In wrath remember mercy

April 24, 2009 Stephen Jones Leave a comment

Last Sunday night I had the privilege of preaching at First Baptist Church of San Jacinto. I chose to speak on faith in times of crisis from Habakkuk 3:16-19. It’s a reminder we all need in this world so full of sorrow and disappointment.

As I explained the historical background of Habakkuk, I was reminded afresh of the severe judgment God sent upon Judah because of their sin. First, he raised up the dreadful Babylonians. Then, He controlled the weather patterns to bring devastating famine. It was a two-front war. God does not play around with sin. He abhors it, and judges it seriously.

But even in the darkest moment, as he trembled at the thought of judgment, the prophet Habakkuk trusted the Lord, and rejoiced in the God of His salvation (Hab. 3:18).

This week, as I reflected on the passage, I was reminded of an earlier statement in Habakkuk’s prayer. In chapter 3 verse 2, the prophet pleaded, “In wrath remember mercy.” And amazingly, that is exactly what God did. Even in the moment of wrath, God showed mercy to His people. How? Jeremiah 29 tells us.

God sent His people into captivity. This whole chapter is written to “all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon” (Jer. 29:4). God did not obliterate the Jews, but rather sent them to a faraway land. He remained faithful to His covenant with Abraham to make a great name and a great people (Gen. 15:1-3).
God made their lives comfortable. In Jeremiah 29:6-7, God instructed His people to build houses, take wives, and seek the welfare of the cities where they dwelled. In Babylon, the Jews did not endure slavery like they had in Egypt. Their lives were actually quite comfortable. I’m not saying they lived in the Ritz-Carlton, but they did enjoy a remarkable level of freedom and prosperity.
God limited their captivity. In Jeremiah 29:10, God promised that the Jews would be allowed to return to their homeland after 70 years. When this interval of time had passed, Daniel interceded, and God answered (see Daniel 9).
God made Himself available to them. God did not abandon the Jews, but said that when they repented and prayed to Him, He would listen (Jer. 29:12). When they sought Him, He would be found by them. He was standing by ready and waiting, like the father of the prodigal son, to reconcile and restore His wayward people.

How thankful we can be that God does not always give us what we deserve. He often shows mercy even in the midst of wrath. Truly, our God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth! (Exodus 34:6)

Theology

The passion of the Christ

April 23, 2009 Stephen Jones Leave a comment

Someone recently asked me if I had ever seen Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ, and if I would recommend it. Below was my response:

Actually, I have not seen it yet. Somebody at church bought it for us, but you sort of have to be in the right mood to sit down and watch something like that. I don’t know if Natalie will want to watch it with me or not. I’m sure you know the violence is very graphic.

Last Easter Sunday, I was seated at breakfast with another pastor and some Christians who saw the movie and they said it was very good. It brought many people to silence or to tears, and really gave them a new appreciation for Christ’s loving sacrifice.

I do want to be careful that my love for Christ comes from Scripture and not a Catholic-influenced movie. Some have also criticized the movie for showing so much brutality without explaining the theology behind it.

But that being said, I do plan to watch it someday as I think it is a good tool to depict the scene of the cross — something which has become far too soft and cuddly and glamorized in our culture instead of what it really was – a horrific torture device.

How about you? Did you ever see the movie? What did you think?

Culture

A tribute to true beauty

April 22, 2009 Stephen Jones Leave a comment

Cal Thomas analyzes the Susan Boyle YouTube phenomenon and what it teaches us about our culture. Here’s an excerpt:

Slowly, the gorgeous Amanda Holden rises to applaud and the contrast could not be starker. Two women are standing, one the incarnation of all we define as beautiful, the other exuding a depth of beauty that Holden and the entire audience wishes it possessed. The faux beauty is paying tribute to the reality.

You can read the whole thing here.

Proverbs puts it this way: “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised” (Prov. 31:30).

