It's Better to Be Christian

Life is better as a Christian... for so many reasons.

The other night, when Stace and I got back from our trip to Washington DC and our visit at Covenant Life Church, I had the pleasure of putting my girls to bed.

Susannah and Caitlyn have both had special songs that I sing to them when I'm putting them to bed since the time they were born. As I sing to them I pray for them while they fall asleep. These are precious, spiritual times that I know I'll always remember.

Here's what non-Christians have to sing:

Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop,
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock,
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby, cradle and all.

Compare that with what I get to sing to Susannah:

I will praise You all my life
I will sing to You with my whole heart
I will trust in You
My hope and my help
My Maker and my faithful God

O faithful God
My faithful God
You lift me up
And you uphold my cause
You give me life
You dry my eyes
You’re always near
You’re a faithful God

And here's what I get to sing to Caitlyn:

O great God of highest heaven
Occupy my lowly heart
Own it all and reign supreme
Conquer every rebel power
Let no vice or sin remain
That resists Your holy war
You have loved and purchased me
Make me Yours forevermore

I was blinded by my sin
Had no ears to hear Your voice
Did not know Your love within
Had no taste for heaven’s joys
Then Your Spirit gave me life
Opened up Your Word to me
Through the gospel of Your Son
Gave me endless hope and peace

Help me now to live a life
That’s dependent on Your grace
Keep my heart and guard my soul
From the evils that I face
You are worthy to be praised
With my every thought and deed
O great God of highest heaven
Glorify Your Name through me

Need I say more? Life is definitely better as a Christian.

'O Faithful God' by Mark Altrogge © 1987 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)/Dayspring Music (a division of Word Music).

'O Great God' by Bob Kauflin © 2006 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI).

CJ May Be Done...

As I posted before, CJ Mahaney's blog has been featuring parts of his chapter on modesty from the forthcoming Crossway book called Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World.

You can read the summary post here. It contains an index with links to each of the seven sections and some additional application questions as well. The application questions are broken down into three categories: For your mind, for your heart, and for your life. Go check it out; it will be well worth your time.

While CJ may be done posting on this topic, I thought I'd point out some further resources on modesty of dress and why it is so absolutely important to the Christian walk.

• Mary Mohler, wife of Al Mohler has a booklet called Modelling Modesty available for free download from the Southern Baptist website. You can get it here.


• Al Martin, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in New Jersey has an excellent pastoral appeal to th women of his church for 'decided modesty' available for free download here (video or audio). He argues (I think quite well) for the urgency of the matter as one of gospel importance. Check it out.


• John Piper, who needs no introduction to anyone has a couple good little articles you can read on his website. One asks: 'Is modesty an issue in the church today?' Another asks: 'Why is a daughter's modesty a dad's responsibility?' Both are well worth the read.
  

It is my hope that these resources will help you form a biblically informed worldview, which encompasses clothing as a representation of what is going on inside the heart (of both women and men).

Fellowship

When our TAG ('Truth Application Group') finished up last week we were sharing with each other what we had learned through the group and during the time period of the group. For me, the answer had several parts, but one of the main things that I've been thinking about since we started meeting (and one of the things that's been the greatest blessing to my heart!) is the topic of fellowship.

Too many people use the word and never think about what it means. 'Fellowship' is roughly synonymous with 'participation'; in fact, one Greek word is translated as either 'fellowship' or 'participation' throughout the NT. To have fellowship, then, means something like 'to participate in something along with another person who is also participating in the same thing.'

Christian fellowship is even more specific, though. 1 John teaches that because we're in Christ, we have fellowship with God (within the life of the Triune God himself). We have fellowship with one another, then, when we each participate in the life of God and share that experience with each other so that each of us can better experience the life of God (by sharing the other's experience of the life of God).

That's all really wordy and convoluted, so I asked my cousin and really cool graphic designer, Josh Rivers, to do a little graphic for me. It's below.

What I want to highlight from the above picture is this: shared life experiences does not equal fellowship. Just having things in common in this life (ie. being the same age, same marital status, same life stage, etc.) is not fellowship. Fellowship is sharing in each other's experience of the life of God. It is necessarily God-centred and God-focused.

