Grace And Peace
� 1/6/2009 - My new blog!
Posted By Martin Burch in Unspecified
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� 12/22/2008 - My last post.
Posted By Martin Burch in Unspecified
I am moving on from journalhome as my blog host. It has been fun, but I can't get it to work with my preferred browser: Opera. And it does not like working with Windows Live Writer. So look for me here:
http://troutdudesdiscipleblog.blogspot.com/
ADIOS.
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� 12/11/2008 - The Spirit of Truth
Posted By Martin Burch in Unspecified
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.John 14:16-17
What a blessing it is to have the blessed Holy Spirit of God so close, so accessible, so personally involved in my life. This is what Jesus wanted for His disciples. It was His request of the Father to give the Helper, the Spirit of God to be with us forever. And in this simple request, I see so much of what I have in relationship with God.
First, the Spirit is a Helper. He is meant to assist me as He glorifies Christ in me. This is Helper, not in the sense of servant or employee. This is Helper in terms of Counselor or nurse or physician. I can't make it on my own. I am a spiritual cripple and I need assistance. And the Holy Spirit comes alongside me (the literal meaning of Helper) to assist me.
Secondly, the relationship with God through His Holy Spirit never stops. Jesus requested that the relationship with His disciples last forever. That is a really long period of time! It has no end. What has been begun in me in my salvation and known in the Spirit's daily work of sanctification will not end, even in glorification when I stand complete before God. The Spirit will always be with me, and I should walk in Him and with Him.
The third observation has to do with the fact that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Truth. Jesus is the Truth. The Father is Truth. The Spirit is Truth. The only way I will experience what is true and right is to walk as the Helper leads me to walk. And this truth is exclusive. Jesus said that the world cannot receive the Spirit of Truth and cannot see nor know Him. Only those who have surrendered to Jesus as Savior and Lord my know Him because they are indwelt by Him. This exclusive relationship with the Spirit of God is a distinctive of Christianity. It is not about wild charismatic gyrations. Jesus says nothing about that. It is about truth, and honest living, and being the people who walk with God in the cool of the day once again.
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� 12/10/2008 - When to let loose.
Posted By Martin Burch in Unspecified
Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
Job 7:11
At least Job lets his friends know it is coming, and why! They have issued miserable counsel to him in the first round of discussions with him, and he is letting them in on the profound disappointment that he has in their fruitless fault-finding. His response is typical in a hard trial or what might be diagnosed as a "major depressive episode" in today's jargon: he vents all his feelings without restraint.
He had begun his grief in quiet agony. It was a grief so holy, that his own friends did not wish to interrupt him for the first week of his mourning. They simply sat beside him in the ash heap and grieved. But then they had to start analysing and figuring life out for him. And their theology and experience could only point to one source for Job's overwhelming loss of all that was dear to him: God was judging him for some sin unseen to even his closest friends.
Of course, this only added to the suffering. Job had done nothing before this trial to deserve it. God had a greater reason: to demonstrate His faithfulness and Job's faithfulness before a watching world in heaven and on earth. But none of his friends offered anything from God's perspective. They were not counselors. They became persecutors.
This is why Job felt compelled to speak in anguish, be unrestrained and unrelenting in his plea for justice, and complain bitterly. He was upset at the insensitivity and the horrible bedside manner of his friends, and that was where he was going to let himself say whatever he darn well pleased! There are few times when such a commitment is the right thing to do, and really, I do not know if Job is justified in doing this, but it makes for good drama in the text. I do realize that one of the consequences of unfair counsel is bitterness of spirit. I should realize that, watch for it in myself, and keep it in mind in my own misery and the suffering of others.
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� 12/9/2008 - The truthfulness of scripture.
Posted By Martin Burch in Unspecified
Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Proverbs 30:5
God's Word is always certain. God is always true. There has never been a point in my life where I have found the Bible to be deficient in meeting the most important of life's needs. I have never seen the truth of scripture fail me. I have failed to keep it. I have ignored it to my peril. But it has never proven false and I can confidently expect it to stay that way.
The issue all along has been human interpretation and invention of meaning on the biblical text. It has been used and continues to be used to support outrageous claims and sinful actions. But God will stand judge on that. That is why the very next verse in Proverbs 30 warns against ADDING to the Word of God! Human interpretations force false meaning on the text and add to what God has said. I want to be sure to simply understand what it says and be content to apply it no matter what.
I long to see the day when I stand before Christ. I will be amazed to find myself in an international throng of people from every ethnic background and earthly location who have been changed by Christ and the power of the Word of God. That fact that the gospel is trans-national and trans-racial is testimony to the truth of scripture: it fits every culture among mankind.
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� 12/8/2008 - Where discipleship starts for me...
