Where my ladies at???

Thank you to all who made last night such a meaningful time of sharing and insight. Piper's Book brought us to discuss the notion that TO RISK ONE'S LIFE & LOSE IT is BETTER THAN TO WASTE IT.

We talked about risking our lives for the sake of Christ and what God could be calling us to risk in. It's important that we distinguish this idea from just our fears and uncertainties. Life is full of them no doubt, but to risk one's life is to know that God is calling us to something that will cost us and could perhaps cause us to suffer, be rejected, be faced with discomfort, etc. In the words of Queen Esther, it is the attitude that "If I perish, I perish."

But what would cause such an attitude to arise? Scripture teaches us (especially in Matthew 13) that it is nothing less than a complete valuing and cherishing of Christ and the kingdom of God. It is to say with the Psalmist, "Your love is better than life." You must see the kingdom as worthy of your life if you're going to risk something for it. Just like you must find that girl of your dreams so completely worth it that you're willing to risk anything to be with her.

I suppose we all know what it means to risk when we find something that is truly worth taking the risk over. It's sad that for many of us we don't even entertain the notion of risk when it comes to the cause of making Christ known.

I wonder how many of us have ever uttered words similar to David Brainerd.

When I really enjoy God, I feel my desires of Him the more insatiable, and my thirstings after holiness the more unquenchable...Oh for holiness! Oh, for more of God in my soul! Oh this pleasing pain! It makes my soul press after God...Oh, that I may feel this continual hunger, and not be retarded, but rather animated by every "cluster from Canaan" - to reach forward in the narrow way, for the full enjoyment and possession of the heavenly inheritance. Oh that I might never loiter in my heavenly journey!


Brainerd died at the age of 29 from tuberculosis. But how he absolutely longed for the things of God. He risked everything and gained everything. May the worth of Christ shine brilliantly in our hearts today.

On another note, thanks to all the ladies who continue to come out faithfully and despite the length of time between gatherings, truly make an effort to engage, fellowship, and participate in each other's lives. As we concluded last night in prayer, it was particularly meaningful to me to hear us praying for one another sincerely. And not only for those who were present, but those who were absent as well. Even though Howard and I were the only guys, I counted it a privilege to be in the company of godly women who love the Lord and are commited to His cause. You ladies put us to shame, and I would have it no other way! You rock!

It's all about...?

My wife, Matt B, and I spent last week working with middle school and high school students at a golf camp. The theme was, "For the Glory". It was an interesting experience because it forced me to contemplate God's glory while at the same time being constantly exposed to that thing that most competes for God's glory in my life. No, not golf, but everything that golf represents.

You see, for me golf represents comfort, luxury, money, pride, everything that could keep me tied down to this life (and this place) in an unhealthy manner. I'm not saying that golf is inherently sinful, but rather that it is a symbol of the fight that I must wage against the various messages thrown in my direction.

In his book, The Odyssey, Homer describes one particular challenge that Odysseus and his men faced - the Sirens. In his book, the goddess Circe warns the hero of the peril of these creatures.

First you will come to the Sirens
who enchant all who come near them. If any one unwarily draws in too
close and hears the singing of the Sirens, his wife and children
will never welcome him home again, for they sit in a green field and
warble him to death with the sweetness of their song. There is a great
heap of dead men's bones lying all around, with the flesh still
rotting off them. Therefore pass these Sirens by, and stop your
men's ears with wax that none of them may hear; but if you like you
can listen yourself, for you may get the men to bind you as you
stand upright on a cross-piece half way up the mast, and they must
lash the rope's ends to the mast itself, that you may have the
pleasure of listening. If you beg and pray the men to unloose you,
then they must bind you faster.

It seems that Homer has a great illustration for the Christian life. We are all on our way to eternity. Either everlasting beauty or eternal destruction as C.S. Lewis puts it. The dangerous thing is that the Sirens of our day sing their songs, and I buy into it with reckless abandon. Much to my peril, I miss out on what is truly precious and lasting only to exchange it for Hollister, Titleist, XBOX, sex, BMW, ___________________ (Fill in the blank).

As we continue to reflect upon what it means to not waste a life, may we recognize the Siren songs that entice us, and may we be bound to the Rock of Ages by the ropes of His unending grace.