The lesson from that is this: If we choose our Christian friends the same way the world chooses their non-Christian friends (ie. how are you like me? what earthly things do we have in common? are we the same age / gender? do you have the same interests?) we're missing out on more than just fellowship with each other. We're missing out on wonderful, new experiences in the life of God. What a shame!

Below is another graphic from Josh. This one simply shows how as each one grows closer to God and experiences more of his life, it increases the true fellowship that each person can have with each other.

Do you want to be a good friend to a brother or sister? Grow closer to God and you will be inviting them into the life of God, revealing God to them. This is the essence of friendship.

Children (of) Believers

A little while ago, the Challister posted some thoughts he'd been working through on why it is that children of believers are more likely to believe the gospel--and in particular, why they are likely to believe at a young age.

Here's a part of his conclusion:

A person’s spiritual condition, it seems, is much like the condition of a patient with systemic sclerosis. While all humans are born sinful, children have less of the pollution and less of the hardening of adults. While the extent of our depravity cannot change, for from the moment of conception it encompasses all that we are, the degree will and must change. Life without God progresses much like the disease. It causes increased hardening. What was once soft becomes hard; what was once supple becomes stiff and stretched. The longer a person denies God and the more his internal pollution increases, the more hardened he becomes against God and against His gracious offer of salvation.

I agree with what Tim wrote in this post, and recommend you give the whole thing a read.

I was thinking about another reason today, though. The gospel is 'good news.' It is good news of the grace and mercy of God. The trouble is that most people in our world find grace and mercy irrelevant anyway, since they don't need them (at least from their perspective). I think another good reason why children of Christians might well be quicker to receive the gospel is simply that they have categories for thinking of issues like right and wrong, sin and holiness, law and justice.

A little while ago Stacey and I were at a playground with our kids. One of the kids that were there playing had decided to go run and jump in a big mud puddle. He played around in it for a little while, getting himself into a disgusting mess. When the mother / caregiver / guardian / nanny / keeper of some sort saw what had happened, she was upset. She yelled at him from across the playground: 'Didn't I tell you not to do that? That's not a good thing to do!'

I thought to myself 'That's not a good thing to do'? Why would she say that? And then it occurred to me: 'What else could she say?' Without God, categories that are absolutely necessary for raising children disappear. If that had've been Susannah, we would've had a talk about authority and obedience. We would do everything in our power to enable her to understand that there is a definite 'right' and a definite 'wrong' in that situation (obeying being right and disobeying being wrong), that she had chosen what was wrong, and that the necessary consequences would be meted out.

What would we be doing there? Is the important thing mud on the clothes? No, not at all. The important thing is her heart. If we are going to have useful inroads into her heart for discussions about the gospel, she'll need to be able to understand that there is an authority over her who has established right and wrong, that she has chosen what is wrong, and that apart from grace and mercy, the consequences will be severe.

The Christian parent who takes biblical categories like discipline, instruction, authority, obedience, submission, law, etc. seriously is building avenues into their child's heart everyday so that someday they'll be able (by God's grace) to think through their impending judgement and their need of mercy from the Judge.

Obviously, none of this will guarantee that a child will come to know the Lord. But I think if we're faithful to use the Lord's appointed means (discipline and instruction, establishing authority and obedience, etc.), he'll be honoured by our choices--and what's more important than that? But in addition, it gives us opportunities to preach the gospel to our children now--before the hardening is finally fatal.

Love, Part 2

In my most recent post on love, I offered this working definition of love:

that affection or passion which motivates me to pursue another's ultimate good, regardless of the cost to myself.

After that post a friend commented on the use of the words 'affection or passion' and just wondered if maybe love might be more about doing than feeling.

Many of us, I think, have been in Christian culture circles long enough to remember the DC Talk song Love is a Verb (if you don't know it, you can get the lyrics here). As a younger person that song had me reevaluate my definition of biblical love, so that I'd see that love isn't what culture says it is... too often, when I read of love in the Bible I used the world's definition (something roughly equivalent to warm-fuzzies; something that you can 'fall' into or out of on a whim, without your control).

