Feliz Navidad

Greetings from Central America

Last time I wrote you I was unsure as to how long I would be in language school, but that is no longer the case. I recently was alerted by the ministry that they will need me to be present for a mission team on December 31. So with that being said I will be leaving language school after this next week 12/18 and moving to my more permanent location in Totonicapan. Which is exciting my Spanish is still improving, but I believe it well get better the longer that I live within the culture.

One slight variation to my original job description is that I may also be doing some preliminary design for a project in another city. Sometimes when working on things in developing countries one has to be flexible and willing to change directions, and this seems like one of those times. Although I am very excited at the opportunity to work on as many different things as possible it does make me a little worried that I won't be able to provide the proper amount of attention to both projects. But hey "I can do all things through Him that gives me strength" so I'll get through it.

So with that being said that is pretty much all of the new news from here. Things are still going well with my host family although we did have a little battle with an infestation of fleas, but after several bites and a few loads of laundry we emerged victoriously. So praise the LORD for getting us through that. The people here have continued to be extremely friendly, and I thank God for this blessing because it has helped to comfort me when I feel alone. I also am so incredibly grateful for for all of you. It is impossible to quantify how extremely comforted I feel to know that I have a support team filled with other believers who are praying for me.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and Merry Christmas with friends and family. God has blessed us all with incredible things over the course of our lives, and I pray that we all continue to see Him above all things.

Joy to the world the LORD has come!

Matt

One of my favorite Christmas messages is this one from John Piper where he uses the verse John 18:37 Pilate said "so you are a king" and Jesus responded "it is as you say. For this I have been born. For this I have come in to the world. To bear witness to the truth and whoever hears truth will hear My voice"

*pictures should be updated this weekend at this site

Book Log for Fall

Here are the books I have read through throughout the fall.

How People Change by Tim Lane and Paul Tripp: This book focuses on the right things concerning the Christian life: the heart, self-examination, evil and suffering in the world (and in us), the cross, community, and growth (or present grace or discipleship). These truths are standard for not just understanding but experiencing the Christian life. As Future Grace is meticulous concerning the Christian life, How People Change is holistic concerning the Christian life. Very penetrating, easily re-readable, and worth a more serious study.

Turning Points by Mark Noll: Overall it was readable and helpful for getting a “big picture” view of the history of Christianity. After the chapter on the Diet of Worms things get more complicated as the schisms within the church multiply, so the first 7 or 8 chapters are more helpful than the last 4 or 5. The inserts of original texts were nice. The material on Martin Luther was passionately and well written (displaying the authors confessed affection for Luther's thought).

A Call to Prayer by J.C. Ryle: “Piercing exhortation” is the best phrase to capture this 32 page tract. About a year ago I tried to read it and only got about six pages in before I could go no longer. The author’s warnings of eternal consequence to the prayerless person are, as I said, piercing. His final commendations to the one who does pray are very helpful, however, still sharp. Because of its energy and brevity this will be a good re-read.

When Sinners Say “I Do” by Dave Harvey: The book has a wonderfully helpful thrust: understanding and embracing the reality of the depth of your sin (and your spouse’s) will propel you to embrace the cross of Christ and live a life of love, sacrifice, joy, etc. Along with this is a lot of helpful wisdom in different aspects of the Christian life (showing mercy, grace, forgiveness, etc.) The chapter on confronting sin in your spouse’s life is really good.

Culture Shift by Al Mohler: Three things helped this book stay interesting: short chapters, relevant topics, and convincing arguments (The citing the author does of secular or opposing arguments is really helpful for this last one.). The book is a necessary read for developing a Christian worldview as a U.S. citizen because of the individual topics discussed. The chapters on abortion, parenting, and Christian morality and public law were the most beneficial.

Addiction by Ed Welch: As much as this book is about addictions it is about sin. The book is helpful for anyone who sins and wants to understand it and fight it. There is a much needed agenda within the book of centralizing the debate about whether addiction is a sickness/physical problem or a sin/spiritual problem. The book addresses counselors and addicts. The application questions at the end of each chapter are worth the price of the book alone.

