The Prayer of Pierre Viret: May God use it as a glorious light of grace in your life!

God has used the prayer of Swiss Reformer and friend of John Calvin, Pierre Viret, as an unbelievable light in my life. It has stirred my affections for Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit has used it to bring my life even further under His Lordship. May the Lord use it as a means of grace in your life! I would encourage you to pray through it before your time in the Word of God. I pray that your relationship with the Lord will be strengthened and encouraged brothers and sisters!

Recognizing our faults and imperfections, and that we have nothing of ourselves that we did not receive from above, we humble ourselves before the high majesty of our good God and Father, full of goodness and mercy, praying to Him that He would not enter into judgment with us so as to punish us and correct us in His anger and fury [Psalm 6] in regard to our faults and iniquities, but that instead he would look upon the innocence, righteousness and obedience of His Son, Jesus Christ, whom He gave over to death for us.

For the love with which He pleases His Father, may the Lord have mercy upon us all, and by His celestial light chase away all darkness, error and ignorance from our hearts, filling us with His grace and with His Holy Spirit. Thus, may He lead us into full confidence in all truth, and open to us the true understanding of His holy Word, so that it may not be corrupted by our carnal sense and understanding. Instead, may He give us the grace by which He spoke by His holy prophets and apostles, so that being led by the same Spirit, we may declare to His honour and glory and to the edification of all. And may we not listen only with carnal ears to our own judgment and condemnation like the infidels and hypocrites, but rather may we be enable to receive it in our hearts as true children  of God, by a true and living faith, which will be efficacious and active by love.

In this way may we learn to renounce ourselves, so that we no longer follow any idolatry, superstition or wicked carnal affections, so that we may fully place all our trust in Him, and consecrate ourselves and confirm ourselves completely to His holy will. Hence, may we know the favour of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we may be found irreproachable and without spot before His face.

Together with all of these blessings, let us ask of this good God and Father all other things which He knows are necessary for us. Thus, as this great Saviour and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, His dear Son, our sovereign Master, has taught us all to pray with one heart: 'Our Father, which are in Heaven...'

Pierre Viret, Instruction Chretienne, Tome Premier, edition etable, presentee et annotee par Arthur-Louis Hofer (Lausanne: L'Age d'Homme, 2004), 365, 366.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer loved the grace of God!

One of the most influential books in my life outside of the Bible was Dietrich Bonhoeffer's, The Cost of Discipleship. In it, Bonhoeffer explains that Christ's call to discipleship is in fact a call to faith. All believers are disciples. The only reaction a believer could truly have after receiving the free grace of God is to give up everything to follow Christ. Any less of a response indicates a lack of saving faith. The following article promotes the "cheap grace" which Bonhoeffer warned about. The church I attended my freshman year in college at A&M taught a version of this gospel. This gospel is altogether different from what the Bible teaches and what Christianity has historically taught for the past two thousand years. 

The proponents of this "gospel" base the meaning of passages where the literal meaning seems to clearly indicate hell, to instead a "casting out" of believers during the Millennial Kingdom. They base this premise on the assumption that only believers were present when Jesus was teaching these truths. However, we know that this was never the case during Jesus' teaching ministry. Judas was an unbeliever and was present at the Sermon on the Mount and the other sermons Jesus preached. There were probably many other "false disciples" (like Judas) in the crowd when Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount (just like there are many false disciples in the church today), and Jesus knew that. His warnings about Hell were not for the believer, but for the unbeliever who had all the external qualities of a true Christian but lacked true faith. We know that Judas went to Hell, as do other false disciples. So to say that Jesus is referring to "hell" as a punishment for believers in the Millennial Kingdom based on this premise is wrong. 

