Author: Josh King

Tolle Lege: Whiter Than Snow

Readability:  1

Length: 154

Author: Paul David Tripp

This is good medicine for the soul. There is bitterness and healing in this medicine, the kind of healing that can only come from bitter medicine. Tripp writes extremely well in these 52 meditations on the 51st Psalm. As the subtitle says, Whiter than Snow is a collection of “Meditations on Sin and Mercy”. The meditations are brief, averaging around two pages, but profound. This would be a great book to read one chapter a week for a year. This might be an exercise and a resource I recommend to new Christians so that the gravity of sin and redemption settles deeply into their soul.

It would also be tempting to think that the greatest victory in David’s life was his victory over the Philistines with their mighty Goliath. Yet this story, and the psalm that goes with it, points us to the fact that the greatest victory in David’s life was not a victory of war but a victory of grace. It is amazing to watch this hardened adulterer and murderer brought to confession and repentance by the power of God’s grace. And it is incredible that he does not lose his throne and, in fact, becomes a man who is known as “a man after God’s own heart”! The greatest victory in David’s life was not a victory of David’s at all, but, rather, God’s victory of grace over the sin that had captivated David’s heart.

The character of life isn’t set in ten big moments. The character of life is set in then thousand little moments of everyday life. It’s the themes of struggles that emerge from those little moments that reveal what’s really going on in our hearts.

The older you get the more you move from being an astronaut to an archaeologist. When you’re young, you’re excitedly launching to worlds unknown. You have all of the major decisions of life before you, and you can spend your time assessing your potential and considering opportunities. It’s a time of exploration and discovery. It’s a time to go where you’ve never been before and to do what you’ve never done. It’s a time to begin to use your training and to gain experience.

But as you get older, you begin to look back at least as much as you look forward. As you look back, you tend to dig through the mound of the civilization that was your past life, looking for pottery shards of thoughts, desires, choices, actions, words, decisions, relationships, and situations. And as you do this, you can’t help but assess how you have done with what you have been given.

My sin is an act where I replace You, with something I love more.

There’s a deeper birth trauma than the physical suffering that both mother and child must endure in order for the child to be born. The deeper, more profound trauma is the devastating reality that you can’t stop yourself from giving birth to a sinner. It happens 100 percent of the time. It’s the natal disease for which there is no inoculation.

[S]isn’t an event; no, it’s a progressive movement of the heart that results in disobedient behavior.

The Sweet Dropper: All Our Comfort In Christ

And the comforts of the Holy Ghost are fetched from Christ, from the death of Christ, or the ascension of Christ, from some argument from Christ. Whatsoever comforteth the soul, the Holy Ghost doth it by fetching some argument from Christ, from his satisfaction, from his worth, from his intercession in heaven. Something in Christ it is. So Christ by his Spirit doth comfort, and the reasons fetched by the Spirit are from Christ. Therefore it is by Christ.

What is the reason that a Christian soul doth not fear God as ‘ a consuming fire,’ Heb. xii. 29, but can look upon him with comfort? It is because God hath received satisfaction by Christ. What is the reason that a Christian soul fears not hell, but thinks of it with comfort? Christ hath conquered hell and Satan. What is the reason that a Christian fears not death? Christ by death hath overcome death, and him that had the power of death, the devil. Christ is mine, saith the Christian soul. Therefore I do not fear it, but think of it with comfort, because a Christian is more than a conqueror over all these. What is the reason that a Christian is not afraid of his corruptions and sins? He knows that God, for Christ’s sake, will pardon them, and that the remainder of his corruptions will work to his humiliation, and to his good.’ All shall work for the best to them that love God,’ Rom. viii. 28. What is the reason that there is not anything in the world but it is comfortable to a Christian? When he thinks of God, he thinks of him as a Father of comfort; when he thinks of the Holy Ghost, he thinks of him as a Spirit of comfort; when he thinks of angels, he thinks of them as his attendants; when he thinks of heaven, he thinks of it as of his inheritance ; he thinks of saints as a communion whereof he is partaker. Whence is all this? By Christ, who hath made God our Father, the Holy Ghost our comforter, who hath made angels ours, saints ours, heaven ours, earth ours, devils ours, death ours, all ours, in issue.  – Richard Sibbes, An Exposition of 2 Corinthians 1

Tolle Lege: Marks of the Messenger

Readability:  1

Length: 122

Author: J. Mack Stiles

This is a really rare book on evangelism, it focus is on the evangelist, hence the title, Marks of the Messenger, without obscuring or contradicting the message, that is the gospel. Other books on evangelism that focus on the evangelist tend to emphasize method or technique so as to optimize results, Mack wants to focus on faithfulness. The subtitle says it all, “Knowing, Living and Speaking the Gospel”. This is not a book to guilt you into evangelism, but one to glory you into evangelism.