Posted By Martin Burch in Unspecified
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:1-2
I am able to sit here and work through the application and meaning of a living Christian faith and meaningful relationship with God because the early church followed Paul's admonition. This is the process whereby the world is changed. One life after another trusts in Jesus for eternal salvation and life direction. And the goal is for each life to reach others. In that way, God is winning the world to Himself.
The obvious place for me to consider being the man who follows this charge (just like Timothy did) is in my ministry. I am fortunate enough to have the finest job in the world. But it is not a career, it is a calling. And discipleship is part of the call of the pastor. I certainly am overjoyed to have the chance to do this daily in a professional sense. But really I think this charge is more personal.
I ask myself this question: Would I really be a discipler if my career was working as a printer again? Could I find faithful men to entrust the truth to if I worked again in a computer room? If telecommunications were again my life's vocation, would I be faithful to the task of discipleship? This is the way that I need to view these words!
So where can I renew at this level? It starts at home. I am convicted to be a discipling dad with my kids, a failure I have had in the past. I am convicted to look for evangelism and discipleship opportunities among my neighbors and my contacts here in this small town of DeSoto. I am called to find the faithful people who will come to Christ, mature in faith, and passionately carry on the gospel. It starts in my household, extends to my community, and impacts the world in the place where I am.
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� 12/4/2008 - Jesus: purposefully controversial.
Posted By Martin Burch in Unspecified
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.
John 12:32
The massive spread of Christianity in the First Century was the plan of God. And Jesus, Who is the all-powerful God of the universe knew this. He knew that in His death and resurrection, billions of people would find perspective, forgiveness, life, and satisfaction before God. And the gospel would always change the world, even if it seemed impossible at the moment.
Jesus gave this message to the religious leaders who were confronting Him with contrary thinking and teaching. A crowd of people influenced by religion more than reality had been quizzing Him about His identity and purpose. Jesus was very clear to make it known, calling them to believe in Him and to see Him and His teaching as the light in the darkness.
The result in verse thirty-eight: "Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him"...
The gospel is clear. It is hearts that are clouded. Jesus is light. It is everything else that is dark. Jesus is lifted up and the world is drawn to Him. That is why atheists work so hard to destroy any public recognition of the gospel, even in something as simple as a nativity scene. Let them rail. Jesus is still lifted up. He is big enough to draw all people to see Him.
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� 12/3/2008 - Christmas... from ancient days.
Posted By Martin Burch in Unspecified
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.
Micah 5:2
As I celebrate Christmas, it is great to see the Old Testament prophecies that were hard at work showing that He was indeed coming. Such is this passage. It breams with hope from a backwater place. Bethlehem was "famous" as the place from which David was born. But it remained a quiet small rural nowhere, even in Israel. But this passage makes it clear that though the greatest of physical kings in Israel had hailed from there, a future king would come that would make the place even more important.
It is clear that this passage is not in reference to David, simply because of the last lines of the prophecy. The ruler is to come forth still (at the time of writing) and would become a ruler in Israel. This was in reference to a future prediction. Yet, strangely, the character of this future ruler would be firmly rooted in eternity. He would come forth, but would already be ancient. That is because the last lines are nods to a divine origin.
The New Testament makes it clear that this ruler who "shall come forth" from Bethlehem is Jesus. Matthew quotes Micah 5:2 to explain the nativity narrative (Matthew 2:6) and in so doing shows us that the astute students of the scriptures expected Someone divine in the Messiah. It is clear that Jesus' humble birth in Bethlehem was an event in which God invaded the earth.
And now as I celebrate Christmas, I celebrate this event. God entered into human history by becoming a human being. Yes, He had sovereignly created humanity and directed it toward His glory, but He also chose to send His Son so that God could be a man, live among us, teach us what it means to be fully His creation in His image, and die for the penalty of sin, so that we might find abundant and eternal life in relationship with God forever. That is what Christmas is and that is why celebrating it is more than tramping through snow to buy trinkets for people who worry about material gifts! Strangely, we have perverted the celebration of God's invasion of earth with our own selfishness. Jesus came to get our focus off our wants and into God's heart.
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� 12/3/2008 - I'm baaa-ack!
Posted By Martin Burch in Unspecified
Just a quick post to say that I am back to regular blogging. I have decided to move my journaling back to electronic means again. So this blog will pick up. It has been a rewarding sabbatical, but I am ready to return.
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� 10/15/2008 - Got my ESVSB!
Posted By Martin Burch in Unspecified
I am pretty excited about my new ESV Study Bible. This is by far the most in-depth study bible I have ever owned. TONS of notes makes for a weighty bible. But it is rich. Can't wait to really dig into this one!
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