The Saturday Post(s)

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Dana Dill

Saturday PostDoes Mathematics Point to God? William Lane Craig interacts with atheist/agnostic philosopher Daniel Came on whether the remarkable ability of maths to describe the universe we live in is evidence for a transcendent designer. Also, check out Albert Mohler’s discussion with Chris Date about whether or not hell is eternal.

The Copies of the Bible Don’t Always Match Up, Here is Why That Isn’t a Problem. A short response to an often issued objection against the truthfulness and accuracy of the Bible. Also, make sure to check out why the Bible’s transmission is not like a game of telephone.

15 Ways to Read More in 2015. If you hope to read more, this should help.

On the Shoulders of Giants. “Today I wanted to gather a bunch of quotes that I’ve come across lately…It’s by reading the thoughts of spiritual giants like these — by standing on their shoulders — that I am helped along in my worship of Christ. And so I wanted to share some of them with you. Read them slowly. Take them in. I hope it makes for an encouraging Friday.” If you need some motivation to dig into good books, don’t miss this dynamite list of quotes from brothers in the past.

The Smartest Thing I Ever Said to My Wife. One wife recalls to her daughters, “I would get very heated at times and raise my voice. I had done that in my family since I was a child. I had to be right. And I would keep arguing and arguing to prove my point. But in our arguments your dad would often state his side, then he’d add…”

In Search of Biblical Friendship. Cruciform Press puts out a lot of very good and very short books on very relevant subjects. This one on friendship seems to continue in that practice. “If friendship seems harder to you than you think it should be, Jonathan Holmes offers valuable help. His book will make you think about friendship in ways you may not have considered before. This is an encouraging, practical, helpful treatment of an important subject, and should bear much fruit in its readers and in the church.”

Why You Should Have Older & Younger Friends. Do you have a friend over 60 or one at least 20 years younger than you? Here are some reasons why you should.

Faithful With Fifteen. For those who are planning to dig deeply into God’s Word this year. “We’ve all heard that small investments add up to big gains. Well, just 15 minutes a day spent in the Word will add up to these staggering figures…”

Would You Skip Church for Football? A good question, huh?

Pen & Parchments Top 25 Articles from 2014. My challenge: read the list and try not to read at least one of them.

Make Your Spray Bottle Always Spray. “With about 2 minutes of effort and less than a dollar spent at the hardware store, you can adapt a spray bottle to function at any angle.”

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Eight Words That Will Change the Shape of Your Christianity

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Dana Dill

Jesus-loves-you-christianity-16725073-600-601“Love each other as I have loved you.“ John 15:12

In this passage, and in John’s writing in general, one another is specifically applied to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Not that we shouldn’t love our non-believing friends, family, neighbors, or enemies, but in this specific passage Jesus is speaking to believers about the special fellowship love they are to have for other believers. Indeed, it is by this special fellowship love that, “All people (outside the church) will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

So, as Jesus has loved you, so love others in your church. A simple enough truth to understand, but practicing it will most likely change the shape of our Christianity in very significant ways. What does it look like to love those in our local churches like Christ has loved us? Here are some thoughts to get you started.

Pray for those in your church. Romans 8:34 says Jesus is always, “is interceding for us” before His Father in heaven. Are we loving our churches in prayer like Jesus loves us in prayer? Who in your church have you prayed for today or this week? Who can you begin to pray for?

Lay aside your rights for the good of those in your church. “Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant…” (Philippians 2:6-7). Jesus laid aside His glories and rights as the Son of God to save His church and bring her to Himself. Therefore, we should be ready to work in the nursery once in a while, have our parking spot (or normal seat in church) taken, teach the children’s Sunday school, or help set-up/tear-down for services. May we never be “too great” or “too important” to love our church like Jesus loved us.

