God with Us

"If I could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words: 'God with us.' We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ. The greater truth of the holiday is His deity. More astonishing than the baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth." - John MacArthur

Piper on the New Birth

I've been so blessed by a series of messages John Piper is giving on the new birth, or to use the theological term: "regeneration". My prayer is that you will listen to these messages on this essential topic and that God would speak to you through His word!

There are more to come, but here are the messages available so far:

You Must Be Born Again: Why This Series and Where Are We Going?

What Happens in the New Birth? Part 1

What Happens in the New Birth? Part 2

Why Do We Need to Be Born Again? Part 1

Tim Tebow

No heisman for Chase Daniel, sorry MU friends.

Glad it happened to Tim Tebow, though. A home-schooled missionary kid who lives out his faith by visiting orphanages in the Philipines run by his parents and preaches at state prisons in Florida.

Tebow made history by becoming the first freshman/sophomore to win the heisman!

Here is a story some time back by the NY Times about Tebow.

Congrats, Tim!

Random Thoughts on Tough Questions!

Ryan shared this link, a list of the most influential books in MacArthur's life. Someday I definitely want to read all these (and immortalizing the link on this blog will help) ... but only after I read ALL the Piper books I got from his $5 sale!!! Sure, I'll probably get to Truth War before I finish the Piper collection, but I'm currently reading Let the Nations Be Glad! and this quote blows me away (bold added)...

"The infinite horrors of hell are intended by God to be a vivid demonstration of the infinite value of the glory of God. The biblical assumption of the justice of hell is a clear testimony to the infiniteness of the sin of failing to glorify God. All of us have failed. All the nations have failed. Therefore, the weight of infinite guilt rests on every human head because of our failure to cherish the glory of God. The biblical vision of God, then, is that he is supremely committed, with infinite passion, to uphold and display the glory of his name. And the biblical vision of man without grace is that he suppresses this truth and by nature finds more joy in his own glory than he does in God’s. God exists to be worshiped, and man worships the work of his own hands. This twofold reality creates the critical need for missions. And the very God-centeredness of God, which creates the crisis, also creates the solution.

Here's a discussion question you are welcome to comment on. Somebody explain that! It's true, I believe it. But, wow! I had to stop reading and just stare out the window for several minutes to try to get my mind around that last sentence! I gave up.



My daughter Sophia is real smart. And I'm not. She's been asking me a lot of questions about spiritual matters of late, and quite possibly is a new believer after having repented and praying a very sincere-sounding sinner's prayer. We've been praying for Sophie but are still yet to see fruit other than the rebellious fruit we're accustomed to. Still, unregenerate or not (see Real Life Child Converts), she has been asking some great questions for a 6-year-old!

Last night was no exception: "Why was God never made?" Fifteen minutes into my rambling on and on (in pure ecstacy!) I realized she was just playing me to get to stay up late! So I put a stop to that and hugged and kissed her goodnight (again!) As I walked down the hall, she said, "I think a hand has always been. And it made God." She couldn't get her mind around God's eternality, and neither can I? But I rejoice for that! I love that God's thoughts are higher than ours and that He is infinitely holy and righteous in every way, yet has chosen to save me and restore me to fellowship with Him through the cross of Christ!

Where in the World is Peter Pletcher?

Some of you Countrysiders remember Peter Pletcher who attended nearly a decade ago (when he was still single!) The Lord put him in my brain and stirred my heart to check up on him, it had been a long time but I used to run with him and often wondered what became of him. A simple Google search led me to this page on Lincoln Electric's website which gave me Peter's email address. I emailed him, thinking I could very likely be emailing the wrong Peter Pletcher! But how many could there be?!?

Anyway, I got an email back and I've thoroughly enjoyed getting caught up and hearing what the Lord is doing in Peter's life! Here are a few quotes from his emails.

Business
"After I left Olathe, I moved to Louisville and married a wonderful Christian woman (Jill). In 2002 we moved to Shanghai, China where I was the technical manager for Greater China for over 3 years and this is where our first daughter Haley was born in July 2004. Then the end of 2005 we relocated to Singapore where I took on the role of Country Manager Singapore and we had our second daughter Morgan born December 2006. In Sept 2007, I took on the responsibility of Global Business Segment Director -Offshore but will remain living in Singapore for at least another couple years. "

Running
Many of you remember Peter as a runner so ... "My running has slowed drastically with family and a busy work schedule...however, I did run about 5K today. One of my running highlights in Asia was running a half marathon race on the Great Wall of China!"

Spiritual Life
"We have been very blessed with the opportunities the Lord has given us and are plugged into a good Church here in Singapore. We never dreamed traveling like we have and learning so much about different cultures. "

"We are members and involved at Heritage Baptist Church (www.heritagebaptist.org) here in Singapore. The Lord has really blessed the ministry and we currently average over 150 people every Sunday. The website is not actively updated so it is really not a good source for the most recent information but at least it will give you a sense of the Church we are going to. (this is something our church is trying to address)"

Peter and his church is leaving tomorrow for a missions trip to a work they are supporting so please pray for them.

Did you know?
"I notice that you have Truth for Life - Allistair Begg's website listed under your favorites. As a matter of interest, I attended Parkside Church (Allistair's Church) when I was in Cleveland for nearly a year during training with Lincoln Electric back in 1995. It was after this training that I moved to Kansas City. I always enjoy listening to Allistair preach and have had opportunities to visit since as I go back to Cleveland from time to time.

