John Piper - Christ Above All Else?

Yeah I’ve posted quite a lot on Mr. Piper recently. I don’t want to give the impression that I idolise the dude – I trust I don’t. I admire him a lot, but appreciate that he is not at all the Messiah but a fallible vessel just like me. One of the things I love about him being a vessel though is that he is still very focussed on Christ’s supremacy above everything else. I like that convicting and challenging call to have that desire above all else – it is something missing in every day Christianity, but it is the heart of true following Christ. It’s epitomised here.

For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd

John Piper - Where are the Faithful Young Men?

Hear the brother’s heart to call out the faithful young men to the standard of Christ at any cost. This is powerful stuff with the backing of a lengthy commitment and passion to Desiring God above all else.

For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd

John Piper - The Achillies' Heel of the Next Generation

Piper again hits home with some concerns about the tendency to go with the next big thing and not match it to the reality of how that affects our day to day life. It’s something that I am challenged with constantly in ensuring my faith is connected to my daily walk and my daily walk reflects my faith in a real way – not contrived – and also in no way compromising what I stand for whilst reaching out with compassion to get others to explore this walk with God.

For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd

John Piper - A Witness Has Become a Window

John Piper is one of the most compelling tellers of the gospel and is able through reason and passion put across his view whether you agree with it or not. I also love the way he’s able to do things in a way that connects every day realities to gospel truths. Look how he does it in this scenario for example.

For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd

Psalm 1 From A Personal Context

Don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but I was brought up by two loving parents and one loving television. OK there were a number of televisions in the time of being brought up at home, but we never had multiple televisions in the home, only one in the living room that was the focal point of the room. As is the nature of technology these televisions would die out from time to time and it was a significant time in family life when we got a new one.

In any case, my two loving parents were devout Christians, firm in their faith and their intentions of bringing up their children to have an appreciation of that. I don’t feel they forced their faith on me, they were not that way inclined, but they did exercise their responsibility as parents in ensuring we were looked after as best they could. That meant respecting them as our parents and abiding by what they said. Whenever we abided, we were fine and enjoyed life at home, whenever we strayed from it then there were necessary consequences that we had to face – they actually got worse as we grew up, not in terms of intensity or abuse, but in the sense that they would lift their hand of protection and allow us to suffer some of the deeper consequences to appreciate the value of abiding.

Reflecting on it now as a 31 year old father of three with two young daughters with boundless energy and an equal capacity to be ‘fresh’ (negative) as well as ‘sweet’ (positive) I appreciate the methods of my parents all the more.

I think I was around 10 years old and we were living at 128 Albert Road in the pleasant town of Wellingborough. There we were living the usual routine of school in the weekdays and church on the Saturdays and domestic stuff on Sundays before the Sunday night meeting. It was very rare when we were not at church on a Saturday. It was one of those rare occasions that saw us at home for some reason.

Dad had to go somewhere, which left Mum having to look after her three children. Seeing the opportunity for real freedom and fun we proceeded to create a growing amount of chaos that got to the extent that Mum put her foot down. When Mum put her foot down, even Ruth (the oldest member of the three of us) took notice. As we had transgressed this day of rest with our antics and our foolishness, our Mother set us about the task of doing something more constructive with our time. As well as memorising the Ten Commandments we also had to memorise Psalm 1 and by memorise she meant word-for-word perfect as seen in the good ol’ KJV (because at the time we were of the belief that the good Lord only spoke in the language of Shakespeare).

