Psalm 119: The Life-Giving Power of the Word

Article by Jason Meyer

Psalm 119:25,

My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!

Have you ever felt something of a schizophrenic relationship to the Bible? At times our hearts are alive to the word of God, while at other times our hearts feel dull and almost dead. This is not merely a frustrating dynamic; it is a fearful condition.

But we find a kindred spirit in a surprising place: Psalm 119.

I say “surprising” because Psalm 119 is a poem of love for the word of God. Going here with our problem seems like a person struggling with singleness going to a wedding celebration! Help, however, comes in the stanza devoted to the Hebrew letter daleth (Psalm 119:25–32).

The Struggle of Dust

The psalmist cries out in anguish that his “soul melts away for sorrow” (Psalm 119:28). His struggle, however, is not simply sorrow. The psalmist confesses that his soul “clings to the dust” (Psalm 119:25). “Dust” here is not a generic metaphorical way of saying that he is struggling. It is a pointed theological reminder of the brokenness that comes from humanity’s fallen state. This word for dust appears as part of God’s pronouncement of curse upon the human race: “till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). The psalmist, like us, finds himself struggling with the effects that flow from his own fallen, broken state.

But the fall is not the final word. We can find hope to delight in God again, even in a fallen world. This stanza opens with the psalmist “clinging to the dust,” but it ends with the psalmist running in the way of God’s commandments because God has enlarged his heart (Psalm 119:32).

From Clinging to Dust to Running to God

So how can we move from clinging to running?

The answer lies in the life-giving power of God’s word. The opening verse (verse 25) consists of both a confession and a prayer: “my soul clings to the dust” (confession), “give me life according to your word” (prayer). The same structure is seen in verse 28: “My soul melts away for sorrow” (confession); “strengthen me according to your word” (prayer).

Understanding this answer requires us to move both backwards and forwards in the Bible.

First, overhearing the psalmist pray for God to give life to dust takes us back to Genesis 2:7. “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a livingcreature.”

Second, God’s breath of life shows up again in 2 Timothy 3:16 in connection with the word of God because “all Scripture is breathed-out by God.”

When We Read the Bible

These connections help us see that now God breathes his breath of life into a book, not directly into us. We breathe in that breath of life when we read the Bible.

It seems almost counterintuitive, but when we wrestle with a brokenness that causes us not even to desire the Bible, the solution is to turn to the Bible. This solution is not a vote of confidence in ourselves (as if our reading skills could ever overcome our fallen state); but in the word itself as God’s life-giving breath.

May God move you from clinging to dust to delighting in his Word. May his breath fill up your lungs to run the race of faith.

Jason Meyer is the Assistant Professor of New Testament at Bethlehem College and Seminary. He's the author of The End of the Law (B&H Academic, 2009) and Preaching: A Biblical Theology (forthcoming).

posted at: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/psalm-119-the-life-giving-power-of-the-word

Jesus is the Smartest Man Who Ever Lived

Article by Jared C. Wilson 

I continue to be amazed by the number of evangelicals who continue to insist that "moral values" have no place in considering how we engage in the political process. An acquaintance on Facebook, a Christian man constantly conerned about the downward slide of morality in our culture, also recently posted, without a trace of irony, that all that matters from the presidency is if he can foster a solid US economy -- anything related to character was not really pertinent. 

Aside from the fact that I don't believe these brothers and sisters really believe that—at least, not when applied to those on the other side—it's still an incredibly distressing and frustrating thing to hear. But it should be no surprise given the rate at which American evangelicals have learned to compartmentalize their "personal faith" from their vocations and public life while at the same time engaging a syncretism of their worship of God with their other objects of worship. (I talk a little more about this here.)

But we also see the effect of this compartmentalization in the way evangelicals have come to mimic the snarky "street smarts" of the conservative pundits on TV and the web, not all of them believers themselves. Greedy, lustful, predatory businessmen gain our support because "that's just the way the world works." "You've got to pick your poison." "The world isn't black and white." "What other choice do we have than picking the lesser of two evils?" Et cetera, et cetera, ad infinitum.

Well, I call shenanigans on all that. The space-time economy of the kingdom of God is the way the world really is -- at least, it is the way the world is really meant to work under God's sovereignty, and Christians are not at liberty to pretend their true citizenship is not there when the ways of the kingdom don't seem immediately practical, convenient, gratifying, or otherwise successful. We are called to walk by faith, not by sight. And this means that Christians—assuming they really have received reborn hearts, transformed minds, and crucified flesh—trust that Jesus knows best about the way the world "really is."

