sober-minded

Ted Tripp wrote a book called “Shepherding a Child’s Heart” that changed my family’s life a few years ago. I’m not alone in the belief that every Christian parent or grandparent, no matter the ages of their children, should read and take to heart what this book teaches. Now Ted Tripp has written a follow-up book, “Instructing a Child’s Heart.” Check out a promotional video here:

YouTube - Instructing a Childs Heart

(HT Tim Challies)

We use some interesting terminology in the church. Here are a couple of phrases you might hear a lot:

“Jesus was my savior, but then I made Him my Lord.”

But see the Scriptures:

Acts 2:36-”Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ , this Jesus whom you crucified.” (italics mine.)

Phillipians 2:9-11-”Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

For a helpful perspective on the “I made Him my Lord” terminology, go see John Piper

And here’s one more that’s worth thinking about:

“At the age of 14, I accepted Christ.”

Okay I know this is not a deal-breaker, but after all, the Bible doesn’t use that phrase in regards to our response to His salvation. It does use the word receive:

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12)

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him” (Colossians 2:6.)

I think the main problem with the use of “accept” is the connotations it has for today’s culture. For an interesting perspective on that, see A.W. Tozer.

“I don’t really know what suffering is; I’ve never really suffered.” “We Christians in America don’t know the meaning of suffering.” “I don’t suffer…not like Christians in other countries.”

Ever heard those words or spoken them yourself? I’ve said them many times before. But that way of thinking, I’ve come to realize, stems from a lack of biblical understanding about the role of suffering in our lives. The view that we as blessed, sheltered, American Christians do not suffer doesn’t match up with Scripture. As Christians we are called to suffer; it is one of the marks of discipleship.

We see from Scripture:

“And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Hebrews 8:17)

“In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” (Hebrews 12:4; and read the whole chapter)

“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin” (2 Peter 4:1)

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5)

“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21)

Suffering is a big part of what we signed on for when we received Christ; we are called to battle, and soldiers suffer. Hebrews 12:4 says that we war against a vicious enemy within: sin. Read Romans 6, 7 and 8 if you need more convincing that we are in for a life-long battle! John Owen said, “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.” Our own sin, the persistence of it and our own coddling of it, should cause us real grief and mourning. We suffer and groan many times under the weight of it, and long for final freedom from it, if we long to be like Christ.

Another way we are called to suffer is that, as members of Christ’s body, we don’t experience anything in isolation:

“If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Corinthians 12:26)

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15)

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2)

We see that it’s not only our own pain, loss and sinfulness that bring suffering, but each other’s. Or it should; we are called to share in the infirmities and sufferings of our brothers and sisters, whether it be the grieving and afflicted we go to church with, or those who languish in Chinese prisons, or those who endure beatings, torture and rape in Muslim countries. If we really believe that we are many members, yet one body, then again, we can’t say that we don’t suffer.

And if you’d like one more biblical truth that can cure you of your lack of suffering (and you know you do!) there is this:

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32)

The desire to put into practice (towards your husband or wife!) that one little command will teach you how to mourn over your own hard-heartedness and despair of your own goodness for pretty much the rest of your life. You won’t even try unless it springs from your love and thankfulness to the Lord who forgave you in Christ. And that’s the secret of the suffering the Lord has called us to.

Sometimes I think men can understandably be reluctant to seen as overly nice. Niceness is just not thought of as a particularly masculine trait. The fear of being perceived as a sissy has likely spurred many men to say or do certain things just to avoid that label! And besides, everybody knows that nice guys finish last…

But here’s a thought to ponder: do you recognize that while “niceness” is not a fruit of the Spirit, goodness and gentleness are? Those are not feminine qualities, sirs; those are the qualities of our Lord Himself, the manliest Man who ever walked the earth. The daily mortification of the sins of pride, and sarcasm, and biting wit and caustic replies, is as difficult a job as you’ll ever undertake.

So it’s not a question of being a nice guy; it’s more the challenge of being that battle-scarred disciple who goes, once again, into the war room (a.k.a., the prayer closet) to wrestle in prayer; who seeks to kill, as on other days, relentless urgings towards pride and ego and anger; who submits himself to God and looks to overcome besetting sin only through the power of the Spirit; who does it all in the fear of the Lord: and who emerges a fruit-bearing branch of the Vine, laden just a bit more with the aromatic, life-giving fruit of the Spirit, a blessing to all who come seeking, and a future heir of the crown of life from the Lord who sees.

Nice guys may well finish last. But guys bearing the fruits of gentleness, self-control, goodness, faith, joy, love, peace, patience, and kindness always finish well.

I want to point you to the extremely interesting blog and website of a missionary couple, Mike and Renee Delorenzo, and their family who are serving in Kenya under the auspices of the African Inland Mission. Mike is a pretty daring pilot, and Renee serves in various important capacities alongside her husband.