Leviticus by God: There was a lot in there I am sure I did not understand, but two things are clear: God is holy and if sinners are to know Him they must be atoned for. God’s presence cannot dwell amongst any sort or amount of rebellion. Their sin must be punished if sinners are to know the Holy One of Israel.

Reflections on Rom. 6

For quite some time I have wrestled with what 'the specifics' are that are floating in Paul's head as he inspirationally pens Romans 5-7. Is he still flushing out what is means to be justified? Is he now explaining results of justification: hope, assurance, etc.? Has he moved on to sanctification specifically? Is it some combination of these?

Recently I have come across some potential insight on Chapter 6 that I felt like sharing, either to edify you, the reader, or open myself up to correction and rebuke from you, the responder.

My observations begin from examining the phrase in 6:20 ~ "free in regard to righteousness." Because Paul's teaching on the unbeliever's (Jew or Gentile) relationship to “righteousness” is so clear in Ch.1-3, this phrase “free in regard to righteousness” may be very helpful at beginning to understand many other Pauline phrases (especially in the surrounding context): “set free from sin,” "slaves of sin, " and “slaves of righteousness.” Paul makes clear that, though people are not as bad as they could be, no one can live in righteousness as to obtain it's results: eternal life(2:6-7; 3:10,20). This is very possibly what he means by “you were free in regard to righteousness.” This might equate “free from sin” meaning that there is no way Christians could live in sin as to obtain it's results: death. Also, just as those who are “free in regard to righteousness” have 'more room' to be more wicked, those we are “free from sin” have more room to be more holy. Now, this understanding of “free in regard to righteousness” could indicate that “slaves of righteousness” means that Christians will undoubtedly obtain the outcome of righteousness: eternal life. Likewise, a “slave of sin” would undoubtedly obtain the outcome of sin: death.

However, even if all this has some validity, one cannot simply make these four statements about justification. The entirety of Ch. 6 demands that there are aspects in these phrases regarding the way one lives his/her life (6:4 “walk in newness of life” and 6:22 “set free from sin and have become slaves of God”), not just our legal standing before God.

Aha! It is very possible the inseparability of justification and sanctification (more or less the point of Ch.6 (6:1-2, 15)) is defended by Paul because he cannot find words to describe one (i.e. Being “free from sin” indicates we are unquestionably released from it's condemning power (justification)) without somehow describing the other at the same time (i.e. Being “free from sin” indicates that we are unquestionably released from it's appeal and attractiveness (sanctification)).

I can potentially see this same depth to the phrases "live in [sin]," "died to sin," "died with Christ," "live with him," "alive to God," etc. Verses 8:1-4 might be helpful to look at as well.

I need to let this marinate a little more. Maybe someone can help me do so. But wherever we land on this one, there are helpful reminders thrown in the middle of this chapter for us to end on:
1)6:19 ~ "I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations [talking to Christians!]"
2)A combination of the commands in v.13 and 19 ~ "present yourselves [our responsibility] as instruments/slaves of righteousness" with the worship in v.17 ~ "Thanks be to God [credit given to God], that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart..."

Book Log

The following is an idea I received from this post by Kevin DeYoung who got the idea from Doug Wilson. The idea is to list the books one has been reading over the past however so long and then to write whatever comments may be helpful for summarizing, describing, critiquing, praising, or ripping the book. Also, the comments are supposed to stay relatively short.

Reasons why to do a book roll: (1) Not to show how much I read. I really do not read that much. Some days 40-60 pages and some days 5. It is not a jewel on the crown of my heart that I read a lot, and I realize it is a gift from the Lord that I read at all. (2) Since I began book rolling I have found it to be a helpful exercise for retaining the book. It may only be one sentence blurb, but it still helps capture what most you received from the book. Writing the blurb as well as going back to read them weeks later has been good for me. (3) It is always interesting to me what books people are reading. No matter who the person is I love to ask, "What are you reading right now?" Books simply become more interesting when you know someone who is reading it or has read it.