Jesus was the smartest man who ever lived. We have to get that through our thick skulls if we want to make a hill of beans difference for the kingdom in this world. So often we think of Jesus as spiritual in a way disconnected from reality. Jesus is religiously idealistic, we reason, but not (as they say) “street smart.” Jesus knows how things ought to be, but he’s not so incisive on how things really are. Jesus is a good teacher, but in the popular imagination pretty much a naïve one. Dallas Willard explains:

The world has succeeded in opposing intelligence to goodness . . . And today any attempt to combine spirituality or moral purity with great intelligence causes widespread pangs of “cognitive dissonance.” Mother Teresa, no more than Jesus, is thought of as smart—nice, of course, but not really smart. “Smart” means good at managing how life “really” is . .  (The Divine Conspiracy. HarperCollins, 1998, p.135)

The reality is that Jesus knows exactly how things really are, and in fact knows how things really are better than anybody else. We may look over the ethos of the Sermon on the Mount and find the whole thing utterly impractical toward getting ahead in the world—or even toward winning elections—but one of the underlying points of the Sermon is that getting ahead in the world is a losing gambit to begin with. We come to Jesus’s teaching looking for tips on playing checkers, when all along he is playing chess.

There is good reason for this. As God, Jesus is omniscient. He knows everything. In Mark 1:22 we read, “And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.” The sort of authority Jesus is wowing them with here is not the kind simply accumulated through years of study. Jesus taught with the kind of authority that suggested he had mastered the material, that he was in fact the material world’s very master. His authority comes not from education but from authorship. “He told me all that I ever did,” the Samaritan woman declares (John 4:39). Yes, sister, because he foreknew it all, declared it all, and saw it all.

It makes total sense, then—real, actual, logical sense—to believe Jesus. He is no fool who believes the man who knows everything. And he is no fool who refrains from worldly wisdom even when other Christians cannot see the advantage of it.

Jared C. Wilson is the Director of Content Strategy for Midwestern Seminary, managing editor of For The Church, and author of more than ten books, including Gospel Wakefulness, The Pastor’s Justification, and The Prodigal Church. You can follow him on Twitter.

Article posted at: https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/jesus-is-the-smartest-man-who-ever-lived

Adulting Is God’s Will for You

Article by Shar Walker

It only takes a few likes and shares for a word to become a brand-new hashtag, accompanied by memes, T-shirts, and paraphernalia. I noticed this with the word “adulting.”

“Adulting”—a verb form of “adult”—typically refers to a person (usually a millennial) doing an action (often mundane) that an adult would do. For instance, someone might say, “Paid my bills on time; I’ve done my adulting for the day.” This is my generation’s way of acknowledging, and sometimes making fun of, our entry into adulthood.

“Adulting” jokes expose the pulse of my generation. While most of the comments are of course in jest, at the sentiment’s heart seems to be a sluggishness to grow up, to take responsibility, and to do things we don’t want to do.

God’s Word directs Christians to a higher calling. Here are four biblical pursuits that speak to our generational fear of adulting.

1. Pursue Self-Control

When adulting is a choice, you can put it on or take it off at will. When I feel like paying my bills, I’ll pay them. When I feel like getting a steady job, I’ll start applying.

It’s all too easy to lack motivation in our everyday lives, leading us to neglect tasks that are important but not urgent. But the biblical virtue of self-control summons us to greater responsibility. Self-control isn’t just abstaining from bad thoughts or actions, but also pursuing what is good—even if it’s hard or not exhilarating.

The Bible frequently exhorts us to practice self-control in our words and in our works (Prov. 16:32; 18:21; 2 Pet. 1:5–9). The two offices in the local church—elder and deacon—require self-control (1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:8). All of us are to be fervent in spirit, not lacking zeal (Rom. 12:11).

Unlike optional adulting, self-control calls us to be faithful in the tasks of life we may not want to do, but are still responsible to perform.

2. Pursue Hard Work

In Genesis 2:15, the Lord places Adam in the garden to “work it and keep it.” Adam is to tend and care for his home. For all of us, work is a daily task.

Even though work has been cursed, it’s not a curse.

Of course, sin’s curse spoiled everything, including the ground, rendering work toilsome (Gen. 3:17–19; Ecc. 2:17). Because of the fall, our work is now often frustrating. But even though work has been cursed, it’s not a curse. Work existed before the fall, and it will be fully redeemed at Christ’s return.

While often burdensome, work is from God’s hand and ought to be done for God’s glory (Ecc. 2:24; 3:12; 3:22; 5:18–20). As we remember this purpose, we mustn’t assume we can hastily microwave our work, coasting by in sluggish apathy. As we labor in a fallen world, we are to do so with zeal and motivation (Prov. 19:24), with care in small tasks (Prov. 24:30–34), with humility (Prov. 26:16), with diligence (Prov. 13:4; Gal 6:9), and with vigilance (Eph. 5:15–16).

So let’s not despise our normal, everyday responsibilities—those unglamorous tasks we think of as “adulting.” Though we may desire to do great things for the Lord, it’s easy to forget that the greatest work has already been finished for us at the cross, and that God wants to be faithful where he’s intentionally placed us.

The greatest work has already been finished for us at the cross.