Use your gifts for the good of those in your church. Jesus used His incarnation (John 1:14), the Spirit’s empowerment (Isaiah 11:1-5), His wisdom (Luke 2:40), His prayers (John 17:20-21), and everything else He had to bring good to His people. In fact, He still uses all He has for the good of His people. We are told by Paul that all members of the church are empowered by the Holy Spirit to bless the church in some meaningful way. “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:7). If we are to love one another as He loves us that means that you are to use your teaching ability, your education, your home, your materials, your position, your talents, and everything else you have for your church’s good like Jesus did for us.

Make sacrifices for those in your church. Jesus was God’s willing sacrifice for our sins (John 1:29; 3:16-17; 1 John 3:16; 4:10). He was willingly sent and He willingly came to lay His life down so we could have life in Him. Unsurprisingly, this is the example for how we are to love the members of our church: “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:10-11). A good question for reflection, when was the last time you sacrificed, you gave up something costly, to benefit your brother or sister? What is something you can do this week?

Meet the needs of those in your church. Jesus meets our needs (do I need a reference?). Loving our church members like Jesus loves us means that we should be quick to meet their needs. As John reminds us, “if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:17-18). What are the needs of those you sit next to on a Sunday morning? Are you meeting them as you’re able?

Spend time with people in your church. Jesus promises us that he will never leave us and that He will always be with His church till the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20). Therefore, loving our church like He loves us will look like us being intentional about being present with our church. This should make us very hesitant to be absent from our weekly gatherings with the church and should drive us to meet together with members of our church regularly. Presence is the soil that our loving relationships are grown in; make sure the soil is plentiful.

Be intentional about how to be a blessing for those in your church. Jesus didn’t happen to bless His church accidentally or stumble into saving us, but He willingly came to do it with all He had. Don’t simply cross yours fingers and hope to be a blessing to your church, but intentionally think about how you can work for their good and do it. “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). Think about ways you bless your church. Maybe you can show up early to services shake hands and welcome people. Maybe you can write a few notes of meaningful encouragement. Maybe you can buy the pastor a gift card and offer to watch his kids so he can surprise his wife and take her out on date night. Maybe you can invite that struggling couple over for dinner and warm fellowship. Maybe you can call people with the sole intention of strengthening them in Christ. Buy someone lunch and get to know them. There are lots of ways we can work for our church’s good if only we sit down and do some intentional thinking and planning like Jesus did and does for us.

There’s lots more to say, but I think the point is clear: remembering and practicing to love the church like Jesus has loved us will most likely change the shape of our Christianity. However, although this post may bring pangs of conviction, I hope that conviction turns to obedience and thus results in joy. None of us do this perfectly and all of us are in constant need of being reminded to love like Christ has loved us.

As we are reminded together here, let’s remember, Jesus’ commands are always designed for our joy and not our sorrow. In commanding us to love His people like He has loved us, Jesus is commanding us toward a life of abundant joy and away from one of sorrow.

So, in the end, “Love each other as I have loved you…“

 

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Why I Am Taking Seven Weeks to Teach Middle Schoolers About the Trinity

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Dana Dill

1) Gallery Header - One God (Trinity) 2015Starting this Wednesday night, our middle school ministry will be starting a series focusing on the Biblical teaching about God as Trinity. In hearing about this endeavor, lots of folks say things like, “Are you joking? Middle Schoolers and the Trinity? Dana, You’re nuts!” While the verdict about me being nuts is still out, I don’t think this can be used as evidence of it.

Here are a few reasons why I think teaching middle schoolers about the Trinity is crucially important for our youth ministry and yours.