But as I matured (at least I hope that's what I've done) even more, I came to understand that there is much more to love than mere 'verbing'. In other words, love is more than 'doing', although doing is definitely involved.

I think there's a balance somewhere here: Love the (outer) action is motivated by love the (inner) affection.

So that when Jesus teaches about love at the end of Matthew 5, for example, he shows that God's love is a love that involves action (he sends rain & sun). Now, are we to assume that such loving actions come from a heart that is not in a favourable disposition to the people being loved? Absolutely not. And we are called to be like the Father. Jesus teaches here that to love someone (like your enemy) means to pray for them. How can you pray for someone without any affection for them? However small, it must be there in some measure if you are going to intercede for them before the throne of grace. You are asking God to bless them with life, forgiveness, the alleviation of their troubles. Why would you ask this if there was no root for it in your affections? Surely Christ is looking for more than rote obedience devoid of heart-affections when he says 'be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.'

Again, if we examine a passage like 1 Corinthians 13, we find the same thing. Love is that which bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. It is hard indeed to picture how these things could genuinely come about in a heart devoid of affection for the person being loved. In fact, the only way I find I can genuinely love someone in these ways is to ask God to produce affection for them in my heart, so that my actions of love will be true--not faked or forced.

This is why I've thought it best to say that love is that affection or passion which produces... . In other words, love is not merely a feeling, but a God-wrought ability to have some of the same affection in my heart for one of God's creatures that God himself has. And just like God's love moves him to action, so this God-wrought affection in me will always motivate me to action.

Of course, this is always done absolutely imperfectly in my life. Sometimes life calls for us to just do what is right even before there is genuine affection in me. That's just because of my hardness of heart and slowness to be affected by God's truth and God's heart. Where I need to grow is in my continual experience of God's affections (his love for people, his hatred for sin, etc.) so that when situations come, the first affections to arise in my heart are God's own, so that my impulse will ultimately be genuine love.

Love

I love our church. So does my pastor. A while ago he posted 34 things he loves about our church.

One Sunday night, when the weather was nice and the service had been over for more than an hour, and people were still hanging around talking to each other outside (because those of us responsible for locking the building had kicked them out), I began to wonder to myself if a church could ever get to a place where her people love each other too much.

I suppose in one sense, that could happen. If our love for each other ever superseded our love for Christ himself, or if our delight was in people, rather than in the God whose image is displayed in those people.

But when I thought about it more, the silliness of such a thought became apparent rather quickly. One can never love another person too much. No one could ever love more than Christ has loved (since this is how we know what love is) and clearly, Christ did not love too much.

But that got me to thinking that I needed a clearer definition of love. You see, when we think of love for another, we think of something which could supersede our delight in Christ, or something which could be taken too far, so that it is not in the other person's best interest. But really, at that point, it's not love at all... it's selfish delight in another person for the gratification of my own fleshly desires for entertainment or companionship or a sense of belonging or whatever else.

So here's the working definition of love that I came up with to help me evaluate whether I'm really loving someone, or whether I'm just having nice thoughts about them for my own benefit.

Love is

that affection or passion which motivates me to pursue another's ultimate good, regardless of the cost to myself.

Feel free to comment on that, if you like. I'm hoping to elaborate on that some more in the days to come.

CJ on Modesty

There are few Christian authors who can combine real cultural and spiritual insight, genuine love for the gospel, and humility while addressing everyday situations and life issues. One who I love as a preacher and a writer is CJ Mahaney.

CJ is currently through 4 of what will be 7 posts that are excerpts from the forthcoming book Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World (Crossway, Sept. 2008), which CJ is editing. In this series CJ is giving excerpts from his chapter on modesty.

CJ focuses on the heart behind the clothes--which I love! Choice of clothing is like any other decision a person makes: it reveals something about a person's desires, motivations, etc. Pastorally, there are all kinds of issues surrounding modesty that can be addressed both in guys and girls.

