Discover Grace Blog

Tim Keller: Are All Religions Equal?

Parenting is Not Easy But a Special Calling

Parenting is not easy.  With three young children and another on the way, I know that it is hard to stay vigilant in our discipline.  However, the temptation to let off and hope that others to be the main source of discipline (the church, the school, other parents) is recipe for disaster.  All around we are surrounded with parents that think their children simply need material provision and a best friend.  Your children need to be disciplined.  More than that, your children need a shepherd of their hearts!  March 13^th, our church starts a new Sunday School class, “Shepherding a Child’s Heart (book by Tedd Tripp).”  I believe every parent ought to at least read this helpful book so that we are fully grasp our calling as parents.

The story of Miley Cyrus is a tragedy in the making (unless the Lord captures her heart).  Her father now sees his many errors as a parent and said he would give it all up to have his family back.  May none of us ever have to say the same.  Instead, may we all be reminded that  raising our family is our highest calling in our service to God. 

 

Please take time to read the article below by the president of Focus on the Family, Jim Daly.

 

Billy Ray Cyrus’ Regret – Jim Daly

Feb 16^th Article at Focus on the Family

Even if you don’t follow pop culture, you’ve inevitably read or heard of the teen actress Miley Cyrus.  Playing the wholesome character “Hannah Montana” on her popular Disney television show of the same name several years ago, Miss Cyrus was catapulted into entertainment’s stratosphere. She quickly became a marketer’s dream and was earning millions of dollars in TV, music and feature films. In the midst of her rapid ascent, though, she also found herself wrapped up in controversy, from being caught posing for provocative photographs to smoking a bong and taking hallucinogenic drugs.

Just another child actress given too much too soon?

Miss Cyrus, now 18, is the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, perhaps best known for his hit, “Achy Breaky Heart.”

Ironically, and sadly, that’s exactly what Billy Ray is suffering from these days.  He told GQ Magazine that he now wishes his daughter never went to Hollywood and found fame and fortune.

"The [expletive] show destroyed my family," he told the reporter. "I'd take it back in a second. For my family to be here and just everybody be okay, safe and sound and happy and normal would have been fantastic. Heck, yeah. I'd erase it all in a second if I could."  Billy Ray and his wife, Miley’s mother, Tish, filed for divorce this past fall.

As you would expect, back in 1992 when Miley was born, neither Tish nor Billy Ray thought things would take such a sad turn. In fact, when their daughter was born they named her “Destiny Hope” because they were so confident in the brightness of her future. Those early years were, indeed, happy. As a little baby they nicknamed her “Smiley” – later shorted to Miley – because she always had such a wide and carefree grin.

But those days are long gone, and her father is not only grieving their passage but regretting his actions (or lack thereof) as a father. Again, from the GQ interview:

"How many interviews did I give and say, 'You know what's important between me and Miley is I try to be a friend to my kids'? I said it a lot. And sometimes I would even read other parents might say, 'You don't need to be a friend, you need to be a parent.' Well, I'm the first guy to say to them right now: You were right. I should have been a better parent. I should have said, 'Enough is enough--it's getting dangerous and somebody's going to get hurt.' I should have, but I didn't. Honestly, I didn't know the ball was out of bounds until it was way up in the stands somewhere."

Very few parents are faced with the challenge of parenting a teen idol, a tough assignment to be sure. But what about the rest of us?  Although we might not be trying to navigate stardom, we do have to navigate and manage human nature. Mark my words. Our kids will inevitably push the envelope and test the waters. It’s normal and natural to do so. Subconsciously many of us are wondering just how far we’ll allow them to go. Despite what they might say or how they might act, they want leadership.

Now a reality check.  We all like to be liked. If it’s human nature for a kid to push, it’s human nature for a mom or dad to want to be favorably viewed by our kids. But here is the big question: Do we want to be their best pal – or their parent who often has to hold firm and say “no” when they desperately want us to say “yes”?

Here is your charge. Here is your challenge. Your kids have plenty of friends, maybe too many. But only two people in the world can really be their parents. Step up. Be parents today and the friendship with your children - a real friendship - will grow into adulthood and likely last throughout your lives.

 

His Blog is:  http://www.focusonlinecommunities.com/blogs/Finding_Home

The Smell of Death and the Aroma of Christ: Tom Little

The smell of death and the aroma of Christ

Like martyr Tom Little, we carry both | Mindy Belz

AFP Photo/Handout/Courtesy of Tom Little Family/Newscom

Sometime after Taliban affiliates gunned down Tom Little in northern Afghanistan, the FBI visited his wife Libby to give her personal items recovered from his body.

Included was a small notebook, and in between the pages listing medical equipment and supplies for the team he led to the upper reaches of Nuristan province last summer were what looked like penciled sermon notes. "They were stained with blood and blotted with sand," said Libby, carefully unfolding them before an audience of several thousand at Cape Town's Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in October. "Were these some of the things he shared with the team on that last Sabbath rest before they were killed? I'd like to think so."

