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Every so often, the music and the lyrics of a song combine to make it truly powerful.  Every so often, Hollywood comes up with something that is truly remarkable.  Lately, I think both have happened…

Though I haven’t seen the movie (and don’t really want to), I’ve been profoundly struck by the song “From Now On,” part of the current film, The Greatest Showman.  Regardless of what you think about the movie (assuming you’ve seen it), the song has a merit all its own.  Perhaps without realizing it, “From Now On” reflects deep, life-changing truth.  In fact, it’s a song of repentance.  Let me see if I can demonstrate what I mean by walking through the lyrics, combined with a bit of commentary:

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I saw the sun begin to dim, and felt that winter wind blow cold

A man learns who is there for him when the glitter fades and the walls won’t hold

Cause from then, rubble, what remains can only be what’s true

If all was lost, there’s more I gained, cause it led me back to you

(Here’s a man faced with the apparent ruins of his life.  And yet, amidst the crumbled edifice of worldly success, there’s something still standing…something worth far more than everything he thinks he has lost…and it’s a person.)

 

From now on, these eyes will not be blinded by the light

From now on, what’s waited till tomorrow starts tonight…tonight

Let this promise in me start like an anthem from in my heart

From now on…from now on

(Faced with truth, our singer responds with new resolve.  In fact, he responds with repentance.  Repentance means to turn around – to turn away from one orientation, from one goal, from one way of life, from a false god – and to head in the opposite direction.  Notice how pressing this repentance feels to our singer.  It can’t wait until tomorrow.  Repentance starts right now.  This is what we call a moment of conversion.  Notice also, this repentance can’t be merely superficial.  In order to be real, it must begin from the heart.)

 

I drink champagne with kings and queens, the politicians praise my name

But those were someone else’s dreams, the pitfalls of a man I became

For years and years, I chased their cheers, the crazy speed of always needing more

But when I stop and see you here, I remember who all this was for

(With this stanza, we hear more about the false gods who previously dominated our singer’s life.  It all looked good for the moment, but hob-knobbing with royalty and powerbrokers proved hollow and fruitless.  In fact, this man realizes that the life he so longed for was nothing but a pitfall, even a deadly addiction.  What a stunning moment of realization!)   

 

And from now on, these eyes will not be blinded by the light

From now on, what’s waited till tomorrow starts tonight…it starts tonight

And let this promise in me start like an anthem in my heart

From now on…from now on…from now on

(Once again, we hear an expression of commitment, a resolve to walk anew from this moment forward.  It is, if anything, an even stronger expression of newness than the first time around.)

 

[Joined by the choir]

And we will come back home

And we will come back home

Home, again

(As our singer repents, his heart swells, such that his voice alone can no longer give full expression to what’s inside.  Rather, he needs an entire choir to join him.  As they together sing, the theme moves from repentance itself to the beautiful end of repentance, namely home). 

 

From now on…Yes

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Hugh Jackman and an accompanying group of singers repeat and revisit these lyrics, beautifully melding them together, all the while carried through on the wings of wonderful music.  I highly recommend paying the $1.99 it will cost you to purchase “From Now On” via I-Tunes.  Additionally, take six minutes and watch this YouTube account of a practice session during the song’s making.  I can’t help but think that the life, the vibrancy, the joy you see in the video reflects people whose hearts are responding to a vision of repentance; to the God-given joy of repentance…even if they don’t know it…even if they see it from a distance.  They’re tasting a little of the freedom that lies on the other side of repentance, and it’s infectiously intoxicating.

Now, of course this song isn’t perfect…it’s still far too “me” centric – “A man learns who is there for him when the glitter fades…”  But, nonetheless, this work of art goes a long way down the road of biblical truth.  It paints the majestic picture of a man awakening to his real need, responding in repentance, and looking forward to the peace of home.  If you are familiar with the Bible’s grand narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration, then you’ll know why such a storyline in song rings so powerfully.  What this song encapsulates – albeit in a shadow-like fashion – is the beginnings of the Gospel.  There’s one key figure missing, and that’s God himself.  God the Father, who ordains a moment of utter brokenness in order to awaken his child to their sin and need; God the Son, whose life, death on the cross, and resurrection makes forgiveness of sin and repentance possible; God the Holy Spirit, who brings us to the point of singing such an anthem as this; God, who in his Triune unity, even now prepares a final home for those who, by grace through faith, follow Jesus Christ.

