Monday, September 27, 2010

Our identity in Christ

“For me, to live is _____.” How would you fill in that blank? What excites you? What gets you up in the morning? What occupies most of your thoughts, your time, your talents, and your treasure? Recently, I was reminded that as a Christian, my identity is found first of all in Jesus Christ.

I love being a husband, a daddy, and a pastor. I really enjoy hobbies like hiking, geocaching, reading, and stargazing. But most importantly, I want it to be said , “You can’t truly know Stephen Jones unless you know his Savior.” I want to be so acquainted with Jesus, so interwoven with Him, that our lives and identity are inseparable.

The idea of “union with Christ” appears many times in the New Testament in a tiny two-word phrase we often skim right past. It’s the phrase “in Him.” If you have surrendered your life to Jesus and trusted in His substitutionary death for your sin, then your life is already hidden “in Christ.” Ephesians 1:7 says “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” And 2 Corinthians 5:21 says the Father “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” If you’re a Christian, then your identity is now wrapped up in
Jesus. You’re a little branch attached to the life-giving Vine.

This is the most wonderful news in the world! It means you can have assurance, because you now belong to Christ. You are His, and He is yours. There’s nothing you can ever do to earn or forfeit your salvation, because you’re already fused and fastened together with your Savior through faith. But there’s another implication to this. It means your life must be separate from the world. Your thoughts and behavior (walk) must be radically different than before you were saved. “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him” (Colossians 2:6). “The one who abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6).

So, how does the Apostle Paul fill in the blank, “For me, to live is _____”? You’ll have to look up Galatians 2:20 to find the answer. But I’ll bet you can guess it has something to do with his identity in Christ. May the same be true of us.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

BOOK

Click the video below to learn about an exciting product called BOOK (Bio Optical Organiced Knowledge device). This is great satire. Could it be that today's smartest technology has been sitting right next to us the whole time?



HT: Tim Challies

Thursday, September 16, 2010

An open letter to Muslims

The following "Open Letter to Muslims" was recently drafted and signed by pastors in the Santa Clarita Valley, and was published in their local newspaper, The Signal, on September 10, 2010. I would heartily add my endorsement of it as well. I may share the same title with this man in Florida ("Pastor Jones"), but I certainly don't share his approach toward people of other faiths. Here's the original open letter...


Although it appears that the Quran burning event planned by Pastor Terry Jones has been called off, we believe that the ethics behind the idea and the idea itself need to be righteously opposed.

We have followed with a heavy heart the developments in Gainesville, Florida, where the pastor of a small church announced plans to burn 200 copies of the Quran on Saturday evening.  Despite the national and international outcry provoked by his outrageous plan, including opposition from Christian leaders across the country and around the world, Pastor Terry Jones seemed determined to move forward.  We sincerely hope that his stated change of mind change will hold, but believe that we need to speak out against his viewpoint.

We are writing this letter to assure you that Pastor Jones does not speak for the Christian community, and that he definitely does not speak for us, or for the members of the churches that we represent.  His plans are offensive to us, and should be offensive to Christians everywhere.  We are embarrassed by his actions, and sincerely hope that the local and international Muslim community will see them for what they are: a publicity-seeking provocation by an unreasonable man of no standing in the Christian community.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we believe that we are called to represent Him by embodying His principles.  The Jesus of the Bible did not burn the sacred books of other religions.  He spoke the truth in love, prayed for His enemies, and forgave those who persecuted Him.  We believe that His death on the cross made it possible for rebellious human beings to be reconciled to their Creator.  This good news can sadly be obscured by offensive acts done in His name by people who claim to represent Him. 

Whether or not the burning ever takes place, the very thought of it has done damage around the world.  We are grieved to see that damage, and will do all in our power to counteract it as we strive to represent the One who said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  We wish Pastor Jones would remember these words.  We pledge to do our best to live by them, and hope that you, our Muslim neighbors, will notice the difference.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Final two SBC open forums on Thursday


The elected officers of the California Southern Baptist Convention will host two final Open Forums tomorrow (Thursday, Sept. 16) to discuss the future of CSBC. All pastors, lay people, and state and associational staff are invited to attend.
We invite your input on issues such as:
  • How can we get young people more involved?
  • How can we cooperate more effectively as churches?
  • What does the Great Commission Resurgence mean for California?
The first forum for the Sacramento area is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon at Cypress Avenue Baptist Church, 5709 Cypress Ave, 95608; (916) 972-8200.

