Gloria In Excelsis

Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will towards men. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.

O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.

For Thou only art holy; Thou only art the Lord; Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father.

Amen.

(from the Book of Common Prayer, 1662)

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled:
Joyful all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies,
With th’angelic host proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.

Christ, by highest heav’n adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a virgin’s womb:
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail th’incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.

Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings;
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King.

—Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

Joy to the World

Joy to the world! the Lord is come:
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the world! the Savior reigns:
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrow grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love.

—Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

“Woe to me...”

This morning I was looking at the table of contents of Dr. Al Mohler’s book, He Is Not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2008), with the thought of possibly reading it while I’m at home on Winter Break.

Pastor James MacDonald’s comments on the flyleaf stung me:

“I preach because nothing else can satisfy the urgency and passion that God has ignited in my heart for His truth and His people. The same should be true for you. If you can go sell cars or shuffle stocks instead of being a pastor and preacher of God’s Word, then go do that.”

I agree with the sentiment Pastor MacDonald expresses. Yet, I’m not a pastor and the opportunities to preach are rare.

After all these years, it sometimes seems like a dream or fantasy. But, it wasn’t a dream and I didn’t imagine it. Over nineteen-and-a-half years ago, God called me to preach His Word and shepherd His people. I didn’t choose this; the burden was laid on me. After all these years, I still feel that burden.

And, like MacDonald implies, nothing else has satisfied me. Nothing. That’s why his comment stung. For what does one do when all the doors have closed? “If you can go sell cars or shuffle stocks instead of being a pastor and preacher of God’s Word, then go do that.” I agree. And yet, I wish it were that simple.

The fact is I also have a responsibility, before God, to provide for the family God has given to me. 1 Timothy 5:8 is clear: “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10 is equally clear: “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”

So, I work…doing something else besides being a pastor and preacher of God’s Word. In 1 Corinthians 9:16, I find where the apostle Paul wrote, “Necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” I think I understand what Paul meant.

And, it hurts so much.

The Arminian Problem

Phil Johnson says,

“The more sensible option—and the biblical one—would be to abandon Arminian presuppositions and acknowledge that God declared the end from the beginning, and that He works all things according to the counsel of His own will.”

Read more, here.

“Yes, I Know Jesus”

One evening a few weeks ago, Catherine, my wife, was trying out the video feature on her digital camera and recorded me playing a couple pieces on the piano at home. The other day, I decided to post these videoclips on YouTube. Below is the clip of me playing the gospel song, “Yes, I Know Jesus”.

This song is very simple, expressing a couple simple truths: I know Jesus and He’s done so much for me. I wish you could hear a choir singing along (you can find a few choir renditions on YouTube, if you search around a bit). In lieu of a choir, here are the lyrics:

Yes, I know Jesus,
Yes, I know Jesus,
Yes, I know Jesus for myself.
Woke me up this morning,
Saw a brand new dawning,
Feeds me when I'm hungry,
Comforts me when I’m lonely.
Yes, I know Jesus,
Yes, I know Jesus,
Yes, I know Jesus for myself.

Yes, I know Him for myself,
And He’ll do just what He said…
Yes, I know Jesus,
Yes, I know Jesus,
Yes, I know Jesus for myself.

What is implied here is that you, the listener, should get to know Jesus, too. As the “old folks” used to say, “You gotta know the Lord for yourself!” Why? Not because He is so good (and He is!). That’s just a bonus. The reason you and I need to know Jesus is because you and I need Him! God is holy and we are not. We have rebelled against God. We are sinners. As sinners, we deserve and have earned God's condemnation, but God gave His Son to be the Savior of all who will trust in Him. As the Bible puts it: “For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

By the grace of God, I know Jesus. He has become my Savior, and He is my Lord. Do you know Him? Will you trust Him?

“Take Me Back”, too!

Thabiti Anyabwile was going back down memory lane and posted this YouTube video of the late COGIC Bishop Gilbert E. Patterson singing Andraé Crouch’s “Take Me Back”. That song brought back memories for me, also. This Thanksgiving Day, I’m thankful for the Lord who has brought me such a long way. I’m thankful for the human instruments through whom the gospel came to me. I’m grateful for my great-grandparents and great-great aunt who never let me forget that I had to meet the Lord for myself. “Ye must be born again,” was a message I heard frequently from them. Thankfully, by God’s grace, I eventually came to know what they were talking about.

Take me back, take me back, dear Lord,
To the place where I first received You;
Take me back, take me back, dear Lord,
Where I first believed.



I’m also reminded of these solemn words from the Lord Jesus (Revelation 2:1-7):

1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”

HT: Pure Church

It’s official

Yesterday, I received my first pair of bifocals. I guess that means it’s official…

…I’ve finally reached middle age!

Evangelical Politicking: A futile exercise

Lance Lewis has a thoughtful post regarding abortion and the recent Presidential election. I encourage you to read it and seriously ponder the issues he raises. In response to his post, I submitted the following response (which I’ve slightly edited for posting here):

After this latest Presidential campaign, I've come to the conclusion that Evangelicals have, to a great extent, been duped by the Republican Party. The Republican Party knows they have the Evangelical vote locked up. All they have to do is talk the pro-life talk, and Evangelicals will vote for them, regardless of whether or not they actually do anything that brings about real change. It is exactly the same situation as that which exists between the Democrat Party and the greater part of the Black community. What has Black loyalty to the Democrat Party done for the Black community? Very little, if anything. That's exactly where the Evangelical community is right now with the Republican Party.

I've also become convinced that Evangelicals have been wrong to focus so intensely on abortion. Abortions are not the problem; abortions are but a symptom of the real problem: the spiritual condition of the United States. We Evangelicals work ourselves into a frenzy about Roe v Wade, when the fact of the matter is, if the gospel we proclaimed was really going out with power (see 1 Corinthians 2:4), Roe v Wade would become a moot point. Few would want an abortion. There would be little demand for abortion. Those who support and promote abortion don't need the animosity and hatred of Evangelicals; they need the gospel. Those who are blinded by Satan don't need to be demonized by us; they need the gospel.

The way to end abortion is not through the exercise of political might. The way to end abortion is through the Spirit-empowered propagation of the gospel. The proof: Remember the powerful effect that the gospel had on 18th century society in England and the American Colonies in the days of Whitefield and the Wesleys? Cannot God do the same thing today?

In my opinion, the Evangelical politicking of the past 30 years (since the emergence of the "Moral Majority") has simply been a futile exercise in fighting spiritual battles with carnal weapons (see 2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

I never thought I would see this day…

…but, I thank God that He let me see it.

May God, in His great mercy, bless, keep and protect our President-Elect, Barack Obama.