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By pastorcharles, April 17, 2013 11:19 am

It was supposed to be an event to remember, but not in the ways that will now mark yesterday’s Boston Marathon – the city’s celebrated 26.2-mile race on its 238th annual “Patriots’ Day.” Now the world will mostly remember the horrific scenes from a brutal attack which killed 3 and injured at least 176. Terrorism, of some stripe.

Some 25,000 people were gathered in the capital city of Massachusetts – including runners from across the globe. My wife hails from Boston. Our nieces and nephews were there for the race, and not far from the bombings. Throngs of eager onlookers celebrated near the finish line, at least until the explosions rocked the city just before 3:00 in the afternoon. One of our nephews, a student at Northeastern, texted me and described the scene as “surreal.”

No suspects have been named, so – at least for now – authorities are uncertain regarding the precise origins of the attack. But we are not.

What can shatter the festivities of a legendary race just hours after it starts? Evil. Plain and simple. What leaves in its wake a dead 8-year-old boy, severed limbs, and widespread injuries from indiscriminate projectiles of shrapnel? Sin in the world.

What Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office Richard DesLauriers described as a “despicable crime,” we know to be straight from hell itself. Hard as it may be to face, this is our post-Adam world.

The bad news is that bad things – terrible things – can happen to those we love. The wages of a sin-stained planet. None of us is immune. We’re all in jeopardy.

Has God lost control of this world? Hardly! John Frame puts it like this: “God uses evil for a greater good … God uses evil for His good purposes, but some of the ways include displaying His grace and justice, judging evil, saving sinners, shocking sinners so that they will repent …”

Sometimes people repent when they realize that there is no safe place.

Except one.

David declared (Psalm 23:4): “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

For every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord is our Shepherd. His life, and His death, are our only hope.

May Christ be our safe place today. And if there is anyone in your life whom you have not told the Good News of our Savior, then the day after Boston’s famous marathon just may be the perfect day.

Charles

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By pastorcharles, February 28, 2013 3:47 pm

March is just hours away. So official spring is just on its heels. It already feels like springtime here in the OC, and my yard is littered with evidence of budding things. Wonderfully refreshing, I’m sure you agree.

So how can we not think of Easter? After all, we ought to be Easter people every day.

I have a proposition: Let’s make much of the resurrection this year. More than just “Easter” – I mean a real life-giving celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior!

Are you in?

It ought to be natural for us to make much of Easter, but sometimes Christ’s resurrection gets overlooked. Even in my own life. So I’m recruiting you to help me not let that happen.

I want us to shout if from the housetops: “HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!”

Are you in?

We know that Jesus lives. But compared to His death on the cross, Christ’s resurrection can get very little press coverage. It seems that we’re so caught up in the good news that Jesus really died for our sins, that we forget that Christ also was really “raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25). He really lives!

What difference does that make?

Literally, everything. Think about it. Don’t the sermons recorded in the Book of Acts focus on Christ’s resurrection from the dead? The truth of the resurrection of Jesus is our only and eternal hope! And not just our hope for the future, but our hope for right now.

The fact that “He is risen indeed” transforms us from religious people into real people. From those who are proud of our own accomplishments into those who are so filled with Christ’s joy that we want to extend His grace to everyone we meet.

Truth becomes love.

I’ve been thinking about it: Easter is Christmas on steroids. Don’t miss it!

Are you in?

Charles

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By pastorcharles, February 27, 2013 2:00 pm

When Joshua was a toddler, we began to walk him through a “catechism” for children that taught basic Christian doctrine in simple language. The first question was, “Who made you?” To which we taught our boy to respond simply, “God.” The second question was, “Why did God make you?” And the answer was, of course, “For His glory.”

Sometimes we still ask those questions to our teenage son who in now officially taller than I. Why? Because the answers still matter.

As a matter of fact, they matter even more now, as Joshua’s thoughts on life and vocation are maturing far beyond anything I ever imagined when we first asked those first questions. That’s as it should be. Everything in its proper time.