For hours we were consigned to our bedrooms to complete the task. It was not straightforward – as it was a word for word deal, we couldn’t afford to let anything slip and whenever we tried it off, our Mother, who wasn’t the world’s most literate person was still sharp enough to notice and so it was back to the drawing board. It took the rest of the afternoon to get it done and dusted and by that time the energy was expended and we were going to be of no mischief to our beleaguered mater. At the time we considered it to be punishment in hindsight it’s one of the best things my Mother’s ever done for us

Years passed. I developed a love for drama which required the skill of learning a script by heart, a skill I’d picked up through that episode. I developed a love for philosophy and politics. I grew and did the GCSE’s, A-levels and degree at university. I settled in London and then moved to Stoke-on-Trent. In all the growth and development the Psalm grew in me and I grew to have a greater appreciation for it. When Kevaughn entered my life, one of the few decent things I did in establishing relations with him in the beginning was go through Psalm 1 and get him into appreciating that life is all about being what God-like and what God-no-like and how that life is established. When I got into relationships with fellow travellers with Christ I would often refer to this Psalm as a point of mutual discovery and benefit.

As you would have noticed I feel compelled to come back to a Psalm within which the foundations of life itself can be found. It is a straight talk about people who enjoy their lives and people who don’t. It’s about the company you keep and the passion that drives you day and night. It will either lead to continuing to enjoy life with God eternally or being like the ‘chaff the wind drives away’.

Coming out of a month where it was looking at Proverbs and understanding the key principles and practical tips to managing life well and in the larger context of my life being destined to do good works that Jesus has already prepared for me, then this month and this season is really all about intentionally pressing into what it is to live a life that finds itself succeeding in any endeavour I go on. What is it to have evergreen leaves and to be thoroughly replenished regardless of the season? So I’ll be spending some time along with LJN just going over what lessons can be learnt from this key Psalm.

For His Name's Sake
Shalom
dmcd

Thomas Teaches Me Lessons for Life

So God has only gone and done it again. You may recall my whole bit on Balamory where God taught some valuable lessons by getting me engrossed in the weird aspects of the television my daughters watch. (You got to remember PC Plum, Suzie Sweet, Josie Jump and the rest, don’t forget that wonderful opening.) Well recently He did it again.

Now I’d retired to my bedroom after 2:30am so I was more than prepared to have to slowly drowsily get out of bed some six hours later and then get my carcass to get washed and the other stuff in preparation to make my way to work possibly getting here well past 10am in line with the recent state of events. However in the morning the wife got me out of slumbers a lot quicker than scheduled to get me to get the bin out ready for collection. If I was really still that asleep it would have been a grouchy experience, but for some reason I was just of a determined mind to just get the bin out and then get myself ready for work already. Much to my surprise it was only 8am so I’d barely had five hours sleep! Who would have thought?

In any case I get the personal hygiene stuff sorted and am just about to set off. The daughters had also rose and shone pretty early and had made their way downstairs to watch the television. In the absence of proper channels they were stuck with Channel Five. (God must love us to show us something even through Channel Five.) There was a bubbly black female presenter on, so that caught my attention straight away, what with the Josie Jump character and the Floella Benjamin standard it’s as though black female children’s presenters only come in one type. So after she did her spot – and let’s face it you have to be on something to present like that at that hour of the day – she led into a golden oldie.

Now at that time I could have still left and gone to work, but as usual something got my attention. I loved Thomas the Tank Engine. Not a huge favourite back in the day but a distinct favourite all the same. I would sit through an episode in waiting for the programme I wanted to watch afterwards back in the day. As with a lot of programmes from back in the day, one of the attractive, memorable features of the programme was the theme tune – a jaunty melancholy and upbeat track at the same time. That seemed to fit the whole Ringo narrating bit to a tee.

When I caught this latest manifestation of the programme what should hit my ears but a new theme. Now you know I’m getting old when I make a big deal of a new theme. What’s in a new theme – it’s for a new audience, Abigail and Deborah have absolutely no idea about Thomas from the old days and they are not bothered either. Oh but it bothers me, so I give the new theme a hearing heavily critical of the fact that they’ve besmirched me programme with a frivolity of a new track. (Geddit? Thomas the Tank Engine? New track? New track, eh? Geddit?)

I eventually gave the new theme a pass – it was not a gross transgression of human rights, what didn’t help though was the fact that the feel of the programme was the same as the old especially in retaining Ringo as the narrator. That was a minor issue, however, as I stuck around to catch what was going on with Thomas and Friends on this occasion.

