A Dedication to the victims of West Texas and the Boston Marathon: Andrew Peterson's Love and Thunder

Love and Thunder

All over the quiet plains, beneath the the snow on the high mountains,
rustling through the cattails that congregate along the water, you can feel
the presence of a promise. One a cold night when you look at the sky your
breath catches in your throat at how bright the night can be.

The dark spaces between the stars aren't as dark as you thought they were,
not nearly as dark as the tree line on the horizon, and as you stand there
with your hands shivering in your pockets suddenly you remember
that you're standing on a rock in the middle of space. Suddenly
the notion that there's a Someone who made it all and knows us all no longer seems
quite so far-fetched; Indeed, it seems too good to be false.

But here we toil and we till the hard earth, where even the warm times with
friend and kin are lonely because because we know they won't last long enough
to quiet the ache. Our sadness points to home, the way the hunger points to the feast,
the way the light of the cratered moon is always facing the sun, always pointing
to where the dawn will come like a pillar of fire when this rock we walk on
again turns to burning day. All over the quiet plains and cold stone cities
full of dying and shame, the promise is not drowned out by the weeping;
it is declared by it.

God died as man and rose again, and the sound of the fiery blast of Death
shook the firmament. Throughout the wail and the shudder, over the
shriek and moan of man, the thunder has sounded and sung, and it is both
the answer and the promise. It sings still, and you can hear what it says if you
listen; Love never dies.

                                                                                         Andrew Peterson

What the fear of the Lord is

What is the Fear of the Lord

Proverbs 1: 7, Psalm 29: 28

You know fear in our culture is almost a dirty word. We don’t want it because we think it marks a sign of weakness. But this Biblical concept of the fear of the Lord is something entirely unique. It does involve an element of fear but more in the way that fear might operate when standing at the top of the Empire State Building and contemplating jumping off of it. One would have a clear sense of solemnity because there is a knowledge that while we have the freedom and the choice to jump, (not that I’m recommending it) we know that there is also this thing called the Law of Gravity. It is immutable. It doesn’t care if you are a pauper or a president, it operates the same way every time, and so when you choose to jump, in a full show of your independence, its force will ensure that your will remains for as long as it takes you to hit the ground.

In the same way we also learn to fear the Lord. Not because He is ever out to get us or means us harm, but because He is the creator, our creator. His ways are rooted in His character, which reflect His holiness and justice. As the creator, He has created the universe and its creatures to operate as He has designed them to. In addition, He has established laws of the universe and moral laws based on what things are designed for, and if we operate outside of those bounds, we are going to get hurt.

Unfortunately for us, we usually have to bump up against those laws and step out of God’s design on a few things to realize that we got hurt because we did. When that happens, we begin to understand that this is My Father’s World. Just as David did when he says, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I love Thy law.”

But the fear of the Lord is so much more. It is also the kind of feeling that we have when we look at the stars at night and realize that we are standing on a rock in the middle of space in the middle of a galaxy that is only one of hundreds in the universe. It is knowing that we serve a God who is not some divine collage figment of our imagination that seems most proper to us. He is a real being, who is all knowing, all wise, all present, all loving eternal and the essence of all that is good and right. He holds the universe in His hand; by Him all things were created and in Him all things hold together Colossians says. Yet, He created us to have relationship with Him. He made us unique from the animals and He wants relationship with us. So much that when we broke our relationship with Him by sinning, He made a way by shedding His own blood for us to have that relationship again.

But Solomon says that it is this fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom. I think that means that we don’t really begin to understand things rightly and in their deep and true nature until we understand them in light of who He is. The more we know Him, the more we have wisdom and understanding. The more we relate to our lives with Him as the fulcrum, the more we find that balance and blessing accompany us.  We really can’t understand ourselves except in light of who He is. The converse is true too. We least understand ourselves by trying to pursue inner truth or inner guidance apart from His Holy Spirit. We are created to be like the moon.

The moon doesn’t have its own light. It merely reflects the light of the Sun. It would have nothing to offer if it weren’t for its function in relationship to the Sun and its light. So are we. We are made to be reflections of God’s light and life in us.  We shine when we reflect Him. Our purpose is fulfilled as we reflect what and who He is. 

Its interesting to note that having the fear of the Lord is one of the few things in Scripture that consistently brings with it a promise of blessing. Maybe we should pay more attention to it. Some of the things we are promised in Scripture as a result of fearing the Lord: Long life, riches, favor, success, seeing our children's children, living a long life, sleeping peacefully, being protected, joy, peace etc....What a great list.