  1. The Trinity is Who God is! There is no truth more important than the truth about who God is. There is nothing more important to the Christian than knowing the truth about who their God is. Therefore, if God is Triune, then it is our duty and delight to understand and exalt in the truth about what He is! If we are not taking time to teach our kids about who God is and what God is like, then what the heck are we doing and can it even be called ministry?
  2. The Trinity is Essential to the Christian Faith & Salvation. Without the Trinity, there is no gospel. Without the doctrine of the Trinity, there is no Father who sends His One and Only Son (John 3:16) to die as a substitute in the place of sinners (1 John 4:10) and there is no Holy Spirit given to reveal Christ, convict of sin, and make sinners alive (Titus 3:4-5). To lose the Trinity is to lose the very foundation of the gospel. If there is no Trinity, there is no gospel. If there is no Trinity, there is no salvation. In agreement with the Athanasian creed, the Trinity is the core doctrine of the Christian faith, “which except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved.” It’s that important.
  3. The Trinity is Christianity’s Most Distinctive Teaching. Michael Reeves said it well, “What makes Christianity absolutely distinct is the identity of our God. Which God we worship: that is the article of faith that stands before all others. The bedrock of our faith is nothing less than God Himself, and every aspect of the gospel – creation, revelation, salvation – is only Christian insofar as it is the creation, revelation, and salvation of this God, the Triune God.”[1] The Trinity is what sets Christians apart from Muslims, Hinduism, New Ageism, Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, and every other kind of faith. Other religions, cults, or belief systems have versions of grace, sin, judgment, etc., but no other faith in all the world believes that God is Triune outside the Christian faith.
  4. The Trinity is Gravely Misunderstood by Many Christians. Whether by using faulty analogies (an egg, a cup of ice water, a father/son/grandfather, etc.) or simply by poor teaching, lots of Christians misunderstand what the Bible teaches about the Trinity and tend to spread their misunderstanding to others. Kevin DeYoung hits it on the head when he says, “When it comes to the doctrine of the Trinity, most Christians are poor in their understanding, poorer in their articulation, and poorest of all in seeing any way in which the doctrine matters in real life.” With this kind of misunderstanding among adults, how much more important is it that we lay a good foundation for our youth?
  5. The Trinity is Often Ignored or Downplayed by Many Christians. Often times because of confusion and complexity, many churches and individual Christians today see the Trinity as something that may be kind of important, but not something that is essential, beautiful, or exciting. They may give the doctrine of the Trinity a certain lip service of allegiance, but in their hearts they’re yawning. Instead of glorying and rejoicing in the Trinity, many Christians simply neglect it.

For these reasons, and many more, my middle school team and I thought it was worthwhile to school our students in the Trinity so they would have their misunderstandings corrected, their faith strengthened, their hearts overjoyed, their lives guided, and their minds blown by how good our Glorious and how Triune our God is.

If you would, please grant us a prayer that our gloriously Triune God would open all our eyes in this series to see how glorious He is.

If you would like to see an overview of our middle school series on the Trinity, click here to see the parent information pack we will be sending out on Wednesday night.

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[1] Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity, page 15-16

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The Saturday Post(s)

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Dana Dill

Saturday PostTen Practical Ways to Control Spending & Wisely Manage Money. As 2015 begins and folks are open to rethinking things, I thought this was timely. His conclusion is worth repeating: “It’s not how much money we make, but how we handle it that matters. And it all begins by recognizing the money we’re handling is not our own. It belongs to another, before whom we will one day stand, and from whom the best words we could ever hear are these: ‘Well done my good and faithful servant. Enter into your Master’s joy.’”

How I Select & Schedule Discipling Relationships. I saw this floating around online, but didn’t read it until one of my interns told me how helpful and encouraging it is. “A new elder recently asked a more experienced elder of his church how he finds time to disciple younger men in the faith and to evangelize. After all, this new elder has an intense Washington DC job, a busy home with children, a long commute, and all the other duties that come with being a non-staff elder in the church. Surely there is little time left for discipling and evangelism, no? Here is the elder’s reply…”

A Scholar’s Response to Newsweek’s Attack on the Bible. Bible scholar Michael Kruger responds to crushes Newsweek’s negative piece on the Bible. See part two here. Also, don’t miss Dan Wallace (another scholar) do his own crushing here. If you don’t know much about Biblical canon or textual criticism, this is an excellent place to see its importance and get your learning on.

Google Got It Wrong: The Open Office Trend is Destroying the Work Place. As an introvert, I say, “Duh.”