Here's are a couple of the comments I've appreciated so far...

Any biblical discussion of modesty begins by addressing the heart, not the hemline. We must start with the attitude of the modest woman.

...

Modesty is humility expressed in dress. It’s a desire to serve others, particularly men, by not promoting or provoking sensuality.

Immodesty, then, is much more than wearing a short skirt or low-cut top; it’s the act of drawing undue attention to yourself. It’s pride, on display by what you wear.

...

There’s an inseparable link between your heart and your clothes. Your clothes say something about your attitude. If they don’t express a heart that is humble, that desires to please God, that longs to serve others, that’s modest, that exercises self-control, then change must begin in the heart.

For modesty is humility expressed in dress.

...

A woman’s taste for beauty can be an imitation of God’s character, but it can also become corrupted. And such was the case in this first-century church. Paul exhorted the women who professed godliness: “You should not dress in a way that resembles those who are extravagant, or worse, intent on being seductive or sexy. You must not identify with the sinful, worldly culture through your dress.” Paul was writing not to condemn attractive attire but to address its corruption by association with worldly ideals and goals.

...

Please know that I don’t write as a self-appointed critic. I am simply a concerned pastor who charitably assumes that most Christian women who dress immodestly are ignorant of the war with lust that men confront on a daily basis. They probably don’t have a clue what goes on in a man’s mind and what effect their bodies have on the eyes and hearts of men young and old.

But I want no one to be ignorant after reading this chapter. ...

And I don't want you to be ignorant. So go check out CJ's blog and follow this series as he posts. It will be well worth your while!

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
  

Follow-Up Thought

I thought I should follow-up on the previous post with a note about why I think it's so important that we stay balanced on the whole issue of environmentalism and the role we play as Christians in this world.

In the conclusion to the WSJ article previously cited, Dr Michaels writes:

This prompts the ultimate question: Why is the news on global warming always bad? Perhaps because there's little incentive to look at things the other way. If you do, you're liable to be pilloried by your colleagues. If global warming isn't such a threat, who needs all that funding? Who needs the army of policy wonks crawling around the world with bold plans to stop climate change?

Here's why it's so important that we stay level-headed here. Something that seems so certain to so many in our day is still built on the shakiest evidence. We need to be discerning in our thinking, lest we be found to be building a house on sand.

But there's more to it than this. If there is any truth in what Dr Michaels is saying, then we're spending our time and our energies as Christians fighting for a cause built on a political agenda, rather than advancing the gospel of Christ crucified and raised for sinners. What could be a greater shame?

And in light of the charge I've recently received, I am renewed in my passion for keeping the gospel at the centre--which is where the NT would have it as well. You'll notice that in that whole list of things that the elder of the NT church is to do (which is a long list!) 'fighting against climate change' is not there! That's not to say it's bad, but it is to say that it's not central.

Here's why I want those of you in ministry positions in particular to consider this: we've been given a charge by our Master, who will be our strict Judge (Jas 3.1; 2 Tim 4.). He's given us a task. I do not want to be the one to stand before him and say, 'I know you said "preach the gospel," but I took that to mean "save the icebergs... which weren't really melting in the first place...".' It is a serious charge we have been given, and we must keep the centre the centre, in fear of the living God.

A Convenient Lie

Tim Challies linked to a very interesting article from the Wall Street Journal on the topic of global warming / climate change, and how we get the numbers that are used to 'prove' that the earth is, in fact, getting warmer. Here's a little excerpt:

The fear of a sudden loss of ice from Greenland also makes a lot of news. A year ago, radio and television were ablaze with the discovery of "Warming Island," a piece of land thought to be part of Greenland. But when the ice receded in the last few years, it turned out that there was open water. Hence Warming Island, which some said hadn't been uncovered for thousands of years. CNN, ABC and the BBC made field trips to the island.

But every climatologist must know that Greenland's last decade was no warmer than several decades in the early and mid-20th century. In fact, the period from 1970-1995 was the coldest one since the late 19th century, meaning that Greenland's ice anomalously expanded right about the time climate change scientists decided to look at it.