Are you pursuing a beauty that is only skin-deep? Do you invest more time attending to your body than attending to your soul? Do you assume whatever looks good or feels good must be beneficial? Are you chiefly concerned about the external appearance and frame of your body, your family, your church? Let us remember, “man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7)

Jesus Himself chose inner beauty above external beauty. “He had no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him” (Isaiah 53:2). Yet Christ was the perfect Son of God, having no spot or blemish in character. Because of this, He alone was qualified to pay our debt of sin and take our punishment upon the cross.

Shepherding

Homebound newsletter

April 21, 2009 Stephen Jones Leave a comment

After my April 1 post about ministering to the homebound and elderly, I did some more thought and research and concluded that CD and DVD technology is just too much of a barrier to help reach our homebound.

So, I’m deferring to the good ol’ printing press. Starting this month, I plan to write a monthly newsletter called “Family News” for all our homebound and hospitalized church members (about 20 of them). This may take a little of my time away from blogging, but it will be well worth it, because it will reach a totally different demographic in our church.

I may still invest someday in a simple MP3 player for hospitalized folks. But I think a simple, two-page newsletter will be the most effective way for our homebound seniors to receive updates, hear praises, learn how to pray, and get a regular dose of Scripture. I have tried to make the layout sharp and professional, so it will be an encouragement to our members and also a good witness to others in the community who may see it lying around in a hospital room or nursing facility.

You can view the entire first edition here.

SBC

A strategy for the SBC

April 17, 2009 Stephen Jones 1 Comment

I simply must break my blogging “vow of silence” to share this.

Yesterday, Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Seminary, delivered a chapel message called “Axioms for a Great Commission Resurgence.” He shared twelve points that define what we must be and do as Southern Baptists in the 21st century if our convention is to survive and if our King is to be glorified:

I. We must commit ourselves to the total and absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives (Col 3:16, 17, 23-24).

II. We must be gospel centered in all our endeavors for the glory of God (Rom 1:16).

III. We must take our stand on the firm foundation of the inerrant and infallible Word of God affirming it’s sufficiency in all matters (Matt 5:17-18; John 10:35; 17:17; 2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

IV. We must devote ourselves to a radical pursuit of the Great Commission in the context of obeying the Great Commandments (Matt 28:16-20; 22:37-40).

V. We must affirm the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 as a healthy and sufficient guide for building a theological consensus for partnership in the gospel, refusing to be sidetracked by theological agendas that distract us from our Lord’s Commission (1 Tim 6:3-4).

VI. We must dedicate ourselves to a passionate pursuit of the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus across our nation and to all nations answering the call to go, disciple, baptize and teach all that the Lord commanded (Matt 28:16-20; Acts 1:8; Rom 1:5; 15:20).

VII. We must covenant to build gospel saturated homes that see children as a gift from God and as our first and primary mission field (Deut 6:1-9; Psalm 127; 128; Eph 6:4).

VIII. We must recognize the need to rethink our Convention structure and identity so that we maximize our energy and resources for the fulfilling of the Great Commission (1 Cor 10:31).

IX. We must see the necessity for pastors to be faithful Bible preachers who teach us both the content of the Scriptures and the theology embedded in the Scriptures (2 Tim 4:1-5).

X. We must encourage pastors to see themselves as the head of a gospel missions agency who will lead the way in calling out the called for international assignments but also equip and train all their people to see themselves as missionaries for Jesus regardless of where they live (Eph 4:11-16).

XI. We must pledge ourselves to a renewed cooperation that is gospel centered and built around a biblical and theological core and not methodological consensus or agreement (Phil 2:1-5; 4:2-9).

XII. We must accept our constant need to humble ourselves and repent of pride, arrogance, jealousy, hatred, contentions, lying, selfish ambitions, laziness, complacency, idolatries and other sins of the flesh; pleading with our Lord to do what only He can do in us and through us and all for His glory (Gal 5:22-26; James 4:1-10).

Amen and amen. You can read the whole transcript here.

This may be a watershed moment in our Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. Alvin Reid has already called this moment a “tipping point.”

I, for one, want to do whatever I can as a local pastor to support the cause of Christ, the spread of His kingdom, and the health of our churches by supporting Dr. Akin’s twelve-fold call to action.

Pinch Of Clay