The proponents of this "gospel" interpret "work-oriented" passages in Matthew differently from their most natural meaning so as to try and maintain their view of "free grace." They assert that these passages apply to the believer in the Millennial Kingdom instead of the nonbeliever in Hell. There is not one place in Scripture where I have seen it stated that believers that do not obey Christ will be cast out of the Millennial Kingdom to be refined later for Heaven. In fact, I do not see anywhere in Scripture where someone can claim to be a Christian and not obey Christ's commands. John said, "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in Him (1 John 2:3-4)." Furthermore, Paul said that for believers he was sure that "neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38-39)." So why would believers be separated from Christ in the Millennial Kingdom? Paul said, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him (Eph. 1:3-4)." So if believers have been given every spiritual blessing in Christ in the heavenly places, then why would a believer be cast aside in the Millennial Kingdom to a place of "weeping and gnashing of teeth?" That doesn't sound like a spiritual blessing. Again, in Colossians Paul writes, "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven (Col. 3:3-5)." So how could believers have the assurance of a hope for their future in heaven if there is the possibility that they will be separated from God and be in a state of mourning for a thousand years? That doesn't sound hopeful.

Jesus did not teach a works salvation in passages such as Matthew 5 and Luke 9. He was teaching salvation by faith alone through grace alone (and this true faith does work and does give up everything for the sake of the gospel). So the proponents of this "free grace Gospel" are working with a hermeneutic that is skewed by trying to interpret what Jesus called true faith into something else entirely. The outcome of this hermeneutic is that all of Jesus' calls to discipleship (which are a call to faith) are understood as a call to strive for rewards and a position in His coming Millennial Kingdom. The natural outcome of this is that the gospel is reduced down to the point where faith is equated with merely believing the facts of the gospel intellectually. This gospel is called the "Kingdom Gospel" or "Free Grace" by its proponents. Dietrich Bonhoeffer simply called it "Cheap Grace." It makes Christ's high call for us to pick up our "cross daily and follow Him" a call for rewards and not a call for saving faith. It tries to make grace less than what it really is by focusing on an assurance of salvation instead of the means by which we enter into a relationship with God. In claiming to promote the true meaning of grace, grace becomes nothing more than a ticket to heaven instead of the life-giving, life-altering sanctification that it is. I'm simply saying that true faith, the type of faith that Jesus talked about, gives up everything to follow Him. In the following of Christ, and in knowing Christ and His sufferings we really begin to understand the greatness and the richness of the grace that we have been given in Christ! The grace that Dietrich Bonhoeffer talked about!

The CHURCH...it has meant a lot to America!

This is an article that was written by my Great Grandpa Errol (my mom's father's father) on March 9, 1949. Since the scan of the article did not come out clearly, I will include below the text of the article.

"The Church on the corner or the steeple we may see in the distance verifies a life lived and stands as evidence in any given community that there are those who sense the power and influence of the Master's teachings. Are you one who senses this influence and shares in it, or are you engrossed in individual enterprises and find little time or need of the church? Is your life dominated by materialistic, selfish, and egotistical motives or are you concerned about the misfortunes and joys of others? The church can fulfill the same purpose for each of us that a governor does to an engine-the church can help regulate lives and relieve the strain of modern living and afford the opportunity to take inventory and to evaluate the moral and spiritual values and the purpose of living.

You say you are not interested: Would you want to live in a community where the Church was not present? Do you accept your share of the responsibility for the Church's support and maintenance? Some give of their time, others give their financial support-there are many ways you may serve. Do you, like some, stay away because you judge yourself better than some who affiliate with the church, who have made positive commitments and perhaps errors?

The church's influence is determined by the going and coming of those who frequent its doors and the leavening influence of many inspired lives as they radiate out in any community. To some the church may mean the difference between being a beast or a human being, between hating and loving, between being a burden and a useful citizen of society. The church is a monument to the faith of a community in the way of life as taught by the Great Teacher and Example, Jesus.