1o Questions to Ask Yourself as 2015 Begins. I am going to journal my thoughts on these questions and I encourage you to as well. “The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God…”

If God Could Save Him, He Can Save Anybody. “I knew David became a Christian in jail where he was serving time for attempted murder, but I didn’t know the extent of the darkness he was living under…”

Heart-Oriented Bible Application. An excellent and brief piece about what true application looks like and how to ensure it is happening. I am going to print this for my youth shepherd leaders.

How to Think & Pray About the Suicide of a Transgender Teen. Denny Burk offers a helpful summary of a recent suicide as well as some needed resources to equip us to minister well in such a case.

Bad Analogies for the Trinity. I will be preaching about the doctrine of the Trinity for our middle school ministry for the next two months. In thinking about the Trinity, this clip is both instructive and hilarious. As you will guess, we won’t be using any analogies.

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God is Father All the Way Down

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Dana Dill

held-by-my-father-450x303What do you think is most foundational of God? What is God most truly? Most ultimately? Is he most ultimately the Creator? The one who brings everything into existence? Is he most ultimately the Ruler? The one who keeps all things in order and makes sure his reign is submitted to in all things? Is he most ultimately the Judge? The one who makes sure justice is always served, crimes are always punished, and righteousness is always upheld? In your thinking, what is God most foundational? Most ultimately?

Though there are many things that could be argued for, I think Michael Reeves nails it on the head: God is most ultimately Father. For before Creation, he was Father. Before there was anything to rule over, He was Father. Before there was anything to judge, he was Father. He has always been Father living in perfect love with His Son. Reeves expands on this helpfully:

The most foundational thing in God is not some abstract quality, but the fact that he is Father. Since God is, before all things, a Father, and not primarily a Creator or Ruler, all his ways are beautifully fatherly. It is not that this God “does” being Father as a day job, only to kick back in the evenings as plain old “God.” It is not that he has a nice blob of fatherly icing on top. He is Father. All the way down. Thus all that he does he does as Father. That is who he is. He creates as a Father and he rules as a Father; and that means the way he rules over creation is most unlike the way any other God would rule over creation…

Only when we see that God rules his creation as a kind and loving Father that we will be moved to delight in his providence. We might acknowledge that the rule of some heavenly policeman was just, but we could never take delight in his regime as we can delight in the tender care of a father. (Taken from Delighting in the Trinity, p. 24).

Yes, God is the Creator, Ruler, and Judge of all, but before he became those things, he was Father. He is the life giving, outgoing Father who seeks to bring life into all things. He is the sender of his Son to make sinners his sons and daughters; to become their Father too.

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What’s Your Plan? (Bible Reading Plans for 2015)

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Dana Dill

shutterstock_132299630Alright, let’s talk about reading the whole Bible in 2015. However, before we start, allow a few preliminary words. First, here are a few reasons reading all the Bible in 2015 should excite you. Second, listen to a simple word of encouragement: you can read the whole Bible. Justin Taylor notes that, “The average person reads 200 to 250 words per minute; there are about 775,000 words in the Bible; therefore it takes less than 10 minutes a day to read the whole Bible in a year.” No matter how slow of a reader you are, you can still do it. Third, if you are finding trouble getting motivated to dig into the Scriptures in 2015, read this. Good. Now that you are excited, encouraged, and motivated, allow me to offer you some Bible reading plans to take on in 2015.

Bible Reading Plans

This list isn’t exhaustive, but it should serve as a helpful start. The list goes from plans that call for the least amount of chapters a day to plans that cover a bit more ground in a faster amount of time.

The Bible Reading Record Keeper. This isn’t a reading plan, but it is a record keeping sheet that lists all the books of the Bible with their respective chapters numbered to the side. This tool helps keep track of what books in the Bible you have read and those you haven’t. For those who don’t want to follow a particular plan, but plan on regularly reading a few chapters each day, this is can serve as a helpful tool to make sure you’re covering all God’s Word.

