This was humbling to read today while I was at seminary.

Today hardly one in a hundred considers how difficult and arduous it is faithfully to discharge the office of pastor. Hence many are led into it as something trivial and not serious; and afterwards experience teaches them, too late, how foolishly they aspired to the unknown. Others think themselves endowed with great skill and intelligence and promise themselves great things from their talent, learning, and judgment; but afterwards they experience too late how limited their equipment is, for their powers fail them at the outset. Others, while knowing there will be many serious battles, have no fear, as though they were born for contention, and put on an iron front. Still others who want to be ministers are mercenaries. We know indeed that all God’s servants are wretched in the eyes of the world and common sense, for they must make war on the passions of all and thus displease men in order to please God.

—William J. Bouwsma’s John Calvin: A Sixteenth Century Biography, p. 220

HT: My Mac Hero

In reading John Owen’s Overcoming Sin and Temptation, I came across this sweet quotation. Owen is arguing with someone who says he combats his lusts with a reminder that God’s law will condemn him at the end of his life. To that person he says,

“Yea, know that this reserve will not long hold out. If your lust has driven you from stronger gospel forts, it will speedily prevail against this also. Do not suppose that such considerations will deliver you, when you have voluntarily given up to your enemy those helps and means of preservation which have a thousand times their strengt*. Rest assuredly in this, that unless you recover yourself with speed from this condition, the thing that you fear will come upon you. What gospel principles do not, legal motives cannot do.”

I love the way Owen describes the truths of the gospel as gospel forts. I want to live in these forts. I need to stay in these forts everyday. It is only in these forts that I can stay protected against the temptation of my flesh, the allure of the world, comparison of others, the discouragement from failure, and the guilt of sin.

May God keep our souls in His gospel forts.

A few months ago, our pastor preached a message on how to develop biblical hospitality in your home from 3 John 5-8. He gave us some practical suggestions for how we can begin implementing hospitality. I’m posting those ideas here for my own remembrance and to share with others.

1. Make a list of people: people who are brothers and sisters, but are still strangers
2. Clean your house on Saturday
3. Collect and file inexpensive recipes
4. Purchase a guest book
5. Be interested in lives. Come up with questions to ask them.
6. Set aside a “prophets room” in order to be able house people.
7. Remember you are not there to entertain, but invite them into your lives.

For the last six months, God has been teaching me a lot how I stand before Him. When I approach Him, what is my attitude? What am I standing on? What do I bring to the table when I commune with Him?

A while back, I listened to the sermons from the 09SR. They were all very helpful and convicting, but the truth nugget that has continued to resound in heart is this: All I Have Is Need.

This phrase instantly connected with my heart. This is it. This is how I stand before Him. This is what I bring to the table. Whenever go I to Him in prayer, this is what I bring into His presence: NEED.

I don’t bring anything that will make God smile on me. I don’t have anyhing that makes me look good in His eyes. I am totally depraved, totally sinful, a total failure. Thus when I come before Him, I don’t have any obedience, any good fruit, any righteousness that I can credit to my name. The only thing that I can label as my own is my failure, weakness, and sin.

But this does not cause me shrink away from Him because the gospel gives me confidence. I have confidence because, even though I am the most wicked, disgraceful sinner, I stand before God in the blood and righteousness of Christ. The gospel says come to God not because of who are, but because of what Christ has done.

All I have is need. Some the most freeing words I’ve heard all year.

I know this is a little old, but Paul Tripp comments on what hinders community in today’s American culture. I think he hits the nail on the head when he says:

“You can’t fit God’s dream (if I can use that language) for his church inside of the American dream and have it work. It’s a radically different lifestyle. It just won’t squeeze into the available spaces of the time and energy that’s left over.”

If the church wants to be a community that stands out in this increasingly individualistic society, then we need to fight for that selfless, sacrificing community. Otherwise, we will be swept along to create our individual kingdoms with everyone else.