The Apostle Paul reminds us (First Corinthians 10:31) that “all to the glory of God” ought to describe everything we do. And all that we are. And all of that to which we aspire. It is life’s most foundational proposition. “Soli Deo Gloria” gave birth to and shaped the Protestant Reformation. And our work ethic ought to flow from that same worldview.

Do you see your life that way? Do you believe that it really matters? For eternity?

How about for now?

Dr. Francis Schaeffer (1912-1984) once preached a sermon in which he challenged his listeners to consider how much their lives might count in God’s economy. For Schaeffer, there were “no little people,” and a hallmark of his ministry was the esteeming of everyone as a person inherently worthy of dignity and respect.

He preached: “The people who receive praise from the Lord Jesus will not in every case be the people who hold leadership in this life. There will be many persons who were sticks of wood that stayed close to God and were quiet before Him, and were used in power by Him in a place which looks small to men … Those who think of themselves as little people in little places, if committed to Christ and living under His Lordship in the whole of life, may, by God’s grace, change the flow of our generation.”

That may well be you. This I know beyond a shadow of a doubt: Your life counts for God. You are called to count.

Charles

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By pastorcharles, January 17, 2013 11:15 am

I’m sitting down this morning to enjoy my regular prayer time. Many of you are on my prayer list, because you’ve asked me to pray about something important affecting your life. What a privilege is mine!

But I wish that I could tell you that I always view prayer as a privilege. I don’t. Sometimes it’s like pulling teeth. Can you pull your own teeth? I guess I try. Why is that? Am I lazy? Am I spiritually stubborn? What makes me not want to pray sometimes?

I suppose I could say that I’m busy, but that’s clearly a cop out. Too busy to commune with the God of the universe? Come on! That sounds ludicrous before I get it out of my mouth. No, beneath it all, I think that I get lured into thinking that my prayers won’t really matter.

It’s phony theology. God is so sovereign that He’s already orchestrating everything regardless of what I pray. Really? Somehow Jesus missed that doctrinal memo: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours (Mark 11:24).” So did Paul (Romans 1:9-10): “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers …” And James (5:16): “… The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Great power. And yet I’m pulling teeth. “Houston, we have a problem.”

Maybe you can relate, at least a little. If that’s the case, I urge to pray anyway. I promise that you won’t get off your knees sorry that you took the time. Just the opposite: you’ll probably be sorry that it took you so long to get down on those knees!

Though a great preacher, it wasn’t preaching that made Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) great. The pastor repeatedly acknowledged his success as the direct result of his congregation’s faithful prayers. When visitors would come to that London church, Mr. Spurgeon would take them to the basement prayer-room where people were always on their knees, interceding before Christ’s throne of grace. Then he’d declare: “Here is the powerhouse of this church.”

Wouldn’t 2013 look a lot different to us if we were viewing this new year through the lens of absolute faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to see us through? That fresh perspective may just start with prayer.

I dare you! I’ll even make that a triple-dog-dare.

Charles

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By pastorcharles, January 7, 2013 9:26 am

The recent tragedy in Connecticut has deeply impacted all of us. We’re tempted to ask, “Where was God in all of this?”

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By pastorcharles, January 7, 2013 9:24 am

So the sights and sounds of the Christmas holiday season beckoned our family last evening to South Coast Plaza. I must admit that the music was energizing, the elaborate decorations were exquisite, and the cookies and hot chocolate were all too tasty. And some of the prices were even better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

It was much fun to be out and about – taking it all in. Even the parking complications added to the seasonal delight of it all.

As we were ending our time at the shopping mall, and contemplating the remaining three math word problems on Joshua’s homework sheet – that would still be waiting on us when we got home – our family filed in to a “unique toy store” that we’ve enjoyed visiting on more than one occasion. It’s a smorgasbord of treats for any child or child at heart.