This book roll covers from last December to present.

Desiring God by John Piper:
Paradigm shifting on how men are to find pleasure and how God is to be glorified, and it is well argued that these are the two most important and inescapable realities: men will seek pleasure and God will be glorified. It is at times dense, and only in a few spots seriously intellectually challenging. In other parts the concepts are explained more lightly and are not as difficult to grasp. In other words any one chapter could range from Beginner to Intermediate to Expert in level.

Future Grace by John Piper:
Crucial in understanding what the root of sin is: unbelief. Crucial in understanding what the solution to fighting sin is: belief. Wonderful 31 chapter structure that leads one to work through the book relatively easily in a month. The propositions are heavy but clear and most importantly soul-edifying in the cause of crucifying our flesh.

To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee:
An interesting look into an interesting family’s life. A powerful story of a sad era in American history. A funny and accurate description of life in small town south Alabama.

Total Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis:
Simple directions with profound implications. A penetrating but brief overview of the church by two committed house-church pastors in England. A fun sub-title might have been, “How to keep Christians from drowning in programs and being lost in big churches.”

A Call to Spiritual Reformation by D. A. Carson:
Largely includes exposition of Paul’s prayers in his epistles. It focuses on what Paul prayed for and why. There is strong exhortation and correction from Carson. The book also has a good opening chapter that consists of general words of wisdom concerning prayer. Also worth noting is a section on God’s sovereignty and human responsibility in which the author says he would die defending a compatabilist view of these doctrines.

Atheism Remix by Al Mohler:
A quick book of four lectures put in print. They are helpful in understanding the main thrust of each of the four horseman of the New Atheism. A nice summarization of McGrath and Plantinga’s critiques of Dawkins followed by a unique critique of their critiques. Overall, a helpful book in continuing to think through atheism/theism and biblical theism/evolutionary theism. This book is for discerning Christians (especially chapter four), not atheists necessarily.

The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever:
An easy read (100 pages) with a ton of challenging encouragement to engage with the lost and communicate the gospel in everyday interaction. I keep thinking that for many reasons this would be a wonderful book for a new follower of Christ. It is easy to read, it focuses on clarifying the gospel, and will keep the main thing the main thing: making disciples. Chapter 4, “How Should We Evangelize?” was the most helpful chapter for me and extremely so.

The Life of God in the Soul of Man by Henri Scougal:
Whew! How the mind must focus when reading legit Puritans or any book for that matter that is over 300 years old. Wonderful thoughts on true religion or the “divine life.” The meditations on the worth of the object of our affections determining the strength of our affections (Part 2) and the thoughts on “setting our minds on heavenly things” (Part 3) are very profitable. The brief sections help you keep moving.

Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life by Donald Whitney:
A most challenging and comprehensive introduction to the spiritual disciplines. The challenge begins in chapter one as the author argues well for the centrality of discipline in the Christian life. Also, he peppers the book with thoughtful but direct questions asked of the reader in regards to whether he will be obedient or not. Appropriately the last line of the book is, “Where and when will you begin [disciplining yourself for the purpose of godliness]?”

Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God by C.J. Mahaney:
Tremendously helpful in practical ways. It is as helpful in “practical marriage” as Momentary Marriage is on the theology of marriage. Oddly enough for a book supposedly about sex, it has some wonderful meditations on death, and the effectiveness of thinking often on eternity. As bad as I am at marriage and as much time as I spend with my wife means I will read it over and over.

God, Family, and Marriage by Andreas Kostenberger:
A theology of marriage and family that examines current issues from homosexuality to marriage, divorce, and remarriage to birth control all in one work. The key word for this work is “integral.” Seeing these topics and issues as they lay side by side gives an added ability for the book to be profitable. It was indeed and will be excellent for referencing because of its comprehensiveness.

