Author: Andrew

Posted on

Confession at Thanksgiving

Heavenly Father, with grief and hatred of our sin we come before you now. We confess that we have sinned against you. We have broken your law and deserve your full wrath against our sin, except for our Savior, Jesus Christ. Specifically, we confess our forgetfulness of your many blessings. You have made us, sent Christ to die for our sin, covered over our sin, adopted us into your family, given us your Spirit, yet we have been ungrateful for these blessings. Because our sights have been set on earthly blessings, we have taken for granted your abundant provision for us of eternal life and every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Forgive us and turn the eyes of our hearts upon you instead of idols. Recreate us increasingly to be like Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen. (Based on Isaiah 17-18 and Ephesians 1:1-10)

Posted on

More than Conquerors

Yesterday as I reflected on Isaiah’s amazing words, it struck me that God’s promise to be with us in the fire and waters changes the way we look at the fire and water – the trials of life. We don’t fear them.

But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Isaiah 43:1-2

This seems to me much the same sentiment as Romans 8’s glorious statements that we are more than conquerors:

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:37-39

A conqueror has victory. Being more than a conqueror means triumphing through victory and defeat. It means you aren’t dependent on traditional victory.

This is why James can call Christians to actually rejoice in the midst of trials.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

James 1:2-5 

This gives us insight into how believers hold up under fierce trials. We deeply need this perspective. Note that James tells us to ask for wisdom, not for steadfastness. Steadfastness is the result of wisdom—it comes as we view our sufferings in light of God’s goodness. So when you feel like giving up, ask that God would transform your view of your trials!

This truth deeply impacted me as a teenager watching the movie The Matrix. The main character, Neo, was living in a false reality, a computer program. He became unconquerable when he started seeing the false reality for what it truly was. This was epitomized in the dialogue: “Are you telling me I can dodge bullets?” and the response: “I’m telling you that when you’re ready, you won’t have to.” When he starts seeing the bullets for what they truly are—computer code—they are no longer a danger to him. It is an imperfect illustration. While we don’t want to downplay the real pain of suffering, when we realize that God works through suffering, it is not something we have to “dodge” with every fiber of our being, as unbelievers do. We don’t play by the “rules” the world does (Col. 2:21).

This is a specifically Christian wisdom. Unbelievers cannot have the same perspective, they cannot see trials as anything but destructive (true, there is the “whatever doesn’t kill me makes me stronger” mentality, but that minimizes suffering–and the fear is always what does kill you). In contrast, Christians can rejoice even in trials as God gives them a wisdom that knows nothing can separate them from the love of God. He is with us even in the waters and fire.

Posted on

Brief Review: A Reader’s Hebrew and Greek Bible: Second Edition

For years, I have longed to have the Greek New Testament and the Hebrew Old Testament in one volume. Biblia Sacra is the common gold standard, but it is expensive. After looking at various options, I finally on A Reader’s Hebrew and Greek Bible: Second Edition by A. Philip Brown II and Bryan W. Smith (Zondervan Academic; Hardcover, 2020).

A reader’s Bible with the Greek and Hebrew includes footnotes that give definitions (glosses) of uncommon vocabulary, to allow readers to make their way through the text without constantly looking up words in their dictionaries/lexicons.

So far, I love this! I was skeptical that this volume would deliver after purchasing A Reader’s Hebrew Bible back in seminary and being disappointed. Not only did that volume feel cheap and flimsy compared to my hardback compact BHS, I found the font lacking and the pages confusing. However, A Reader’s Hebrew and Greek Bible: Second Edition has improved upon previous iterations. The volume is sturdy and the pages feel of higher quality.

My only two critiques after a week’s usage is that the Greek font seems smaller and more condensed than the Hebrew and, in the Hebrew, the names are faded. The proper nouns are faded intentionally–to be a signal to help readers–yet it seems to me that anyone who knows enough Hebrew to use a reader’s Bible is going to be able to sense when dealing with a name. Of course, I can also see the point and I suppose I’m more disappointed by the execution than the concept. The words are just too faint.

These weaknesses aside, this book feels great and I am picking it up daily, as a supplement to my other studies, to keep fresh in my reading of God’s Word in the original languages. I highly recommend it to those who know the biblical languages and want practice reading without helps, or something to take into the pews with them.

Posted on

A Higher Power at Work

My children and I are enjoying listening to Where the Red Fern Grows together. After the boy gets his puppies, he reflects on God’s providence:

Still mumbling names over and over, I glanced up. There, carved in the white bark of a sycamore tree, was a large heart. In the center of the heart were two names, “Dan” and “Ann.” The name Dan was a little larger than Ann. It was wide and bold. The scar stood out more. The name Ann was small, neat, and even. I stared unbelieving—for there were my names. They were perfect.

I walked over and picked up my pups. Looking at him, I said, “Your name is Dan. I’ll call you Old Dan.” Looking at her, I said, “Your name, little girl, is Ann. I’ll call you Little Ann.”

