan?”

(Or, for the old faithful, “Where is Just A Guy?”)

Our faithful founder is alive and well and living near Canada

How I prepare to preach

C.J. Mahaney asks Mark Dever and John Piper what they do and how they would counsel others in sermon preparation. (It looks like the “how to” approach is not specifically what they emphasize in mentoring others. Thank God for good mentors like these men.)

[HT: JT]

Two Cent Tuesday - How important is Blogging?

It’s been a while since we had a Two-cent Tuesday. Time for some interaction here — chime in!

Is it midterms yet at your seminary? Here at Multnomah we’re stepping into that season, wading into the deeper waters of papers and projects and exams.

When life gets busy like this, what priority do you place on blogging?

(Answer according to your true practice, not how it should be in your life.)

Professors are people too

A couple years ago I was humbled (okay, a couple minutes ago I was too, but that’s another story) … when I realized that my professors were so caring, authentic, and well, human. This epiphany moment? I was walking across campus and two different profs, a couple minutes apart, asked us how our son was doing, and how work was going for me. After our conversation, I walked away asking myself: “Do I ever ask how their family is? Do I expand my care for them beyond the classroom?”

Times like that are evidence of God’s grace, for He could have showed from the heavens, “You are an idiot! Pray for these men and women who mentor you!” Yet, He chose to show me through a subtle process that through my own folly and self-absorbed view of seminary I was forgetting to recognize our profs are people too.

One of the caring professors who paused to ask about us is our President. Even though Kari and I were and are co-TA’s for his theology course, I hadn’t realized the great place of intercession we could play in his life and that of his family. He prays for us; do we pray for him?

Always giving, seldom receiving

Professors give and give and speak and counsel non-stop. While we get 10-minute breaks during class, they rarely get a moment without a question about the syllabus, a recommendation for a book, or most of all, request for special considerations for a homework assignment. (Not to mention some of the ridiculous questions we ask in class!) We take and take and take. They give and give and give.

Many if not most of our beloved professors serve in some leadership capacity in their local church. They have families, financial obligations, health concerns deadlines for research, and probably a plethora of faculty meetings we don’t even know about. Plus, they are simply an integral part of the Body of Christ, for which He died. Their spiritual life must remain vital in order to impact ours.

Do you pray for your professors? When you sit down with classmates and are tempted to criticize a certain prof for a certain viewpoint or project he assigned, stop yourself and consider how this is my brother in Christ pours of his life for you sake. Let’s stop and pray for him.

Today or this week, be mindful of your professors, and pray for them. Also, pause for a moment and consider how you can practically bless them. Little things like:

• a handwritten note
• a word of encouragement
• join with other students to do something creative for them
• give an update from a prayer request you shared with them earlier
• ask to buy them lunch
• if they ask you to call them by their first name, then do it
• did I mention hand-written notes?
• send a card on their birthday or over the holidays
• ask them about their kids
• ask to see pictures of their grand-kids
• pay attention in class (close your laptop if you don’t need it!) — this is an ultimate sign of respect (and of course it goes without saying you are paying for it, and if roles were reversed you probably would appreciate the students’ full engagement)
• don’t start to pick up your items until the class period is complete and your are dismissed
• staple your assignments
• follow the syllabus guidelines for your papers (okay, these two are more of a blessing to us TA’s)

Any other ways we can bless our professors? After all, they are people too.

Preach Deeper

Dr. Peter Mead who mentors preachers (around the world, and based out of the UK) — and also graduated from two seminaries here in the States — has some brief reflections on preaching style in “Preach Deeper” (he illustrates three approaches with a revised simple diagram for each).

Video answers to hard theological questions

Christianity.com has a series of video answers on key apologetic and hard theological questions. Most are answered by pastors, some by noted scholars. Here are a few:

• What does it mean for God to love us? (answered by James MacDonald)
• Why did Jesus have to die? (answered by Thabiti Anyabwile)
• What are the “non-negotiables” of the Gospel? (answered by Ligon Duncan)
• Is baptism necessary for salvation? (answered Bryan Chapell, President of Covenant Seminary)

(The videos are sponsored by The Gospel Coalition)

Ed Stetzer interiew on sub•text

Speaking of sub•text, there is a new interview with Ed Stetzer over there.