As we were leaving the place, I noticed an overflowing display of action figures – not too far from the shelf of Ouija boards. Mixed in were an assortment of magic tricks and magic wands, just across the aisle from all those timeless kid hoaxes like “snapping bubble gum” and pretend ketchup spills.

And there it was! Not part of a seasonal display at all, but apparently for sale 365 days a year: the Jesus Action Figure. Literally right beside the “Crazy Cat Lady”. And Jesus was of course dressed in attractive period clothing.

And the Jesus doll – as advertised on his packaging – came with fully “bendable parts”. What else could you want?

The whole thing reminded me of the Apostle Paul in Athens (Acts 17:16-34), where the worshippers had all their gods on display – and even one monument to the “unknown god” just in case they had missed the real one along the way.

I remember once hearing that “God made man in His own image, and we’ve been trying to return the favor ever since.” The Bible bears that out, doesn’t it? John Calvin was correct: you and I are idol factories.

Back to Acts for a moment: “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Perhaps the only bendable parts this Christmas ought to be our knees.

Charles

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By pastorcharles, October 25, 2012 1:42 pm

The season of Thanksgiving is upon us. It’s one of my favorite times of the year, though I’m perpetually frustrated that this wonderful holiday is so seemingly underrated by our culture.

Our Thanksgiving celebration goes back to the Pilgrims, who were Puritans, and who paid an almost indescribable price to gain their religious freedom. Serious setbacks plagued their journey from the start. Leaving Southampton aboard two ships, they were forced back when one began to leak. A second attempt was also thwarted by a leak.

William Bradford recorded their perilous journey. Prosperous winds gave way to widespread seasickness. But God’s providence prevailed. Through violent crosswinds and storms, with which the Mayflower and its passengers were thoroughly shaken more than once, one of the vessel’s main beams cracked and threatened to rip apart the ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Just in the nick of time, and before the beam completely buckled, God’s people discovered a giant iron screw that they had brought from Holland. They were able to raise the beam and survive what had appeared to be their last earthly test.

The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock (more than 600 miles off course, mind you) on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the next autumn, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one, and the colonists decided to celebrate with a feast including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. Three days of Thanksgiving followed. That spirit of humble gratitude and praise carried the Pilgrims through what would continue to be a very difficult life on our Eastern Seacoast.

The Pilgrims were together. In Christ, they were one body. One thankful body of Christ. Unashamed to express collectively their thanksgiving. How are we doing in this regard?

Pastor Mark Dever says: “Christian proclamation might make the gospel audible, but Christians living together in local congregations make the gospel visible.” How true! Let’s never forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25).

Don’t let your Thanksgiving 2012 be just the big meal (that none of us really needs), parades, and football. It’s so much more. Enjoy the neglected privilege of public worship this season – real Thanksgiving – with other followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Come, ye thankful people, come!”

Charles

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By pastorcharles, October 10, 2012 1:57 pm

Does it really matter that the Lord Jesus Christ is our High Priest (Hebrews 8:1-7)? You bet!

To quote directly from the 1689 London Baptist Confession: “because of our estrangement from God and the imperfection of our services at best, we need His priestly office to reconcile us to God and to render us acceptable to Him”.

If we’re on our own to be as “religious” as we can be, then we’re in a terrible predicament. If we’re on our own to be as “moral” as we can be, we’re sunk. If we’re on our own to be as “spiritually enlightened” as we can be, we’re in that proverbial heap of trouble! And if we’re on our own to be as “smart” as we can be, we’re surely doomed.

Why would we ever rely on any of those things to find favor in the eyes of a holy God?

We need Christ. My job is to show you Christ. Your job is to show me Christ.

We live in an age when most people believe that the power of faith is in “faith” itself. Nothing could be further from the truth. B.B. Warfield (1851-1921) wrote: “The saving power of faith resides thus not in itself, but in the Almighty Savior on whom it rests.” Our faith must be anchored in the person and work of Christ. Faith doesn’t save in and of itself – it must be faith in Christ.