Further Mack does not write from an ivory tower. He left the States post 9/11 to minister in the UAE (United Arab Emirates). This also means you can’t accuse Mack of being failing to be transcultural. We can all learn from him.

Finally, this thoroughly Biblical book is loaded with great stories that illustrate precious truths. It is as joyous as it is convicting to read.

[A]s evangelist we want to be people who are more concerned with our faithfulness in presenting Christ clearly that we are with results. We want to be the kind of evangelist who take people more seriously that to manipulate them into a prayer of commitment. And we want to be people who present the gospel with care, knowing spiritual lives are at stake.

There is a tendency to think that our sins are bigger than our sin – maybe because its that rare case when the plural is smaller than the singular. Sins are those individual acts of rebellion, symptoms of the bigger problem. Our sin is the biggest problem: it’s our condition or state which is in hideous rebellion toward a holy and good God. When Christians feel that sins (acts) are bigger than sin (condition), they see evangelism as an effort of moral reform rather than explaining the steps that need to take place to rip our wicked hearts and replace them with new hears – that amazing work of God that Jesus called being born again.

[I]sn’t it true that “a hungry man has no ears”? “Isn’t it ‘the gospel just to take care of their needs?”

When our missionary friend Mike McComb tried to introduce protein into the diets of the largely illiterate Guatemalan farmers, it was a masterful combination of expertise, training and strategy. He started his work toward the end of the murderous civil war. Mike faithfully shared the gospel too. And Mike noticed it was the gospel that allowed for protein to get to the people.

When the gospel was understood and accepted in villages, Mike reported, men stopped getting drunk and beating their wives. As they attended church they started to attend to their crops as well as their children’s education. Tomas, the mayor of Nebaj, told me that it was only when the gospel came to the Ixil lands that real change happened. Mike says that the preaching of the gospel did more to eliminate hunger than fish farms or crop rotation ever did. We must never forget that the gospel brings more long-term social good than any governmental program ever developed.

The Sweet Dropper: Our Worst Day Better

The very sufferings of Christ are better than the most glorious day of the greatest monarch in the world that is not a Christian. It is better to suffer with Christ, than to joy with the world. The very abasement of St Paul was better than the triumph of Nero. Let Moses be judge. He judged it the best end of the balance, Heb. xi. 26. The very sufferings and reproach of Christ, and of religion, is better than the best thing in the world. The worst thing in Christianity, is better than the best thing out of Christ. The best thing out of Christ is the honour of a king, the honour of a prince, to be a king’s son, &c. But the reproach of Christ for a good cause is better than the best thing in the world. I say, let Moses be judge, if we will not believe it ourselves till we feel it. The worst day of a Christian is better than the best day of a carnal man; for he hath the presence of God’s Spirit to support him in some measure.  – Richard Sibbes, An Exposition of 2 Corinthians 1

Tolle Lege: Doctrine

Readability:  2

Length: 436

Author: Mark Driscoll

I enjoyed reading Mark Driscoll’s and Gerry Breshear’s Doctrine, but I would recommend Grudem’s Systematic Theology ahead of it, for it covers much more ground while maintaining a great level of clarity and simplicity. So why recommend Doctrine? There are three reasons.

One is simple. While Doctrine is a weighty tome, 436 pages, it is still slim compared to Grudem’s at 1167 pages. So for those looking for something less through, something brief, but something that still covers all the major themes and doctrines of Scripture, Doctrine is a better choice.

Second, Doctrine uniquely traces the major themes of Scripture along the Biblical storyline. Thus systematic theology and Biblical theology are both here.

Third, and the major reason why one can profit from reading Doctrine even if they have tackled other systematic theologies is that Driscoll and Brashear’s thoroughly apply each doctrine to life.

So while this book may be too long for some and too short for others, all can profit from it.

We want the Bible in your hand, the Holy Spirit in your heart, other Christians in your life, and Jesus on your horizon, so that you can life a truly biblical life to God’s glory, your joy, and other’s good.

As a result of the fall, the descent into sin has continued unabated ever since.  A respect for authority was replaced by rebellion. A clear conscience was replaced by guilt and shame. Blessing was replaced by physical, spiritual, and eternal punishment. Viewing God as a friend to walk with was replaced by viewing him as an enemy to hide from. Trust was replaced by fear. Love was replaced by indifference and even hatred. Intimacy with God was replaced by separation from God. Freedom to obey God was replaced by enslavement to sin. Honesty was replaced with lying and deceit. Self-sacrifice was replaced by self-centeredness. Peace was replaced by restlessness. Responsibility was replaced by blaming. Authenticity was replaced by hiding.

Indeed, worship is not merely an aspect of our being but the essence of our being as God’s image bearers.  As a result, all of life is ceaseless worship.  Practically, this means that while worship does include corporate church meetings, singing songs, and liturgical forms, it is not limited by these things, defined solely as these things, or expressed only in these things, because worship never stops. Rather, we are continually giving ourselves away or pouring ourselves out for a person, cause, experience, achievement, or status.

