The Debt I Owe to John Piper

Hebrews 12:1-2 - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

If you've ever read anything by John Piper, there's a good chance you read Desiring God or Don't Waste Your Life, or perhaps, Future Grace. Future Grace was actually the first Piper book I ever read, my sophomore year in college. The whole point of the book is to teach Christians the purifying power of living by faith in future grace. Yeah, it sounds kind of weird, but it makes sense when you actually understand that superior satisfaction in life and in God comes when we truly cherish the promises of God - and that God is the most glorified in us when we are the most satisfied in him. Outstanding. Anyway, the 31st and last chapter of the book is entitled "The Debt I Owe to Jonathan Edwards." Well, this isn't exactly the last chapter of a recently released book of mine, but tonight I think it's my turn - hence the title of this post.

I came to know Christ my freshman year in college. The summer before my sophomore year, I received some intense and very beneficial training at the Campus Outreach Summer Beach Project. My room leader that summer (I'll call him "Austin") introduced me to the writings of John Piper and encouraged me to check into Future Grace and Desiring God when I returned to campus that fall. And I did. My sophomore year I read through Future Grace, Desiring God, and Let the Nations Be Glad and have ready many more since. As a young Christian in need of Godly tutelage, Piper inadvertently became my spiritual mentor - all by the grace of God. The best thing about the books was that they always pointed to, centered around, and were saturated with the Bible. Hundreds of Bible verses filled the books and actually served as the root of each chapter. Hundreds of his sermons are available for free. The resources available at his website are tremendous. I cannot thank him enough for his service to not only my life but thousands of others. For tonight, for as long as can I still think clearly, I would like to write out some of the things I'm thankful to John Piper for - and ultimately thankful to God for, because it's really about God using another wretch of a man to make himself known to me.

I'm thankful to John Piper for...

1.) Teaching me that as a Christian, I should fight for joy.
2.) Teaching me that my purpose in life is to glorify God by enjoying him forever.
3.) Teaching me that it's right for God to do all things for his glory.
4.) Teaching me that true satisfaction can be found in God alone.
5.) Teaching me that being with God and enjoying God is truly the gospel.
6.) Teaching me to live by faith in the future grace that God will surely provide.
7.) Teaching me that my sin is a form of unbelief in the promises of God.
8.) Teaching me that God is sovereign and in control.
9.) Teaching me that unreached peoples all over the earth desperately need the gospel.
10.) Teaching me to not waste my life on trivial things that do not matter.
11.) Teaching me that there is always hope, even in darkness.
12.) Teaching me about other Christian men in the past of whom the world wasn't worthy.
13.) Teaching me that suffering has a purpose to glorify God.
14.) Teaching me that whatever God does - he is right.
15.) Teaching me to have a God-centered vision of all things.
16.) Showing me that it's ok for a grown man to cry.
17.) Telling me that I would be better off memorizing Scripture than baseball statistics.
18.) Providing so much to people around the world for free.
19.) Being a big time pastor who's not in it for the glory or for the money.
20.) Challenging me so many times when I was weak.
21.) Teaching me that a comfortable life should not be a goal of mine.
22.) Teaching me that there shouldn't be any "retirement" for a Christian.
23.) Teaching me what to do when I don't desire God.
24.) Teaching me the urgency and reality of hell.
25.) Showing me the beauty and necessity of Christ.
26.) Showing me how to fight cancer like a man of God.
27.) Showing me what a wretch I am.
28.) Preaching about the importance of truly loving people.
29.) Opening my eyes to the seriousness of abortion.
30.) Opening my eyes to the beauty of adoption as a response to God's adopting of us.
31.) Being humble enough to acknowledge that this entire list was totally a result of the grace of God in his life and in mine.

I could go on and on...but I won't. This post in no way does justice to all the things I've learned from John Piper - and so much of it was simply him pointing me to the Scriptures. It will be a great day when Pastor Piper finally leaves this earth and gets to be with his blessed savior, but the world will lose perhaps it's best preacher and best writer, and I will lose my earthly mentor. And when it comes down to it, I don't think this wicked and depraved world is worthy of him. But by no means shall we give John Piper the glory - give it all to God, for that's what he would want anyway.

Is this the greatest verse in the Bible? I don't know, but I'm beginning to think it is:

Matthew 5:6 - "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."