Momentary Marriage by John Piper:
Because of the importance of marriage for the church and society and because of Piper’s insistence on understanding and applying God’s Word, this may be one of the more important books he writes on the whole. Everyone should read this book. Quick chapters, sweet quotes from Bonheoffer, and the foundation is laid for a sound, Biblical conviction and understanding of marriage.

The Apostle Paul’s First Letter to Timothy by God:
Until I committed to extensively studying the pastoral epistles last April this letter remained such a mystery to me. I would randomly read through the letter and think, “What? Huh? Why did you say that? But this doesn’t work with that? What about what you wrote to the Ephesians? This is weird?” I am definitely still working through a lot, but how enriching Paul’s words are for the soul, how instructive for the church’s leaders, and what a model of commitment to “life and doctrine.”

The Patience and Kindness of the Cross

Having been engaged to be married for over eight months now I have been involved in a ridiculous amount of pre-marital counseling. During the last year we have met with a counselor privately, we have been a part of group studies, and I have read several books and articles. Some of it has been good, some of it has been real good, and some of it has been (sadly, but honestly) a waste of time.

One of the things that is common amongst all this pre-marital talk is taking one word or idea and spending a whole article or time of counseling on that one thing. For instance "forgiveness" or "compassion" or "humility" or "unity." Then you take that topic of study and apply it to marriage. Simple enough.

In my arrogance I am seriously getting tired of this model of study. Added to the fact that this aproach has been annoyingly common in the past eight months, it often includes light reflection on Scripture. The hard lean towards application often becomes less helpful because the substance of God's word is not tapped like it could and should be. (Sorry, I am kind of ranting and venting.)

Nonetheless, in the last couple of weeks with some "about-to-be-married" friends we have spent time reflecting on patience and kindness. Our leader informed us, "Patience is taking the worst of someone, and kindness is giving your best to someone."

The definitions seemed immediately helpful to me, and upon a few minutes meditation I was struck with an awesome thought:
"When He was reviled, he did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten..." 1 Peter 2:23
The patience of God was peaked during the hours of Good Friday as he "took the worst" the world had to offer.

Still, Peter continues:
"He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds we have been healed." 1 Peter 2:24
And so, as Christ is bearing sinners' sins in His body He is "giving His best" to His people. The sweetest, most sufficient sacrifice for all who would repent to Him and believe in Him.

Wrapped up in the center of the gospel is the supreme display of patience and kindness. Jesus could have received no worse, and He could have given no more.

I cannot help but think of this hymn when pondering how to fight sin (namely that of being impatient and unkind):
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face.
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
I know the author is attacking "the things of earth", but is not our flesh counted in that? And so when I apply the author's sin-stomping strategy I hear my heart roar in the hour of temptation, "Look to Christ constantly! Live by faith in the Son of God! And His Spirit will permeate your mind and purge impatience and unkindness from your heart as you are enthralled with the glorious gospel of the blessed God!"

Love yourself, be a deacon

Upon laying down the standards for the office of Deacon within a local church (1 Tim 3:8-12) the Apostle Paul tags a couple of promises on the end of the paragraph:

"For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus." 1 Tim 3:13

The deacons Paul is describing "gain a good standing...and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus" for "themselves" the text says.

Whether the "good standing" Paul refers to is how we are looked upon by others or by God is beside the point. For we all desire to be seen as respectable by other people and infinitely more so should we desire to be seen by God as worthy to be counted among His people.

The apostle is clearly talking to followers of Jesus in this passage. What legit follower of Christ in their right mind does not desire "great confidence" in their faith? It would be preposterous to think so for it would be marvelous to receive the gift of such a solid trust in the God of the universe.

May we not deprive ourselves! May we not sell ourselves short of such a wonderous blessing by chasing all sorts of other silly titles and positions. This one is God ordained and blessed of God.

So, what do deacons do? This seems to be a solid answer.

I don't care who you are...

...this is thought provoking and hopefully convicting.