Percy (the green one for those who know … and for those who don’t know), was getting late and got a berating from his driver for being late far too often. On returning to the shed where he rests he overheard his driver and the Fat Controller having a chat and hear FC mention the fact that the next day he’d be sending Percy to the scrap heap. Hearing this sent Percy into a state of heightened anxiety and a sleepless night. No word of assurance from Thomas in the morning could help.

So with renewed haste, Percy tackled the new day looking to hurry to get things done. As a result of his haste he was in too much of a hurry to ensure some pipes were secured to his carriages and at the speed he was travelling they fell off and onto other rail tracks unbeknownst to him. Then he had to transport some hot sticky tar and although he was told to take care in transporting it, his rush caused him to go far to quickly ending up with him colliding the tar slap bang into Gordon (the tubbier blue one for those who know … and for those who don’t know) spilling the contents all over the brother. Obviously not best pleased Gordon said that FC would hear about this which sent the already anxious Percy over the top and so he did a runner. (I wonder the rail equivalent is of a runner?)

As FC on Thomas came looking for Percy after being informed by Gordon of the accident, Thom informs FC that Percy might be making an effort because of hearing what he had to say about the scrap heap. FC immediately asks all the trains to go on the look out for Percy as there had been a terrible misunderstanding. Having done a runner, however, the trains had a difficult time tracking him down. (Geddit? Thomas the Tank Engine? Tracking him down? Tracking him, eh? Geddit? Hold on have we been here before? Don’t suppose there’s any chance of me back-tracking? Geddit? etc.) Then because the programme’s named after him, Thomas has a bright idea of where Percy might be hiding and so goes to the secret location – alright it’s hardly that secret if someone else knows about it, but you get me, the hiding place.

Once at the hiding place where they see a fretting Percy awaiting his fate, FC gives Percy the fuller picture that in actuality he understood that the reason for Percy’s lateness was because he was working too hard. So all he’d said about the scrap bit was to get some stuff down there, then after doing that he could chill and just do the mail run for the rest of the week and relax. Having received this glad tidings and being relieved of the worry of being scrapped, Percy goes about his business (or leisure, if you like) resolving never to get caught up in following silly stories, especially ones made up by himself.

God’s grace says that it’s not because of anything we have done or that we can do that earns us favour with God. Indeed our best efforts at the right thing fall way short of His standards. Paul has that graphic way of conveying the sentiment with filthy rags, which apparently if we read the Greek wasn’t referring to the messy dish-cloths in the kitchen but something else, that women dispose themselves of on a cyclical basis. So our relationship with God is all grace – we are who we are because of grace, so there’s no need to struggle under the weight of legalism, perfectionism and the demands of others be it society, peer-group, media, church, work or whatever. Jesus’ invitation to come to Him and experience rest as we learn of Him is one in which we truly discover what it is to work, rest and play without the weight of the world on our shoulders.

What particularly gripped me though was how the episode reminded me of a particular theme I’m on in personal application on context, content, concept and conclusion. Percy’s actions (or conclusions) were based on a faulty understanding (concept). Not taking the time out to take on board Thom’s assurance which gave the wider context in which his actions were to be viewed, Percy chose to act on those wrong conclusions and thus ended up in a sticky situation. (By the way if you’re looking for an article without puns, I’m sure you’d have gathered by now you’re on the wrong track. Geddit? etc.)

A lot of us are coping, dealing, enduring, living with bad conclusions because of the inability to follow the principle of getting the context, content and concept right so we can get the right conclusion. One of those is me. This is why crucial decisions for the future have to be made wisely because in this season of emerging from the shadows it will call for applying that process in new ways that stretch my faith but does make it clear that my intentions are to follow Jesus Christ in the call in which He has called me, rather than being a man-pleaser.