It boils down to this: Proverbs 3: 5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." We are not to trust ourselves. We are to trust Him. To seek His face and His wisdom in our lives. We are to understand that operating outside of His design for things has disastrous results. We are to approach every situation with a view to pleasing Him rather than ourselves. When we do, we will know the blessings of His favor and His peace in our lives. May we learn to fear Him and walk in His ways.

Christianity is Just Like Jazz

One of the things that is most misunderstood about Christianity is that people think  that being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ means uniformity. It couldn't be further from the truth. Being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ is like becoming an accomplished Jazz musician. Any really good jazz musician will tell you that to become really really good at Jazz there are basic chords and chord progressions one must learn. Mastering those doesn't mean that you play just like everyone else. Rather it means that you become equipped to spontaneously and uniquely express yourself in music. Knowing those and learning those free you up to create amazingly original expressions of  jazz.

So it is with Christianity. When we are told in Scripture to be conformed to the image of Christ, it means that we are to learn his ways: love, joy, surrender, faith, prayer, trust, hope, moral purity, self-control, abiding in Him etc....At a surface glance, these things might appear to be restrictive and suppressive of our desire for freedom. But Scripture makes it very clear; those who indulge in the flesh are conforming. They are acting like everybody else. They aren't free because they are acting under the dictates of their nature. They aren't free to do otherwise.

You know, when I hear someone "freely expressing themselves" with a series of expletives in the grocery store---I don't think "Wow, that person has so much creativity in how they speak!" Rather, I think "Hmmmm they need to find a few extra words to add to their vocabulary." Listening to someone who swears like a sailor is like listening to an episode of the smurfs. It may feel to them like they are freely and creatively expressing themselves, but to me its just the same old boring version of tacky.

We are so afraid in our basic nature that when we walk in the ways of Christ, when we learn of Him we will lose who we are. But His ways are freedom. Just like those jazz chord progressions, when I learn forgiveness, patience, love and joy....I am completely freed up to be a unique expression of Him. My gifts, my unique talents come into full bloom as I conform to Christ. So don't be afraid that conformity. It transforms you into a transposition of His love--a unique melody of His grace.

Corrie Ten Boom

Week Thirty-eight: My Times are in Thy Hands

Psalm 31

In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord. I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul, and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place. Be gracious to me O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted in grief; my soul and my body also….But I trust in you O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love! O Lord, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you….Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind! In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men; you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. I had said in my alarm, “ I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help. Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord! (ESV)

There are a few people who truly know the reality of this Psalm as much as Corrie Ten Boom. She was the first female Dutch watchmaker in Amsterdam, and she lived with her family, as WWII began. Her father as a righteous man who feared God, began taking in Jews who had lost their home, when the Nazis invaded Holland. When their efforts to hide Jews was finally discovered, the family was all sent off to the concentration camps. 

As she was in line for processing to enter the concentration camp, Corrie asked God for a simple miracle. When she was first taken to prison she became very sick and was sent to the infirmary. One of the nurses there had asked her if she needed anything, and she had told her she needed a Bible. The nurse had then returned with four small copies of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and had given her a small pouch  in which she kept them hidden, hanging between her shoulder blades. Upon entering Ravensbruck, all the women were patted down and searched so that all possessions were taken from them. As she was next in line to be searched, she offered up a small prayer. She told the Lord she needed this Bible; it was her sole comfort. She asked the Lord to surround her with His angels and blind the eyes of the guards so they would not see her. The woman in front of her was searched, but when it was her turn, she simply walked by them, and they seemed not to notice her. Her sister behind her was searched, but Corrie was not. Even at the door, when they were again searched before leaving the room, she walked right by them unnoticed. She had that Bible with her for the remainder of her ordeal in Ravensbruck, until the day she left.  She left those gospels with them women, so that they would have the Scriptures for themselves. God also used a flea infestation in the barrack to keep the guards away from her barrack. She and Betsie were free for the remainder of her time there to daily read the Word to the women there, and have a time of study. They were never discovered doing this, and that Bible was never taken away from them.

A few weeks before she was released, Betsie came to Corrie  and told her that she had had a dream and they were both going to be released. Betsie died in the camp clinic a week later of anemia. At first Corrie was overcome with grief, and then she realized that God had released Betsie. He had released her from her pain and suffering into His presence. The following week, Corrie was called to the office. She was sure she was in some kind of trouble, and had been discovered for conducting Bible Studies. To her total shock, she was told that she was being released.  By a miraculous act of God, Corrie walked out of the gates of that death camp, on her on volition. Most amazing of all, it was later discovered that her release was due to a clerical error. Sometime later she found out that a week after her release, all the women in her age group were exterminated. Man’s mistake was God’s perfect will guiding and protecting her.

