This is too cool…

Our little Heidi is three weeks old today, and she is a priceless treasure! She is such a joy to hold and cuddle and rock to sleep. She’s eating well, and becoming more interactive every day. Someone once said that “a baby is a small member of the home that makes love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, the bankroll smaller, the home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.” I can relate to many of those things right now.

We are so thankful for our daughter. But even as we celebrate her birth and welcome this new member into our family, we have already begun praying for her “second birth.” What do I mean by “second birth”?

The idea of being “born again” comes directly out of John chapter 3. When a Jewish teacher named Nicodemus approaches Jesus late one night, Jesus says to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Then a few moments later, Jesus declares, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Because these verses are close to each other and have very similar wording, Jesus seems to be employing a common Hebrew literary device known as “synonymous parallelism.” He is saying that being “born again” and being “born of water and the Spirit” are one and the same event.

What, then, does it mean to be “born of water and the Spirit”? To understand this expression, we need to go back into the Old Testament (which Nicodemus would have been very familiar with). In the Old Testament, forgiveness of sin and spiritual cleansing were sometimes described as being washed with water. So, for example, Isaiah 4:4 speaks of the Lord one day “washing away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purging the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst.” Particularly important is Ezekiel 36:25-26, where God describes a future salvation in these terms:

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

This idea of cleansing and new life is precisely what Jesus is talking about when He says “You must be born again” (John 3:7). It’s also what Peter means when He rejoices that God “caused us to be born again to a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3).

The first birth and second birth are two separate events. The first birth (our physical birth) begins with a mother’s mild contractions and slowly crescendos into a time of intense labor and delivery. The first birth involves a human being navigating the birth canal and suddenly emerging into a whole new world full of bright lights.

The second birth, on the other hand, is a spiritual birth. It’s a birth that belongs to those who turn from their sin and rely completely on the death of Christ for forgiveness. It’s a journey out of spiritual darkness and into God’s marvelous light. And it’s a transformation so radical, and so miraculous, that nothing less than “birth” can adequately describe the process.

Have you experienced this second birth? And if so, does your life demonstrate a visible change? The Bible says that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). I pray this for my daughter, and I pray this for each of you.

Earlier this week, Sovereign Grace posted an excerpt from a recent Leadership Interview. In it, C. J. Mahaney had this to say about the activity of reading:

…I would want to encourage pastors who I think might be tempted to view reading and study as selfish. I view reading and study as one of the most important ways I can serve the church. So it is not a selfish act for me to set aside this time. It is really the most effective way I can serve this church, by tending to my soul and by preparing for the various forms and expressions of ministry. The best way I can serve a church is by responding to the command to watch your life and watch your doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16). It is the example of a pastor over a period of years and decades that will make a difference in the life of a congregation. And therefore I want to guard my heart from growing familiar with the pastoral world, growing familiar with God’s Word, growing familiar with corporate worship, growing familiar when I am listening to preaching, growing familiar when I am taking communion, growing familiar with God. I want to guard my heart from that. And the best way I can do that is by attending to his Word and applying his Word to my heart on a daily basis. I think that is the most effective way I can serve those I care for and those I have been called to serve and lead.

Do we really believe reading and study are among the best ways we can serve our churches? And if so, how should we regulate our schedules? How do we set aggressive – yet realistic – goals for reading and personal enrichment? How much time should we spend in general reading versus preparing for next Sunday’s sermon? What other ministries and activities should we decrease or delegate so we can devote ourselves more fully to our personal life and doctrine? Should reading time ever replace family time? These are issues I continue to wrestle through.

I’m reminded of the apostles’ decision in Acts 6:4 to appoint “deacons” so the apostles could devote themselves to the priorities of prayer and the ministry of the word. I am compelled, too, by Ephesians 4:12, which says that the primary duty of the pastor-teacher is not the work of service, but rather the equipping of the saints. Yet it can be challenging to flesh these principles out practically at the local church level in a typical week. So many “good” things compete for our time.

I do spend a significant amount of time each week preparing for Sunday sermons, but I probably do not spend enough time doing “general reading.” I once heard Al Martin classify “general reading” into eight categories. He said we should have regular exposure to each of these: devotional (e.g. Bunyan, Ryle); theological (e.g. Calvin, Owen, Dagg); biographical; historical; pastoral; polemical (refuting false doctrines and engaging controversies); technical (e.g. textual criticism, archaeology, seminary journals); and contemporary (both secular and religious). Blogs, newspapers, and magazine articles would mostly fall into the final category.

By God’s grace, I would like to improve my general reading by (1) better balancing my book selections into these eight categories; and (2) being more purposeful in goal-setting, weekly scheduling, and daily discipline.

How about you? What guidelines have you established in your scheduling and study habits? How would you like to improve?

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the 2008 Shepherd’s Conference at Grace Community Church. Please be praying that all the pastors and church leaders who attend will be challenged and refreshed.

If you are not attending this year, you may want to check out the blog of Evers Ding, who is liveblogging the event, or watch the live video stream at the Shepherd’s Fellowship website.

A week ago, we had a deacon ordination service at our church for a dear friend and man of God who recently joined our deacon ministry team. During my sermon on 1 Thessalonians 2:5-11, I read a quote by Scottish minister Robert Murray M’Cheyne. It comes from a letter M’Cheyne wrote to a young missionary in 1840, and is one of my very favorite quotes. It applies not only to leaders, but to all who call themselves followers of Christ.

My dear friend, I trust you will have a pleasant and profitable time in Germany. I know you will apply hard to German; but do not forget the culture of the inner man – I mean of the heart. How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his saber clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with the greatest care. Remember you are God’s sword – His instrument – I trust a chosen vessel unto Him to bear His name. In great measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, will be the success. It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God. (quoted in Wiersbe, On Being a Servant of God, p. 39)