A second forum for the San Francisco area is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, 201 Seminary Dr., Mill Valley, CA 94941; (415) 380-1300.

These are the final two in a series of forums held throughout the state this year. For more information, please contact me (Stephen Jones) at desertpastor[at]gmail[dot]com.

Unfortunately, due to a severe kidney infection my wife came down with earlier this week, I will not be able to participate in these final two forums. She's feeling much better and is now home from the hospital, but it would be unwise to leave her so soon. I will be praying for all of you who participate.

Here are recaps of our first three open forums:

Friday, September 10, 2010

Ilumina Bible software now only $15

Rejoice Christian Software is now selling Ilumina Gold Premium Bible Software for only $15.

Todd Bolen reviewed this software several years ago, saying,
The best multimedia Bible ever made, as far as I know, is iLumina ... I've given a number of copies of iLumina to friends and it has always been well received (and we're giving a few more this year).
Ilumina certainly isn't going to replace your need for more scholarly Bible resources like those found in Bibleworks or Logos Bible Software, but it does use creative graphics, videos, and animations to make studying the Bible a great interactive experience.

With our oldest son Dylan now in kindergarten, this would be a fun program for him to learn more about Bible manners, customs, geography, and key events.

The program features:
  • Interactive Virtual Tours
  • Hundreds of Photos, Maps, Bible Charts
  • Animations
  • Discussion Guide Questions
  • 10,000 Bible Study Notes (Life Application Study Bible, Life Application NT Commentary)
  • Bible Studies for Every Chapter in the NT
  • 8,900 In-Depth Articles (Theology, Christian History, Bible Dictionary, etc.)
  • All 22 Volumes of the Book of Life Encyclopedia
  • Search Engine
  • Interactive Timeline of All of History
  • Snap-Shot Feature for Exporting Images
  • 140 Bible People Profiles
  • Interactive Bible Atlas
  • Over 350 Hymns
  • Includes the KJV and New Living Translation
  • Original List Price: $89.99

Click here to buy for only $15. Standard shipping is an additional $2.95.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Joy of Giving

A young boy, setting out for church one Sunday morning, was given two nickels: one for the offering plate and one for himself. As he rambled down the street, he played with the coins. One of them slipped out of his hand, rolled away, and suddenly disappeared into the sewer drain. The boy stared down through the grate in disbelief, then sighed, "Well, there goes the Lord's nickel."

When money is tight, it's easy to give God the short end of the stick. But in the process, we miss out on the tremendous joy of giving. Over the past five weeks, I've been preaching through 2 Corinthians 8-9 on the subject of financial stewardship. We concluded the series last Sunday, and our church is now beginning a season of prayer and practical financial planning.

No one would deny these are tough economic times. I don't know yet how the Lord is going to meet our church's needs, but this much I know: God is faithful and promises to bless those who give generously to His work. I'm thankful for this opportunity to cast myself at God's feet and see how He's going to provide.

Here are links to the messages in our series. May the Lord use His Word to create a passion for His glory and an eagerness to give toward the needs of His church.

The Joy of Giving, Pt. 1 (2 Cor. 8:1-6)
Theme: joyful giving begins with total surrender to God 

The Joy of Giving, Pt. 2 (2 Cor. 8:7-15)
Theme: joyful giving is a natural response to Christ's great gift to us

The Joy of Giving, Pt. 3 (2 Cor. 8:16-24)
Theme: joyful giving must be managed with integrity 

The Joy of Giving, Pt. 4 (2 Cor. 9)
Theme: joyful giving invests generously in God's kingdom work 

The Joy of Giving, Pt. 5 (2 Cor. 9)
Theme: joyful giving is a voluntary act of faith and love

Friday, September 3, 2010

Passing the ministry baton


In 2008, both the U.S. men's and women's 400m Olympic relay teams were disqualified for dropping the baton. But how many pastors are guilty of failing to pass on the ministry baton to the next generation? In the Pastoral Epistles, we see Paul's effort to make a clean pass to younger men who will minister long after Paul has finished his leg of the race.