Each day, no matter how mundane, is an opportunity to experience the Lord’s renewed mercies (Lam. 3:22).

3. Pursue Discipleship

Discipleship involves sharing our lives with one another. As Paul tells the believers in Thessalonica, “We were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves” (1 Thess. 2:8).

I recently picked up The New York Times bestseller Adulting: How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps, written by 28-year-old Kelly Williams Brown. Some of the steps to becoming a grown-up include: buying bulk toilet paper, doing weekly cleaning, being aware of current events, and not wearing wrinkled clothes.

But the beauty of gospel discipleship is that we have far greater resources than a book of tips to teach us how to live. In the church, those who are younger learn from older saints (and vice versa) how to honor God with our lives. God has given us a precious resource for adulting: gospel community shaped by his Word.

4. Pursue Wisdom

In a society that fights against the inevitability of aging, the Bible champions wisdom that comes from years of faithfulness to God.

When I talk to godly older saints, their words drip with the wisdom and understanding that only come from decades of walking with the living God (Job 12:12; Prov. 16:31). And while their bodies waste away, their inner self is clearly being renewed each day (2 Cor. 4:16). This is wisdom worth pursuing.

In God’s kindness, he gives both his Word and also the fellowship of his saints equip us to “adult” well. Even on days when we feel we just can’t.

May we heed the warning to not be content with childish ways, and may we seek the wisdom that allows us to discern good from evil, and what’s good from what’s best (Heb. 5:11–14).

Shar Walker lives in Lynchburg, Virginia, with her husband, Paul, and works on staff with Campus Outreach Lynchburg as the regional women’s director. he is a contributing author in Joyfully Spreading the Word: Sharing the Good News of Jesus (Crossway/TGC, 2018).

Article posted at:  https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/adulting-gods-will/

6 Reasons to Delight in the Word of God

Article by Paul Tautges

My goal in writing is simple. I wan to increase people's love for God by increasing their delight in His Word, The Holy Bible. That's why I wrote my first book, Delight in the Word, and have just released a 10th Anniversary eBook edition.

One of the burdens on my heart, and a goal for my ministry, is to convince believers that you cannot separate love for God from love for the Bible. No one can truly love God if they do not also love His Word. Jesus said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me” (John 14:21). By demonstrating how sufficient the Scripture is in addressing the needs of the human heart, I trust that the Holy Spirit will accelerate His counseling ministry in your life and thereby lead you into a deeper, more loving obedience to God (John 16:13). There are at least six reasons why it is spiritually profitable for us to mimic the psalmist’s resolution, “I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word” (Psalm 119:16).

Delighting in the Word leads to spiritual stability and fruitfulness. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper (Psalm 1:1–3). Abundant fruitfulness and oak-like stability in the Christian life are experienced in direct proportion to the extent to which we delight in God’s Word. It was not merely what this man avoided (foolish and worldly counsel) that made him blessed, but what he embraced—biblical truth. Therefore, he who delights in the counsel of God will be blessed in all he does.

Delighting in the Word feeds a desire to do God’s will. I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart (Psalm 40:8). Delighting in the will of God is tied to a commitment to the Word of God cherished in the heart. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). When Jesus first taught this truth He was referring to the everyday choice of where we invest our wealth—in a temporal earth or an everlasting heaven. However, the principle also applies to other contexts. In other words, it is always true that our hearts follow our treasure. Therefore, the more we treasure God’s precepts by delighting in them “more than gold” (Psalm 19:10), the greater will be our desire to obey the will of God as revealed in that Word. 

Delighting in the Word is a cure for depression. Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors. My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your word(Psalm 119:24, 25). When depression strikes (or creeps in unnoticed), we need help from God. In the middle of a thick fog of depression we desperately need the piercing light of divine truth to break through with clear objectivity. So we pray: “Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; for Your law is my delight” (Psalm 119:77).

Delighting in the Word fortifies obedience to God, even when others care not. Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it (Psalm 119:33–35). Those who truly delight in the Bible will, in turn, possess an intense desire to live in obedience to its precepts. Theirs will be a determined obedience, a steadfast adherence to truth, even in the face of opposition. The proud have forged a lie against me, but I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart. Their heart is as fat as grease, but I delight in Your law (Psalm 119:69, 70).

Delighting in the Word nurtures a love for Scripture meditation. The delight of the blessed man “is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2). Charles Spurgeon described this man as one who “takes a text and carries it with him all day long; and in the night watches, when sleep forsakes his eyelids, he museth upon the Word of God.” The more we grow in our love for God’s Word, the more it will dominate our thinking about every area of our life. Then, and only then, will our minds be truly renewed, according to the promise of God (Romans 12:2). And I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love. My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on Your statutes (Psalm 119:47, 48).