Whilst reflecting on this truth on the journey walking to work it struck me again in the light of the story of the Prodigal Father how both sons had blatantly got their dad all wrong based on either licentiousness or legalism – wrong concepts leading to wrong conclusions and thus how it is important for us to reflect again consciously the context of the relationship with God. It’s initiated by God for the glory of God founded on reflecting His image on the earth those key characteristics of holiness and love to rightly manage that which He has entrusted to us. There’s no pressure as it were to produce.

The initial plan was for it to be a delight to produce and the fullest expression of humanity, but there’s nothing like rebellion to get in the way of that spoiling everything and never allowing us to get a grip on the content and concepts of that which we live. So we’re messing up conclusions all over the shop. We see wrong conclusions with God from atheism and secularism to idolatry and false religions; we see wrong conclusions with others – in abusive relationships of all hues and colours; we see wrong conclusions about our world – manifest in exploitation, manipulation, corruption, pollution and devastation of ecosystems and resources given to replenish the earth.

On the one hand it’s so obvious and on the other it is such an impossible cycle to break especially from the understanding that our rebellion against God is in our system – it is a part of our Adamic nature. That’s what makes this old story in the Bible so compelling – it’s the bigger picture issues – where we’re coming from – what is the context. The bigger picture helps us to make sense of the smaller picture – that’s why context is so important in reading our Bible and reading our lives and the lives of those around us. That context is not about doom and gloom alone it is one of hope, restoration, reconciliation and joy in new life in Christ that sees us re-establishing union with God in Christ.

We are then journeying towards the great day of the culmination of all things and the resplendent manifestation of the eternal kingdom wherein all is right with the world made new. That impacts how we do what we do in all of life now.

For His Name's Sake
Shalom
dmcd

Faith Is A Gift - Pastor Jim McClarty

One of the key points in developing on the theme of the previous post is listening. I appreciate coming across material that makes me listen and think and respond in one way or another and the work of Jim McClarty definitely does that. It's not about agreeing with him on everything, it's about enjoying hearing him use his gifts to the glory of God in proclaiming His majesty, His sovereignty and His wonderful love for us in grace. This audio excerpt is a good example of that. Enjoy.

For His Name's Sake
Shalom
dmcd

Statement of Intent: Christopher Dryden

This is a statement of intent.

Perhaps it is perceived as a foolhardy statement. Perhaps it is perceived as a statement of arrogance or pride. Perhaps it is perceived with scepticism and suspicion. Perhaps it is dismissed as the mere ramblings of a wannabe. Perhaps, nevertheless it’s time to draw a line in the stand and make a statement of intent.

It is trying times at the moment on a number of fronts, but it is precisely those circumstances that should not hinder the making of such a statement. I recognise that now is the time to truly stand on the word of God and recognise that these trying circumstances are deliberately set up so that under pressure I can produce the fruit of the Spirit in a manner of humility. I can do so with eyes firmly fixed on Jesus and a heart passionate for others to embrace Him and see what life in the Spirit is all about. I can bring together all the strands of thought and activity that have culminated in this moment in time and really begin to flourish in ways previous unheard of much to the surprise and challenge of those who think they know me as well as myself.

It calls for hard work, but also implicit growing trust in the grace of God. It calls for effort, but also waiting to see what God has in store for me to witness and rejoice in. It is a time for faithful diligence, but also an assurance in knowing the Christ of my salvation and the people He will continue to allow me to engage with in a way that sees Christ formed in them and further developed in me.

This statement of intent is grounded in hard outcomes but is sourced and founded on the revelation of Jesus Christ by His Spirit and choosing to come alongside what He is saying life is all about and enjoying it to the max whilst seeing others explore similarly. Over the coming weeks and months I trust that I’ll be able to record the progress made on these lines.

My prayer is that God will be glorified in all of this and that all credit, praise and honour for all the successes in faithful obedience will be heaven-sent with love from a grateful sinner saved by grace and walking as His workmanship created for good works in Him.

For His Name's Sake
Shalom
dmcd