I don’t know if Hollywood understood what it was doing with such a song, but “From Now On” is a wonderful invitation.  It’s a wonderful invitation to come and discover the truth at which the song so powerfully hints.  Perhaps in this season of Lent (a season often associated with repentance) you might accept the invitation, repent of the cheers you chase, and discover in God’s Word the person who remains standing amid the rubble of your life…his name is Jesus.

One of the blogs I subscribe to recently included a post that quoted this excerpt from an article in Crux (a Catholic magazine that you can find here):

Fourth, the Vatican also understands that China is rich with missionary potential, though it sometimes seems to struggle to know what to do about it.

Many experts regard China as the world’s last truly competitive spiritual marketplace. No matter what happens, Christianity in some form almost certainly will remain the majority faith in Europe and North America, Hinduism will be the majority in India, Islam the majority in the Middle East, and Africa will be divided between Islam and Christianity with significant pockets of indigenous religious practice. [Note: The original article does not bold this last sentence.  That is my doing.]

Now, to be fair, I understand (I think) what the author means by his last sentence.  And yet, still I want to stand up and shout, “No!”  Are we really ready to surrender Europe and North America to the half-baked, Gospel-less “Christianity” that too often passes as the “majority faith.”  Are we ready to turn over India to Hinduism (or its close cousin, Buddhism), the Middle East to Islam, and large swaths of Africa to a mix of Islam, animism, and the ridiculous “Prosperity Gospel.”  Regardless of one’s view concerning eschatology, the true Gospel imperative expressed in passages like Matthew 28:18-20 is clear, and it is militant (in the best of senses).  We are to make disciples of Jesus from those of every nation (i.e. people group).  There is no part of the world that we can, or should, cede to the ravages of Satan.  While I can be charitable as to the larger intent of this author, I find his manner of expression wonderfully provoking.  God forbid that we, Jesus’ church, should ever conclude that anything other than total surrender to Christ will ever finally characterize a portion of this globe.

One final thought.  I’m encouraged in my response to the excerpt above by this realization: In God’s providence, the false religions that seem so dominant now may someday, even before Jesus returns, become only relics of history.  Where are the once dominant gods of the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, or the Canaanite peoples of present day Israel?  They’re now nothing more than artifacts, buried in the sand for archaeologists to discover, or languishing in ancient texts for anthropologists or philologists to study (and yes, such study can be a very good undertaking).  Indeed, you can travel to any number of museums around the world and look with interest at the worthless idols that once held such sway over the hearts and minds of human beings like you and me.

Why would we assume that Islam, or Hinduism, or Buddhism, or any other “ism” will not one day walk the same road as these derelict religious systems?  Remember, prior to about 500 B.C., there was no such thing as Buddhism.  Muhammad didn’t come along until the 600’s A.D.  Even the amorphous Hinduism, despite a long oral tradition, didn’t exist in any written form until probably the third century B.C. at the earliest.¹   My point is this: The false religious systems raised up against the knowledge of God that we contend with now did not always exist.  They are only the latest manifestation of humanity’s response to Satan’s age-old deceitful temptation: “Did God really say…”

 

1. I’m helped on the point concerning Hinduism by a quick look at the much maligned (as an academic source) Wikipedia entry on the Rig Veda, and, somewhat more “appropriately,” by Bradley K. Hawkins’ Asian Religions: An Illustrated Introduction.

 

 

Working toward the establishment of a team of elders is one of the major endeavors of my home church, Felton Bible Church, during 2018.  As we’ve begun to discuss this step of faith, we have been (and will be) talking about God’s roles for men and women in the body of Christ (and in life generally).  Some of you may recognize the terms “complementarian” and “egalitarian.”  For better or worse, these are shorthand ways of describing a person’s belief about gender roles in God’s design.  Speaking far too simply, complementarians generally affirm two beliefs: 1) God has created men and women equal; 2) For his glory and our joy, God has endowed men and women with distinct roles and responsibilities, both within the family and within the body of Christ.  In short, complementarianism is “equality with distinction.”  Conversely, egalitarians articulate a different manner of thinking: 1) God has created men and women equal; 2) Equality means that there is little-to-no distinction between men and women with respect to roles and responsibilities, both in the family and in the church.  Such, in a limited sense, are the distinctive points of each position.