Delighting in the Word sustains us in times of trial. Trouble and anguish have overtaken me, yet Your commandments are my delights (Psalm 119:143). When the trials of life seem to drain every ounce of spiritual, physical, and emotional energy from us, God’s Word will be our strength. It will minister to the deepest agony of our hearts and help us gain and keep an eternal perspective. Renewing our mind with such truths as, “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18), will compel us to agree with the Psalmist: “Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction” (Psalm 119:92).

This is just a brief sampling of what the Word of God will do for us as we make it our delight and treasure.

Article originally posted at:  https://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/paul-tautges/6-reasons-to-delight-in-the-word-of-god.html

What's My Calling? And is that Even a Good Question?

Article by Kevin DeYoung

Graduation season is upon us.

And that means in addition to much pomp and circumstance, many young people are thinking about what’s next. They are asking the question (and probably will for years to come): what is my calling?

As the Just Do Something guy, it will come as no surprise to hear that I think the language of “calling” is vastly overdone in Christian circles. Here’s what I find in Scripture:

We have an upward call in Christ to be with Jesus and to be like Jesus (Phil. 3:14). We have been called to freedom, not bondage (Gal. 5:13). God has saved us and called us to a holy calling (2 Tim. 1:9). He has called us to his own glory and excellence (2 Peter 1:3). Not many of us were called to noble things (in the world’s eyes), but, amazingly, we have been called to Christ (1 Cor. 1:26). And if called, then justified, and if justified, then glorified (Rom. 8:30).

In other words, I do not see in Scripture where we are told to expect or look for a specific call to a specific task in life.

And that includes pastoral ministry and missionary service.

Although I’ve told the story of my “call to ministry” hundreds of time, I do not see biblical warrant for thinking that God picks up the phone in a special way to dial up pastors and missionaries for their life’s work. Moreover, I worry that by emphasizing the need for a supernatural hear-from-the-Lord call to ministry, we end up convincing some people that ministry and missions are for them (when they aren’t), while unintentionally leading other people (who should be serving a church or overseas) to conclude that they can’t sign up without a special word from God.

Does this mean we should abandon the language of “calling”?

Not necessarily. There’s no rule that says we can’t take a word from our English Bibles and then use that word in a different way in normal conversation (e.g., it’s tilting at windmills to think we are going to outlaw “church” in reference to a building). But if we are going to use the language of calling outside of the biblical pattern, let’s be careful about how we use the word.

I love talking with seminarians about discerning a call to ministry if we mean, “How do I know this is a wise, appropriate step for me to take?” as opposed to, “How do I know that I’ve received a special word from God himself that I must be a pastor?” Most ministry books talk about three aspects of a call: an internal call (I desire this), an external call (I have recognized gifts for ministry and discernible fruit of maturity), and a formal call (I have been offered a position by a particular church or ministry). Those three elements make good sense as a prudent approach to making good decisions.

In fact, these three factors can be used to determine almost any kind of “call.” Should I be a doctor? Well, are you really interested in medicine and in helping people? Do your trusted friends and family members think this is a good fit for you? Is there an opportunity for you to enter into this profession? Of course, at times we push ahead in the face of opposition and try to pry open closed doors. But in general, in a society where we have many choices in front of us, it’s good advice to find something we like, something we are good at, and something that others are asking us to do.

In short, if this is what is meant by “calling”—know yourself, listen to others, find where you are needed—then, by all means, let’s try to discern our callings. But if “calling” involves waiting for promptings, listening for still small voices, and attaching divine authority to our vocational decisions, then we’d be better off dropping the language altogether (except as its used in the Bible) and labor less mysteriously to help each other grow in wisdom.

Article originally posted at:https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/calling-even-good-question/

Where Does God Want Me To Work?

Article by David Mathis

How do I find God’s will for my life? It’s always a pressing question on the college campus, and especially in our day of unprecedented options. Like never before, in an anomaly in world history, students loosened from their community of origin, “going off” to college, now make decisions about their future with minimal influence or limitation from their adolescent context.

“God wants to take you by the heart, not twist you by the arm.”

Before asking, “Where is God calling me?” we would do well to first ponder, “Where has God already called me?” — not that your current callings won’t change or take a fresh direction in this formative season of life, but for a Christian, our objective calling from God always precedes our consciousness of it. If it is from him, he initiates. He makes the first move. This is true of our calling to salvation, and also true of any “vocational” assignment he gives us in the world.

Consider Three Factors

For the college student or young adult who may feel like a free agent — considering options and determining for yourself (and often by yourself) which direction to take — it’s important to acknowledge you are already moving in a direction, not standing still. You already have divine callings — as a Christian, as a church member, as a son or daughter, as a brother or sister, as a friend. And from within the matrix of those ongoing, already-active callings, you now seek God’s guidance for where to go from here.

Given, then, that you are already embedded in a context, with concrete callings, how should you go about discerning God’s direction after graduation? Or how do you find God’s will for your work-life? Christians will want to keep three important factors in view.