Here’s a simple illustration to share with your kids at the dinner table tonight. The British Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, was approached by an inventor who was trying to interest him in a bulletproof waistcoat that he had created. It was an absolutely marvelous garment, and it was certain to save the great man’s life if anyone ever attempted to assassinate him. The “Iron Duke” asked the man to put it on, and he examined it very carefully. Then, just to give the coat a fair test, Wellesley sent for a rifleman – while the inventor bolted out of the other door!

The object of faith matters. It matters all the time.

Faith must be anchored in fact. Jesus is Truth, so our faith must be anchored in Him alone.

The Reformers preached and were willing to die for SOLUS CHRISTUS, and so must we! Christ alone!

His and yours by grace,

Charles

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By pastorcharles, September 27, 2012 10:50 am

Psalm 69 is wonderfully encouraging! Yes, the waters of opposition and difficulty almost drown us at times, but God’s faithfulness and deliverance always come. He is all we need.

We know that, but we forget that, don’t we?

Verse 32 is particularly compelling for me today, as I look again at this great worship song. “You who seek God, let your hearts revive!”

Matthew Henry (1662-1714) wrote of this: “The psalmist here, both as a type of Christ and as an example to Christians, concludes a psalm with holy joy and praise which he began with complaints and remonstrances of his griefs.”

I like that. I’ve always had a particular affinity for happy endings.

Yet so much of our pain – our very real pain – comes because we forget that life will not always be just as it is today. The trial will end. The tears will be wiped away by our dear Savior’s own hand.

Old Jacob’s tattered heart was revived by good news.

John 20:20 records that the risen Jesus showed His disciples His hands and His side, and that they “were glad when they saw the Lord.” Their hearts were revived by the good news that Christ had been raised from the dead!

Those first followers of Christ saw the resurrected Jesus alive. They observed the prints of the nails and spear. They watched Him ascend into heaven! We, as Christ’s followers today, now see Him there by faith – crowned with glory and honor. And so we train ourselves – regardless of our present frustrations – to rejoice in Him with “joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (First Peter 1:8)!

He lives! And I read ahead: the ending really is happy.

Revived yet?

Your fellow grace-marveler,

Charles

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By pastorcharles, September 11, 2012 3:47 pm

When Paul penned those words in Romans 3:4, he gave us an important and timeless reminder: No matter what “everybody” says, what matters is what God says.

That’s so important for us to remember in our age dominated my moral relativism from the macroscale perspective, and dominated by the fall election from the microscale perspective. On the one hand, it seems that no one wants to commit to anything of substance, for fear of upsetting the illusive apple cart of political correctness. On the other hand, it seems like people will commit to just about anything if they think it will get them elected! Go figure.

This is not new, of course. And we, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, must learn how to navigate the thinking of this world without adopting its thought patterns ourselves. Not easy. But that’s our calling.

Within Christ’s body, we should be a support for one another in this regard. But real life doesn’t always work that way, does it?

We all have the potential to cave, and we do cave. It’s not easy to be strong. It’s not easy to stand strong. Sometimes it will feel along the way like no one will stand with us.

When he was attempting to draft the Bethel Confession, and to persuade his fellow German Christians to take a stand for sound and Biblical doctrine, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) put it like this: “The question is really, Christianity or Germanism? And the sooner the conflict is revealed in the clear light of day the better.” Unfortunately, the vast majority of professing Christians within the German church were unwilling to confront the evils of Adolf Hitler – and to pay the political price that would accompany such – so many of Bonhoeffer’s colleagues went to great lengths to twist the traditionally accepted meaning of the Scriptures in order to protect themselves. Sad, but true.

And that’s just one snippet of human history as representative of history in general. It’s never been easy to stand for Christ and His truth. Never. Remember Brother Shadrach?

At the end of the day, what matters is what God says. Don’t just do something; stand there.

You’re not standing alone.

Your fellow pilgrim,