Hymn Spotlight: "In the Secret of His Presence"

Song Title: In the Secret of His Presence
Artist: Sandra McCracken
Album: The Builder and the Architect
Writer: Ellen Goreh (words), Chris Miner (music)

In the secret of His presence, how my soul delights to hide!
O, how precious are the lessons which I learn at Jesus' side!
Earthly cares forever vex me, all my trials lay me low;
But when Satan comes to tempt me, to that secret place I go.

When my soul is faint and thirsty, 'neath the shadow of His wing
There is cool and pleasant shelter, and a fresh and crystal spring;
And my Savior rests beside me, as we hold communion sweet.
If I tried, I could not utter what He says when thus we meet.

Only this I know: I tell Him all my doubts, my griefs and fears;
O, how patiently He listens! And my sorrowed soul He cheers.
Do you think he ne'er reproves me? What a false friend He would be,
If he never, never told me of the sin which He must see.

Would you like to know the sweetness of the secret of the Lord?
Go and hide beneath His shadow. This shall then be your reward;
And whene'er you leave the silence of that happy meeting place,
You will surely bear the image of the Master on your face.

Audio sample: Here

Why this hymn: If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you'll know that this CD is my favorite. I can listen to it over and over again for a long time. It's amazing. So why this song, the slowest on the CD? Unfortunately, my reasons for choosing a song for a hymn spotlight are a little different than usual. I was listening to this song on the way to work this morning when it hit me -- "I'm not feeling this song right now." For the first time I think, I wasn't tempted to drive carelessly with my eyes closed while listening. Has my soul be delighting to hide in the presence of the Lord? Not really. At least not in the last few days. Would I like to know the sweetness of the secret of the Lord? Most definitely. That's why I chose this song tonight.

Why I like it: First of all, it's another beauty put together by Sandra McCracken. Her overall sound is incredible, and the lyrics are deep, true, peaceful, and convicting. No other song I know speaks so clearly of that mysterious yet wonderful intimacy that can exist between a human and the triune God of the universe. You ever wonder if God is relational? If this song is true, this he is wildly relational, and all we have to do is take some time and go to him. This world is going to drag us down. Satan will tempt and torment us without ceasing. We will never reach perfection on this earth. But our reward is truly great when we fight the good Christian fight - our reward is God after all!

Related Scripture: Psalm 35:8-10, Psalm 57:1-3, Exodus 34:29

Favorite line: "But when Satan comes to tempt me, to that secret place I go." This line often hits me where it hurts. Did I go to that secret place last time I was tempted? That's the question I'm forced to ask myself when I hear this line of the song. And if the answer is 'no,' then why not? Where better to go that to the shelter of God when temptation strikes? Should I try to fight it on my own? No. Should I be weak and give in? No. Should I be so caught up in the moment that I forget to even notice that I'm being tempted? No. I've got to be on guard at all times, for the enemy is watching and seeks my soul to destroy. Jesus, you are my refuge. What a joy it is to be in your presence.

What Sandra says about this song: "This is the only one on the album that I didn’t write. I love Chris Miner’s version of this song from his album All Good Things Come From The Desert. It expresses such intimacy. This was the song that really lit a fire for me to make this album at long last. Many of these melodies I had written over years, but this song gave me a vision to actually finish this project. I wanted to make something that had this vulnerability and melancholy to it. I don’t think we have quite enough of that in modern church music. I think sometimes we think church music should be sunny or majestic, but for me, that’s not where I live most of the time. I live more in longing and hope, in both joy and sorrow. I want to make music that people can find themselves in, not as they think they should be."

J.C. Ryle on Happiness

I apologize for my lack of posts lately. If there was ever a sure fire way to get people to stop reading my blog, it would be to cut down on the number of posts (like I've done lately). That's really not my goal. Sometimes you just don't have weekends with the internet, and sometimes you randomly leave work at noon for Atlanta to watch Greg Maddux pitch against John Smoltz (yeah I did that yesterday and got into bed at 2 AM last night, so I'm going to make this short, for I'm about to pass out). I imagine the posts will pick up soon in the summertime, as my activities and favorite TV shows start to die down. I'm really really looking forward to a boring summer full of reading books --- let's just see if it happens.

It looks like my brother-in-law (friend in rehab) is going to miss jail yet again, so thank you if you prayed for him. God's mercy has been poured out in an abundance on him, and hopefully Christ has changed his life for good.