Crocodile Hunters
The Pletchers took a family vacation to Australia in October. Their two-week stay took them up to Sydey and up to Queensland to see the Great Barrier Reef and the Australia Zoo, home of the Crocidile Hunter.


While in Sydney, Peter and Jill climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The 3 hour, 1400 step journey took them to the top of the bridge with the awesome view you see here.


At the Australia Zoo, Haley got to play with Robert Irwin (the late Steve Irwin's son) at the play area at the end of the day. They had a lot of fun together!

Couple more pictures. If you want more email Peter and say hello and ask for more!


We miss you Peter! God bless you and the special ministry God has for you in Asia!

How Few There Are Who Die So Hard!

This is the title of the biographical message John Piper gave on the life of Adoniram Judson at the 2003 Bethlehem Pastors Conference.

Friday I took this sermon with me for the commute (mp3 player) and as I made my way home, listening to Piper recount the suffering in Judson's life, tears filled my eyes. In fact, they nearly filled the car! I was broken over my own apathy to God's Great Commision in light of the sufferings that Judson's endured to bring the Gospel to Burma!

"... Judson went [to Burma] with his 23-year-old wife of 17 months. He was 24 years old and he worked there for 38 years until his death at age 61, with one trip home to New England after 33 years. The price he paid was immense. He was a seed that fell into the ground and died. And the fruit God gave is celebrated even in scholarly works like David Barrett's World Christian Encyclopedia: "The largest Christian force in Burma is the Burma Baptist Convention, which owes its origin to the pioneering activity of the American Baptist missionary Adoniram Judson"

Read/listen/download the sermon here. (BTW, there are also many other biographical messages about C.H. Spurgeon, Calvin, Martin Luther, Johnathan Edwards.)

Back to Adoniram Judson. If after listening to the bio. message, you still haven't picked up on Piper's passion for missions (especially what he calls frontier missions), you can also read his article The Cost and Blessing of Being a Christian Missionary. Get Desiring God and read the chapter on Missions ... or even read it online for free! (As my friend Luke pointed out, it's refreshing that Piper's generosity is indicative of the fact that he's not "about the money" or "His Best Life Now".)

Sadly, not much is written on Judson. To the Golden Shore by Courtney Anderson is recommended. There is a children's book called Adoniram Judson - God's Man in Burma by Sharon Hambrick, which my daughter will be reading as part of her homeschool curriculum this year! Piper also mentions a book that Judson wrote on baptism.

So again, download Piper's stirring message here (and listen when you're not behind the wheel.) No need to take notes; it's all in the manuscript. As Piper says, "put your notes away and relax and soak and then get convicted and become a missionary ... that's my goal."

Do Paul and James Contradict Each Other?

My brother-in-law gave me Knowing Scripture for my birthday and it will come in handy as I am now leading a Bible study for the first time (great timing!) It's a great little book on why and how to study God's Word. I won't do a review (Challies does this much better than I could.) Instead I'll share a quote that has been a treat to me. This deals with something I've always wondered about, does Paul contradict James on the subject of justification in terms of works and faith? Here is Sproul from his fantastic book, Knowing Scripture ...

My favorite example of words with multiple meanings is the word justify. In Romans 3:28 Paul says, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law.” In James 2:24 we read, “You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.” If the word justify means the same thing in both cases, we have an irreconcilable contradiction between two biblical writers on an issue that concerns our eternal destinies. Luther called “justification by faith” the article upon which the church stands or falls. The meaning of justification and the question of how it takes place is no mere trifle. Yet Paul says it is by faith apart from works, and James says it is by works and not by faith alone. To make matters more difficult, Paul insists in Romans 4 that Abraham is justified when he believes the promise of God before he is even circumcised. He has Abraham justified in Genesis 15. James says, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?” (Jas. 2:21). James does not have Abraham justified until Genesis 22.

This question of justification is easily resolved if we examine the possible meanings of the term justify and apply them within the contexts of the respective passages. The term justify may mean (1) to restore to a state of reconciliation with God those who stand under judgment of his law or (2) to demonstrate or to vindicate.

Jesus says, for example, “Wisdom is justified of all her children” (Lk. 7:35 KJV). What does he mean? Does he mean that wisdom is restored to fellowship with God and saved from his wrath? Obviously not. The plain meaning of his words is that a wise act produces good fruit. The claim to wisdom is vindicated by the result. A wise decision is shown to be wise by its results. Jesus is speaking in practical terms, not theological terms, when he uses the word justified in this way.

How does Paul use the word in Romans 3? Here there is no dispute. Paul is clearly speaking about justification in the ultimate theological sense.

What about James? If we examine the context of James, we will see that he is dealing with a different question from Paul. James says in 2:14, “What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” James is raising a question of what kind of faith is necessary for salvation. He is saying that true faith brings forth works. A faith without works he calls a dead faith, a faith that is not genuine. The point is that people can say they have faith when in fact they have no faith. The claim to faith is vindicated or justified when it is manifested by the fruit of faith, namely, works. Abraham is justified or vindicated in our sight by his fruit. In a sense, Abraham’s claim to justification is justified by his works. The Reformers understood that when they stated the formula, “Justification is by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.”