"This is no time to fight murder with murder (there is no time for that). But neither is this the time for pro-lifers to slacken in their efforts from fetus fatigue. Between 1973 and 2005 American women procured an estimated 48, 589, 993 abortions. The bloodiest single-day battle in American history was at Antietam in 1862, where 23,000 Americans lost their lives. It was an mind-boggling loss of life. Now imagine another Antietam every five or six days for 32 straight years. That’s how many unborn children died from 1973 to 2005. And they died not for the abolition of slavery, nor for the preservation of the Union, but for choice." Kevin DeYoung

Finding "Future Grace"

"The aim of this book is to emancipate human hearts from servitude to the fleeting pleasures of sin...We sin because it holds out some promise of happiness. That promise enslaves us until we believe that God is more to be desired than life itself (Psalm 63:3). Which means that the power of sin’s promise is broken by the power of God’s." (p. 10)

These words are from the first few sentences in Pastor John Piper's book "Future Grace". For the past three weeks I have been walking through this book a chapter a day (conveniently it is set up to read a chapter a day and finish in a month). This book has not been just one more Piper book that I can soon claim to have read. It has offered a whole new perspective on how I wage war on the sin that remains in my flesh (1 Peter 2:11).

Sadly, it has taken me over three years after being born again before getting a book like this in my hands. I have spent a number of hours in Romans, 1 Peter, and other books that clarify the gospel or in wonderful, compelling apoligetics that defend the faith. All the while I have put up puny efforts to spearhead the fact that I have some serious sin remaining in my daily life. And not "good Christian" sins like not reading my Bible or praying or fasting or tithing enough. There is still some juicy stuff left: sexual immorality, lust, anger, malice, and I am just going general terms here. Something has got to be done.

That said, Pastor John's book is getting me off to a good start on grasping what it might look like to follow Jesus while I am in a mortal body and a fallen world in which Satan is referred to as the "prince of the power of the air."

One of the ways Future Grace is having an effect on me is the way in which I read Scripture. Specifically how I read commands that come from Scripture. In the quote above notice how Pastor John argues for what sin is and how its power is broken. Sin is believing a promise. A promise that porn, food, football, marijuana, alcohol, an attaractive man or woman, good grades, good pay, or anything is more satisfying than God. The power that these things hold on us comes from our faith in them to bring us joy, pleasure, peace, satisfaction. We defeat this power through hearing the promises of God's word and saying "Yes!" to them. Our faith shifts from one source of love to another. The key is faith, not moral might. The key is beholding God and embracing Him over and above whatever other pitiful pleasure I had before. Sin's promise is undone and God's promises propel us to joyful obedience.

How is this effecting my time reading from the Scriptures? Simply, I now see the connection between the action God is calling me to and the promise that is to be believed in order to fulfill the action.

This morning I am in my eigth day examining Psalm 130. Seriously, it is a keeper. I encourage you to take this one up soon. This writer is dealing with adversity and pain and the pit in a marvelously godly way. Anyway, here are the last couple of verses.

[7]O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with him there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
[8]And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquites.

The command is for Israel, and he says, "Hope in the LORD!" A very simple command. Trust God.

Why though? Why trust God? Why not any number of other things or people or gods? "For with [the LORD] there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquites."

One thing I know is I need to be loved. I love to be loved. To be listened to, to be prayed for, to have someone take interest in me, to be sacrificed for, to be honest with someone is something I long for. And here the psalmist declares "with [God] there is steadfast love."

Another thing I know is I need to be redeemed. I know something is wrong. My mind, my mouth, my body, my will are all corrupted beyond description. My own capacity to love is plagued by selfishness. My ability to do something as honorable as preaching the gospel is infected with pride. I need something outside of me to happen, and the psalmist declares "with him there is plentiful redemption."

There are the promises: love and redemption. Better yet, steadfast love and plentiful redemption. Do I believe this? Will I trust these promises? Will I bank on God's promises of the future grace of love and redemption. This question is what will make or break my ability to "hope in the LORD" as the psalmist calls for.