The Bible Reading Plan for Shirkers and Slackers. Justin Taylor describes this plan as one that, “takes away the pressure (and guilt) of ‘keeping up’ with the entire Bible in one year. You get variety within the week by alternating genres by day, but also continuity by sticking with one genre each day. Here’s the basic idea:

  • Sundays: Poetry
  • Mondays: Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy)
  • Tuesdays: Old Testament history
  • Wednesdays: Old Testament history
  • Thursdays: Old Testament prophets
  • Fridays: New Testament history
  • Saturdays: New Testament epistles (letters).”

The Kingdom Bible Reading Plan. In this plan the Old Testament receives three readings per day and the New Testament gets one reading per day. “The Old Testament readings follow the arrangement of Jesus’ Bible (Luke 24:44 – Law, Prophets, Writings), with one reading coming from each portion per day. In a single year, one reads through Psalms twice and all other biblical books once…Only twenty-five readings are slated per month in order to provide more flexibility in daily devotions. The plan can be started at any time of the year, and if four readings per day are too much, the plan can simply be stretched to two or more years (reading from one, two, or three columns per day).”

Read Through the Whole Bible in Order. “This plan calls for reading all the books of the Bible in canonical order in one year. Each day’s reading is about 3-4 chapters in length, with the exception of the Psalms (which are covered in 5 chapters per day). The idea is to read longer chapters in groups of three (e.g., Pentateuchal narratives, Gospels) and shorter chapters in groups of four. There are 7 “catch-up” days scattered throughout the calendar.”

The Robert M’Cheyne Plan. My wife and I did this one in 2011 and enjoyed it. This plan starts you in the four great beginnings of Scripture (beginning of creation in Genesis 1, beginning of Israel’s return from Exile in Ezra 1, beginning of Christ’s incarnation in Matthew 1, and beginning of the church in Acts 1). This plan will have you read through the whole Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice. It is four chapters a day. One great thing is it has you in four different places in the Bible at once so when you hit the less than inspirational sections (genealogies, records, etc.), you will still be in more immediately helpful sections. Also, you can grab D.A. Carson’s marvelous devotional based on this reading plan here and here. If you don’t want to buy the book, you can subscribe to a daily email where you are sent the devotional for that day’s reading.

Don’t Scorn Audio Bibles! Most of the Christians in the first few decades of the church most likely heard the Bible more than they read it, so don’t discount audio Bibles. Most audio Bibles are around 75 hours long, so you can listen to it in just over 12 minutes a day. Biblegateway has a lot of audio Bibles offered free of charge.

A Few Helps Along the Way

Here are some resources to help make sure your Bible reading doesn’t amount to you sounding out empty words in your head without actually understanding what you’re reading.

A Graph of the Old Testament Timeline. This is a simple map of the Old Testament timeline. It serves to help you locate where you are at in the Old Testament timeline so you always know where your at when you’re reading the Old Testament.

Reading the Bible Through the Jesus Lens. This is a fantastic book that provides a very brief background and introduction to every book in the Bible along with an explanation for how each respective books anticipates or points to the person and work of Jesus Christ. This way you are prepared to understand each book and how it relates to all of God’s redeeming work! Highly recommended.

God’s Big Picture. The publisher’s description describes it well: “In this excellent overview, Vaughan Roberts gives you the big picture – showing how the different parts of the Bible fit together under the theme of the kingdom of God. He provides both the encouragement and the tools to help you read the Bible with confidence and understanding. And he points you to the Bible’s supreme subject, Jesus Christ, and the salvation God offers through him.” Also, two other helpful books that provide the same overarching storyline of the Bible are Carson’s The God Who is There and Graeme Goldsworthy’s According to Plan.

There are more plans out there, see Justin Taylor’s blog to see more. In the end, I hope you will make a plan to read God’s Word. Don’t leave it to whenever your find the time because Satan will make sure the time evades you. As the old saying goes, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Don’t plan to fail.