Insomuch as labels are helpful, I am complementarian.  Why?  Because Scripture is very clear regarding the utter equality of men and women before God…and…regarding the important distinctions between men and women in the God-given economy of the family and the church.  When we set such distinctions aside, we run counter to God’s plan and purpose.

My point for saying all of the above is really to recommend the following article, written by Mark Thompson (the “Principle” of Australia’s Moore Theological College, and “a canon of St. Andrews Cathedral, Sydney”): “Is There a Place for Women on a Theological College Faculty.”  In this article, Thompson responds to a recent opinion voiced by John Piper regarding women serving as seminary faculty (you can find Piper’s opinion here: “Ask Pastor John: Is There a Place for Female Professors at Seminary”).  You may or may not be interested in the views of each individual with respect to the question at hand…but that’s really not my point.  Rather, I recommend Thompson’s article because, on the way to answering Piper, Thompson does a beautiful job voicing the complementarian position.  He does so in a markedly winsome manner, especially as he articulates gender roles with respect to the local church.  I hope you’ll take the time to read Thompson’s relatively short article.

(Note: For clarity’s sake, I tend to side with Thompson on this issue, even as I am quite sympathetic to Piper’s overall point.  It is possible for a seminary to completely miss the boat with respect to seeing and affirming God’s good purpose for men and women in terms of their faculty selection and assignments.  That said, I don’t think that what is binding on the local church translates, “whole hog,” into the context of the seminary.  There is a larger conversation here about the role of seminaries, the role of specific programs and classes within a seminary program, and the corresponding needs with respect to men and women professors serving in a seminary.)

Here’s a brief post that draws on my article for the monthly Chatter (church newsletter) for Felton Bible Church.  It pertains to our study through the Gospel of Luke:

As we’ve worked through the first two chapters of Luke, I’m struck by the multiplicity of persons and stories with whom Luke engages.  So far, we’ve seen this gospel writer in conversation with Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, unnamed shepherds, Simeon, and Anna.  In actuality, we can’t know just how many witnesses Luke personally interviewed, or whose testimony he heard told, in order to compile his “orderly account.”  Undoubtedly, Luke was a skilled investigator and reporter.  This observation suggests to my mind a few things worth mentioning:

1) Notice how no one person had the full picture of Jesus’ arrival, including as it pertained to the birth of his forerunner, John the Baptist.  Knowing the whole story of God’s work and ways required his people to be together, to talk, to interact, to share, and to story-tell.  No wonder the author of Hebrews exhorts us to not neglect meeting together (Hebrews 10:25)!

2) The reality of many witnesses ought to encourage us as to the veracity of what we read in Luke’s Gospel.  If Luke was fabricating his account, there were, even in his day, plenty of others to cry “foul!”  What we read in this gospel is one truth told through the perspective of many witnesses.

3) The pattern of many witnesses ought to make us cautious, if not downright skeptical, of single-source eyewitness accounts, especially when those accounts do not otherwise comport with God’s revealed truth.  For instance, why should we strongly reject the claims made by Joseph Smith about his experience of visions with the Father, the Son, and an angel named Moroni?  Well, we reject them in part because the only witness to these events was Smith himself, and what he experienced and taught contradicts Scripture.  The same can be said about the experience of Muhammed regarding his alleged reception of the Quran through various revelations from God.  This does not mean that every single-source account is suspect, but it certainly means that God’s Word forms the first standard against which we judge any claim of a vision or word from the Lord.

4) The pattern we see in Luke of multiple witnesses – i.e. no one person had the full story – suggests to us that God continues to work in the same manner today.  Do you want to know what God is up to in this world?  Then talk with your brothers and sisters in Christ.  Read their stories, especially the stories of those from a different culture or geographic location.  Consider how the experience of the church around you reflects the truth of Scripture.  It is absolutely essential that the body of Christ be in conversation with one another.  May our conversations range far and wide as God gives us opportunity to know Jesus’ church in many locales.

 

 

Proverbs 17:3 says, “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.”  Crucibles and furnaces serve to refine metal.  They must burn hot in order to do their job.  Heat refines the metal.