By Errol G. Myers, Trustee, Friends Memorial Church"

I thought that it was really interesting that my Great Grandpa assumes that the church makes an impact in its surrounding community and culture. That is not the norm for today's American church. Oh how our churches today need to do the same. America needs churches that will make huge ripples in their communities, their cities, and our nation like we've had in the past. I believe that the American church needs to step out again in faith to form the cultural centers of American communities. How does the church do this? By serving others unconditionally in our nation's cities and communities. Perhaps, when the church starts transforming the culture, we will see a culture that involves radical repentance and awakening in our nation. Who knows what God has in store for the churches in America. But, I think the church has a bright future!

Christ and His Bride, the Body of Christ

Over the past couple years, God has been changing my heart, my thoughts, and my passions about His bride. It wasn't that I disliked the church or had become disenfranchised with the church like some, it was just that I did not have a great love for her. I enjoyed going to ecumenical Bible studies (Breakaway, Passion Conferences, etc.) almost just as much as I enjoyed going to church. Churches I found, were often wrapped around the axle about issues like church politics, and church growth, and were not actually doing the things that the LORD commanded. Over a period of a few years, I also saw many of the pastors and church leaders of the churches that I attended fall into marital unfaithfulness. Church, I realized, was messy business...

But, then God started to change my heart for the church. He used verses like Ephesians 5: 25 - 28, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." I began to see that Christ's love for the church, His bride was so great. It really astounded me how much Christ could love such an imperfect bride!

I saw that not only did He purify the church, but He also provided the framework and the stability for the church, namely Himself. Peter was preaching in Acts (3:14) he said to the Jews, "But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from dead." Jesus is the "Author of life," both physical and spiritual life! He is holy and righteous. When He gave His life on the Cross, He was laying down His life, a perfect life, for His bride. He pursued and is still pursuing His church as the perfect bridegroom. John put it like this (1 John 4:10), "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." Christ has already given Himself in every way to His church by providing justification and sanctification for her sin and by offering a personal relationship with Him.

Christ also continues to build up His bride by His Spirit. In Acts 8, it was the very Spirit of Christ that instructed Philip to share the Gospel with the Ethiopian Eunuch. It was also the Spirit of Christ that brought the Gospel to Europe in Acts 16, when Christ would not allow Paul to preach the Gospel in Asia and then led him to Macedonia. So not only is Christ the very foundation of His Church (1 Corinthians 3), He is also the one who builds her up.

If that were not enough, Jesus provides comfort for His church while she faces the trials of this world. In Acts 7:55 when Stephen was being stoned, Luke said that "... he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." In Acts 18, Christ appeared to Paul in a dream and instructed him, "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people."

I believe that we, the church, have the same comfort given us today when we face various trials. Jesus said, "I am with you always, to the end of the age" in Matthew 28 when He gave His Great Commission. I think that this is a promise, that we as the church, can take to heart. We have nothing to fear, because as believers, Christ has promised that we have with us the very Spirit of Him that saved our souls. There is no reason, then if you are a believer to pray that Christ "would be with you" for He has already promised us that...and that should provide great comfort for His church!

My love for the church has grown in response to the love that Christ has for His church. I can echo with St. Augustine, "The church is a whore, but she's my mother." Sure the church is going to have outward deficiencies in this present age, but before Christ, because of His blood, she is a spotless Bride, and I believe that we should love her in this manner. We should do everything within our capacity to move the Church towards further sanctification in this world by defending her against falsehood and sin, and lifting up the Glories of Christ (which is the Gospel) to all people!