1. What Kind of Work Do I Desire?

First, we recognize, contrary to the suspicions that may linger in our unbelief, God is the happy God (1 Timothy 1:11), not a cosmic killjoy. In his Son, by his Spirit, he wants to shape and form our hearts to desire the work to which he’s calling us and, in some good sense, in this fallen world, actually enjoy the work.

Sanctified, Spirit-given desire is not a liability, but an asset, to finding God’s will. The New Testament is clear that God means for pastors to aspire to the work of the pastoral ministry. And we can assume, as a starting point, that God wants the same for his children working outside the church.

“Desire is a vital factor to consider, but in and of itself this doesn’t amount to a calling.”

In 1 Peter 5:2, we find this remarkably good news about how God’s heart for our good and enduring joy stands behind his leading us vocationally. The text is about the pastoral calling, but we can see in it the God who calls us into any carefully appointed station. God wants pastors who labor “not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you.” How remarkable is it that working from aspiration and delight, not obligation and duty, would be “as God would have you.” This is the kind of God we have — the desiring (not dutiful) God, who wants workers who are desiring (not dutiful) workers. He wants his people, like their pastors, to do their work “with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage” to those whom they serve (Hebrews 13:17).

So also, when the apostle Paul addresses the qualifications of pastors, he first mentions aspiration. “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task” (1 Timothy 3:1). God wants workers who want to do the work, not workers who do it simply out of a sense of duty. Behold your God, whose pattern is to take you by the heart, not twist you by the arm.

Desire, though, does not make a calling on its own. It’s a common mistake to presume that seeming God-given desire is, on its own, a “calling.” Aspirationis a vital factor to consider, but in and of itself this doesn’t amount to a calling. Two additional factors remain in the affirmation of others and the God-given opportunity.

2. Do Others Affirm This Direction?

The second question to ask, then, after the subjective one of desire, is the more objective one of ability. Have I seen evidence, small as it may be at first, that I can meet the needs of others by working in this field? And, even more important than my own self-assessment, do others who love me, and seem to be honest with me, confirm this direction? Do they think I’d be a good fit for the kind of work I’m desiring?

Here the subjective desires of our hearts meet the concrete, real-world, objective needs of others. Our vocational labors in this world, whether in Christian ministry or not, are not for existential release or our own private satisfaction, but for meeting the actual needs of others.

“You may feel called, and others may affirm you, but you are not yet fully called until God opens a door.”

Our desires have their part to play, but our true “calling” is not mainly shaped by our internal heart. It is shaped by the world outside of us. We so often hear “follow your heart” and “don’t settle for anything less than your dreams” in society, and even in the church. What’s most important, contrary to what the prevailing cultural word may be, is not bringing the desires of your heart to bear on the world, but letting the real-life needs of others shape your heart.

In seeking God’s will for us vocationally, we look for where our developing aspirations match up with our developing abilities to meet the actual needs of others. Over time, we seek to cultivate a kind of dialogue (with ourselves and with others) between what we desire to do and what we find ourselves good at doing for the benefit of others. Delight in certain kinds of labor typically grows as others affirm our efforts, and we see them receiving genuine help.

3. What Doors Has God Opened?

Finally, and perhaps the most overlooked and forgotten factor in the discussions on calling, is the actual God-given, real-world open door. You may feel called, and others may affirm your abilities, but you are not yet fully called until God opens a door.

Here we glory in the truth of God’s providence, not just hypothetically but tangibly. The real world in which we live, and various options as they are presented to us, are not random or coincidental. God rules over all things — from him, through him, to him (Romans 11:36). And so as real-life options (job offers) are presented that fulfill an aspiration in us, and are confirmed by the company of others, we can take these as confirmation of God’s “calling.” Not that such a calling will never change. But for now, when your own personal sense of God’s leading, and good perspective and guidance from others, align with a real-world opportunity in the form of an actual job offer in front of you, you have a calling from God.

“It is finally God, not man who provides the job offer.”

And we can say this calling is from him because God himself, in his hand of providence, has done the decisive work. He started the process by planting in us righteous desires to help others; and he affirmed the direction through our lived-out abilities and the affirmation of friends. Now, he confirms that sense of calling by swinging open the right door at the right time. It is finally God, not man who provides the job offer.

God not only makes overseers (Acts 20:28) and gives pastors (Ephesians 4:11–12) and sends out laborers into his global harvest (Matthew 9:37–38) and sends preachers (Romans 10:15) and sets wise managers over his household (Luke 12:42), but he makes dentists and plumbers. In his common kindness, he gives school teachers and entrepreneurs and social workers for the just and unjust. He sends executives and service workers. He gives you to the world in the service of others.

David Mathis (@davidcmathis) is executive editor for desiringGod.org and pastor at Cities Churchin Minneapolis. He is a husband, father of four, and author of Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines.

Article originally posted at:  https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/where-does-god-want-me-to-work

What's right with that?

