Chapter 12 discusses the faithfulness of God, and it’s a great eye-opener. We use the term “faithfulness” so often in Christian conversation and worship, that I wonder sometimes if we really understand the concept every time we say it. So little of our world is faithful in any way.

John is hosting the conversation this week, and stirring up some good revelation:

The aspect of certainty is a major component in God’s faithfulness. He can certainly be counted on to help, to guide, to discipline and correct, to love, to purify, to bring us to everlasting life. His faithfulness is the magnification of certainty.

Join the conversation here.

Who doesn’t love God’s mercy?

In Chapter 11, Torrey proves:

1. God is merciful.
2. God is sovereign in the exercise of His mercy.
3. God’s mercy is manifested toward those who fear or love Him.
4. God’s mercy is manifested toward everyone who confesses and forsakes his sins.
5. God’s mercy is manifested toward the one who trusts in the Lord.
6. God’s mercy is manifested toward all who call upon Him.
7. God’s mercy is manifested toward His afflicted people.
8. God’s mercy is manifested in His pardoning sin that is confessed and forsaken.
9. God’s mercy is manifested in his patience.
10. God’s mercy is manifested in His deliverance.
11. God’s mercy is manifested in His maintaining the security of those who trust Him.
12. God’s mercy is manifested in His acting as a defense and refuge in trouble.

I think Proposition 2, and the conversation that follows it, are helpful in addressing some popular doctrines in the Western Church these days.

Free Will

One group will quote Romans 9:15 (“I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”) to say that salvation is predetermined by God, and decided apart from the individual’s will. Torrey addresses this immediately,

“… while no one can dictate upon whom He shall have  mercy, in point of fact He wills to have mercy on all upon whom He can have mercy.”

Here, Torrey cites 2 Peter 3:9 (“… not willing that any should perish …”).

It’s true that God is sovereign in the exercise of His mercy, but He has already told us that He wills to have mercy on everyone. Torrey’s statement is sublty brilliant, “… upon who He can have mercy.”

Torrey goes on to illustrate, using scripture, the people on whom God can have mercy – people who fear or love Him, who confess and repent, etc. He is the God of covenant, and He has told us how to obtain His mercy.

Universalism

Another group will highlight 2 Peter 3:9 to say that everyone will, one day, be saved. But Torrey demonstrates, again, the people and decisions that allow the manifestation of His mercy.

Yes, God loves everyone, and He would prefer that none perish, and His mercy is unending, but over and over, scripture demonstrates how the mercy of God is made manifest in people’s lives – when we trust Him, when we call upon Him, etc. If His mercy was automatically applied to everyone, why bother with the stipulations?

Thoughts? Is God’s mercy vs. the manifestation of God’s mercy a useful way to have this conversation?

Ben Cantelon’s second album, Everything in Color, releases tomorrow, May 8. Worshippers and worship leaders, take note.

On the title and theme, Ben commented,

“When life is tough, it is tempting to reduce things to black and white… but worship has a role to play in introducing the color. Worship reminds us that God is far bigger than any of us, far brighter than any of our gloom and far more real than any of our denial.”

Tim Hughes and Matt Redman co-wrote a few of the songs, and the sound is comparable. If you like Hughes and/or Redman, you’ll like Ben Cantelon.

Much of the music is simple, which means “cover-able” to worship leaders. There are catchy piano and guitar riffs throughout, but the instrumentation overall is straight-forward.

Most of the melodies are comfortable, contemporary-Christian melodies. The melody on the title track is eerily familiar, but I can’t place it. “Lord Strong & Mighty” is another track that I can’t not sing along with.

The single from the album is “New Day,” and it’s definitely the highlight. We’re going to hear this one in churches all over the country in no time. I only wish we’d had it for Easter Sunday. Check out the video below, and I guarantee you’ll be in a better mood than you are right now. It’s stinkin’ catchy.

A couple other tracks that stood out where “Be Exalted,” for it’s wonderfully gentle tone, and “Worth It All” for it’s powerful declaration of faith and hope. The chorus, of the later:

I let go of all I have, just to have all of You
And no matter what the cost, I will follow You
Jesus, everything I’ve lost, I have found in You
When I finally reach the end I’ll say, You are worth it all

Who doesn’t want to hear their congregation singing that out?

AND, because now you love that song, I made this for you: New Day Chord Sheet, PDF. Who loves you?

This movie finally released a few weeks ago. The nearest theater that’s hosting it is in a town that’s a little more high class than me. We can’t really afford it.

So I re-read the book instead. I hadn’t read it in forever. It’s fantastic. If you haven’t read Don Miller’s breakout classic, Blue Like Jazz, get it.

Some stuff I highlighted this time:

“The problem is not a certain type of legislation or even a certain politician; the problem is the same that it has always been. I am the problem” (Loc 232).

“‘Don, the Bible is so good with chocolate. I always thought the Bible was more of a salad thing, you know, but it isn’t. It is a chocolate thing’”(Loc 505).

