Meekness

Meekness is not an attribute I think about growing in often; but the Bible commands it.

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

-Colossians 3:12-13

Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

-James 1:21

Look at the promises associated with meekness.

But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.

-Psalm 37:11

The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

-Isaiah 29:19

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

-Matthew 5:5

And take note of God's passion for meekness.

In your majesty ride out victoriously
for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!

-Psalm 45:4

The one who is meek is one who recognizes a right position before God, is completely broken and submissive, waits for the Lord patiently, and commits all to the Lord.

The requirements are lofty, but the very definition of meekness implies that it cannot be done alone. Rely on God and look to His great promises.

Goodbye, Metro

I am finally doing it. I am going to finish my "Goodbye, Fargo" series. My goal was to do it all in a week, but I lengthened it to nearly two months. Oh, well.

Metropolitan Baptist Church, Fargo, ND

Now that we have been in Louisville six weeks, Rebekah and I have had the opportunity to visit three different churches. I will not go into detail about them, but I will say this: we miss Metro.

What an immense blessing Metro was! Sometimes it's hard to see the impact that a small church has with so many mega-churches flashing their fancy bulletin boards and their websites streaming sermons. Believe me when I say that God has used Metro in massive ways in fulfilling His purposes in the Fargo/Moorhead community, the state of North Dakota, across the country, and, I pray, around the world.

As for Rebekah and I, the opportunities granted us at Metro were invaluable, the generosity shown us at Metro was unfathomable, and the people that influenced us at Metro are irreplaceable.

This is not to say that the church is not divided from time to time over silly issues, that people don't come and go, or that people always find it an ideal situation. No.

Metro has seen its share of hardship and painful situations, but at the end of the day the church comes together with the mindset that God is working good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose; the bride of Christ is being sanctified.

New things are in store for Metro with the departure of some following the Lord's call. I am confident that God's grace will continue to uphold Metro as it has for several decades.

I pray earnestly that God will continue to show favor to you, Metropolitan Baptist Church, as you continue to seek to glorify Him in all things through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Tree of the Week (7.28.09)

Golgotha Was Not a Suburb of Jerusalem

Taken from The Roots of Endurance by John Piper

If we will not freely take our cross and follow Jesus on the Calvary road, it may be thrust on us. It would be better to hear the warnings now and wake up to biblical reality. Existence in this fallen world will not be pain-free and trouble-free. There will be groaning because of our finitude and fallenness, and many afflictions because of our calling. Frustration is normal, disappointment is normal, sickness is normal. Conflict, persecution, danger, stress--they are all normal. The mind-set that moves away from these will move away from reality and away from Christ. Golgotha was not a suburb of Jerusalem.

Tree of the Week (7.21.09)

GRSSK

Although I have never seen it, I am interested to know the premise of a show titled GRSSK. Probably some crime-scene-type, drama, acronym thing.

America's Got Individualists Who are Partially Blinded to Reality by Narcissism

Yesterday I jokingly posted that America's Got Talent should be called America's Got Weirdos; but today I am reforming.

The show should be called America's Got Individualists Who are Partially Blinded to Reality by Narcissism.

I know the title is a little long to totally catch on, but it all serves a purpose. Let's break it down.

It's no surprise that America has individualists. That is entirely apparent. The American dream is very individualistic. It's about me and what I can get and does not take into account casualties. It is probably what makes the remainder of this post relevant.

Now, "Who are Partially Blinded to Reality by Narcissism" is what I want to qualify. Time and time again on the show America's Got Talent someone takes the stage, gets booed off, and attributes their lack of success to jealously or ignorance. I do not liken them entirely to Narcissus, the handsome Greek mythological character who fell in love with his own reflection, because they are not doomed to stare at themselves for eternity. Rather they wish that others would stare at them. But the reality is that they are no good at singing or dancing or impersonation.

These people are not entirely blinded to reality because they realize that we do exalt individuals in our society, but they just can't understand why no one is worshiping them like they worship themselves. They think they deserve it. So they get up in front of some television cameras, an audience, and some semi-annoying judges, have 46 million Americans watch them be an idiot, get booed, and their ego remains intact. They fully believe that there is something wrong with the rest of the world; it just couldn't be their issue.

America's Got Individualists Who are Partially Blinded to Reality by Narcissism. Catch the fever.

Tree of the Week (7.7.09)

America's Got Talent...

...is more like America's Got Weirdos.