“What’s wrong with that,” This question has become a standard method for determining whether a particular action is acceptable. If you can’t see anything wrong with doing something, then it must be okay. However, using this question as a guideline is not a wise way to make decisions.

Families lead busy, hectic lives. Decisions about what should or shouldn’t be done are often made on the run. For example, a decision about which movie to stream tonight might be asked and answered via texts as mom travels between a doctor’s appointment and an after school soccer match. The criteria most likely will be, “Is there anything wrong or bad about the movie?” No one seems to recall anything bad about this one, so the decision is made.

However, there is a more important question to be asked than what is “wrong with that?” Even though it is good to determine if there are negative influences–is an activity safe, does someone else we know have any problems with the activity, etc.– there is another more important question to consider. You must also ask, “what is right with that?”

Philippians 4:8-9 is a wise guide for thinking about what to do. The practice of using excellence as a benchmark for evaluating activities has become a lost art. The Christian life is much more than avoiding negative things. We should be driven to do good things. We should be engaging in thoughts and activities that bring honor to God – things that enhance His reputation here on earth. Our focus should be on pursuing the honor of God in all we do, rather than simply avoiding negatives. Look at Colossians 3:17 in this light:

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

All is to be done in the name of Christ. This includes more than just deciding if there is anything wrong with things we consider doing. Doing things in the name of the Lord Jesus means a vigorous pursuit of Philippians 4:8-9; thinking God’s thoughts after him! Asking only “what is wrong with that,” minimizes the opportunity to do something excellent for Christ.

Asking what is right with that could be a life changer for your family. Hectic schedules and a survival mentality push us to find the quickest way to resolve the daily stream of decisions of life. The quickest way is often found by asking “what is wrong with that.”  God calls you to more and better than that. He wants you to ask what is right. Yes, it will take more time. But your answers will bring joy and purpose to your actions. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, focus your thinking on these things. This will encourage you to do all that you do in the name of your Lord, Jesus Christ!

Find delight in asking what is right!

Originally posted at:  https://www.shepherdpress.com/whats-right-with-that-2/

What’s right with that?

Article by Jay Younts, Shepherd's Press

“What’s wrong with that,” This question has become a standard method for determining whether a particular action is acceptable. If you can’t see anything wrong with doing something, then it must be okay. However, using this question as a guideline is not a wise way to make decisions.

Families lead busy, hectic lives. Decisions about what should or shouldn’t be done are often made on the run. For example, a decision about which movie to stream tonight might be asked and answered via texts as mom travels between a doctor’s appointment and an after school soccer match. The criteria most likely will be, “Is there anything wrong or bad about the movie?” No one seems to recall anything bad about this one, so the decision is made.

However, there is a more important question to be asked than what is “wrong with that?” Even though it is good to determine if there are negative influences–is an activity safe, does someone else we know have any problems with the activity, etc.– there is another more important question to consider. You must also ask, “what is right with that?”

Philippians 4:8-9 is a wise guide for thinking about what to do. The practice of using excellence as a benchmark for evaluating activities has become a lost art. The Christian life is much more than avoiding negative things. We should be driven to do good things. We should be engaging in thoughts and activities that bring honor to God – things that enhance His reputation here on earth. Our focus should be on pursuing the honor of God in all we do, rather than simply avoiding negatives. Look at Colossians 3:17 in this light:

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

All is to be done in the name of Christ. This includes more than just deciding if there is anything wrong with things we consider doing. Doing things in the name of the Lord Jesus means a vigorous pursuit of Philippians 4:8-9; thinking God’s thoughts after him! Asking only “what is wrong with that,” minimizes the opportunity to do something excellent for Christ.

Asking what is right with that could be a life changer for your family. Hectic schedules and a survival mentality push us to find the quickest way to resolve the daily stream of decisions of life. The quickest way is often found by asking “what is wrong with that.”  God calls you to more and better than that. He wants you to ask what is right. Yes, it will take more time. But your answers will bring joy and purpose to your actions. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, focus your thinking on these things. This will encourage you to do all that you do in the name of your Lord, Jesus Christ!

Find delight in asking what is right!

Originally posted at: https://www.shepherdpress.com/whats-right-with-that-2/

The Renewed Mind and How to Have It

Article by John Piper

•  
• Scripture: Romans 12:1–2   

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1–2)

As I have thought and prayed about these verses, it seems to me that there are two more very large issues we should deal with before moving on to verse 3. I would like to give a week to each of them.

“The Will of God”

One, which I hope to deal with next week, is the meaning of the term “the will of God.” Verse 2 says that we are to discern what is “the will of God.” It’s a very common phrase and I think that sometimes, when we use it, we may not know what we are talking about. That is not spiritually healthy. If you get into the habit of using religious language without knowing what you mean by it, you will increasingly become an empty shell. And many alien affections move into empty religious minds which have language but little or wrong content.

