Life2gether

Back in my college years God used a man named Dave Busby to radically affect my faith and life.  Perhaps more than anyone, Dave taught me to see God as a compassionate Savior instead of a disappointed taskmaster.  His deeply penetrating and brutally honest messages encouraged me to rest in God’s grace and taste and see that He truly is good.

Awhile ago I ordered some of Dave’s messages on CD, and just recently I’ve been listening to them again.  In one series of messages entitled Oh Taste and See, Dave invites us to experience Jesus as our Forgiver.  I love what he says here:

The safest place in all the world to be totally exposed is in the presence of Jesus. Why? Because He has a forgiver’s heart. He loves to forgive you… And remember it’s not the quality of your repentance, but the quality of His sacrifice. So will you let him forgive you? Will you let him love you?

I like Mark Driscoll’s approach to solitude — get away, connect with Jesus in creation, and sometimes do nothing:

I schedule at least one day a month to get away and connect with Jesus. Because every minute of my day is normally scheduled, I don’t plan these days but just wake up and go wherever I end up. I do not answer my phone, do not meet with anyone, and usually get out of town. During a few hours of driving I do a lot of praying and sometimes worship God in song by myself. I like to drive until I am out of the city and find a small town or hidden secluded place in God’s creation. There, I do whatever I feel like. Sometimes I go for long walks and hikes alone to get fresh air, think, and pray.  Sometimes I check into a bed and breakfast and take a nap and then go out to dinner. And sometimes I don’t do anything.

(Read the whole thing …)

All of us grew up in less-than-perfect families.  As a result, we pass on the negative emotional atmosphere of our family-of-origin in both direct and indirect ways.  All this makes Christian parenting very challenging!  With that in mind, Dr. Eric Johnson provides some valuable wisdom for parents in this message entitled: How We Pass on the Emotional Atmosphere of Our Family of Origin.  It was given at our SEEDS Parent Chat and can be streamed or downloaded below:

How We Pass on the Emotional Atmosphere of Our Family of Origin Listen |   Download
To download this message, right click “Download” and select “Save Target As…”

To learn more about our SEEDS Family Ministry, check out the videos below or peruse our website.

As I look at the Psalms, I’m amazed at how little we do and how much He does.  For example: 

Psalm 23:1-3

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me besides still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Psalm 40:1-3

I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and [he] heard my cry
He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog,
and [he] set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.

Psalm 55:22

Cast your burden on the LORD,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

Psalm 91:14-16

Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and [I will] honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and [I will] show him my salvation.

In summary, all I need to do is come poor and needy because He comes to me rich in mercy. Hallelujah!

“Christ’s way is first to wound, then to heal … the consciousness of the church’s weakness makes her willing to lean on her beloved, and to hide herself under his wing.”  ~Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed, p. 10.

If you haven’t read this small book by Sibbes you are missing out.  Spurgeon said, “Sibbes never wastes the student’s time, he scatters pearls and diamonds with both hands.”  And D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones added, “Richard Sibbes was balm to my soul at a period in my life when I was overworked and badly overtired … The Bruised Reed soothed, comforted, encouraged and healed me.”

Tony Reinke:

Conflicts are to be expected in marriage. But why do they happen in even the most mature marriages?

At a recent monthly gathering with the Pastors College students and their wives, C.J. abbreviated his sermon on James 4:1–3 and shared a recent example of how the passage protected his marriage from conflict during a date night.

Download C.J. Mahaney’s 7 min. message here called Cravings, Conflict, and Marriage

Have you ever wondered why tears come when we get emotional?  And did you know these tears can actually help us feel better?  Read more about why God gave us tears here.

(HT: Mark Wolter)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from his life-changing book, Life Together (the inspiration for this blog):

The Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him.  He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth.  He needs his brother man as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation.  He needs his brother solely because of Jesus Christ.  The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother; his own heart is uncertain, his brother’s is sure.

A good word here from Spurgeon:

You are meddling with Christ’s business, and neglecting your own when you fret about your lot and circumstances. You have been trying “providing” work and forgetting that it is yours to obey. Be wise and attend to the obeying, and let Christ manage the providing. Come and survey your Father’s storehouse, and ask whether he will let you starve while he has laid up so great an abundance in his garner? Look at his heart of mercy; see if that can ever prove unkind! Look at his inscrutable wisdom; see if that will ever be at fault. Above all, look up to Jesus Christ your Intercessor, and ask yourself, while he pleads, can your Father deal ungraciously with you? If he remembers even sparrows, will he forget one of the least of his poor children? “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved.”