Tag: spirituality

My How Time Flies: Six Months of Silence

~ Bob Hayton ~ 4 Comments

Over the last 11 years of blogging, I’ve seen many blogs start and many end. Some of you are thinking that my blog has ended due to about six months of silence! No, I’m not going to bring this all to a close. But I did want to say a word about the last several months.

Fifteen months ago our eighth child was born. Hannah Mercy is her name and we all were shown great mercy through the circumstances surrounding her birth. She weighed just 2 lbs. 1 oz., and was seven weeks premature. Just three weeks after coming home, she developed RSV and faced a life-critical stay in the hospital. She pulled through and is doing well now, and we were so blessed by undergoing that trial and seeing so many friends and family come together and support our family. She is doing very well and about to walk here, any day now.

Just a few weeks after Hannah came home from the hospital (the second time), we had some truly devastating news about my brother. Since March we’ve been dealing with his unfaithfulness to his wife and his subsequent departure from the mission field. He has walked away from the faith, and relocated to our neck of the woods. His wife and children live separately from him and are getting by, but are still so hurt by all of this. We have been caring for them and trying to be there for counsel and support. I’ve been speaking into my brother’s life: trying to both warn and love him at the same time (but not enable him).

This has been a dark and trying time for my family, and these are by no means the only burdens and trials we bear. Parenting eight children (the oldest are now 11, 12 and 13) keeps us busy as well!

I hope to write more on the topic of suffering and faith, on standing firm in trial and seeing God bless you in the storm. I plan to grapple more with apologetics and the defense of the faith, as well. A friend at my church encouraged me to share more of my story online for other’s benefit. I hope to do so in time.

I plan to continue to read and review books, and comment on other items as well. But my ministry here is only one part of my calling. Being the right husband and father to my wife and children comes first. Being there for my immediate family comes next. Participating in the ministry of our local church is important too. Priorities matter, and this time away from my blog has helped me live that truth.

I am not perfect, and I’m still a project; but I hope to help and bless others as God enables me. I hope to use this blog and the platform I’ve built in a way that honors God. Thanks to all of you who read my blog. If you can, think about our family and pray as God leads you. Don’t assume something like this can’t happen to your brother or your husband, or your father, your friend. God bless and help us all as we “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12a).

“Living in the Light: Money, Sex and Power” by John Piper

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

Living in the Light: Money, Sex & Power by John PiperThe title of one of John Piper’s latest books is direct and confrontational, yet inviting at the same time: just like the man John Piper himself. Living in the Light: Money, Sex and Power (The Good Book Company, 2016) comes with a similarly direct yet inviting sub-title: “Making the most of three dangerous opportunities.” The book lives up to its title. It is both warning and invitation, in short it is John Piper challenging us to live to God’s glory in these three areas.

Piper explains that these three areas in themselves are not evil, they are God’s gifts to us. He defines them as follows:

  • Power is a capacity to pursue what you value.
  • Money is a cultural symbol that can be exchanged in pursuit of what you value.
  • Sex is one of the pleasures that people value, and the pursuit of it.

(Living in the Light, p. 20)

He then looks to Romans 1 and the “great exchange” whereby man in his fallen state turns created things to idols and refuses to worship God. In our fallen state, we pursue sex and other things as means to their own ends – as a worship of self or other created things in opposition to God. Money is a status symbol, and power is self-exaltation. They represent real danger and Piper spares no punches in warning and unpacking the biblical warnings related to the unfettered pursuit of money, sex or power.

In contrast to the worldly way of using these things, redemption puts God in the proper place. Piper uses the analogy of the sun and planets. When the sun is in the proper place, the planets of money, sex and power line up in their proper spheres and complement our lives in ways God intended. When we bring one of those planets into a central place, life is out of order and God is spurned.