John Owen's "Overcoming Sin & Temptation" is still what I'm reading through, and it's still really good. I'll probably post a lot about it in the near future, especially when I start on the second book of the book.

I should bust out some more hymn spotlights soon. "Thy Mercy, My God" has really been on my mind a lot lately. It would be a good one to do.

Anyway...before I do the hour long post thing, let me type out an excerpt from J.C. Ryle's "Practical Religion" on a chapter about happiness. I really liked this paragraph (punctuation and italics all Ryle's).

The true Christian is the only happy man, because he can sit down quietly and think about his soul. He can look behind him and before him, he can look within him and around him, and feel, "All is well." -- He can think calmly on his past life, and however many and great his sins, take comfort in the thought that they are all forgiven. The righteousness of Christ covers all, as Noah's flood overtopped the highest hills. -- He can think calmly about things to come, and yet not be afraid. Sickness is painful; death is solemn; the judgment day is an awful thing: but having Christ for him, he has nothing to fear. -- He can think calmly about the Holy God, whose eyes are on all his ways, and feel, "He is my Father, my reconciled Father in Christ Jesus. I am weak; I am unprofitable: yet in Christ He regards me as His dear child, and is well-pleased." Oh, what a blessed privilege it is to be able to think, and not be afraid! I can well understand the mournful complaint of the prisoner in solitary confinement. He had warmth, and food, and clothing, and work, but he was not happy. And why? He said, "He was obliged to think."

Back From Rehab

I apologize to my millions of readers for the time away from blogging. I had every intention on writing something up before I left for a few days (Thursday - Monday) to attend my friend's graduation from drug/alcohol rehab. Well I'm back with a lot to report. For starters, let me clear the air a little - this friend I went to see was my wife's 21 year old brother, and he was staying at the Home of Grace in Vancleave, MS. I was very impressed with their graduation ceremony, as the entire focus of the whole thing was God. I won't go forth with all that my brother-in-law was involved with, but he had voluntarily checked himself in after several run-ins with the law, and the problems may all come to a head tomorrow in court. So even though he successfully completed his rehabilitation, prayer is still needed. Let me go into further details about my visit.

The Home of Grace was a really nice place, located somewhere between Mobile and New Orleans on a very comfortable campus. Graduation was held at the chapel (where I found out later that shorts and open-toed shoes weren't allowed and I was wearing shorts and sandals like the rebel I am). We get in there, and there is Christian music playing, and a lot of guys are starting to come in (graduation is every Friday and is mandatory). Things get started off with a Home of Grace specialty song in which the guys sing about being saved and leaving the old man in the grave (fleshly desires). Pretty good stuff I thought. Then a guy busted out a fiery sermon about how Abraham was a friend of God because he got back up after he was knocked down - not because he was perfect. It was a pretty good sermon, though it had about 200 more amens than necessary, but that's ok. I remember looking around the room, as there had to be 100+ guys in there plus the families of the graduates. Satan tried to tempt me to start thinking how I was better than all of them - but my soul wouldn't entertain such thoughts. Sure, I've never seen a drug or even had a drink in my entire life, but God kept me focused on all of my sin and how sweet my own salvation was. We're all saved from some sort of bondage. Then came time for the graduates to be honored, seven in all. They handed out certificates to any who gave up tobacco during their stay, one guy. Then came the interesting part. They handed out certificates with 'born again dates' to all of those who made a public profession of Christ during their time there. There were three. The first two guys weren't my brother-in-law. The family hadn't received any word on if he had any sort of conversion. Then, the third guy was indeed him. Right there in front of me -- could I be witnessing a new brother in Christ? It was so exciting, and tears filled my eyes. Then the ceremony continued with a fairly lengthy charge to the graduates using Romans 12:1-2. He essentially challenged them to live out their new lives because the world will be watching and expecting them to fail again. Good stuff again. The ceremony finished with each of the seven men giving a speech in front of everyone. Some laughed, some cried, some thanked God, but what I was really interested in what my brother-in-law was going to say. To my amazement, a guy who I've seen some serious evil in, got up in front of us all, thanked his "lord and savior Jesus Christ," said that he'd been living life blind and that Jesus opened his eyes, and then thanked and apologized to the family. Truly amazing. His graduation present from me was a fresh copy of 'Desiring God' by John Piper. I hope he reads it. So, big news here. I don't think my letters did much, but they helped me out. Join with me in prayer that his conversion is true and that his life continues to change. Ask for perseverance for him. Thanks!