This is probably one of the best series of sermons I have ever heard (and he's only to chapter 2 of James). David Platt is an incredible communicator and the church needs to hear the things he is saying. He has called the Church at Brook Hills to meet the needs of the widows and orphans in Shelby county based on James 1:27 "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." They are responding like I never thought a "mega-church" would. I believe that God is really going to use Platt's ministry to transform the Birmingham metro area.

A Solid Foundation

A couple of weeks ago, as we were preparing for bed, my son asked me, "Daddy, what happens when we die?" This is one of those questions that you both hope for and dread at the same time. You hope for it in that your child is showing interest in spiritual things, but dread it in that you wonder how to lead a 5-year-old in a discussion about such weighty topics.

A year ago I would have been woefully unprepared in how to lead my son in answering this question, but we have found a very helpful tool in educating our children in spiritual matters...drumroll please...the children's catechism.

The conversation went something like this
Issac: "Daddy, what happens when we die?"
Me: "We go to heaven or hell."
Isaac: "I want to go to heaven."
Me: "Can anyone go to heaven with this sinful nature?"
Isaac: "No, our hearts must be changed before we can be fit for heaven."
Me: "There are a few things that need to happen before you can go to heaven. First, you have to be regenerated. What is a change of heart called?"
Isaac: "Regeneration."
Me: "Second, you must repent. What is it to repent?"
Isaac: "To be sorry for sin and to hate and forsake it because it is displeasing to God."
Me: "Third, you have to believe in Jesus. What is it to believe or have faith in Christ?"
Isaac: "To trust in Christ alone for salvation."
Me: "So to go to heaven you have to be regenerated, repent, and trust in Christ. Who can change a sinner's heart?"
Isaac: "The Holy Spirit alone."
Me: "How do we get the help of the Holy Spirit?"
Isaac: "God has told us that we must pray to Him for the Holy Spirit."

As you can see, I was able to mix the catechism questions in with our conversation to lead it in a meaningful direction. This tool has helped us to lay a strong foundation for our children. I hope that anyone who has children, especially young chidlren, at home will take this to heart and do something to provide a solid foundation for them.

The DJBRP Jan 8th

The reading for Jan 8th was Matthew 4:12-17, Acts 5:1-16, Psalm 8, and Genesis 21-23.

The passage from Matthew covers the beginning of Jesus' ministry. Again, Matthew's focus seems to be on establishing Jesus as the one who is fulfilling what the prophets foretold (vs. 12-16). Then, in verse 17, we hear Jesus simple message, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." If Jesus told people to repent because the kingdom of heaven is at hand, shouldn't we tell them to repent because the kingdom of heaven has come?

The passage in Acts covers the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira. God punished them for lying to the Holy Spirit. We are not told why they decided to lie, only that they did. God's punishment on them brought great fear and reverence to His name. Maybe the early church was being to relaxed about who God is, I don't know, but God was not going to let Himself be belittled.

Psalm 8 is a fairly well-known psalm. It tells of God's majesty and glory in all of His works and in His sovereignty.

Genesis 21-23 covers the birth of Isaac through the death of Sarah. Probably the most important section of this passage is in chapter 22 where Abraham takes Isaac up the mountain to offer him as a sacrifice to God. The amazing thing is Abraham's complete confidence in God to do what He had promised. Abraham goes up fully expecting to kill his only son on the altar, and instead, God provides a ram. Abraham trusted God to fulfill His promise concerning Isaac even though he would be dead. He trusted that God would raise him from the dead, as we are told in the new testament, so Abraham already had the hope of the ressurection.

The DJBRP Jan 7th

The reading for Jan 7th was Matthew 4:1-11, Acts 4:23-37, Psalm 7, and Genesis 18-20.

The passage from Matthew covers Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. It seems that temptation is always the strongest when we are in the wilderness, but Jesus shows us how to combat temptation. In verses 4, 7, and 10, Jesus uses scripture to defend himself from the devil's tempting. This is why scripture memorization is so imprtant and why we need to do more of it.

The passage from Acts covers the believers in Jerusalem praying for boldness to preach the gospel. The prayer is amazing and is a helpful model of how we should make our desires known to God. Maybe one day the church will pray like them again...

Psalm 6 was written by David in response to false accusations. He calls upon God repeatedly to vindicate him. This is where people overstep their bounds most of the time. If someone insults us or says something false about us, we want to fight and correct them immediately. We respond in anger and sin. David left it in God's hands to do the vindicating, right where it belongs.

The passage in Genesis covers God's destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah through Abraham's pawning Sarah off as his sister. A lot of really crazy stuff goes on in this portion of scripture, most of which I don't want to even try to discuss because the sins are so grotesque, but the incident with Abraham and Sarah prentending that they were brother and sister is really interesting to me. It wasn't that they did it thats interesting, it is what God did to the one they tricked. God was going to kill Abimelech because he had taken Sarah into his house. The crazy thing is, it was God who kept Abimelech from sinning with her and then he makes Abimeleech ask for Abraham to pray for him so that God won't kill him. Genesis is the weirdest book sometimes :-) I sure don't understand everything that happens in it...thats for sure.