Piper does a good job explaining why and how each of these elements are properly to be enjoyed:

Money exists so that it will be plain by the way we use it that God is more to be desired than money. Sex exists so that it will be plain that God is more to be desired than sex. And power exists so that it will be plain that admiring and dependeing on his power is more to be desired than exalting our own.

p. 102

In all of this, Piper displays his pastoral burden to rein in Western Christians who are so pulled away from the centrality of the Son, by the gravity of the competing planets: money, sex and power. Yet at times he is too God-focused and too strong in his formulations. As in the quote above, I think sex is more than just something to be partaken of in light of God being better than sex. Same with money. God “richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17) and Piper’s arguments sometimes seem to downplay the goodness of earthy pleasures. (For a great complement to Piper’s call desire God chiefly, look at Joe Rigney’s The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts, Crossway, 2014).

This quibble aside, this book is a clear and passionate call to live for Christ in today’s sex-crazed and money-obsessed culture. We could all do with a dose of John Piper challenging us to a more Godward focus in this day and age! I highly recommend this short book. It would make for a great small group or Sunday School resource, although it does not come with discussion questions.

Consider picking up the book at Amazon, Westminster Bookstore, Christianbook.com, or direct through The Good Book Company.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by The Good Book Company. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

In the Box: New Titles from Broadman & Holman and Baker Academic

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

“In the Box” posts highlight new books I’ve received in the mail.

It is time to showcase a few of the titles to arrive at my doorstep in the last few weeks. I’m truly blessed to be able to read so many great books, and Christian publishers seem to never let up in their race to get high quality materials out the door. We are truly blessed with an abundance of Christian resources to help us in our walk with Christ.

Apologetics Study Bible for Students edited by Sean McDowell (Broadman & Holman)

This study Bible promises to “ground Christian students in the truths of Scripture by equipping them with thoughtful and practical responses to difficult and heartfelt challenges to core issues of faith and life.” . The format is attractive and handy, with tabs for finding Bible books and attractive knowledge articles for exploration. Study Notes, “Twisted Scripture” snippets, archaeological notes, notable quotes, apologetic tactics/strategies, and personal stories are some of the features that may equip young readers. With a few preteens of my own, I’m hoping this resource will be a benefit to my children and look forward to examining this more closely in the weeks to come.

To learn more about this book, visit apologeticsbible.com and click on “Student Edition ASB,” or check out the preview available at , Amazon, Christianbook.com or Broadman & Holman.

The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision by Kevin J. VanHoozer and Owen Strachan (Baker Academic)

A book endorsed by both Tim Keller and Eugene Peterson deserves your attention. The theme of this book backs up Peterson’s assessment: “This is a timely, more than timely–urgent–book.” Reuniting theology and pastoring certainly seems like an urgent task today and the blueprint provided in this book by one of the foremost evangelical theologians is both optimistic and helpful. The personal comments by twelve pastors sprinkled throughout the book add a special poignancy and bring the vision down to earth. This looks good and I can’t wait to delve in deeper.

To learn more about this book, visit the book detail page at Baker Academic, or check out the preview available at Westminster Bookstore, Amazon, or Christianbook.com.

Graeme Goldsworthy on How to Use Typology & Biblical Theology in Preaching

~ Bob Hayton

Gavin Ortlund posts a great interview today over at The Gospel Coalition. He interviews Graeme Goldsworthy on how the preacher should use biblical theology when preaching in the Old Testament.

I encourage you to read the whole interview and check out some of Goldsworthy’s books (I have reviewed his Christ-Centered Biblical Theology here).

Here is an excerpt to wet your appetite for the entire interview.

What is typology and when should a preacher use it? Can you give examples?

Typology is the technical term that relates to the way the Old Testament narratives, institutions, events, and persons foreshadow in various ways the person and work of Christ. It is generated by the testimony of Jesus and the New Testament writers that God’s unfolding plan in the historical experience of God’s people in the Old Testament is a shadow of the reality revealed in Christ. The type is often explicitly confirmed in the prophetic promise of the future. The New Testament shows in what various ways Christ is the antitype or fulfilment.

Preachers should refer to typology when moving from the Old Testament to Christ. They can include the occasional series (say, six or eight sermons) exploring a biblical-theological theme, like law or temple or priesthood or kindgom. The typology should be based on the scriptural evidence, and not on the preacher’s imagination or on the association of ideas.