“I will love God because He first loved me. I will obey God because I love God. But if I cannot accept God’s love, I cannot love Him in return, and I cannot obey Him” (Loc 753).

“Your problem is not that God is not fulfilling, your problem is that you are spoiled” (Loc 821).

“I don’t think any church has ever been relevant to culture, to the human struggle, unless it believed in Jesus and the power of His gospel” (Loc 1018).

“The most difficult lie I have ever contended with is this: Life is a story about me” (Loc 1632).

And a short passage from Chapter 15 that really punched me in the face (again):

I was in San Francisco recently staying at this bed and breakfast place for people who are in the city to do ministry. It was a small house, but there were probably fifteen people living there at the time. The guy who ran the place, Bill, was always making meals or cleaning up after us, and I took note of his incredible patience and kindness. I noticed that not all of us did our dishes after a meal, and very few people thanked him for cooking.

One morning, before anybody woke up, Bill and I were drinking coffee at the dining room table. I told him I lived with five guys and that it was difficult for me because I liked my space and needed my privacy. I asked him how he kept such a good attitude all the time with so many people abusing his kindness. 

Bill set down his coffee and looked me in the eye. “Don,” he said. “If we are not willing to wake up in the morning and die to ourselves, perhaps we should ask ourselves whether or not we are really following Jesus.”

If you haven’t read Blue Like Jazz, you need to.

John is hosting today’s conversation, so head over to his place and check it out!

Snippet:

“God’s righteousness is a fearsome thing to the unsaved, but a treasure and protection for the saved. It should drive the one towards God and stimulate the other to walk pleasing to Him. We should remember that “the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 14:17) The Pharisees thought it was the former. So do most people today.”

Thoughts?

Chapter 9: God Is Love

I love this chapter. Seriously.

Torrey proposes:

1. God is love. He is the source of all love.
2. God loves His Son. God’s Son is the original and eternal object of His love.
3. God loves those who are united to the Son by faith and love.
4. God loves the whole world, and each person in it.
5. God loves the sinner.
6. God’s love manifests in providing for the need, joy and protection of those He loves.
7. God’s love manifests in correcting the one He loves.
8. God’s love manifests in His being afflicted when His loved ones are afflicted.
9. God’s love manifests in His never forgetting those He loves.
10. God’s love manifested in the sacrifice of His Son.
11. God’s love manifests in forgiveness of sin.
12. God’s love manifests in the redemption of those in Christ.
13. God’s love manifests in calling the redeemed, “children of God.”
14. God’s love manifests in His rejoicing over His people.

God’s love is such a huge idea. And the hugeness is exacerbated by the fact that most of us don’t even really know what love is.

Torrey addresses this, “What is love?” idea (biblically). He quotes 1 John 3:16-17 and Matthew 5:44-45, and concludes that:

Love is a desire for and delight in the welfare of the one loved.

That’s not really what the world believes about love, and it makes God’s love even more astounding.

We long for love in our relationships because of what it does for us. We want to feel in love. We want to feel special, adored, important. We withhold love from difficult people, from people who don’t love us back, because we think love is about us.

Scripture suggests that love is not something we feel, it’s something that we do. It takes effort.

Which makes it even more staggering that God loves me at all.

Thoughts? Which of those 14 propositions speaks to you, or challenges you the most?

Chapter 8 is on the holiness of God, and it’s really great stuff. If you haven’t been reading along yet, I highly recommend downloading that FREE PDF, and reading the chapter first.

John is hosting the conversation this week, and he highlights a really great thought:

We seem to suppress to an amazing degree this comprehension in our day to day lives by living as if His holiness matters little evidenced by the things that fill our waking hours.

What does God’s holiness mean for us, practically, today? Add your thoughts to the conversation here.

I can’t help but picture Sarah in a big, fantastic dress, singing with a kind of Wonderland orchestra behind her.

The instrumentation on the album is fantastic. It’s probably my favorite part of the album. There are some familiar sounds, and some less familiar sounds, and they all come together to make up what sounds like a big, wonderfully eclectic orchestra.

Sarah’s voice is exactly the hauntingly beautiful kind of voice you would hope to pair with that kind of music.

She sings with the music, more than she sings over it.

The first several times I listened to the album, it was rolling while I was working, and I could only recall a couple actual lyrics. Her voice weaves with the music so well, that it sounds like it just fits in with everything else going on. It’s pretty cool.

When you do actually listen for lyrics, or when they do stand out on occasion, the over-arching theme of the album is definitely the hope we have in our risen Christ. So much of the album is looking forward, in joyful anticipation, to His return. It’s sweet.

Some lyrics and a video (that totally justifies my “Wonderland orchestra” comment) after the break. You can download the album here.