A highlight:

Q: What are some common mistakes churches in the suburbs make?

Ed: I think there are probably several.

First, they assume that nice shiny clean people have nice shiny clean lives. When you work in an urban context, you can sometimes see the sin and trouble with greater ease. It is better hidden in the suburbs. Thus, we think that people need sermons on how to improve their lives. They don’t. They need messages on how to be transformed by the gospel. (emphasis added)

Read the whole interview.

Why is this semester so ridiculously difficult?

Perhaps you have encountered some unexpected hardship as a seminary student this semester. Lost a job? Seen unexpected expenses creep up. Seen a side of your anger you didn’t realize was there?

God is not surprised. Nor should we be (at least not in general).

The hidden seminary class

We may not have noticed the class on our course schedule, but it is there. In fact, I’m convinced that without this class seminary would be a waste, or at least ineffective. It is the class of Sanctification, the one where the Holy Spirit works inside us, by using every means possible to perform His eternal work (Romans 8). Our character is deeply affected, we see our true selves, and often are not happy with what we find. Let the transformation begin.

Have you experienced the inconvenience of little things like there not being a computer available to print the course notes or a time-sensitive assignment, or locking the keys in our car, or an important document disappearing from your thumb drive? Or perhaps you did what I did last Spring, leaving my laptop in class and getting almost home, then racing back only to find the building locked for the night (and not planning on returning to class until the next week, after a break).Yeah, Kari was in the car with, and I was not what they call a “happy camper” right then. I repented when I got back in the car, and through the experience God showed us one practical way to shift our schedule and create a healthy margin as to not run ourselves ragged.

Those experiences build our character, but they also reveal it. We start to see who we really are. Or perhaps the trials are “outside” of seminary, with the loss of a job, not connecting well with your spouse in daily mis-communication, or an issue with a child, health complications, or financial worries (welcome to seminary!) — the list goes on and on. I can say I’m big on all-of-life-being-preparation, but do I embrace trials as being from God?

God is actively shaping us into the type of people who love Him more than we love His gifts, and to reflect Jesus’ worth, work and ways. (Reflectors don’t have light in themselves, they just reveal the real light, reflecting it.. Can you relate to this shaping experience?

One constant thread through all my problems

So, why is it so hard? Perhaps part of the answer lies in the common denominator in all my problems:

• Me.

Yep. More than learning skills and getting some neat letters to place after my name, God is rescuing me from myself. Oh, thank You Jesus that You are the only One able to do so! (Romans 7:24-25). Paul Tripp has some helpful words on the subject:

“The good news of the kingdom is not freedom from hardship, suffering, and loss. It is the news of a Redeemer who has come to rescue me from myself. His rescue produces change that fundamentally alters my response to these inescapable realities. The Redeemer turns rebels into disciples, fools into humble listeners. He makes cripples walk again. In him we can face life and respond with faith, love, and hope. And as he changes us, he allows us to be a part of what he is doing in the lives of others. As you respond to the Redeemer’s work in your life, you can learn to be an instrument in his hands.”
- Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change (Phillipsburg, Pa.: P & R publishing, 2002), 16.

This added class on our schedule of life is the work of a gracious God who loves us too much to leave us unchanged. We can press on through these trials (see Phil. 3 to see what Paul considered worthy to press on towards). In fact, God purposes, not only to help us navigate through the various stages of seminary, but more than that: to become the kind of people who love Him more than the journey. That’s why this semester is so ridiculously difficult.

(By the way, this hidden seminary class is not an elective. Enjoy!)

Helps for faithfully sharing the Gospel

sub•text is a recent addition to the web and blogosphere world, headed up by pastors Joe Thorn and Steve McCoy. It may be a helpful resource for all of us who live on the outskirts of the City (and for those who live anyone, for that matter).

Description from the site: sub•text is a discussion on the preaching and practice of the gospel in the suburban context.

Also, check out one of the posts, “Gospel Connections in Suburbia.”

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