There were several notations from Ephesians and a reference from 2 Corinthians 2:15, where Tom wrote, "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing, to one we are the smell of death and to the other the fragrance of life." To the side Tom had jotted, "Use the Nuristani goat cheese story."

As Libby explained, "Some aromas take some getting used to," and Nuristani goat cheese is packed on donkeys in animal skins and carried for weeks, permeating even the saddlebags with its strong sour scent. Herdsmen who carry it are smelled from far off, she added, but once you have acquired a taste for it, you're hooked. Folks travel miles for a taste of Nuristani goat cheese.

Think of Tom Little with his colleagues, hiking mountains and fording rivers in Nuristan and Badakhshan provinces last August, reeking of Christ as they delivered medical care to remote villages—before militants killed them one by one in a forest. The Taliban accused them of spying and proselytizing. Dirk Frans, the head of their organization, International Assistance Mission, insisted both charges were "out of the question" as they were "against the laws of this country and the rules of our organization."

What Frans didn't say is that those accusations were beside the point, the aroma of Christ already so strong among them. Little, a 61-year-old optometrist, had worked four decades in Afghanistan, spoke fluent Dari, was referred to among Afghans as one of "the ones who stayed": He and Libby reared three daughters there, survived the Russian occupation, civil war, and Taliban takeover. When a rocket attack flattened one of his eye hospitals, he built clinics and expanded into remote areas. He was on his fifth trip to the Nuristan region when he and nine other aid workers were killed Aug. 5.

The year 2010 has brought multiple encounters with people like the Littles, "ones who stayed," men and women of whom the world is not worthy, as the writer of Hebrews calls them. One is Joel, pastor of an evangelical church in Baghdad. Asked how to pray for a congregation that has faced death all year long, he didn't ask for safety or prosperity but for his church to experience deliverance from a "spirit of religion, where we worship creation instead of the creator" and from "our spirit of pride, rooted as we are so close to ancient Babylon."

Another, Baptist pastor John Bell in Zimbabwe, told me that living through dire crises has taught his church better to appreciate the reality of Jesus' life. Feeding 5,000 or walking on water are sought-after traits when grocery shelves are empty. "There are certain things about Christ you only learn in a storm. That has been our privilege here to have Christ manifest Himself in ways that you do not see in the calm," he said.

And there is my friend Labib, an Arab Christian living in a Jewish settlement facing the security wall that separates Israel from the West Bank. How do you survive this place? I asked him one day waiting in Jerusalem traffic. "The importance of the Christian community does not come from its numbers but from our presence and our service and our witness for Jesus Christ," he said calmly.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run with endurance the race set before us in 2011, looking to Jesus.

From:   http://www.worldmag.com/articles/17439

Martin Luther & Football

It is not a new story -- pundits and the populace are abuzz with the latest sports (football) melodrama.    At stake is the reputation and eligibility of a young sport star.   Perhaps we are too quick with our judgments, but we do not need to look far for examples of wrong doing.  And that makes it easy to come to a quick conclusion, without all the facts, and assume guilt. Yet, we live in a world with much compromise -- in sports, in politics and in people around us; there is so much inconsistency that nothing really surprises us anymore. 

 

Then we look to the Reformation and find a man of deep conviction, a man without compromise.  I was recently gripped with an account of Martin Luther, the Father of the Reformation, standing strong in the transforming power of the Gospel.   Facing certain death from his persecutors at the Diet of Worms  he was told he must recant.  His response?   “I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.”  He did not compromise, even when faced with death.  Michael Reeves draws the reader into the historical moment as he outlines these events in his excellent book, The Unquenchable Flame: Discovering the Heart of the Reformation. 

 

How did  Luther have so much integrity?  Why would he go against the teaching of the Church?  Why leave the comfort of “popular thought?”  Why make waves?  Luther had been gripped by Romans 1:17,  “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” 

 

God took hold of Luther’s heart and transformed him from a man with questions to a man who had answers.  He was a man who sought a way to remove his own guilt, and was transformed into a man with a clear conscience as He understood the Gospel of Christ.  He had received Christ’s forgiveness and righteousness from “Christ alone,” through “faith alone,” by “God’s Grace alone,” as he learned through “Scripture alone.”  Truly his story was a story that God was weaving for “his glory alone.”  (The Latin word for alone is “sola” and these phrases are known as the “Five Solas” of the Protestant Reformation.)

 

So, are there any righteous?  Are there any who seek God?  The third chapter of Romans (as quoted from Psalm 14 and 53) is abundantly clear: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”   Luther knew that his righteousness in Christ was alien to his flesh.  It was a gift of God.  This transformed him into a righteous man who lived by faith.  In a day and age when we are constantly disappointed by both the actual and alleged failures of sports stars, I pray that you and I will be called all the more to live godly, consistent, unequivocal lives of integrity for the glory of Christ.   This is the result of a heart that is changed by the power of the Gospel.