The author of this Proverb compares the Lord to a crucible or a furnace.  The Lord too burns with intense heat, and yet it is a heat no furnace could ever hope to match.  Our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:9, Deuteronomy 4:24).  Why is it that he burns so hot?  It’s because the material on which he works is infinitely more precious than silver or gold – God works on the heart.  It’s also because the dross and impurity he will burn away clings with a tenaciousness no physical impurity of metal ever matched – God burns away sin.  Should we be surprised then when we encounter burning trials, even extended burning trials, that refine and test our very souls?  The obvious answer is, “No,” in fact, we should expect and even welcome such times.  It’s no surprise then that Peter writes this: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you…For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” – 1 Peter 4:12, 17.

Peter raises a sobering but glorious truth.  One way or another we will all experience the fire of God.  It will either come as his refining work in us – work that leaves us purified and ready for the courts of heaven – or as his eternal judgment on our unrepentant sin.  May we experience the fire of God in a life spent following Jesus, and not in eternity under the wrath of God in Hell!

A last point of encouragement for the Christian walking through our Lord’s refining furnace is this: Our God walks with us in the fire.  I think there is no better image of this truth than Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego enduring Nebuchadnezzar’s persecuting anger.  As these three literally fell into the fire, Nebuchadnezzar noticed they were not alone: “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?…But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” (Daniel 3:24b, 25).  As they walked through the fire of a petty tyrant, these men of faith experienced the protecting presence of God’s angel.  Should we expect any less when we walk through the refining processes that our Creator ordains for us?  God does not let his children walk alone in the fires that he designs for them to endure.  He goes with them…

Here’s a link to a song that you might appreciate relevant to Proverbs 17:3: “Though You Slay Me” by Shane and Shane.

Recently I had the chance to preach from Luke 2:1-7.  One noteworthy aspect of Jesus’ birth is the fact that it occurred in Bethlehem, and not Jerusalem.  Of course, Bethlehem was the necessary location based on God’s prophetic word in Micah 5:2ff, but it was also a remarkably symbolic spot.  Birth in Bethlehem associated the kingly, divine, and messianic Jesus with his royal forbearer, David, but it did so in a particular manner.  Birth in Bethlehem associated Jesus especially with David’s humble beginnings as a shepherd, and not first with David’s later royal rule as symbolized in the City of David (see 2 Samuel 5:9).  David’s son, who is also David’s Lord, would be, like his ancestral father, a shepherd king marked by humility (Note: I’m helped in this paragraph by David Garland’s great Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament – see pages 119-120).

Now, what I find fascinating is the way this situation will reverse at Jesus’ second coming.  The Bible associates Jesus’ return not with obscure Bethlehem, but rather with royal Jerusalem (Isaiah 66:15-24, perhaps Ezekiel 40-48, Acts 1:9-12, Revelation 21-22).  If the baby Jesus came in association with David’s humble beginnings as a lowly shepherd, the man Jesus will return in association with David’s powerful reign.  We can debate whether the biblical view of Jesus’ return pertains at all to a physical Jerusalem (I for one think it probably does), but the symbolized message is clear no matter what: Jesus will return as the ruling sovereign of the universe.

Jesus will return as the king Shepherd and the ruling Savior.  When he does, may he find us to be delighted subjects!

I’ve been reading lately about the patterns of worship God prescribed for his people Israel – patterns of gatherings, feasts, and sacrifices as detailed in Leviticus, Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.  Today I’m struck by these verses from Exodus:

Exodus 34:21 – Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest.  In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

 I assume here that plowing time and harvest are the two “peak periods” for a farming society.  They are the “all-hands-on-deck” seasons of work.  In our day and age, we might wonder at the very idea of resting during such a time.  Shouldn’t we work hardest during this period?  Isn’t this the time when the most money is to be made, or when there is the most unavoidable work to do?  And yet, it is precisely at such a point that God calls his people to rest.  He calls them to recognize, remember, and confess with their bodily action that he is the one who keeps and provides.  He calls them to remember that they can trust their most basic needs (like food, air, water) to him and him alone.

Granted, we don’t live under Mosaic Law, but Mosaic Law tells us still who God is and how he works.  It even gives us some inkling of how our lives in worship ought to reflect his character and ways.  So, let me ask this (for myself and all of you): How does God call us to rest, especially at plowing time and in harvest?

Exodus 34:23-24 – Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel.  For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.