It was after her experience in the concentration camp, that God told her that He wanted her to travel around and share the message of His love with those who hadn’t heard. Her most famous saying was something her sister Betsie said to her before while they were still in Ravensbruck: "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still.”

When I found out that the verse My Time are in Thy Hands  was one of Corrie ten Boom’s favorites, it became a lot more meaningful to me. The last several years of her life she had moved to a house in California, which she called the Shalom house, and she had it hung on a plaque on her wall. I can only image what that must have meant to her as a Holocaust survivor.  She knew what it was to be rescued from the hand of her enemies. Literally.

Most of us may never experience so dramatically what David describes here. But even in our own lives we do have to trust that Our times are in God’s Hands. That He knows every trial we face, and he is there to meet us in it with His presence and His grace. Psalm 91 says that: He will command His angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. (ESV) What a comfort to know that even as you face labor and the birith of your baby, with all its challenges, God commands His angels concerning you. Trust Him with this today. Give Him your fears and concerns, and let Him comfort you with His presence. The same God who preserved Corrie in the presence of her enemies, preserves you today. Meditate on this psalm and receive His promises to His children.  

Tommy Nelson's Thoughts on How/Why We Study the Bible--Well Said!!

"From the Desk of Tommy Nelson" is a publication of Tommy Nelson, Senior Pastor of Denton Bible Church. If you wish to be removed from our email list you can use the SafeUnsubscribe feature at the bottom of this publication.

Turn With Me Now

If you've been at Denton Bible for any amount of time you've probably (and hopefully) noticed that the centrality of our Sunday is the exaltation of the Bible. Though we believe the Bible and explain it, you've also noticed that we do so in a consecutive manner. If we start with Romans we end in Romans. If we begin in 2 Samuel we progress through it until its end. There are reasons for this: The first reason is that it prevents the pastor from being selective. He must preach the whole counsel of God. The Bible does not group all of certain ideas into individual books. There is not a book on this doctrine or on that area of morality. The Bible is a latitudinal book with virtually all doctrines and all acts of moral obedience running as connective threads through each book. Thus, with all Bible books, when taught verse by verse, one cannot pick and choose but rather be balanced. One will teach the whole counsel of God. Secondly, one gains the fullness of the Biblical text. A note may be pretty in and of itself but when placed in its bar, movement, and score it is heard in context and thus more meaningful. Such is "expositional or expository preaching" [ex: "out" + posit: "a stance or idea set forth"]. Expository preaching seeks to draw out the exact meaning of a passage through the careful study of its words, original language, immediate context, grammatical structure, dispensational setting, (is it Old Testament, New Testament, the Kingdom, or a pre-law period?) theological setting (what theological truths does it set forth), and its moral intent or application. This is done much easier in consecutive preaching and teaching. The pastor's calling is to be an expositor. Another reason is that it deepens the faithful. When one hears 52 varied messages he does not master a book nor its content. One grows deeper in messages of continuity rather than variety.   It is at this point, however, that there is a cultural conflict. American church culture does notattend church in continuity. Maybe they used to but not (at least as much) anymore. Thus, to gain membership it is more amenable to preach to the lowest common denominator to get numbers (knowing that the American church is in a capitalistic mold) rather than to achieve depth in the faithful, which may not lend itself to quick "growth." Because of the continental Sabbath in the U.S. (i.e. relaxation, not the seeking of God) and many Christians only attending church sporadically, as well as Christian's who visit churches as they would restaurants, the pastor must preach to a moving target.    Thus now the evangelical pastor faces an issue. "Do I preach for numbers or do I preach for depth?" I have decided to preach for depth. When people come periodically they may be frustrated to step into the middle of a study but when they are the tail that wags the dog then the faithful do not learn as well as they could. There is a depth of theology, apologetics and exhortation that exists in speaking to the same people each Sunday. That is the position I have taken. Numbers are not our passion but large numbers of quality people. There is a movement among evangelicals now in our country to abandon the verse by verse system of preaching as something that is no longer relevant. They have yielded to the pragmatics of success as dictated by our culture - and they would have to study. In the Bible the word "growth" never speaks to church growth through people coming on Sunday. It means either "converts", or "the knowledge of scripture", or "depth of character". My only concern is our truly spiritual growth not our American capitalistic cram the faith into our shallow, showy, impotent cultural system of progress "growth." I've determined to let the dog wag the tail - to teach to the perennials. That's why we do verse by verse Bible exposition.                         "You show you grow                         You snooze you lose"                                                                              That's why we do what we do.                                                                                     Tommy