The term “the will of God” has at least two and possibly three biblical meanings. First, there is the sovereign will of God, that always comes to pass without fail. Second, there is the revealed will of God in the Bible — do not steal, do not lie, do not kill, do not covet — and this will of God often does notcome to pass. And third, there is the path of wisdom and spontaneous godliness — wisdom where we consciously apply the word of God with our renewed minds to complex moral circumstances, and spontaneous godliness where we live most of our lives without conscious reflection on the hundreds of things we say and do all day. Next week we need to sort this out and ask what Paul is referring to in Romans 12:2.

Transformation by the Renewal of Your Mind

“We are perfectly useless as Christians if all we do is conform to the world around us.”

But today I want to focus on the phrase in Romans 12:2, “by the renewal of your mind.” Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” We are perfectly useless as Christ-exalting Christians if all we do is conform to the world around us. And the key to not wasting our lives with this kind of success and prosperity, Paul says, is being transformed. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed.”

That word is used one time in all the gospels, namely, about Jesus on the mountain of transfiguration (the mountain of “transformation” — same word, metemorphōthē): “And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light” (Matthew 17:2; Mark 9:2).

The Transformation Is Not Just External

I point this out for one reason: to make the point that the nonconformity to the world does not primarily mean the external avoidance of worldly behaviors. That’s included. But you can avoid all kinds of worldly behaviors and not be transformed. “His face shown like the sun, and his clothes became white as light!” Something like that happens to us spiritually and morally. Mentally, first on the inside, and then, later at the resurrection on the outside. So Jesus says of us, at the resurrection: “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43).

Transformation is not switching from the to-do list of the flesh to the to-do list of the law. When Paul replaces the list — the works — of the flesh, he does not replace it with the works of the law, but the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:19–22).

The Christian alternative to immoral behaviors is not a new list of moral behaviors. It is the triumphant power and transformation of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ — our Savior, our Lord, our Treasure. “[God] has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). So transformation is a profound, blood-bought, Spirit-wrought change from the inside out.

The Freedom of Being Enslaved to Christ

This is why the Christian life — though it is utterly submitted (Romans 8:7; 10:3), even enslaved (Romans 6:18, 22) to the revealed will of God — is described in the New Testament as radically free.

“When you are transformed in Christ you love to do what you ought to do.”

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). You are free in Christ, because when you do from the inside what you love to do, you are free — if what you loveto do is what you ought to do. And that’s what transformation means: When you are transformed in Christ you love to do what you ought to do. That’s freedom.

An Essential Means of Transformation: The Renewal of Your Mind

And in Romans 12:2 Paul now focuses on one essential means of transformation — “the renewal of your mind.” “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” Oh, how crucial this is!

• If you long to break loose from conformity to the world,
• If you long to be transformed and new from the inside out,
• If you long to be free from mere duty-driven Christianity and do what you love to do because what you love to do is what you ought to do,
• If you long to offer up your body as a living sacrifice so that your whole life becomes a spiritual act of worship and displays the worth of Christ above the worth of the world,

then give yourself with all your might to pursuing this — the renewal of your mind. Because the Bible says, this is the key to transformation. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”

What’s wrong with the human mind? Why does our mind need renewing? And what does this renewal look like? And how can we pursue and enjoy this renewal?

The Problem with Our Minds

There are many who think that the only problem with the human mind is that it doesn’t have access to all the knowledge it needs. So education becomes the great instrument of redemption — personal and social. If people just got more education they would not use their minds to invent elaborate scams, and sophisticated terrorist plots, and complex schemes for embezzling, and fast-talking, mentally nimble radio rudeness. If people just got more education!

The Bible has a far more profound analysis of the problem. In Ephesians 4:23Paul uses a striking phrase to parallel Romans 12:2. He says, “Be renewed in the spirit of your minds.” Now what in the world is that? “The spirit of your mind.” It means at least this: the human mind is not a sophisticated computer managing data, which it then faithfully presents to the heart for appropriate emotional responses.

The mind has a “spirit.” In other words, our mind has what we call a “mindset.” It doesn’t just have a view, it has a viewpoint. It doesn’t just have the power to perceive and detect; it also has a posture, a demeanor, a bearing, an attitude, a bent. “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”

“The problem with our minds is not merely that we are finite, but that are fallen.”

The problem with our minds is not merely that we are finite, and don’t have all the information. The problem is that our minds are fallen. They have a spirit, a bent, a mindset that is hostile to the absolute supremacy of God. Our minds are bent on not seeing God as infinitely more worthy of praise than we are, or the things we make or achieve.

This is what we saw last week in Romans 1:28, “Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind.” This is who we are by nature. We do not want to see God as worthy of knowing well and treasuring above all things. You know this is true about yourself because of how little effort you expend to know him, and because of how much effort it takes to make your mind spend any time getting to know God better.

The Bible says we have “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man” (Romans 1:23). And the image in the mirror is the mortal image we worship most.

