Tag: Devotional

Thinking Biblically about Retirement

~ Bob Hayton

I just recently picked up my October 2009 Tabletalk issue again, and came across a really good article by Alex Chediak. I bumped into him a few times when he was a member at Bethlehem here in Minneapolis, and I’ve reviewed his excellent book With One Voice: Singleness, Dating and Marriage to the Glory of God (Christian Focus).

The article I want to share with you all is entitled: “Don’t Retire; We Need You“. In it, Alex challenges those of retirement age to invest themselves in the next generation through the context of their local church. It’s a great challenge that all should consider. Please read his article.

For more resources on this issue, I recommend Pastor John Piper’s booklet, Rethinking Retirment (Crossway). Learn more about that book here, or download a .pdf of the booklet for free.

“The Christian in an Age of Terror: Selected Sermons of Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones” edited by Michael Eaton

~ Bob Hayton

Author: Martyn Lloyd-Jones (edited by Michael Eaton)
Publisher: Kregel
Format: Softcover
Pages: 280
ISBN: 9780825429798
Stars: 4 of 5

The Christian in an Age of Terror is a compilation of previously unpublished sermons of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. The volume is edited by Michael Eaton and was recently published by Kregel.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a master of the pulpit. In reading this book, I learned that for a while he shared preaching duties with his predecessor G. Campbell Morgan, so he stood linked to England’s puritan past in some sense. The sermons in this volume betray Lloyd-Jones’ pastoral warmth and his spiritual vibrancy.

The theme of the book is “the Christian in an age of terror”. For us we think of September 11th, but for the doctor’s London churchgoers, that age of terror was life in and following World War II. His pastoral sermons for the London congregation speak equally to today’s chaotic age.

While chronologically the sermons address terror, the sermons themselves are on other themes. These are the topics Lloyd-Jones felt were important for Christians in such a time. And indeed they are exceedingly relevant. Michael Eaton arranged them thematically picking from series of sermons Lloyd-Jones preached from the years 1941-1950. The book starts out with sermons on Acts 12, the Christian facing danger. It moves to a summary of the Gospel found in a few sermons focusing on Hebrews 1:1-3. Then a series on “What is a Christian?” covers Romans 8. A series on Rev. 4 gives us a “preview of history”, and 1 Cor. 16:13-14 provide a few sermons on how to be strong in such an age as this. The final sermon is one preached at the half-way point of the last century. In January 1950, Lloyd-Jones reminded his flock that the Lord is the only One who can build the house.

Lloyd-Jones presents some wise insights and has a refreshing knack for gaining jewels from simple texts. The best way to show this will be to quote from the end of his series on Acts 12. I’ll leave you with the quote and an encouragement to pick up this excellent book.

If ever I have thanked God for the fact that I belong to the church it is as I read a text like this. If we are truly Christians, and truly members of the church, we are on the winning side. We are on the side of the church militant, the church triumphant. Our victory is certain and assured, come what may. There may be times of difficulty and distress; we are promised such things; but, and there is always that “but”, the Word of God will grow and multiply, until the Lord, in His own good time, comes to wind this earth and all its affairs, and hands over the kingdom to God the Father. God grant that we all may know for certain that we belong as living members to the invincible church. (pg. 56)

Disclaimer: this book was provided by the publisher for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to provide a positive review.

This book is available for purchase at the following sites: Westminster Bookstore, Amazon.com, or direct from Kregel.

“Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear” by Max Lucado

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

Author: Max Lucado
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 221
ISBN: 9780849921391
Stars: 4 of 5

Fearless is the latest book from best selling author, Max Lucado. In fact it officially releases today. I jumped at the chance to receive an advance review copy of this book, partly because I had never read Lucado before. I’ve heard good things of his writing, but had just never read one of his books. Often, popularity doesn’t translate all that well into Biblical faithfulness, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Max Lucado. As I worked my way through the book, I found it not only faithful, but accessible, well-written and timely.

Lucado interweaves stories, analogies and practical Christian advice in a masterful fashion. Each chapter focuses on a specific species of fear. He examines the fear and brings the Scriptures to bear upon it. The book also includes excellent discussion questions for each chapter. They would serve well as a general outline for small group sessions. Usually discussion questions are minimal, but with Fearless, they include a time of discussing the particular fear at hand, Scripture passages to look up and some final application questions.

Max Lucado displays a well-seasoned faith and he knows how to address the spectrum of fears that face us today. His pastoral warmth shines through the book. I particularly enjoyed his thoughts on parenting and fear for the well-being of your children.