So far I have read just a few of their blog entries and some of their web pages, but already feel a great admiration for this couple, like so many other missionaries, who serve the Lord far from their homelands amidst considerable danger and hardship. The Delorenzos are winsome writers and describe their lives in Africa well; they also provide valuable eyewitness reports of the happenings in Kenya over the past weeks.

Mike’s latest post will leave you breathless as you read about the harrowing flights he has flown and some of the events of these dangerous days in Kenya. In the midst of fearful circumstances, he also learned that his dad has been diagnosed with cancer. All in all, it is a very inspirational read…Mike is an engaging writer and story teller, through words and photographs, as well. Please visit their website and let them know you are praying for them, and for the spreading of the gospel in Kenya.

delorenzo flyer

The country of Kenya, and in particular God’s people there, are in need of our prayers. A member of our church whose sister and brother-in-law are missionaries in Maasai have emailed this update from them:

Hello all,
I just wanted to give you an update on our situation. You may or may not know that Kenya had their presidential elections Thursday DEC 27th. The president has regained his seat and the challenger and most of the country are saying it was rigged, so in light of this the country has went into chaos.

I understand that not a lot of this is being broadcasted in western news. It is bad folks. Currently we have had 150 reported deaths, [that number has gone up considerably since this was sent] many riots and looting. All the stores are closed , ATM machines are empty and soon I think it will get worse because of the stores being closed , people are going to be getting hungry. As for us we are running low on everything, food , money and supplies. The opposing party has called for a meeting Thursday the 3rd and is calling for 1,000,000 people to gather together and inaugurate him as president, which would create a parallel government, which would throw the country into a civil war. We are still in Maasai and we are in touch with several people in Nairobi, Police, friends etc… They say it is very unsafe.

We have delayed my dad from coming at this point and we are on stand by with the trucks packed in case we have to bug-out. Please pray for the country and for our families here in the midst of it. Also pray for my workers my friends who are all at their home places. They are watching their towns burn down around them. One of my guys called me and he was hiding in the bush last night with his cows. It is a bad time in Kenya.
In Christ,
Travis

Pray for the situation in Kenya, and especially that God’s people would be delivered, and strengthened to stand firm and receive grace to make the Lord their refuge. May the churches there magnify Him by trusting in Him in this hour.

Update, January 2:

Here are some more bits of information from the family of Travis and Laura Sawyer, missionaries in Kenya:

Travis and the other missionary man were able to get into Nairobi and go to the mission organization that takes care of matters and does all the missionaries banking. They were able to get funds and also additional supplies and groceries. They did make it back to the Mara without incident and are on now working with the Embassy in Tanzania to secure VISA’S to enter Tanzania. Thursday is the day this big march is planned and the military is supposed to take control. It sounds like tomorrow will be the day that lets them know what to do.

Meanwhile…Many villages have been hit hard and thousands upon thousands of people are taking refuge in forest land. Please continue to pray for Travis’s guys (These are the guys that we gave the measuring tapes too) especially Heron as his wife and children remained closed up in a church and he is hiding in bushes trying to protect there 3 cows. That sounds strange to us, but those cows are their wealth. Please pray that they are able to secure Visa’s and that if they do leave tomorrow (which will be during the night for us) they will be safe. The other missionary family that is with them is Jon and Almi Johson and they have 3 children as well. They all covet your prayers!
Thanks again,
Missy

And from Laura Sawyer’s mom:

My son in law Travis and the other missionary (Jon) at their station “snuck” into Nairobi. They left their village at 4:00 a.m. their time (that was 8:00 pm e.s.t.) and arrived in Nairobi about 8:30 a.m. (12:30 a.m. e.s.t). They got a message from the mission agency bank that they were going to be open briefly so any missionaries that needed to get in to get their first of the month support money they could.

I spoke with Laura at 9:30 e.s.t. and Travis still was not back. He has since arrived, safe and sound with supplies and money.

His time in Nairobi went without incident, PTL! There were very long lines in the stores, but other than that, no violence. It’s the lull before the storm on Thursday.

The million man march is still on, even though the government has not approved the permit (of course!). There are thousands of military on the ground in some of the hardest hit areas. There purpose is to supposed give humanitarian aid, supplying blankets, food and medicine. It just makes sense their presence would felt right now in anticipation of the march on Thursday.

Laura and Travis and the other missionary couple have applied to the Tanzanian Embassy for visas. That way they can come and go across the border legally, whether it is for the purpose of safety or supplies. They are only 35 miles from the border.

Please continue to pray for wisdom, peace and safety. Laura said to please tell everyone thank you, thank you for praying. She said they can definitely feel and see the effects of your prayers.

Seeking Him,
Mike and Marsha Harwood

I’m sure this scenario is being repeated all over the country. Travis and Laura and their family are providing us with an insight into happenings that so far are receiving little news coverage. I’ll try to provide updates on their situation as they come available from the Sawyers. How good of the Lord to grant us the privilage of prayer!