Blog - Page 32 of 140 - Christ Church

Infinite Care – Christ Church Downtown Exhortation

Joshua Edgren on January 7, 2024

The vastness and immensity of God presents us finite folk with lovely paradoxes. Consider this one: the knowledge and power of God are truly unbounded, and yet He cares about the smallest detail of your life and doings. This is both comfort and warning.

It is undeniable comfort to remember that the King of Heaven—the one who created and upholds all things and has cherubim at His command and who dwells in unapproachable light—is intimately involved in the affairs of men. This is His story, and he is working all things to His glory and to the good of His people. We are in uncertain times, but the purposes of God are ever faithful, ever sure. It looks to us like the world around us is going up in flame, and it might be, but if so, it is a controlled burn set by the divine fire chief for His good pleasure. Nothing can thwart God’s plans and purposes. We are all of us in the palm of His hand. This is comfort.

But there is warning as well. And here is the paradox: the great and omnipotent God of the cosmos has crafted a story so great that the choices of the characters truly matter. It would be easy to stop halfway and say, “I’m just along for the ride. God is doing whatever He’s doing, and I’m just a passive observer.” The ditch on one side is fearful anxiety, and the ditch on the other side is slothful presumption; we must avoid both.

When we gather in the presence of God with the saints on the Lord’s Day, we walk the path between the ditches. We come to worship at the throne of the Almighty God, acknowledging His supreme power and authority over all things. And also we come to hear the commands of God proclaimed and explained. We come to confess our sins and to receive forgiveness and to be equipped and strengthened for godly living.

Joshua Edgren – January 7, 2024

Feelings Make Terrible Gods – Christ Church Exhortation

Jared Longshore on January 7, 2024

Calvin was absolutely right that man’s heart is an idol factory. And the men and women of our day seem hellbent on setting up their feelings as little deities. They offer pinches of incense to them on nearly every street corner. Even so, feelings make terrible gods. You would be far better off worshipping the gods of the Roman Pantheon. If you’re really going to turn your back on the Living God, go for Zeus, Aphrodite, or Apollo. At least then, you might have an interesting story to tell, albeit a tragic one. At least then, you could pretend to be reaching outside of yourself. All of this talk about following your heart is not only worthy of the flames of hell, it is also remarkably boring.

Your feelings are meant to be commanded. They should line up and follow you along the way. If they are being unruly, that is no worry. That is what feelings often do. Just give them a spanking and tell them to sit up straight, shut their mouths, and act right. But, says an evangelical who has joined the Philistines of our age, “What then could I write in my journal if indeed I tell my feelings to hush?” Well, you don’t have to throw the journal away. But if you are going to keep it, you should start writing Bible verses down and then use your pen to describe how you are going to trust those words more fully and obey them more diligently. As Martyn Lloyd Jones once wisely said, “Most of our problems in life come from the fact that we are listening to ourselves rather than talking to ourselves.” Control your emotions. Discipline them. This work is not too hard for you. This self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, and He has been poured out in your hearts.

Jared Longshore – January 7, 2024

Christ Church Troy Exhortation

Matt Meyer on January 7, 2024

John 13:2-5 (NKJV)

And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded..

As I was contemplating this passage, I was struck by the fact that Judas was still with the disciples when Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. And as this passage says, Satan had already put the betrayal into the heart of Judas. Judas even had the money from the religious leaders jingling in his pocket. He was just waiting an opportune time to put his wickedness into action.

But at this point in the meal, Judas is still included with the twelve, Jesus no doubt tenderly washed the feet of Judas as he had with Peter, James and John. How can we reconcile this with God’s Word?

From Proverbs 10:18 “Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, And whoever spreads slander is a fool.” and Proverbs 12:22 “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.”

Paul tells us that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God’s hatred of sin and particularly the sin of lying hasn’t changed. It is an abomination. At the same time, God’s grace is not constrained by our sin. Lying is a form of betrayal, but for those of us on the receiving end of this type of betrayal, we have the example of Jesus, who extended Grace and service to the end. So, in cases where we have been lied to and betrayed, consider the Lord’s command to forgive as you have been forgiven.

Matt Meyer – January 7, 2024

Grace & Peace: Proverbs 20:22

Douglas Wilson on January 5, 2024

At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

“Say not thou, I will recompense evil; But wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee”
Proverbs 20:22

The Scriptures do not teach us that vengeance is sinful and wrong, but they do teach that vengeance belongs to the Lord . . . and to those the Lord has plainly deputized as His agents of vengeance.

When someone does the believer an evil turn, the carnal impulse is to strike back, to get even, or—as these things usually go—to get ahead. This proverb is very clear that this impulse must be mortified, put to death. Do not say that you will make things level. Rather, step aside. Wait on the Lord, and He will undertake for you.

This is precisely the pattern that Paul follows in Romans 12 and 13. He quotes Deuteronomy 32:41—“vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.” But he does this right after he has told the Roman Christians not to take vengeance into their own hands. This is precisely the pattern urged by our proverb. Don’t take it up yourself, but step aside and let God do it.

But the apostle adds one more layer to this. His exhortation to the Romans is that they “give place unto wrath,” but then, just a few verses down, in Romans 13, he teaches us that the civil magistrate is God’s appointed deputy. He is a deacon of wrath, a deacon of God, assigned to execute vengeance on the one who does evil.

And so this is what we are to do when we are declining to settle things ourselves. We do not go home to get our gun into order to go make things even. Rather, we step aside, and let God do it. But this is not inconsistent with calling the cops. In fact, it is exactly what we are instructed to do.

Grace & Peace: Proverbs 20:18

Douglas Wilson on January 5, 2024

At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

“Every purpose is established by counsel: And with good advice make war”
Proverbs 20:18

There is a common assumption about that spontaneity represents that which is genuine and sincere, while planning something out beforehand is somehow artificial and contrived. This comes out frequently in discussions about devotion or worship, where a planned liturgy is assumed to be something that will quench the Spirit.

In contrast to this, our proverb says that good counsel is the foundation upon which every purpose is to be established. And the proverb goes on to emphasize the same thing again if the enterprise is one of great important . . . like a war. You should not find yourself in a war because one of your high-ranking officials lost his temper. Neither should you find yourself in a war ill-prepared because of some impetuous action by the enemy. Planning, foresight, preparation, and thoughtfulness are all to be commended.

A 19th century Prussian general once observed that no plan survives first contact with the enemy. From this, some might conclude that plans are worthless. Why plan and prepare if all of that goes up the chute as soon as you begin to execute it?

The paradox was highlighted by Dwight Eisenhower, who once said that “plans were useless, but planning is indispensable.” The person who plans, provided he does so in wisdom, is more likely to be adaptable than the person who didn’t think about anything beforehand and was caught flatfooted. This means when that first contact with the enemy occurs, one of the features of the wise planning would include the necessity of adapting to the new circumstances.

If a man is wise and has a sincere heart, there is no downside if he thinks through what he is going to do beforehand. While it remains true that man proposes and God disposes, the man who proposes wisely is aware of this. His plans have budgeted for that possibility. He does not say that he is going to go this town or that one and make a pile of money. He rather says. “If the Lord wills . . .” (Jas. 4:15).