We can take our parenting fears to Christ. In fact, if we don’t, we’ll take our fears out on our kids. Fear turns some parents into paranoid prison guards who monitor every minute, check the background of ever friend. They stifle growth and communicate distrust…

On the other hand, fear can also create permissive parents. For fear that their child will feel too confided or fenced in, they lower all boundaries. High on hugs and low on discipline. They don’t realize that appropriate discipline is an expression of love. Permissive parents. Paranoid parents. How can we avoid the extremes? We pray.

Prayer is the saucer into which parental fears are poured to cool. Jesus says so little about parenting, makes no comments about spanking, breast-feeding, sibling rivalry, or schooling. Yet his actions speak volumes about prayer. Each time a parent prays, Christ responds. His big message to moms and dads? Bring your children to me. Raise them in a greenhouse of prayer. (pg. 60)

The book’s conclusion addresses how to react to the fear that is so rampant in this dark time of economic upheaval and terrorism on a global scale.

Let others breathe the polluted air of anxiety, not us. Let’s be numbered among those who hear a different voice, God’s. Enough of these shouts of despair, wails of doom. Why pay heed to the doomsdayer on Wall Street or the purveyor of gloom in the newspaper? We will incline our ears elsewhere: upward. We will turn to our Maker, and because we do, we will fear less. (pg. 177-178)

I confidently recommend Fearless. You will be enjoy the book and be encouraged to trust God more

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

This book is available for purchase at the following sites: Amazon.com or direct from Thomas Nelson.

More on Helping Your Kids with Salvation

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

A few days ago, I posted on this question: How do we know our children are saved? After that post, I found a few more resources about this issue.

Justin Taylor highlighted a free series of sermons on how children come to Christ. The 6 part sermon series is available for free download.

My friend Jamsco of The Responsible Puppet, has a new blog about parenting: Responsible Father. One of his recent posts addresses this issue head on: Altar Calls for Children: I’m Against Them. As my previous post would let on, I agree with him on this one. Altar calls for children are more dangerous and confusing then helpful.

Finally, I should mention a book I’m working my way through. It’s by Donald Van Dyken, entitled Rediscovering Catechism: The Art of Equipping Covenant Children (2000, P&R publishing). Instilling the facts of the gospel into our children’s hearts is something we can all agree on. After this book, I’ll pick up Shepherding A Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp (1995, Shepherd Press).

As parents, we can’t think more deeply about, or read more widely on this issue. It is the most vital aspect of our Christian parenting. Lord, have mercy — on us, and our children.

“A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World” by Paul Miller

~ Bob Hayton ~ 4 Comments

Author: Paul Miler
Publisher: NavPress
Format: Softcover
Pages: 288
ISBN: 1600063004
Stars: 5 of 5

As a lifelong Christian, I’ve heard a great deal of teaching about prayer and read a good many books on the topic. I’ve been taught to model my prayers on The Lord’s Prayer. I’ve learned the ACTS method (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication). I’ve been encouraged to trust God for impossible answers, and above all, I’ve been made very aware of my spiritual shortcomings with regard to the discipline of regular, personal prayer.

Like many, I have tended to view prayer as a spiritual discipline I need to accomplish. So I try harder to do this prayer thing — this spiritual event accompanied by certain kinds of emotions and feelings. When I fail, I am overcome with guilt. When I don’t pray, I find it hard to start praying again. It seems I just never measure up to my perfect ideal of what my personal praying should be. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed wonderful seasons of prayer. I’ve had many spiritually high moments in prayer. I’ve seen God work through my prayers. But I don’t have the level of spiritual stamina at praying that I would like.

Given this context, I jumped at the chance to receive Paul Miller’s A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World, by NavPress, for free. The specific challenge was to read the book, and post about the results of a personal 30 days of real prayer, implementing the principles from the book in my own prayer life. Thanks again, Michelle Bennett for that challenge. I’m so glad I read this book.

A Praying Life is easily the best book I’ve read in the past several years. Miller speaks with an uncommon grace, and his book plants the spiritual discipline of prayer squarely upon the truths of the Gospel. A praying life is the goal, not regular disciplined moments of spiritual ecstasy. Miller’s book is distinguished from others I’ve read in that it stresses prayer’s connection with the gospel, it explains how a lack of prayer betrays a lack of dependence on God, and it illustrates through Paul Miller’s own personal family stories, how prayer connects with all of life. In short, the book makes a praying life seem real, and possible.

I wish I could say after these 30 days, that my prayer life has been completely revolutionized. But after reading the book, I can definitely say my thinking about prayer has. I want to share a few of the principles that came home powerfully to me as I read this book.

First, I was reminded that Jesus invites us to pray. And our prayer is part of a life lived in confidence in the Gospel.