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6 Reasons Why Reading the Whole Bible in 2015 Should Excite You

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Dana Dill

bible_read_meIn thinking about 2015, I have another hope to offer you specifically, my beloved reader: I hope you read the whole Bible in 2015.

Before you let feelings of guilt and anxiety arise, let me help you see that this is not a whip crack to duty, but an invitation to delight. This is not burden. This is blessing. Here are a few reasons I think the idea of reading the whole Bible in 2015 should excite you.

A Bible Plan Will Most Likely Mean Reading God’s Word More Frequently and Consistently. Having a Bible reading plan of some kind (I will offer a wide variety of plans to choose from tomorrow) will help you read the Bible more regularly than you would if you didn’t have a plan. I have seen it with students and I have seen it in myself. When I have a reading plan, I find myself more motivated to come to God’s Word than if I don’t. Reading the day’s section of scripture is much more exciting than playing another round of Bible roulette. Having some kind of plan should excite you because it most likely will mean more frequent and consistent receiving God’s Word.

A Bible Reading Plan Will Finally Have You Cover Sections of Scripture You Have Yet to Get Around To. For many Christians, there are still major sections of the Bible they haven’t yet been introduced to. In a sense, these sections of Scripture are unopened letters from their King. They are unexamined treasures that are yours in Christ! They are unheard words with un-listened to messages. These unread passages should excite you like unexplored terrain would an adventurer. Make a plan to read all the words of Your King. Don’t allow 2015 to be another year where major sections of God’s life-giving word are still left locked away between unopened pages.

A Bible Reading Plan Will Surprise You. I don’t care if you have read the Bible ten times through already, it always surprises. Each time I begin reading through the Bible I find myself frequently taken back by freshly realizing some truth I had yet to uncover in God’s Word or, as more often happens, I am freshly convicted or comforted by some truth I had already known, but become loose-gripped with. Oftentimes reading the Bible serves as a means whereby God takes truths that we are already familiar with and fastens all the more tightly in our hearts . Regardless if it is new truths found or old truths reapplied, reading through the Bible will bring surprise after surprise to the Godward heart.

A Bible Reading Plan Will Help You Live According to Reality. The Apostle Paul once exhorted a church, “Since…you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:1-2). You see, we Christians are not to be a people who live with our eyes and hearts on the things of the world, but we are to be heavenly minded. For the Christian, the most significant realities are not the ones we see, but the ones we don’t (see 2 Cor. 4:18). However, this is near impossible if we are not coming to God’s Word regularly and having our realities informed by Him. If we are never in God’s Word then we are never exposed to the unseen realities of the gospel. If we are never pouring through the thin, tissue-like pages of our Bibles then we will not have our hearts or eyes in heaven. The only way our hearts and minds can be set on the things above is if God’s Word is set before our eyes. A Bible reading plan will help you live 2015 like a citizen of the Kingdom and not one of the world.

A Bible Reading Plan Will Greatly Help to Grow Your Faith. Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” In commenting on this passage, Steve Fuller helpfully explains, “Many mornings I’m tempted not to seek God because my faith feels weak. But that’s like not going to the doctor because my body feels sick. Just like doctors heal sick bodies, so God strengthens weak faith, as we hear his word. Weak faith is like a weak battery. But God’s word is a battery charger. So when your faith is weak, open his word, and plug in your weak faith. God promises that as you do that, he will recharge you.” A Bible reading plan will lead to stronger and healthier faith.

A Bible Reading Plan is a Proper Response to the Value of God’s Word. God has spoken to us fully and finally through His Son Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3) and has recorded all His beautiful revelation in the Bible through the Spirit’s ministry (2 Timothy 3:16) so that His people would be fully prepared to do all His holy will in all their holy lives (2 Timothy 3:17). God has spoken through Jesus and has, through the Holy Spirit, written it all down for us to receive, live by, and entrust ourselves to. A Bible reading plan is simply a proper response to such a wonderful gift.