Leonards = Warrior Poets

The first Sunday that I was in Pensacola this past February, I went to church and providentially winded up being a little late because I could not find the church's location. As I entered the church, I noticed a well dressed man with an athletic build bringing his daughter and little boys into the church (Trina was home sick this Sunday). When he heard me coming behind him he turned around and said inquisitively in an aggressive, challenging manner, "What are you doing here?" and I shot right back, "I found this church on the internet." He just stared at me and slowly nodded his head. Right then and there, I knew there was something special about who I would later find out to be Todd Leonard. I could tell by the way he carried himself and his intense gaze that this man was a natural born leader. I could tell he was a Man's Man... Trust me, as a Marine officer, I work with some of the bravest, hardest men that you'll find on the face of the planet. I know how to spot them. But Todd had something more than just being a natural leader. After the service ended, as I was meeting and shaking hands, I asked the couple in front of me who the "well dressed guy with all the kids was on the back pew." They responded, "That's Todd Leonard, he's working through his Masters at RTS and is head of the men's ministry, Men for Modern Reformation." In my mind, I was thinking, "Of course he is. That makes perfect sense." So I walked over to Todd and formally introduced myself and we exchanged phone numbers. 

I later found out through people in the church that Todd had been an Army Infantry Officer in the 90's and before that, had been Pensacola High's starting Quarterback (Emmett Smith played for their rival school, and Todd led Pensacola to victory when they played against each other his senior year).

Two Sundays later, I saw Trina for the first time. She was with two of Todd's kids, so I knew that this must be his wife (although, I think I would have guessed that she was Todd's wife without the kids just by the way she dressed {classy like Todd}, and the way she carried herself. Before Todd could come in the room with the other boys, she introduced herself to me and told me that Todd had told her about me. She invited me to come over to their house the next Friday to hang out with them after the church's Good Friday service. I was excited about finally getting the opportunity to hang with Todd.

On the drive out the next Friday to the Leonard house, I had no idea what to expect. I think that you can tell a lot about people by how they keep their house. I was expecting with all the young boys that Todd and Trina had, that their house would probably be a disaster. Nothing could have been further from the truth. As I pulled up their drive, it was like I was entering a plantation drive. To say that the grounds were well kept would be an understatement. Everything was in pristine condition. The two story white house with the white fence looked like a scene from the cover of Southern Living. I was impressed. Then, when I came into the house, I was even more surprised to see it spotless...but boys were running everywhere. I quickly found myself engaged in a wrestling match for my life (I think Jacob was legitimately trying to hurt me...but I wasn't about to let that happen) with all those boys (this would be a common theme with my time with the Leonards). Every time I entered the house, I was greeted with threats, and shouts of "Mr. Grant is here! Let's Fight!" I loved it!

That night after the Good Friday service, we ate dinner at Chili's and then went back to the Leonard house and shared stories. As Todd, Trina, Faith (the Leonard's oldest daughter), and I talked, God began to do something amazing in our lives. He knit our hearts together in ways that we could never have imagined. Over the next two months, Todd became like a Father/Brother to me and Trina like my second mom. Their children, Faith, Zach, Jacob, Jackson, and Gabriel were like my own brothers and sister. From that Easter weekend until I left Pensacola, we spent every minute of our free time together. 

I learned so much from watching Todd and Trina and their children. I always knew that children were a blessing from the Lord (Psalm 127:3-5), but for some reason the actual working out of that blessing had escaped me until I saw it first hand with the Leonards. The other thing Todd taught me was the importance of fulfilling the Creation Mandate given to us in Genesis 1:28. I learned about taking dominion over the realms the God places me in. I saw Todd and Trina work to do that in everything they did, and it was inspiring. More than anything though, I learned that God is full of surprises and that we never know what blessings He has for us in relationship waiting just right around the corner.

So when I left Pensacola on May 27, we all had tears in our eyes. I hated having to leave. Little did I know that in August I was going to come back to the states and have a glorious reunion with the Leonards! The first picture above was taken right before I left Pensacola. The second picture was taken at a Cajun restaurant in Natchitoches, Louisiana during our reunion in August.

In the spirit of everything Leonard, this weekend the Leonard family is running a triathlon together (the three younger boys are going to watch)! They have been training together as a family for the past two months. I am praying that they all do well...Todd, don't let Trina pass you on the run!

Forever Young...is that a good thing? The Hebrews wouldn't think so.

