Category: Devotional

Devotional thoughts for my benefit and yours from here, there, and everywhere

In Christ Alone, Take 2

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

I recently updated my blog post on the powerful song, “In Christ Alone” by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty. Modern hymns, like that one, have been such a blessing to me over the past few years. Nothing will replace the grand old hymns, for sure. But many modern songs are coming very close. And they meet me where I am, and speak to me in fresh and lively ways that the old hymns sometimes cannot.

Anyway, the updated post now has all the broken links fixed, and several new links to the story behind the song, and other such helpful resources. In the process, I rediscovered Stuart Townend’s short description of authoring this song, which was likely the most wide-reaching and impactful new Christian song of the past decade. I thought I’d quote Stuart here, and then show an example of the impact of this song.

In November 2000 I was at a worship conference in Eastbourne, and introduced through a mutual friend to Keith Getty, who I had heard was a terrific melody writer. We met up for a coffee, and he promised to send me a CD of song ideas.

I didn’t really think any more about it. Then a CD arrived in the post containing three song ideas played on a piano. I didn’t get past the first melody, because I was so taken with it — it was quite hymn-like, but with a beautiful celtic lilt – I immediately started writing down some lines on the life of Christ.

Often lyrics come in quite a haphazard way. You write loads of couplets, then re-write some, then gradually piece it together to give it continuity and shape. The process for “In Christ alone” was much more linear. Once I’d worked out the rhyming structure (it felt like the song had better shape if lines 1 and 3 rhymed as well as the more usual 2 and 4), I started working on the first verse, setting the scene with a fairly subjective exploration of what Christ means to the Christian. Then I as I worked through the life, death and resurrection of Christ, I was getting more and more excited and emotional, and verse 4 kind of spilled out as a declaration of the impact of these amazing events in our lives.

Within a couple of days I had the whole lyric, sent it to Keith, he suggested a couple of changes, and “In Christ alone” was finished.

I think maybe one of the reasons the song is so popular is that it can stir up our emotions (I still often cry like an old softie when I sing it) — but the emotion is not the central feature of the song. Because the lyrics stay fixed on the unchanging truths of our salvation, it not only provokes emotion, but engenders faith, strengthening our spirits, not just stirring our souls.

The ability of the song to stir up emotions and move people is on display, oddly enough, in a recent reworking of the song by a popular secular musician. Adam Young of the Owl City band talks of how the song moved him to tears, in this post. He uses the song to make a testimony of his faith in Christ, too. He also gives us quite the melodic and artistic rendition of the song, available in full on his blog. I encourage you to check it out, if you haven’t already.

For more on “In Christ Alone”, check out the lyrics and links I’ve collected in my post.

Jerry Bridges on Judgmentalism

~ Bob Hayton ~ 15 Comments

As a follow up to Saturday’s post on the Legalist “Not Me” dance, today I want to quote Jerry Bridges on the problem of Judgmentalism.

Bridges is a well known, and respected author. He’s known for highlighting the role of grace in the Christian’s life. I’ve reviewed his book, Trusting God here previously. One of his most recent books, Respectable Sins, takes aim at the sins that we too easily let slide. Andy Naselli posted some excerpts from the chapter dealing with Judgmentalism, and I’m going to share some of them here, but encourage you to go read Naselli’s full post and then consider picking up a copy of the book for more.

The sin of judgmentalism is one of the most subtle of our “respectable” sins because it is often practiced under the guise of being zealous for what is right…

Example 1: Dress

I grew up in the mid-twentieth century, when people dressed up to go to church. Men wore jackets and ties (usually suits and ties) and women wore dresses. Sometime in the 1970s, men began to show up at church wearing casual pants and open-collar shirts. Many women began to wear pants. For several years, I was judgmental toward them. Didn’t they have any reverence for God? Would they dress so casually if they were going to an audience with the president? That sounded pretty convincing to me.

Only I was wrong. There is nothing in the Bible that tells us what we ought to wear to church. And as for dressing up to meet the president, that’s a cultural thing centered in Washington, DC. If you were invited to meet the president while he is vacationing at his ranch, you would probably show up in blue jeans. Reverence for God, I finally concluded, is not a matter of dress; it’s a matter of the heart. Jesus said that true worshipers are those who worship the Father in spirit and truth (see John 4:23). Now, it’s true that casual dress may reflect a casual attitude toward God, but I cannot discern that. Therefore, I should avoid ascribing an attitude of irreverence based purely on a person’s dress….

…My point here is that it doesn’t matter which side of an issue we are on. It is easy to become judgmental toward anyone whose opinions are different from ours. And then we hide our judgmentalism under the cloak of Christian convictions.

Paul’s response to the situation in Rome [in Romans 14] was, “Stop judging one another regardless of which position you take.” …

I suspect that some of my dearest friends may disagree with some things I’ve said in this chapter. Some do not see the manner of dress in church or the type of music we sing as matters of preference. For them, it is a conviction. I respect their thinking and wouldn’t want to change their convictions at all.

