Invitation from God: Click | View Series

Isaiah 1:18—"Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."

The sinful condition of men is terrible in the extreme. This is set forth vividly in previous verses of the chapter. They are altogether alienated from their God.

God himself interposes to produce a change. The proposal of peace is always from his side.

He urges that a conference be held at once, "Come, and let us reason together."

That conference is to be held at once: "Come now" for the danger is too great to admit of a moment's delay. God is urgent; let us not procrastinate.

GOD INVITES YOU TO MEET

Sinful men do not care to think, consider, and look matters in the face; yet to this distasteful duty they are urged. If they reason, they rather reason against God than together with him; but here the proposal is not to discuss, but to treat with a view to reconciliation. Ungodly hearts also decline this.

1. They prefer to attend to ceremonial observances. Outward performances are easier, and do not require thought
2. Yet the matter is one which demands most serious discussion, and deserves it; for God, the soul, heaven, and hell are involved in it. Never was wise counsel more desirable.
3. No good can come of neglecting to consider it. It is one of those matters which will never drift the right way of itself.
4. It is most gracious on the Lord's part to suggest a conference. Kings do not often invite criminals to reason with them.
5. The invitation is a pledge that he desires peace, is willing to forgive, and anxious to set us right.
6. The appointment of the immediate present as the time for the reasoning together is a proof of generous wisdom. "Just as you are," come to God in Christ, just as he is. Love invites you in all your sin and misery.

Adapted from Charles Spurgeon's sermon notes, which are in the public domain.

Porn Again Christian

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Author and apologist Dr. Ravi Zacharias spoke at The Henry Center in October 2009 on the topic of postmodernism and the pertinent lessons we can learn from two kings of ancient Israel.

See video from Dr. Zacharias’ presentation:

• Toward an Evangelical Understanding of Postmodernism and Mission
• Audience Q&A
• Interview
• Lessons from History: The Tale of the Story of Two Men

For additional content, visit Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) and download the thought-provoking daily and weekly podcasts Let My People Think and Just Thinking.

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Jesus sends his disciples ahead of him

Jesus is comfortable leading passively from a distance at times, and lets his disciples go out before him on their own. We don't have a clear description of what they are doing when they go out before him, but you can infer that they are living the life that Jesus is teaching them about outside of the structure of Jesus physically being present with them.

When they are on the boat after the miraculous feast of 5,000, they were most certainly processing what just occurred. Jesus wasn't there to tell them explicitly, but he gave them a framework to understand the sovereignty of the Father over something as simple as the conservation of mass—yeah there were two pounds of bread, but God can make it into two tons and feed an army.

We can see Jesus' intentionality in giving his disciples time to synthesize what they are learning. The lessons are becoming more than head knowledge, and becoming part of who they are.

Jesus prays for his disciples

Jesus cares deeply about his disciples. He speaks of them as his sheep and of himself as the shepherd who will gladly die for their safety, cries when his friend dies, and spends his last minutes praying for them in his high priestly prayer.

Jesus doesn't just trust that they will be okay, but pleads with the Father that he would continue the work that has begun.

This is a series of reflections on how Jesus made disciples, based on the book of John.

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Video, audio, and images from the Advance 09 conference in Raleigh-Durham, NC, June 2009. Find out more.

Prayer series: Click | View Series
The Mars Hill sermon series that inspired this post

"While we ordinarily first bring our own needs to God in prayer, and then think of what belongs to God and his interests, the Master reverses the order. First Thy name, Thy kingdom, Thy will; then give us, forgive us, lead us, deliver us… In true worship the Father must be first, must be all."
—Andrew Murray

Pray Like Jesus

When the apostles said to Jesus, "Lord teach us how to pray," it was because they knew he was a man of profound devotion and prayer. The gospels tell us that Jesus prayed at every major event in his life: his baptism (Luke 3:21); the choice of apostles (6:12-12); his transfiguration (9:29); before the cross at Gethsemane (22:39-40); and on the cross (23:46). The Bible tells us that he continues in prayer for us. Hebrews 7:25 says, "He always lives to make intercession for them." He sets the example for us to follow:

• "And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone" (Matthew 14:23).
• "And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place" (Luke 4:42).
• "But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray" (Luke 5:16).
• "In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God" (Luke 6:12).
• "He took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray" (Luke 9:28).
• "He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed" (Mark 1:35).
• "He went up on the mountain to pray" (Mark 6:46).