The DJBRP Jan 6th

The reading for Jan 6th was Matthew 3:13-17, Acts 4:1-22, Psalm 6, and Genesis 15-17.

The passage from Matthew covers the baptism of Jesus. In this passage we see God's affirmation on Jesus as His beloved son (v17). God Himself declared Jesus to be deity so who is anyone else to say he is not? I do think it is interesting to note that Jesus' baptism is recorded but we never see where any of his disciples are baptised...

The passage from Acts covers Peter and John being called before the council. The thing that sticks out to me in this passage is Peter and John's boldness to proclaim the gospel no matter what. Verses 19 and 20 say, "But Peter and John answered them, 'Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard'." It didn't matter what anyone else thought or said, they were going to preach the gospel. Read the prayer in verses 24-30. May we pray for the same boldness to empower us to preach the gospel without fear.

Psalm 6 is a desperate prayer. David seems to be in absolute agony over something. He is crying out to God with everything in him to be delivered and he appeals to God's love for him, "Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love." This is the cornerstone of David's life. If he can't appeal to God's love for him, then he is as good as dead.

Genesis 15-17 covers God's covenant with Abraham, the birth of Ishmael, and the promise of Isaac. Why is verse 11 recorded? It says, "And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away." Is there something in this that we need to learn from? In this whole passage the promise of Isaac is the only one that is said to be everlasting. Every other covenant is temporal, but the promise to the child of promise is forever.

The DJBRP Jan 5th

The reading for Jan 5th was Matthew 3:1-12, Acts 3, Psalm 5, and Genesis 12-14.

The passage from Matthew covers the beginning of John the baptist's ministry. This is a very interesting passage to me. It describes John's message as a warning, "repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand", "who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?", "even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees", "but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." John's message about Jesus is a one of judgement. How do we reconcile John's message with Jesus' ministry?

The passage from Acts covers Peter healing the beggar at the temple and his sermon to the people gathered there. Peter says about the healing, "And his name-by faith in his name-has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given this man perfect health in the presence of you all." The man who was healed had faith in Jesus, but not only faith in Jesus, but faith through Jesus. The power of Jesus not only healed him, but also gave him the faith to be healed. Isn't God good?

I wish I could pray like David. He had such confidence when he prayed that God would hear him and meet his ,whatever they might have been, and he was living under the law! How I want to learn to say with David, "Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray."

The passage from Genesis covers some of Abraham's journey. God's promises to Abraham are incredible. In verses 2 and 3 of chapter 12 he says, "And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." In verse 16 of chapter 13 he says, "I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted." I think Abraham might be a post-millenial if he were alive today :-) When I read these promises, I can't help but think of the passage in Revelation where John is shown a multitude that no on can number (Rev 7:9-12). That scene is God's promises to Abraham ultimately fulfilled.

The DJBRP Jan 4th

The reading for Jan 4th was Matthew 2:13-23, Acts 2:22-47, Psalm 4, and Genesis 9-11.

The passage from Matthew covers Jesus' escape to Egypt and His return upon Herod's death. The main thing that stuck out to me in this passage of scripture is how determined God was to fulfill all the prophecies about Jesus. Three times in this passage the scripture states something to the effect of "to fulfill what was spoken by the prophets" (verses 15, 17, and 23). God always keeps His word. We can always count on what He says will come to pass to do just that.

The passage from Acts covers Peter's sermon to those gathered at Pentecost. There are three thing about this passage that I wanted to highlight. First, in verse 23, we see that Jesus' death was God's plan from the beginning. It was no accident and was according to God's "definite plan and foreknowledge." Second, in verse 33, we see that Jesus is now exalted at God's right hand and has received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit. Jesus has been made king over all and the Holy Spirit is a sign of His authority. Third, in verse 39, we see that this promise was not just for those present, but for all those who God calls to Himself. So we see in this passage that Jesus was delivered up because of God's plan, was exalted to God's right hand as ruler of all, and has given us the Holy Spirit as a sign of His authority and a promise that he will always reign.

Psalm 4 verse 3 says, "But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him." What an amazing correlation. God hears David's prayers because He has set David apart. If God sets you apart, He listens to your prayers. I would venture to say that the reverse of this is also true. If God hasn't set you apart, He won't hear your prayers.

The passage from Genesis covers God's covenant with Noah to the calling of Abraham. There are a couple of interesting verses in this passage. Chapter 10 verse 9 says, "He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, 'Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord'." How good at hunting do you have to be to get that title? One day maybe someone will say of me, "Like Zach a mighty blogger before the Lord." That would be cool :-)
In chapter 11 verse 28 we read, "Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans." I wonder if this is the first time that a parent naturally outlived one of their children and that is the reason it is recorded...