Jesus does not say, “Come to me, all you who have learned how to concentrate in prayer, whose minds no longer wander, and I will give you rest.” No, Jesus opens his arms to his needy children and says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NASB). The criteria for coming to Jesus is weariness. Come overwhelmed with life. Come with your wandering mind. Come messy….

We know that to become a Christian we shouldn’t try to fix ourselves up, but when it comes to praying we completely forget that. We’ll sing the old gospel hymn, “Just as I Am,” but when it comes to praying, we don’t come just as we are. We try, like adults, to fix ourselves up.

Private, personal prayer is one of the last great bastions of legalism. In order to pray like a child, you might need to unlearn the nonpersonal, nonreal praying that you’ve been taught. (pg. 29-30)

Prayer mirrors the gospel. In the gospel, the Father takes us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of salvation. In prayer, the Father receives us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of help. We look at the inadequacy of our praying and give up, thinking something is wrong with us. God looks at the adequacy of his Son and delights in our sloppy, meandering prayers. (pg. 53-54)

Second, I was challenged to see that when I don’t pray, I am basically telling God I’m good enough that I don’t really need him. Ouch! This point has really revolutionized how I think about prayer. I have more of a desire to pray, even though I’m still not “good enough” at it. Although I’ll never really be good enough, still I want to show my dependence on God in praying constantly for specific help.

If you are not praying, then you are quietly confident that time, money, and talent are all you need in life. You’ll always be a little too tired, a little too busy. But if, like Jesus, you realize you can’t do life on your own, then no matter how busy, no matter how tired you are, you will find the time to pray. Time in prayer makes you even more dependent on God because you don’t have as much time to get things done. Every minute spent in prayer is one less minute where you can be doing something “productive.” So the act of praying means that you have to rely more on God. (pg. 47)

Third, prayer really is about being helpless. We come to Christ in the gospel as a helpless sinner. We are to have faith like a helpless child. We should pray as helpless Christians. We really do need our Savior’s continual help! This last line should get the “duh!” award. But so often we live like we really don’t. The more mature we become as Christians, the more aware of our sinfulness and helplessness we should be. And thus we should pray more.

Fourth, I learned that “we don’t need self-discipline to pray continuously”. Instead “we just need to be poor in spirit”.

Poverty of spirit makes room for his Spirit. It creates a God-shaped hole in our hearts and offers us a new way to relate to others. (pg. 64)

If we think we can do life on our own, we will not take prayer seriously. Our failure to pray will always feel like something else “” a lack of discipline or too many obligations. But when something is important to us, we make room for it. Prayer is simply not important to many Christians because Jesus is already an add-on. (pg. 57)

A big theme of the book is how suffering is often the context where we learn to pray. It grows us and shows us our true need. It helps make prayer important.

Fifth, prayer is not about some special feeling or perfect spiritual experience.

Instead of hunting for the perfect spiritual state to lift you above the chaos, pray in the chaos. As your heart or your circumstances generate problems, keep generating prayer. You will find that the chaos lessens. (pg. 72)

Too often we seek the perfect spiritual state, when we really should just pray to God out of a heart full of need.

Sixth, I learned that prayer changes things. As we pray we should look for ways our prayers are having an effect. We should seek to use prayer to change the hearts of those we love. Our problems and all of life’s difficulties can be shaped and met with prayer.

When you stop trying to control your life and instead allow your anxieties and problems to bring you to God in prayer, you shift from worry to watching. You watch God weave his patterns in the story of your life. Instead of trying to be out front, designing your life, you realize you are inside God’s drama. (pg. 72)

That’s the secret of the praying life. It’s not your own story, it’s God. He becomes the One in control. By prayer we see Him working. By prayer we let Him into our lives.

Seventh, I was given a practical method of prayer which I’ve begun to adopt. He explains how to have a prayer card — a 3.5″ note-card — for each major area in life that you pray about. Have one for each of the members of your family and pray a specific verse for them. Add individual requests to the card over time. Keep track of answers to prayer. I’ve slowly begun to create cards and I find them easier to use than a prayer list. It’s more personal and focused on the subject or person at hand.

I’ve only scratched the surface of what is contained in the book. It is very readable, because Paul Miller interweaves personal stories of his children and life together with various prayers he has. He shows how prayer helped him deal with situations and persons. How prayer was answered slowly over time in the lives of his children. How prayer allowed him to parent well, and love others rather than react negatively.

I’m confident that if you pick up A Praying Life, your prayer life will improve as well. May God challenge us all to have praying lives.

Disclaimer: this book was provided by the publisher for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to provide a positive review.

This book is available for purchase at the following sites: Westminster Bookstore, Amazon.com, or direct from NavPress.