As I said, tomorrow I will provide a variety of plans to choose from. As for now, I hope you will seriously consider engaging a Bible reading plan for 2015. Joy awaits.

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Love is Not God, Thankfully

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Dana Dill

-LOVE-love-36983825-1680-10501 John 4:8 wonderfully teaches, “God is love.” Many folks have taken this verse and have run with it in all kinds of directions; a lot of them not good. One direction this profound text has been taken is to change it from saying, “God is love” to meaning “Love is god.” In this way, the ultimate thing to cherish, adore, praise, and worship is not the God who is love, but the Love (as we define it) that is god.

Jonathan Leeman describes it perfectly:

We assume not that God is love but that love is God. In other words, we don’t go before the real Creator of the universe and say to Him, “Please tell us what you are like and therefore how you define love.” Rather, we begin with our own self-defined concept of love and allow this self-defined concept to play god. When I say it, “plays god,” I mean that we let it define right and wrong, good and bad, glory-worthy and glory-less, even though such valuations belong to God alone. Love becomes an ultimate idol. (Taken from The Church & the Surprising Offense of the Love of God, p. 24).

So, as Christmas day comes tomorrow and as we all sing about “the wonders of His love, the wonders of His love, the wonders of His love,” take a moment to think about what His love looks like and how it is different than the love our world produces and praises. God’s love isn’t a vapid, sentimental, and always changing feeling of passion, it is a committed choice to do good for those He loves at great cost to Himself. It is a love that chooses to humble itself. It is a love that chooses to suffer. It is a love that chooses to pursue. It is a love that doesn’t give up. It is a patient love. It is a faithful love. It is a saving love. It is an uncompromising love. It is a righteous and pure love. It is not a love that He is today and possibly gone tomorrow; it is an eternal love. Take a moment and remember that God is indeed love, but that love is not God. He is so much more than mere love and He is so much better because of it.

Love is not God, thankfully.

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Five Hopes for Parents in 2015

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Dana Dill

tumblr_mw8hw4FyD41slqrel_ogAs 2015 nears, I find myself with many hopes for what the new year will bring. Maybe I will share the various categories of my hopes in the days to come, but for our time now, I would like to share my hopes for the families at my church (and every other local church) for 2015. I no particular order, here are five things I hope to see in our church’s families in 2015.

I hope that our parents will get to know their children’s youth pastor and youth leaders. If your church has a youth pastor or youth leaders or church members dedicated to helping the church’s youth to know and grow in Christ, praise God for His kindness and get to know them! This is a person who is most likely investing hours of their time to minister to your child in their conversation, prayers, and Bible study. Your child’s growth in Christ is their highest joy! Don’t neglect cultivating that relationship! Increase the effectiveness of their ministry to your child by inviting them into a relationship with you! Invite them over to your home for dinner. Let them get to know you and work to know them. Pray for them and encourage them. Let them know how they can pray for you and find out how you can pray for them! Change their status in your minds from just being a youth leader to being a part of your family. See them as your ally and friend in shepherding your child to walk with Christ. Don’t miss out on pouring into your child’s youth leader(s). A little sowing here and great reaping will come.

I hope that our parents will lead their children to join them for corporate worship. I’ve said this before, but its importance merits repetition. There is an unfortunate tradition within many churches (mine included) of dividing the family on Sunday mornings. I’m not talking about mom and dad going to adult Sunday school as their children go to their respective Sunday school, but I am talking about the practice of the youth going to youth group while mom and dad worship in the main sanctuary for corporate worship. This ends up creating a sort of youth church that exists distinct from the adult church and tends to fragment the one body of Christ into disconnected, smaller generational gatherings. This needs to be challenged. Knowing that kids often catch a lot from watching their parents, having the kids separated from their parents in corporate worship takes away a prime opportunity for children to see their parents worship the King. Sunday mornings should not divide the family, but unite the family under God’s Word. The kids should hear mom and dad sing. They should be able to watch dad listen to the sermon with careful attention and see mom praying with earnestness. They need to sit among the grandmas and grandpas of the faith so they grow to understand that, in Christ, they do not belong to the youth group, but the church. Even though I have a youth bible study on Sunday mornings, this is so important to me that I gladly tell our parents that, if there is a choice between their children coming to bible study with me or going to corporate worship with them, I choose the latter every Sunday. Youth group is good, but it makes a lousy church.