The DJBRP Jan 3rd

The reading for Jan. 3rd was Matthew 2:1-12, Acts 2:1-21, Psalm 3, and Genesis 5-8.

The passage from Matthew covers the visit of the wise men. This is the first time in the gospel of Matthew that Jesus is referred to as king and the first time that he is worshipped as such. Verse 3 says, "When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." I can understand Herod, the wicked king, fearing the birth of Christ, but I don't understand why all of Jerusalem was troubled. Isn't this the one they were all waiting for? It seems to me that they would have been excited about his birth.

The passage from Acts covers the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples. The interesting thing to me about this passage is the prophecy of Joel that, as Peter declared to those who were gathered, is fulfilled. The prophecy of Joel is not just about the Spirit being poured out, but also about judgement and the last days. I can definitely see how verses 17, 18, and 21 were fulfilled, but how were verses 19 and 20 fulfilled? Anyone?

Psalm 3 is a beautiful psalm of God's protection. David, while running from his son Absolom, says, "But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord and He answered me from His holy hill. Selah. I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me." Can anyone have greater confidence than this? The only reason we make it through the night is God's care of us. This should give us the confidence of David, who cried out to God and expected to be heard because God loves us!

Genesis 5-8 cover the events of the flood. The main thing in this passage, to me, is the promise that God gives at the end of chapter 8, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither again will I strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease." Even though God recognizes the evil heart of man, He chose to put up with us. Instead of destroying the earth, God promises to sustain it in spite of evil man. How much does God love the works of His hands? I could be wrong, but I believe the phrase "while the earth remains" could be understood as "forever" and it is reinforced by the final phrase of "shall not cease." So you might say that this promise to the earth is "forever and ever."

Jan 2nd

The reading for Jan. 2nd was Matthew 1:18-25, Acts 1:12-26, Psalm 2, and Genesis 3&4.

The passage from Matthew covers the birth of Jesus. The great thing about this passage to me is that the angel instills so much confidence in Joseph about whose child Mary is carrying and what he will do. The angel says to him, "...you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." There is no doubt about what Jesus would do, therefore there is no doubt about what he has done. He has saved his people from their sins!

The passage from Acts covers the days leading up to Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The most notable thing that happened in that time was the choosing of Matthias to replace Judas, but perhaps the most overlooked thing was what they were doing before they chose him. Verse 14 says, "All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers." What would we see today if we found a church that was devoting themselves to prayer?

Psalm 2 speaks of the reign of God's anointed which is obviously a prophecy about Jesus. The most interesting part of this Psalm to me is the last 3 verses. They say, "Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him." I think that we can see this demonstrated in the fall of all of the great empires since Jesus' time. Think of Hitler's Germany. Who was more powerful than they? Yet they were brought low, and when they were defeated the country was absolutely destitute. Kiss the Son...

The passage in Genesis makes me wonder what it must have been like to walk with God in the garden. Apparently, even after the fall, men still had regular conversation with God face to face (see verses 13 and 14 of chapter 4). I've always thought of Cain as the ultimate sinner. Who could have been worse? Yet, even after he murders his brother, God gives him His protection. Why do you suppose that is?

The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan Jan. 1st

The reading for Jan. 1st is Matthew 1:1-17, Acts 1:1-11, Psalm 1, and Genesis 1 and 2.

This will be a pretty short blog :-)

The passage from Matthew establishes Jesus' claim to the Davidic throne by showing His direct earthly descent from David. So when Pilate put the sign on the cross that read "King of the Jews", that was a legitimate earthly title for Christ and not just a heavenly one.

The passage from Acts is an interesting one. Verse 10 of chapter 1 says, "And while they were gazing into heaven..." Does this refer simply to staring into the sky or is it more than that? It seems, at least from my reading, that the apostles were given some sort of glimpse into heaven that is never described. This is obviously just speculation on my part but I wonder what they saw...

Psalm 1 is fairly well-known. This Psalm is about how God blesses the one who loves to obey Him and thinks about what is pleasing to Him, and its also about how God will not allow the wicked to stand, "for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." (ESV)

Genesis 1 and 2 are about the creation of the world and of man. In verse 14 of chapter 1 God creates the sun, moon, and stars, and He says that they are to be for signs, seasons, days, and years. Now, the seasons, days, and years I understand, but what does he mean by signs? I am also having trouble with the meaning of verse 16 where it says that the greater light will rule the day and the lesser light will rule the night. What does He mean by rule?

A New Year, A New Blog

Happy New Year!

There are a few new things that I will be doing this year. First, I've just started a new Bible reading plan that was recommended by John Piper that I will try to blog along with. Second, I'll be reading through Calvin's institutes with reformed21.org and hopefully will do some blogging about that as well. As I said in my previous blog, I want to do better about preaching the gospel to my children. One of the ways I'll be doing this is starting a family worship time every night. Hopefully I'll also be able to get the Sunday song list and Scripture a week ahead of time so that we will be better prepared to worship corporately as a family.

God Bless