Warming Island has a very distinctive shape, and it lies off of Carlsbad Fjord, in eastern Greenland. My colleague Chip Knappenberger found an inconvenient book, "Arctic Riviera," published in 1957 (near the end of the previous warm period) by aerial photographer Ernst Hofer. Hofer did reconnaissance for expeditions and was surprised by how pleasant the summers had become. There's a map in his book: It shows Warming Island.

The mechanism for the Greenland disaster is that summer warming creates rivers, called moulins, that descend into the ice cap, lubricating a rapid collapse and raising sea levels by 20 feet in the next 90 years. In Al Gore's book, "An Inconvenient Truth," there's a wonderful picture of a moulin on page 193, with the text stating "These photographs from Greenland illustrate some of the dramatic changes now happening on the ice there."

Really? There's a photograph in the journal "Arctic," published in 1953 by R.H. Katz, captioned "River disappearing in 40-foot deep gorge," on Greenland's Adolf Hoels Glacier. It's all there in the open literature, but apparently that's too inconvenient to bring up. Greenland didn't shed its ice then. There was no acceleration of the rise in sea level.

You can read the whole very interesting article here.

What I Already Knew

On the eve of what essentially amounts to a 'do or die' game, the Canadian Press is reporting today what the enlightened of us Canadians have known for some time. The Montréal Canadiens (aka Les Gloriuex) are Canada's Team.

So much for 'Leaf Nation.' Maybe they'll have more luck getting support on the golf course?

How Can I Become Wise?

One of the greatest questions I think any young Christian (whether young as a person or young as a Christian--or both!) can ask is this: How can I become wise?

To say that the Scriptures speak highly of wisdom is an understatement indeed (see here for just one example). So how does one attain it?

Here is a very incomplete list. I compiled it a little while ago when reading through the book of Proverbs. I wanted to take note of everywhere the book gave instructions on how to become wise.

The funny thing about wisdom is that it's not just attained by anyone. It begins with a humble heart and is wrought in us only as we diligently and continually look for it.

Wisdom, in the biblical sense, speaks more of the ability to skilfully live a godly life in a fallen world than it does to the mere amassing of knowledge. To be wise is to be blessed: a life that is approved by God is a happy life indeed (in the truest sense of happiness).

So how does one become wise? Here's my (ever-growing) list. Feel free to make any additions from verses I've missed!

How Can I Become Wise?

Prov 10 ⁸ The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

Prov 10 ¹⁷ Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.

Prov 11 ² When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

Prov 12 ¹ Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

Prov 12 ¹⁵ The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.

Prov 13 ¹ A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

Prov 13 ¹⁰ By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom.

Prov 13 ¹³ Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.

Prov 13 ¹⁴ The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.

Prov 13 ¹⁸ Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honoured.

Prov 13 ²⁰ Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Prov 13 ²⁴ Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

Prov 14 ¹⁵ The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

Prov 15 ⁵ A fool despises his father's instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.

Prov 15 ¹⁰ There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.

Prov 15 ¹² A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.

Prov 15 ³¹ The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.

Prov 15 ³² Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.

Prov 17 ¹⁰ A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.

Prov 18 ² A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

Prov 18 ¹⁵ An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

Prov 19 ²⁰ Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.

Prov 19 ²⁵ Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.

Prov 20 ¹⁸ Plans are established by counsel; by wise guidance wage war.

Prov 23 ¹² Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.

Prov 24 ⁶ for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counsellors there is victory.

Prov 25 ¹² Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear.

Prov 27 ⁶ Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

Prov 27 ⁹ Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

Prov 28 ⁹ If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.

Prov 28 ²³ Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favour than he who flatters with his tongue.

Prov 28 ²⁶ Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

Prov 29 ¹ He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.

Prov 29 ⁵ A man who flatters his neighbour spreads a net for his feet.

Prov 29 ¹⁵ The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

Prov 29 ¹⁷ Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart.

If you want, you can download a pdf version of this list to print or for further mediation here.

For more thoughts on the connections between humility and wisdom, you can download a sermon I preached a while ago, called 'From Poverty of Spirit to Riches of Wisdom.'