The Sweet Dropper: As the Waters Rise, So Does the Ark

This strange work is by Christ. The balancing of these two so sweetly together, crosses and comforts, they come both from one hand, both from one spring, ‘the sufferings of Christ,’ and the comforts of Christ, and both abound. Our troubles are for him, and our comforts are by him. So here is sufferings and comfort, increase of suffering, increase of comfort, sufferings for Christ, and comfort by Christ. You see them balanced together, and you see which weighs down the balance. Comfort by Christ weighs down sufferings for Christ. The good is greater than the ill. It is a point of wondrous comfort. The ark, you know, mounted up as the waters mounted up, when the waters overflowed the world. So it is here in this verse. There is a mounting of the waters, a rising of the waters above the mountains. Afflictions increase, and grow higher and higher; but be of good comfort, here is the ark above the waters, here is consolation above all. As our sufferings for Christ increase, so our consolations, likewise, by Christ increase.  – Richard Sibbes, An Exposition of 2 Corinthians 1

Tolle Lege: When People Are Big and God Is Small

Readability:  1

Length: 237

Author: Edward T. Welch

Do you have a problem with fear of man? If so I highly recommend Ed Welch’s When People Are Big and God Is Small. If you don’t think you have a problem with the fear of man, then I especially recommend this book. Here are some of the disguises that Welch says that the fear of man can hide behind: peer pressure, over-commitment, needing someone, self-esteem, fear of exposure, embarrassment, lying, and jealousy. Still don’t think you struggle, Welch then brings out the trump card, the one word that will make you recognize you are not immune – evangelism. Convinced?

The premise of the book is contained in the title. When we fear man, people become God-like and man becomes God-like. The solution is to fight fear with fear. We need to see God, and have a holy reverence for Him that swallows all other fears.

This is the second Welch book that I have read. With every read I walk away blessed and more thankful that God has blessed His church with him. Here is Biblical counsel, firm and tender, true and practical.

Scripture gives three basic reasons why we fear other people, and we will look at each of them in turn.

  1. We fear people because they can expose and humiliate us.
  2. We fear people because they can reject, ridicule, or despise us.
  3. We fear people because they can attack, oppress, or threaten us.

These three reasons have one thing in common: they see people as “bigger” (that is more powerful and significant) than God, and , out of the fear that creates un us, we give other people the power and right to tell us what to feel, think, and do.

That’s the paradox of self-esteem: Low self-esteem usually means that I think too highly of myself. I’m to self-involved, I feel I deserve better than what I have. The reason I feel bad about myself is that I aspire to something more. I want just a few minutes of greatness. I am a peasant who wants to be king. When you are in the grips of low self-esteem, it’s painful, and it certainly doesn’t feel like pride. But I believe that this is the dark, quieter side of pride – thwarted pride.

Anything that erodes the fear of God will intensify the fear of man.

People are most similar to God when he is the object of their affection.

The Sweet Dropper: The Fallacy of Satan’s Logic

That which thou and the devil with thy conscience would move thee to use as an argument to run away, our Saviour Christ in the gospel useth as an argument to draw thee forward. He comes for such, ‘to seek, and to save the lost sinners.’ This is a faithful saying, saith St Paul, that ‘Christ came to save sinners.’ Therefore, believe not Satan. He presents God to the soul that is humbled, and terrified in the sight of sin, as cruel, as a terrible judge, &c. He hides the mercy of God from such. To men that are in a sinful course he shews nothing but mercy. Aye, but now there is nothing but comfort to thee that art cast down and afflicted in the sense of thy sins; for all the comforts in the gospel of forgiveness of sins, and all the comforts from Christ’s incarnation, the end of his coming in the flesh, the end of his death, and of all, is to save sinners.  – Richard Sibbes, An Exposition of 2 Corinthians 1

Matthew 10:16-42 & Unique Demands

The demands Jesus makes of His own in this chapter are unique. Others have made them, but we do not think them good men, but the worst kind of men. So the uniqueness here is not most deeply in what Jesus is commanding, but more so how He is commanding. Jesus commands these things with supreme authority. Jesus is the only one who can command such things of His followers, and not be tyrannical, not be evil. Indeed, if we have eyes to see, these commands come to us with the force not of demands, but of blessed privilege.

We are worthy of hell, because He is worthy of all glory, and we sought to steal it for ourselves. Yet Jesus so saves us that in calling us to Himself, He sends us out into the world with His power and presence to proclaim His authoritative message, making much of He whom we once so belittled, yea, whom we continue to so belittle. Yes, if we see, we too will depart “rejoicing that that [we] were counted worthy so suffer dishonor for the name. (Acts 5:41)

Only Jesus can say, “Go die for me,” and it come to us as life.