It was then I realized it was all too perfect. Here in this fishermen’s camp, I had found the magazine and the ad. I looked over at the old sycamore log. There I had asked God to help me get two hound pups. There were the pups, rolling and playing in the warm sand. I thought of the old K. C. Baking Powder can, and the fishermen. How freely they had given their nickels and dimes.

I looked up again to the names carved in the tree. Yes, it was all there like a large puzzle. Piece by piece, each fit perfectly until the puzzle was complete. It could not have happened without the help of an unseen power.

Posted on

Another Prayer Based on Jonah 1

Gracious God and Father, we humble ourselves before you and plead for forgiveness today. Isaiah tells us that sin separates us from you, and we know it all too well. Sin also separates us from the neighbors we are called to love. You care for everything and everyone you created, but we are focused only on ourselves. When we run away from you and your paths of righteousness, we go downward and inward, like Jonah asleep in the ship’s cabin. Forgive our many sins and turn our souls towards you and others. Instill compassion in us that we may be like you, full of mercy, abounding in steadfast love. Make us steadfast in our confession of faith and enable us to live in accord with our confession. Thank you for our Savior, who seeks and saves the lost, stills the storms, and purchases our forgiveness with his life, amen.

Based on Jonah 1
Posted on

A Prayer Based on Jonah 1

Father, we confess that the spirit of Jonah still lives in us, for we rebel against your commands. We think we know better than you. We lean on our own understanding. We don’t believe your ways “work.” Forgive us for our pride that leads us to say, “no” to you. Thank you that the Son of God said “yes” to his mission of redemption, becoming the suffering servant Jesus Christ. We ask that your Spirit would fill us with gratitude for his service that we might say “yes” to all you require. Thank you that you pursue us, that you do not take your presence from us, and that we will dwell with you forever. We pray these things in Jesus’ name, amen.

Based on Jonah 1:1-3
My sermon series through Jonah

Posted on

A Prayer from Micah 5

Holy God, there is none like you. We bow down before your infinite majesty, your perfect justice, and your inexplicable mercy. You have done what human ‘wisdom’ cannot explain—bestowed salvation on those weak and lowly, saved us through Christ crucified. We give thanks to you for saving us through faith in Christ. You have done this despite our craving of worldly significance, worldly power, and worldly glory. Our sinful quest for significance has manifested a conformity to the world’s thinking and has resulted in our mistreating others whom we deem insignificant, those who cannot help us climb the world’s ladder of significance. We have foolishly thought ourselves significant because of worldly accomplishments, forgetting that they are all rubbish compared to knowing Christ, and being found in him. Therefore, our sins before you should relegate us to insignificance forever; yet in profound mystery, you have saved us from our sins. We thank you for the Shepherd-King born in Bethlehem who is our peace with you. By your Spirit, transform us to view “significance” rightly—as loving justice and mercy, as walking humbly with our God. Make us rejoice in the significance you have bestowed on us by redeeming us, setting your name on us, placing your Spirit within our hearts. With this hope, preserve us in the trials and sufferings of this present world, For we pray in the name of Jesus, amen. (Drawn from Micah 5)

Posted on

Guilt, Grace, Gratitude

This is the pattern of the Christian life: Guilt, Grace, Gratitude. There is so much to this dynamic. For example, it shows us that:

Truth transforms. Christian salvation is not just a “get out of hell free” card that leaves a person living however they want, but gratitude truly comes where God’s grace is known, and that gratitude means life change. The Spirit of God produces the fruits of the Spirit in our lives.

Grace comes first. We do not work our way into salvation, but we receive faith in Christ, a gift of God, which leads to good works. Ephesians 2 shows us this pattern so well (above).

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved…For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:1-10 (abridged)

We are guilty. If we censor the language of sin the Bible uses, and downplay the wrath of God against sin, as some people try to do, there is no foundation for gratitude-motivated good works. What is there to be thankful for?

A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.

H. Richard Niebuhr

Man is depraved and guilty, but God’s grace is greater than all our sin. Christ has purchased our newness of life with his precious blood, taking our penalty on himself in his life and especially at the cross. That leads us to serve him in thankfulness.

The Heidelberg Catechism, itself patterned in this way of guilt, grace, and gratitude, explains that we serve the Lord with thanksgiving:

 Question: Since then we are delivered from our misery, merely of grace, through Christ, without any merit of ours, why must we still do good works? Answer: Because Christ, having redeemed and delivered us by his blood, also renews us by his Holy Spirit, after his own image; that so we may testify, by the whole of our conduct, our gratitude to God for his blessings, and that he may be praised by us; also, that every one may be assured in himself of his faith, by the fruits thereof; and that, by our godly conversation others may be gained to Christ.

Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 86

Praise the Lord for this wonderful theme: God transforms us from guilt to gratitude by grace.

Posted on

The Many Andrew Millers

Andrew Miller is a more common name than you might expect. I can remember calling the library as a child to renew my books and having to not only give them my middle initial, my middle name, but also my birth-date, before they found my entry!

I’m not the Andrew Miller that comes up on google alerts – the MLB pitcher. I’m not the award-winning author.

Nor am I one of the other Andrew Millers listed on amazon, like here. Some are even pastors too: here and here.

I’m only me.

 

Proudly powered by WordPress