From “We Should Run”:

“We will run we will be laughing
We will look and see that You are lifted high
We will shout, we will be dancing
We will call and find our Savior, You’re alive”

From “Laughter Comes Upon Us”:

“Cause He is closer to me this way
Drawn by the tears and pouring rain
Right here clutched in His embrace
Whispering breath against my ear
Tucked up against His scarred ribcage
Right here is where I want to stay”

Have you heard the album? Thoughts?

I have mixed emotions about God’s omniscience. If we’re being honest.

In Chapter 7, Torrey proposes:

1. God knows all things.
2. God sees all things
3. He knows everything about nature.
4. He knows all people.
5. He knows all our “deeds” and experiences.
6. He knows everything we say.
7. He knows all our sorrows.
8. God understands our thoughts.
9. God’s knowledge extends to the smallest details.
10. He has always known everything that will be.
11. He has always known what everyone of us would do.
12. He has always known how each of us would fit into His plan.

Basically God knows everything about everything.

On the one hand, it’s a comforting thought.

God sees every injustice. He knows everything you did right that you never got credit for.

On the other hand, honestly, it’s kind of annoying.

It makes me uncomfortable that God knows my thoughts and intents. He knows my secrets. He knows things about me that I can’t even admit to myself. Part of me is so used to living in a world where appearances rule, that it makes me really uncomfortable that the Righteous Judge, before whom I will one day give an account, knows everything.

I had a really bad day a couple months ago. I mean a really bad day. I was so tired and so beat down and so out of faith that I came home and threw myself onto my bed and cried. And between sobs I asked Him to go away. I knew He wouldn’t go away, and I knew I didn’t really want Him to go away, but I was so ashamed of my weakness and my unbelief that I – somehow – didn’t want Him to see.

Part of me still wants to put on a good face for my Father and try to convince Him that I’m doing really well. Like every kid that wants her dad to be proud of her, part of me is still stuck in the way that the world measures success, and it bothers me that God sees the failure that I really am sometimes.

I think God’s omniscience may be the most humbling aspect of His character so far.

His omniscience combined with His unending love makes me so uncomfortable I don’t even want to talk about it.

Thoughts? Does God’s omniscience comfort or annoy you most? What does His omniscience and His love, together, mean?

Namely, because Bonhoeffer – and he’d probably refuse this statement – is a model disciple in so many ways. He followed God’s call wherever it took him. He tirelessly studied the Word. He staunchly refused to compromise, even when it cost him almost everything, and through it all his friends and family report a man at peace with God’s will as manifested through a consistently positive, gentle and humble personality.

The doctor at the concentration camp where Bonhoeffer was executed later wrote of the morning of his death,

“… I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer, before taking of his prison garb, kneeling on the floor praying fervently to his God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. … At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the steps to the gallows, brave and composed. … In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly even seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God” (Loc 10461). 

Secondly, the book is a fascinating perspective of Hitler’s rise to power.

We rarely hear the story told from inside Germany. Rarer still do we hear the story through the life, correspondence, and preaching of a patriotic German with international experience and contact throughout the rise of the Third Reich.

The behind-the-scenes experience of the dismantling of the Church in Germany, and the restructuring of a society broken by war, is amazing. Many of the atrocities committed by the Nazi party were, technically speaking, legal.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the book is, in a way, a scathing review of the modern Western Church.

The parallels between so much of the “Christianity” that we see in America today, and the Church in Germany that stepped aside for Hitler and the Nazi party, are frightening. There’s a subtle, eschatological prophet speaking through these pages that we can’t afford to ignore.

For example:

“Some church leaders felt the church should make peace with the Nazis … They didn’t agree with him [Hitler] on everything, but they believed that if the church’s prestige were restored, they might be able to influence him in the right direction” (Loc 3130).

“After four hundred years of taking for granted that all Germans were Lutheran Christians, no one really knew was Christianity was anymore (Loc 3584).

“Werner’s decree that all German pastors must take this ‘oath of allegiance’ to Hitler brought bitter division to the … Church … Many … pastors were tired of fighting, and they thought that taking the oath was a mere formality, hardly worth losing one’s career. … But Bonhoeffer and others saw it as a cynical calculation on Werner’s part, and pushed the … Church to stand against it. But the church did not” (Loc 6095).

The theme that fueled Bonhoeffer’s life, and that may have crippled the Third Reich in it’s infancy if the Church in Germany had grasped it, seems to be the call to both know the Word of God – deeply and intimately – and then to live it out.

It was either theological ignorance, or high-minded theology that locked up scripture as mere philosophy, that pushed back against Bonhoeffer’s calls to action, over and over and over again. We have to know God’s character and God’s will so that we can act according to it, but knowing it, we have to act.

On Bible study:

“One wished to arrive at answers that could stand up to every scrutiny, because one would have to live out those conclusions. They would have to become actions and would have to become the substance of one’s life. Once one saw clearly what the Word of God said, ne would have to act on it and its implications, such as they were” (Loc 2678).