 God required of Israel that all the males among the Hebrews appear before him three times annually (I think the text refers to males who have been weaned from their mother’s care, and probably even those who have reached the point of “manhood,” or accountability under the Law).  This meant traveling to the location where God made his name to dwell, represented by the presence of the Ark of the Covenant.  Eventually, it meant traveling to Jerusalem and appearing at the Solomonic temple.

Now, there’s only one problem with such an arrangement.  With all the men gone, what happens when the “bad guys” come?  Even if the women and children traveled with (as they likely did on many occasions…see the story of Hannah), what about the farms and belongings left at home?  And yet, for this God has an answer: “Leave it to me…I’ve got it covered.”  Notice how Exodus promises the Lord’s protection on his land, apparently with special concern during the times of annual corporate worship.

If nothing else, this promise from Exodus is a wide-open invitation to trust God; to trust him even with that which is most precious to us.  We can do what he asks no matter how risky it seems.  Not only can we do what he asks, but we must.  Indeed, how could we do anything but obey him?

If you read my previous post pertinent to the title of this site, then hopefully you’ll know why this line from Charles Spurgeon is so apropos: [Speaking of God] “That glorious right hand which moulded the world can new-create my mind…” (Morning and Evening: Daily Readings by C.H. Spurgeon – Evening, January 6th).  In other words, the hope and prayer that the title of this blog expresses is not a vain hope.  God will redeem and restore the minds of his children, just as he does every other part of our personhood.  In his book, Reformed Theology, R. Michael Allen says this: “…the redemption and sanctification of human reasoning has not been completed yet” (pg. 19).  Imagine what it must be like to comprehend God (not to mention one another and creation itself) with human reasoning that is fully sanctified.  I look forward to that day…

Greetings!  If you’re reading this, you’re reading my beginnings as a formal “blogger,” though certainly not my beginnings as a formal and informal writer.  My desire for this site is that everything about it will glorify Jesus Christ – God, the Son of God, the crucified and risen Savior, the ruling King who will return at precisely the right time to judge and to gather his people.  Specifically, my hope is that Jesus’ church will be edified by the content of this page.  In particular, I hope that Jesus’ people who gather as Felton Bible Church (in Felton, CA) will find themselves encouraged, exhorted, informed, challenged, and changed by truth they might encounter here.  It is my privilege to follow Jesus in partnership and fellowship with my brothers and sisters at FBC.  Thus, it is they who remain uppermost in my mind.  That said, perhaps the Lord would be pleased to put this site to work in ways that extend beyond FBC.  Perhaps he might even be pleased to work for the salvation of some through this site.  May it be so Lord Jesus!

From the outset, let me explain the title of this blog – “Fix Your Mind.”  This title draws on Colossians 3:1-4, even as it reflects much of my own angst, difficulty, and struggle in following Jesus.  My greatest battles of faith and life occur in my mind.  By “mind,” I mean the deep part of myself that is the essentially spiritual link between a physical brain, a physical heart, and my real but intangible soul.  It is here that I feel my sinful brokenness most; here that I am earnest to experience God’s deep cleansing and sanctifying work, for his glory and my joy.  Thus, my title is a prayer; a cry to God that he would complete the good work he has already begun in me (Philippians 1:6).

But, this title is also a word of praise, an exhortation, and a proclamation of steadfast hope.  As broken as my mind all too often is, as burdened as it can become, my hope lies not in me, but in Christ.  Here is what Paul says in Colossians 3:1-4: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  That’s amazing!  Because I am raised from the deadness of sin in Jesus, I can seek the things that are above; things pertaining to God, to life, to joy, to holiness.  Because I am hidden in Christ, I will, one day, enjoy a mind that is, like his, unhindered and unburdened by sin.  Because I am hidden in Christ and his perfect righteousness, I can, even now, pursue the holiness of mind without which no one will see God (Hebrews 12:14).  Thus, I seek to “set my mind” or “fix my mind” on Jesus.

As I conclude for now, I admit it…I am tweaking somewhat the English translation of Colossians 3 (in the English Standard Version) – from “set” to “fix” – but I trust you will allow me some literary license to do so.  Besides, “fix” might not be such a bad rendering of the Greek φρονεω after all.

Thank you for reading.  I’m committed to write as the Spirit intends and leads.  Come back in the future, and I pray you’ll be blessed in the coming!