Wisdom I Wish Every Christian Knew

“Only What’s Done For Christ Will Last” - Charles Thomas Studd

One of my favorite all-time poems:

Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life’s busy way; Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done; Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgment seat; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice; Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears; Each with its clays I must fulfill, living for self or in His will; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score; When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep; Faithful and true what e’er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn; Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, ’Thy will be done”; And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say ’twas worth it all’; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.’

In the Shadow of Mount Hood - Facing Death

Great article about facing the reality of death.  Humbling to think that today or tomorrow could be the day when we are faced with mourning.  "O death, where is your sting?"

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/september/36.58.html

 

Do You Glorify God in Your Movie Watching? - John Piper

"Yes. I assume the computer you are holding there was probably not built by Christians, and I hope that you are glorifying God as you tap away at it. And of course out from there, there are a 1000 things that we use all day long, and God says, 'whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God.' And he knows that you are eating this meat that may have been sacrificed to idols, so that means it was probably butchered by an unbeliever, or handled by an unbeliever, shipped by an unbeliever, it may have been cooked by an unbelieving cook. And here you are savoring the product of all those unbelievers' work because you are in that moment giving thanks to God for it, recognizing that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof and taking the strength and the joy that comes from it to render back to him.

Now with the arts and with media it is more morally complex than with food. But it is the same principle. The complexity of it is, in those moments what do you do with the moral elements of it that are so contrary to your faith?

I'll just point out one principle because we can talk about this forever. What concerns me is the distinction between entertainment and cultural analysis. To watch something, to study the culture, learn from the culture, be more able to interact with unbelievers for the sake of the glory of Christ is one thing. To just sit and bask in nudity, or bask in fifty f-words, or bask in a world view that is shot through with arrogance to the core, and enjoy it? Hmm. That seems to point to something going on in the heart. And frankly, I have tasted it big time. I think today we are going to have to work at not being shaped by the world because the world has made its world view so scintillatingly attractive.

Movie after movie after movie has come out and most young reformed people are, I would say, indiscriminate. "Let's go to a movie tonight." OK, and then we just choose the best. None of the movies in that theater at that night are any good, probably. But you are just going to do it, because that is what you do. You go to the movies on Friday night, or whatever. And then of course you think, we've got to Christianize this thing somehow.

I just think we need to test our hearts big time. Big time. Why are we able to enjoy hell bound, God ignoring, Christ dishonoring, false world views because we can give it a little twist at the end that it taught us this or that about the world? So, I think the main thing I'm saying there is, test your heart as to whether entertainment is defaulting to the world, or to something more wholesome. We live in an age where we tend to default to the world for entertainment."

Dr. Tom Little - A Modern Martyr (UPDATED)

Yesterday morning I was reading the news and was shocked to see a name I recognized.  It is a story that I was have dismissed in my mind as a tragedy and then moved on to bigger things.   "Dr. Tom Little" for  Delmar NY.  So close to my hometown.  A missionary supported from my home church (1st Presbyterian, Schenectady, NY).  A man I had the privilege to meet a few times growing up.  A man that served people & his Lord well.  A man that in the face of the threats of wars and violence, stayed to serve.  Even threatened with death threats, he persevered.  I trust that today he has a place of honor in Glory.

If you came across this blog, Christian or not, I would encourage you to take the time to check out these articles about him (and remember to pray for the families):

Cnn.com visitins with Libby Little: A Hundred Rockets a Day

Vii Photo - Pictures of His Ministry

Times Union: Violent End to Life of Caring

Added 8/9/10 -- Coverage of Libby, his wife:

Widow of Afghan Vicitim is Not Angry

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

I came across this piece today that greatly encouraged me:

From www.thegospelcoalition.org

Guest Post by Dane Ortlund

O Love that will not let me go
I rest my weary soul in thee
I give thee back the life I owe
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be

O Light that foll’west all my way
I yield my flick’ring torch to thee
My heart restores its borrowed ray
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be

Stabilizing lines, especially for those in darkness.

Do you know the story behind it?

At age 20 George Matheson (1842-1906) was engaged to be married but began going blind. When he broke the news to his fiancee, she decided she could not go through life with a blind husband. She left him. Before losing his sight he had written two books of theology and some feel that if he had retained his sight he could have been the greatest leader of the church of Scotland in his day.

A special providence was that George’s sister offered to care for him. With her help, George left the world of academia for pastoral ministry and wound up preaching to 1500 each week–blind.

The day came, however, in 1882, when his sister fell in love and prepared for marriage herself. The evening before the wedding, George’s whole family had left to get ready for the next day’s celebration. He was alone and facing the prospect of living the rest of his life without the one person who had come through for him. On top of this, he was doubtless reflecting on his own aborted wedding day twenty years earlier. It is not hard to imagine the fresh waves of grief washing over him that night.

In the darkness of that moment George Matheson wrote this hymn. He remarked afterward that it took him five minutes and that it was the only hymn he ever wrote that required no editing.

O love that will not let me go. Heartening hope for you and me.

Here’s the last stanza.

O Cross that liftest up my head
I dare not ask to fly from thee
I lay in dust life’s glory dead
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be