The Beginning of the End of "Those Many Days"

23] During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24] And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25] God saw the people of Israel--and God knew. Exodus 2:23-25

In Genesis 12 God had given Abraham what has come to be known as the Abrahamic covenant. The covenant promises were then passed down through his son Isaac, Isaac's son Jacob, and then Jacob's twelve sons. Through a series of dramatic events involving a housewife trying to hook up with her pool boy, a dude's brothers tossing him into a well and then selling him into slavery, and one of Jacob's sons having sex and conceiving twins with his pretend-hooker daughter-in-law, the whole family ended up in Egypt. That is how Genesis ends.

Exodus begins years later with Abraham's descendants having multiplied like Bama fans when they finally get out of the cellar. There was hundreds of thousands of Israelites in the foreign country. The present king is freaked out and starts intensely persecuting and oppressing them in fear that they may outgrow the Egyptians and take them over.

Enter Moses....aaaaaand before you know it Moses exits. He kills a man (yep, Moses the murderer) and is forced into exile.

Verse 23 of chapter 2 refers to the time after Moses's exile as "those many days." And apparently they were not a many good days. Affliction and pain continued, and the man who was to lead them was pulling into 80 years old and about to retire from a forty year career of shepherding; and he was in exile. Yes, it was to be Moses.

However, (aha!) this is where we come to Ex. 2:23-25. These few short verses are the turning point of the whole narrative in which God will sovereignly liberate and redeem His people for His glory. Even in respect to the chapter these verses belong to they are short, but even more so in comparison to the whole book of Exodus. Still, they carry with them huge implications for how God works to save His people. His means (or one of His means) of how He will move in that age and our own is revealed to us in a powerful way.

"The people of Israel groaned...and cried out for help."

Wow...that's it. They "groaned"? They "cried"? What about fasting? What about just praying? Or just asking God for help? Groaning and crying seems so...unholy and weak spirited. It must have been the kind of thing King David would speak of years later when he said "The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite hear, O God, you will not despise."

And this is clearly what they did to communicate to God as vs. 24 says "God heard their groaning." So it was prayer, but is it much like my own? Or ours as the church? Do I "groan" to God longing for the liberation of His elect? Do I "cry out" to God for the salvation of the unbelieving? Or even my own sanctification, even my own battle to put to death the misdeeds of my body. Do I long to put those things away with this kind of angst?

I guess you can tell this text has impressed upon me the frailty, the superficiality, the futility, the thoughtlessness, the convictionlessness of much of what I consider prayer. Especially in praying for the freedom of those now dead in there sins that are all around me alive in the body.

Where is hope for this perverted sense of what prayer is? Where is hope for those not under the saving grace of God?

I think it is not merely that God answers prayer or that He hears prayer. For it is our prayers that are already demented. Even if I pray, "God help me pray in a pure God-honoring way," that prayer could be sinfully distorted in some way.

I think hope is to be found only in one phrase of this text.

"There cry for rescue from slavery came up to God."

"Up to God." I do not believe one can have any sort of Judeo-Christian view of God and think that this phrase does not have implications. God is above. God is over what is happening in Egypt with Israel. God is orchestrating all things. This situation does not outreach God's dominion. God is sovereign.

Was their pain real? Yes. Will Pharoh be held accountable? Yes. Does any human being have the capacity to say, "I have nailed down the reality of God's sovereignty?" No. As the strict defender of God's absolute sovereignty, A. W. Pink, said, "I often re-learn the sovereignty of God." And I do too not mean to boast in what I believe to have been revealed to me regarding what the Scriptures teach on the sovereignty of God, but rather to boast in the sheer, pure, glorious, free grace of God in the gospel of Christ.

And that is why I post this. That our eyes may be opened, that our hearts may be crushed before the God that "apart from [Him] we can do nothing"!!!

"I tell you the truth, if anyone is to see the kingdom of God (and be liberated from sin)he must be born from above(sovereignly)." Jesus Christ (parentheses mine)

Let's pray.