All the major dimensions of kingdom revelation in Old Testament history are typological: creation, covenant, exile and exodus, promised land, tabernacle/temple, dominion/kingship, and of course prophet, priest, king, and wise man.

Suppose you’re preaching or teaching on David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. How would an understanding of biblical theology affect how you interpreted and applied this story to God’s people?

David is the anointed king of God’s people who does for them what they can’t do for themselves. Biblical theology alerts us to the direct line that runs from David through to Jesus. He is the savior of Israel, the shadow of the anointed one (the Christ). He stands in their place and wins the victory for them. Biblical theology doesn’t prevent us from appreciating and aiming to emulate David’s courage and faith in this passage, but it also directs us to the larger themes running throughout the entire Old Testament, centered on the expectation of a coming Messiah who would redeem God’s people from their sins.

Thus a preacher approaching this text from the standpoint of biblical theology would more naturally encourage his listeners to identify themselves, not with David, but with the frightened Israelites whom David saves. Attempts to make David merely an example of faith runs the risk of sending the message that, given enough faith, we can save ourselves.

Lost in a Good Footnote: How to Have Joy When You Are Hurting

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

Have you ever read something in a footnote that was just too good to leave there? If you are like me, you can get “lost in a good footnote.” This post focuses on another great footnote.

I think that this gem buried in Joe Rigney’s book The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts (Crossway, 2015) is worth sharing.

Before you get to the quote, let me set the stage. Have you ever been hurting? Just completely consumed by grief or sorrow? If you remain in such a condition for long, you feel that there is no more joy in the world. The sun doesn’t seem fair, the flowers are dull, everything is meaningless. So what can you do to get yourself out of such a perilous state? This footnote has an answer.

At first it doesn’t sound like good news, but the Bible tells us that we must “rejoice with those who rejoice.” And perhaps that is the key. You have lost something, but they have not. You are hurting, but their hurt is of a lesser degree. Would you rob them of shared joy, by extending your grief to cover them too?

An others-focus may just free us from a pattern of self-despair. Looking away from ourselves, doesn’t mean we cease to grieve or hurt. But it does mean we see God at work in bigger and broader ways, with more people than just our immediate family.

This goes both ways, because we are called to “weep with those who weep.” So even our highest joys should be tinged with an awareness of the hurting of others. This is the sort of tangible togetherness and unity that should be the hallmark of Christian love and of the Church that Jesus founded.

Let me share the quote which set my mind to this direction. And please note that ultimately it is only the Holy Spirit and His work in us which enables such a radical others-orientation. May God bless all who ponder the Scripture behind the thoughts shared below.

In an earlier chapter, I spoke of the way that the Bible expands our minds by pulling us in opposite directions and that we must embrace the mystery and refuse to allow one truth to cancel out another. This is no less true of our emotional lives. One of the seemingly impossible commands in the Bible is found in Rom. 12:15: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” The gospel lays both of these commands upon us. Those who suffer are called to add their joy to the joy of the blessed. Those who receive favor must join the grieving in the midst of their sorrow. And we must do so without allowing one emotion to tyrannize the other. The glad-hearted must not lord their blessings over the afflicted. The hurting must not allow their pain to drown out real joy when it’s given from God. Love must be genuine (Rom. 12:9), and we must endeavor to live in harmony with one another (Rom. 12:16). Practically speaking, this means that our lives will be characterized by the same heart as the apostle Paul, who lived “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Cor. 6:10). It also means that wisdom and propriety will govern our joy and sorrow, so that we move with the rhythms of Eccles. 3:4: “[There is] a time to weep, and a time to laugh.” And the only way that we’ll make any progress in getting these rhythms right is if we are open and honest in communicating with one another and if we are trusting in the grace of God to be sufficient for our every need. It is grace that enables the sorrowful to rejoice in the joy of others, especially when they receive something that we desperately want or have tragically lost. It is grace that enables the joyful to bear with the suffering of the grief-stricken, especially when our hearts are bursting with gladness. Grace must reign, love must cover a multitude of sins, wounds, and thoughtlessness, and Christ must do what is impossible for us.

— Endnote 13 from chapter 11, found on pg. 259.

Pick up a copy of this book at Amazon, or Westminster books.