I’d like to be like Paul, who took a similar position regarding the divisive issues in Rome. He did not try to change anyone’s convictions regarding what they ate or the special days they observed. Instead, he said, “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:5). Such a statement makes many of us uncomfortable. We don’t like ambiguity in issues of Christian practice. It’s difficult for us to accept that one person’s opinion can be different from ours and both of us be accepted by God. But that is what Paul says in Romans 14. And if we will take Paul seriously and hold our convictions with humility, it will help us avoid the sins of judgmentalism. (pp. 144–48)

I only shared the part about dress, but Naselli includes more on how music and alcohol factor in to this judmentalist problem.

What are your thoughts on this? I, for one, think Bridges nails it on this one. This is indeed a problem, and can be for those of us on both sides of the question in dispute. Rom. 14 and 15 have more to say about this, and we would do well to listen.

A Gospel-Centered Reading of Genesis

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

My daily Bible plan has me reading through Genesis currently. So far, I’ve been refreshed by many Gospel themes I’m finding therein. I’ve been helped in making Gospel connections, by a series of blog posts I stumbled across recently. Dr. John Davis, at TheGospelFirst.com has been blogging his way through Genesis in a series highlighting the Gospel Story and the City.

His devotional take on Genesis is refreshing, and the entries are fairly brief. The posts complement my reading thru the chapters covered and help me to be seeing Genesis through Gospel-eyes. Not only does Davis help people to see the Gospel in the text, he helps them to make application to the context of living in the city. Davis is partnering with his brother Steve to reach the city of Philadelphia. As I find myself in the city of St. Paul, many of his applications hit home.

I encourage you to take advantage of Davis’ series on the Gospel as you read through Genesis. Here are links to the posts that are currently available.

Quotes to Note 23: Calvin on Christ-Centered Bible Reading

~ Bob Hayton ~ 7 Comments

With the New Year, many of us have chosen our new daily Bible reading plan. With that in mind, I recently stumbled across an important quote from John Calvin that bears on how we approach our Bible reading. I thought sharing it with you all would be especailly appropriate, on this first Monday of 2011.

Commenting on John 5:39, Calvin notes:

…we are taught by this passage, that if we wish to obtain the knowledge of Christ, we must seek it from the Scriptures…. First, then, we ought to believe that Christ cannot be properly known in any other way than from the Scriptures; and if it be so, it follows that we ought to read the Scriptures with the express design of finding Christ in them. Whoever shall turn aside from this object, though he may weary himself throughout his whole life in learning, will never attain the knowledge of the truth; for what wisdom can we have without the wisdom of God? Next, as we are commanded to seek Christ in the Scriptures, so he declares in this passage that our labors shall not be fruitless; for the Father testifies in them concerning his Son in such a manner that He will manifest him to us beyond all doubt. But what hinders the greater part of men from profiting is, that they give to the subject nothing more than a superficial and cursory glance. Yet it requires the utmost attention, and, therefore, Christ enjoins us to search diligently for this hidden treasure…. By the Scriptures, it is well known, is here meant the Old Testament; for it was not in the Gospel that Christ first began to be manifested, but, having received testimony from the Law and the Prophets, he was openly exhibited in the Gospel.

“The Lightlings” by R.C. Sproul

~ Bob Hayton ~ 5 Comments

Have you ever wondered why stories have such power to move us? Why children sit mesmerized when they hear a fairy tale, and why people inevitably share their own personal stories when they get together?

Stories move us because we are part of a bigger story, “The Story”. As Christians, we know the beginning and the end of that story, and all its major plot twists and turns. We don’t know exactly how our life story will fit into it, but we have faith that it will.

R.C. Sproul has the gift of storytelling, and has written several stories for children. In The Lightlings, Sproul tells “The Story” by means of an allegory. He casts the world as peopled by lightlings, children of the King of Light. He depicts the fall, and their flight into darkness. He then paints a beautiful picture of a baby full of light, who is to be the Light of the World. This allegory is applied to children well by Sproul’s setting it as a story told to a child wondering why he is afraid of the dark. The answer is a tale told by his grandfather, and then applied to the child’s own circumstances at the end of the book.

The story is beautiful and has numerous points of contact with the true Biblical story of creation, fall and redemption. At the end of the book, several discussion questions are listed with Biblical verses in a “For Parents” section. These points don’t exhaust the allegory but open it up to those who may be more unfamiliar with the Biblical meta-narrative depicted in the tale.

The illustrations by Justin Gerard are stunning. He captures light well, which is necessary in illustrating this particular story. The pictures are attractive to kids of all ages, and depicting the lightlings as fairies helps the story compete with other children’s tales that remain ever popular.

Christian parents must seek to get as many Christian resources as possible into the hands of our children. This book will provide opportunities to discuss the Gospel with children of all ages, particularly those in preschool and elementary school. And if you like this story, Sproul has other allegorical children’s books available as well.

I wish more children’s books today were like The Lightlings. The power of the story is not as often used as it should in capturing the hearts of our children. I cannot recommend this book more highly. If you have children, it is definitely a must have tool for the Christian parent.

Pick up a copy of this book at Amazon.com, Westminster Bookstore or directly from Reformation Trust.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Reformation Trust Publishing for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.