Perhaps most significant is 2 Timothy 2:2, where we see the transmission of truth between four generations: "The things which you [Timothy] have heard from me [Paul] in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men [Timothy's disciples] who will be able to teach others also [their disciples]."

How should this be applied in the local church? As I once heard and often tell others, one of the main roles of a pastor is to work himself out of a job. That is, over the years, and as I disciple my congregation, there should be an increasing number of trained and godly men who are able to receive the baton from me and carry it on for a new generation.

Colin Hansen has a must-read article for all pastors today on Gospel Integrity and Pastoral Succession. It frames the issue in a historical perspective, giving both some healthy and unhealthy examples of succession. Sadly, he points out that often,
Senior leaders don’t want to let go. They realize too late that they’re slowing down, a process that begins in many cases around age 60. Various aspects of the church’s vision become neglected, and the church stagnates. The senior leader’s gifting and experience mask underlying structural weaknesses, as in the case of Spurgeon. Meanwhile, younger leaders don’t want to wait around to take charge. Many capable young leaders know the long odds of a successful succession. So they prefer to plant their own churches or invest in smaller ones they can grow by God’s grace.

Curtis Thomas, in his excellent book Practical Wisdom for Pastors, gives a tragic example of one pastor:
Everything seemed just right, and it was expected that when he turned the reins over to a successor an ongoing, dynamic ministry would continue.

But he would not step down. His age advanced well beyond normal retirement. His health began to fade. His sermons began to lose their appeal. His influence began to wane. The members and even some of the leadership began to move elsewhere. Young couples began moving their memberships to other churches. Only his close, personal friends stayed with him, many of whom were quite old and less mobile, hence not very energetic when it came to the work of the Gospel.

As he saw his ministry begin to fade, he became bitter and very caustic. Squabbles erupted within the remaining members. Eventually the church voted to vacate the pulpit. Things became very acrimonious. The pastor left the ministry as a tired, pitiful, bitter old man.

I am a mere 32 years old. If the Lord tarries, and blesses me with good health, I have perhaps another 30-40 years of vibrant ministry ahead. Compared to the age of some in my congregation, I'm still a "kid." But ironically, the time to start planning my succession -- and to be training up the next generation -- is right now.

Photo credit: psychbird

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Prosperity theology vs. poverty theology

Yesterday I watched a 15-minute interview between Mark Driscoll, Joshua Harris, and Francis Chan. Francis is preparing to leave a thriving ministry at Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley to start a church plant in inner city L.A. In the meantime, he plans to spend some time in a third world country to gain a fresh perspective and see things apart from the hustle and bustle of American life. His goal in this whole endeavor seems to be to follow Jesus, to get back to early church life, and to strip away the misconceptions of how ministry should be done.

In the interview, Driscoll asks Chan some very penetrating questions: How do you know that in several years, you're not going to grow dissatisfied with this new endeavor as well? Is there a danger that we have exchanged the error of a prosperity theology with the error of a poverty theology? In other words, since we know God often sanctifies us through poverty, simplicity, and suffering, have we decided that riches, complexity, and health are intrinscially bad? Should we feel guilty or ashamed by these things and deliberately avoid them?

This conversation hits the nail on the head, and echos cautions made by Mark Dever to David Platt at the IX Marks at 9 seminar in Orlando last June. See also Kevin DeYoung's review of Radical, where he says,

We must do more to plant the plea for sacrificial living more solidly in the soil of gospel grace. Several times David [Platt] talks about the love of Christ as our motivation for radical discipleship or the power of God and the means for radical discipleship. But I didn’t sense the strong call to obedience was slowly marinated in God’s lavish mercy. I wanted to see sanctification more clearly flowing out of justification.

Most of us are still far from the danger of a poverty theology, and still have much to benefit from the almost prophetic lifestyle and ministry of Platt and Chan. But I appreciate Driscoll's warning against a Catholic form of asceticism that may be subtly at work here which could ultimately undermine the gospel itself.

Greek & Hebrew alphabet songs

When I took beginning Greek, our "alphabet song" was sung by Bill Mounce to the whimsical tune "Shortnin' Bread." My how things have changed!

Here are two new tunes to learn the Greek and Hebrew alphabets by...

Greek is heartless

Heb hop

HT: Justin Taylor

New Blog

Today I'm closing up shop and launching a new blog called Pinch of Clay. You can visit it by clicking here . Please stop by and...