The Relationship Between Verses 1 and 2

That’s what’s wrong with our minds. This illumines the relationship between verses 1 and 2 of Romans 12. Verse 1 says that we should present our bodies — that is, our whole active life — as a living sacrifice which is our spiritual service of worship. So the aim of all life is worship. That is, we are to use our bodies — our whole lives — to display the worth of God and all that he is for us in Christ. Now it makes perfect sense when verse 2 says that, in order for that to happen, our minds must be renewed. Why? Because our minds are not by nature God-worshiping minds. They are by nature self-worshiping minds. That is the spirit of our minds.

Two Other Biblical Diagnoses of the Problem

Now before I turn to the remedy and how we find the renewal of mind God demands, consider two other biblical diagnoses of the problem. Consider the way Peter describes our mind-problem in 1 Peter 1:13–14, “Prepar[e]. . . your minds for action. . . . Do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.” There is an ignorance of God — a willful suppression of the truth of God (Romans 1:18) — that makes us slaves to many passions and desires that would lose their power if we knew God as we ought (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:5). “The passions of your former ignorance.” Paul calls these passions, “desires of deceit” (Ephesians 4:22).

They are life-ruining, worship-destroying desires, and they get their life and their power from the deceit of our minds. There is a kind of knowledge of God — a renewal of mind — that transforms us because it liberates us from the deceit and the power of alien passions.

The other biblical diagnosis is in Ephesians 4:17–18, “You must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.”

Paul takes us deeper than Peter here. He penetrates beneath the “futile mind” and the “darkened understanding” and the willful “ignorance” and says that it is all rooted in “the hardness of their heart.” Here is the deepest disease, infecting everything else. Our mental suppression of liberating truth is rooted in our hardness of heart. Our hard hearts will not submit to the supremacy of Christ, and therefore our blind minds cannot see the supremacy of Christ (see John 7:17).

The Holy Spirit Renews the Mind

This brings us finally to the remedy and how we obey Romans 12:2, “Be transformed in the renewal of your mind.” First, before we can do anything, a double action of the Holy Spirit is required. And then we join him in these two actions. The reason I say the Holy Spirit is required is because this word “renewal” in Romans 12:2 is only used one other place in all the Greek Bible, namely, Titus 3:5 where Paul says this: “[God] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”

There’s the word “renewal” which we’ve seen is so necessary. And it is renewal “of the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit renews the mind. It is first and decisively his work. We are radically dependent on him. Our efforts follow his initiatives and enablings.

The Double Work of the Holy Spirit

Now what is the double work that he must do to renew our minds so that all of life becomes worship? 2 Corinthians 3:18 sets the stage for the answer:

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

What does the Spirit do to “transform” us into the image of the God-exalting Son of God? He enables us to “behold the glory of the Lord.” This is how the mind is renewed — by steadfastly gazing at the glories of Christ for what they really are.

But to enable us to do that, the Spirit must do a double work. He must work in two directions: from the outside in and from the inside out. He must work from the outside in by exposing the mind to Christ-exalting truth. That is, he must lead us to hear the gospel, to read the Bible, to study Christ-exalting writings of great, spiritual men, and to meditate on the perfections of Christ.

This is exactly what our great enemy does not want us to do according to 2 Corinthians 4:4, “The god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” Because to see that for what it really is, Paul says, will renew the mind and transform the life and produce unending worship.

“The Spirit renews the mind. It is first and decisively his work.”

And the Spirit must work from the inside out, breaking the hard heart that blinds and corrupts the mind. The Spirit must work from the outside in, through Christ-exalting truth, and from the inside out, through truth-embracing humility. If he only worked from the outside in, by presenting Christ-exalting truth to our minds but not breaking the hard heart and making it humble, then the truth would be despised and rejected. And if he only humbled the hard heart, but put no Christ-exalting truth before the mind, there would be no Christ to embrace and no worship would happen.

What Then Shall We Do?

What then do we do in obedience to Romans 12:2, “Be transformed in the renewal of your mind”? We join the Holy Spirit in his precious and all-important work. We pursue Christ-exalting truth and we pray for truth-embracing humility.

Listen to rich expositions of the “gospel of the glory of Christ.” Read your Bible from cover to cover always in search of the revelation of the glory of Christ. Read and ponder the Bible-saturated, Christ-exalting writings of great, spiritual men and women. And form the habit of meditating on the perfections of Christ. And in it all pray, pray, pray that the Holy Spirit will renew your mind, that you may desire and approve the will of God, so that all of life will become worship to the glory of Christ.

May the mind of Christ, my Savior,
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say.

May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power.

May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
This is victory.

May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.

May His beauty rest upon me,
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him.

(Kate B. Wilkinson, “May the Mind of Christ, My Savior”)

Article originally delivered as a sermon and then posted here:https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-renewed-mind-and-how-to-have-it