Expelled

Tim Challies' a la carte has some insightful reviews today of Ben Stein's new documentary called Expelled. They are here and here. I'll embed the trailer below. It definitely looks like it's worth checking out! (Try the super trailer...)

Free Sermons to Download

Check out the website of Toronto Baptist Seminary for some nice online resources, including audio messages from D.A. Carson, Michael Haykin, Bill James, and--most recently--Liam Goligher.

Dr Goligher has two messages posted: (1) 'The Emergent Church: Reinventing Liberalism', and, (2) 'Preaching the Cross Today.'

Click here to see the list of messages.

I Love My God

This morning I was reading from Leviticus 19. In the midst of a long string of commands, where God's people are told what they must either do or not do in order to be holy as their God is holy, God gives these instructions.

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.

In these books of Law we find all kinds of laws that we would expect: Don't murder; don't steal; don't take someone else's wife; if you're a judge, don't take a bribe; if you kill an unborn baby, you are guilty before God; all kinds of laws like that. But then there are times when we come across passages like this one that can just seem totally unexpected.

Our God's justice is not like our justice. Intrinsic to the founding of 'the City of God' is this notion that the poor, the widow, the orphan, the sojourner must find a home. They must be taken care of. Why? Because it is a reflection of God's heart for the downtrodden. If God's people are to be holy, as he is holy, they must reflect the same heart as him: the poor must be comforted.

So how does that translate into the new covenant? I would suggest that we see this fulfilled in no less than three ways as we live in the current 'City of God'.

1. Jesus' message could be summarized this way: 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand' (Matt 4.17). This call to repentance is filled out a little more in this way: 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven' (Matt 5.3). In other words, the kingdom of heaven has come, and is possessed by those who are poor--in spirit. These are the ones who are broken over their sin before a holy God (Matt 5.4); the ones who realize they are not perfect as God is perfect (Matt 5.48). They are therefore quick to show mercy, as God has shown them mercy (Matt 5.7; 39-47; 6.14-15; 7.1-5). This is the exact same calling as those citizens of the City of God in the OT received (Lev 19.33-34).


2. Just as the thrust of the commands throughout the OT were to be kind to the poor in their midst, so in the NT, kingdom citizens are to be abundantly merciful and generous to meet the needs of other kingdom citizens. The early church did not miss this at all, but saw it quite clearly (Acts 2.44-45). The emphasis must be placed here: the first place we must give and look after the poor is in our own midst--this was so in the OT, just as it is in the NT (see also Gal 6.9-10).


3. The Christian must be known as one who does not withhold the wages of the labourer, but gives to each what is due. The cries of even the unbeliever, when he is oppressed, will reach the ears of the Lord and the one who has withheld good from him, will bear his guilt (Jas 5:1-6). The Christian must never be known as one who values his money more than he values people; this would not reflect the character of our God at all.
   

I love my God because he cares for the spiritually poor (broken) and the destitute. He is a God of mercy, compassion, and grace--this is clearly revealed in both testaments. If we are to be his 'City' then we must reflect his character, his person, his passions. We must show mercy to others, as he has shown mercy to us.

On Being a Christian in the Workplace

My brother (Ryan) and my brother-in-Christ (Jim) are hard at work building an SEO (search engine optimization) company. I thank our Lord for putting Christians in every sphere of work and society today. I want Christ to be honoured from every type of job, from every level of employment in our city, country, and world. These guys are doing their part, by the grace of God.

Last week Jim wrote an excellent post on what it means to be a Christian SEO. He gives nine answers, and all of them are great. While some are specific aspects are specific to being an SEO, there is much application there for any Christian in any line of work.

Here's an excerpt:

1. It means that we do everything whole-heartedly. Whatever work we have to do, Christ has given to us. As we enthusiastically and faithfully review websites and write lines of HTML code, we bring honour to Him.

2. It does not mean that we are automatically the best SEO's in the world. God has given talent and abilities to all men, not just Christians. Some are gifted more than us.

Those are the first two... you'll have to go here to read the rest...