Yesterday as my friends and fellow officers were descending 3 Peaks in Japan (pictures will be posted soon), one of them made the comment, "Our economy and our entertainment industry completely revolve around adolescent girls." The more I thought about this, the more I realized that it is true to an extent. It's not just adolescent girls though, it's the young in general. Americans idolize youthfulness and the younger generation so much that, it is not uncommon for Americans to enter a "mid-life" crisis at age 40 wishing they could be young again. Now even more absurd than the "mid-life" crisis is the "quarter-life" crisis which some people in my generation, "the twenty-somethings," are supposedly encountering. Even if you have not experienced something as ridiculous as a "quarter-life" crisis, the fact remains that in general, we (evangelical Christians included) have made much of what it means to be young instead of looking forward to and admiring what it will be like to be the older generation.

This is how the Hebrew culture worked. The younger generations placed the oldest generation on a pedestal. The oldest generation was the one that had fought the fight and proven themselves faithful to God in the face of obstacles and trials. They had wisdom to give because they had lived life and had by the grace of God, overcome it's challenges. They knew God better because they had known Him longer. They were the ones who were responsible for passing down the stories of God to the younger generations. The Hebrews did not believe that youth had much to offer besides physical strength. Proverbs 20:29 says, "The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old." The pinnacle of one's life was not twenty-five, instead the pinnacle was when one could pass on wisdom gained from a fruitful life to the younger generations. The old were not cast aside to live out the rest of their days in a nursing home, so that their kids could selfishly live out their youthful pleasures. Instead, the old were kept close-by and revered. Their job was to teach the younger generations the things of God.

I put these pictures up of my grandparents because they have been a great example to me of what it means to follow Christ in this generation. I seek their advice regularly. I not only look up to them, but also look forward to being in their shoes one day!

I'll end this with Job 12:12 "Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days."

Culture Comparison

Sorry I haven't posted in the past month. I was at the beautiful Fort Polk for a month in Louisiana doing a training exercise (I hope you can catch the sarcasm). On the bright side, I was able to meet with my family at our tree farm, which ironically was only about an hour and 15 minutes from the base.

For the past two months, I have been doing a study on the Hebrew culture during the Biblical era. I think understanding the context in which the Hebrews wrote our Bible is vital to understanding and living out God's desires for our lives. Much of the material for the next few posts comes from Marvin Wilson's book, Our Father Abraham. The rest simply comes from observations I've made studying the Word.

The Hebrews lived a very active lifestyle. They walked everywhere they went. They worked hard at their profession 6 days a week (not just 5). They were up at sunrise and worked until sunset.  Because of this lifestyle pattern, they  were very observant and close to God's creation. They saw God's hand in creating everything and appreciated it. Check out the imagery that David uses to describe aspects of creation in Psalms 19 and 23. We on the other hand, sometimes go days without appreciating a single thing God has created. Part of the reason for this is simply because we live in urban centers that are far away from the nearest beach, or mountain slope. But another aspect of it is because we are not intentional about trying to observe what God has created. When I lived in Pensacola I would get up early every morning and run. I would try to time it so that I would catch the sunrise right when I was finishing up my run. Then, at night, I would drive to Pensacola beach and catch the sunset with a good book. It's hard to put into words how these experiences uplifted my heart and affections for God. Seeing the beauty He created draws us to worship Him! I think you will get a real sense for this when you read through the Psalms. 

Here's some things that I do to try and appreciate what God has made:

1. Run during sunrises and sunsets

2. Look up at the stars on clear nights

3. Visit the beach and mountains every opportunity I get

4. Swim in a cold glacier lake (at our lakehouse)

5. Appreciate God's work in the details. He made all the intricate colors and designs we see in nature.

6. Never pass up the opportunity to visit a National Park (Teddy would be proud)

7. Drive with the windows down on a crisp, fall day

8. Sit outside for at least 30 minutes each day (especially after a long run)

9. Travel to places I've never visited before