I hope that our parents will regularly talk about, pray to, and cherish Jesus at home. Never, never, never let Jesus be an unspoken assumption at your home. Don’t turn on the Christianity only when you are at church. Kids learn to greatly dislike that and will begin to suspect your faith in Jesus only exists at church. Do whatever you can to make sure Jesus is spoken about with ease in your home. Share with your kids what you are reading in the Bible or your reflections of the pastor’s sermon from Sunday. Buy this cd and listen/talk about with your kids. Give thanks to God for feeding your family and making food delicious. Sing to Jesus together. Pray together. Do family worship. Work hard to make your child very comfortable in talking about Jesus with you. Let your home be a little church.

I hope that our parents will seek growth in Christ with an ever increasing seriousness. The best way to shepherd your child toward Jesus is by making sure you are being shepherded by Him first. Yes, they will listen to what you say. Of course, they are going to learn what you teach. But most importantly, your children will be most affected by what affects you most. They will look to what or whom you are looking to. They will pay attention to what captures your attention. Parents who are actively pursing their own growth in Christ demonstrate to their children Christ’s worth by the way they live their life. If you want godly children, make sure you are working out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). Your growth in knowledge, character, obedience, and faithfulness to Jesus is the greatest gift you can give them. It is your most powerful tool in the parenting belt.

I hope that our parents will work to befriend other parents within the church. I hope that the parents of my church would seek to befriend and build true community with other parents. This will not only serve as an ongoing encouragement between parents, but will provide their children with more contact with other members of the church. Befriending other families within the church will help your child see the church not as something you do on Sunday, but something you are a part of every day. The reality of church as family will be undeniable as your child regularly sees other church members in their home for dinner or at football games or BBQs. Befriending and building community with other families in the church will provide your children with a front row view of the gospel’s unifying power and it will provide you with the encouragement and support you need from other parents as you continue to shepherd your children to love Jesus. You are not in this parenting thing alone, so don’t act like it!

There is more to say, but, at least for me, not less.

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Who Is This?

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Dana Dill

Who Is This So Weak & Helpless? is one of my favorite hymns although it is not very well known. The first part of each verse focuses in on some aspect of Christ’s humanity and the limitations and weaknesses he had because of it. The second part of each verse then brings attention to the glorious truth that, the weak one who suffers and dies is no one else than the Almighty God. As Christmas day nears, may this song be a blessing to you as you yourself ask and meditate upon the question, “Who is this?”

Who is this, so weak and helpless,
Child of lowly Hebrew maid,
Rudely in a stable sheltered,
Coldly in a manger laid?
Tis the Lord of all creation,
Who this wondrous path has trod;
He is Lord from everlasting,
And to everlasting God.

Who is this, a Man of Sorrows,
Walking sadly life’s hard way,
Homeless, weary, sighing, weeping
Over sin and Satan’s sway?
Tis our God, our glorious Savior,
Who above the starry sky
Is for us a place preparing,
Where no tear can dim the eye.

Who is this? Behold him shedding
Drops of blood upon the ground!
Who is this, despised, rejected,
Mocked, insulted, beaten, bound?
Tis our God, Who gifts and graces
On His church is pouring down;
Who shall smite in holy vengeance
All His foes beneath His throne.

Who is this that hangs there dying
While the rude world scoffs and scorns,
Numbered with the malefactors,
Torn with nails, and crowned with thorns?
Tis our God Who lives forever
Mid the shining ones on high,
In the glorious golden city,
Reigning everlastingly.

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