Shape Your Prayer Life to The Lord's Prayer

The secret to Jesus' powerful prayer life is found in the most important prayer of the Bible, commonly known as The Lord's Prayer. It is one of the most popular passages of Scripture read at funerals, weddings, and church services throughout the Christian world. But few people really grasp the meaning of this little prayer. It is Jesus' definitive teaching on prayer. It is an outline by which we can shape our own personal prayer life and begin to learn how to pray according to his will.

To be continued.

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Like many people, I can still remember the mix of rage and horror I felt as I fought back tears, seeing the television report that an extremist cult compound in Texas had been raided because girls were being held there essentially as slaves to be abused by pedophiles who claimed to be religious leaders.

Thankfully, that case is now coming to trial as the Houston Chronicle reports,

More than 150 potential jurors, including 10 women in prairie dresses and braids, crammed into a makeshift courtroom Monday as jury selection began in the first criminal trial stemming from the raid of a polygamist sect’s ranch last year.

Raymond Jessop, 38, is charged with sexual assault of a child, stemming from his alleged marriage to an underage girl. The girl, according to church documents seized by authorities, gave birth at age 16 at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado. If convicted, Jessop faces 20 years in prison.

Following that, Jessop will face Jesus Christ, who said tying a rock around his neck and throwing him into the sea would be a better fate than the just and hellish eternity that awaits him.

While we pray for justice to the evil men and loving counseling for the abused girls, the case has brought to light one curious theological question: Is polygamy biblical?

Various cults, aberrant sects, and perverts make the case that the Bible does mention polygamy and so it is biblically acceptable. However, they fail to acknowledge that the Bible speaks of human sin from beginning to end to show the evil horrors of sin. Therefore, just because something is in the Bible does not mean that God approves of it, as is the case with the rapes, murders, and adulteries reported throughout Scripture.

There are many biblical and practical reasons why polygamy is sinful and harmful.

1. The first man to take more than one wife was the godless man Lamech (Genesis 4:19–24).
2. Some of the Old Testament patriarchs did practice polygamy, and it never honored God. For example, Abram married Hagar in addition to Sarai. The results of this polygamy are truly tragic, as is the case with other instances of adultery and polygamy in Scripture. Abram slept with Hagar and she bore him a son. God promised that Hagar’s son would become the father of a great nation because he was a son of Abram, though not the son of the promise (which would eventually be Isaac). God promised that Ishmael would be a “wild donkey of a man” and that he would be a warrior in hostility with his brothers who would descend from Abram. Ishmael was born to a Hebrew father and Egyptian mother and became the father of the Arab nations that to this day are in hostility with Jews and Christians alike, as promised.
3. The disaster of polygamy is illustrated by Lamech and Adah and Zillah in Genesis 4:19–24, Esau and Mahalath and other wives in Genesis 28:6–9, and Jacob and Leah and Rachel in Genesis 29:15–30. None of these occurrences was godly or good.
4. The Bible repeatedly shows that polygamy is wrought with favoritism, fighting, jealousy, and mistreatment (e.g., Genesis 35:22; 38:18–28; 2 Samuel 3:2–5; 13:1–29; 15–18; 1 Kings 11:1–4).
5. The New Testament church elders who serve as the pattern for Christian families are to be one-woman men and not polygamists (1 Timothy 3:2, 12).
6. God’s intention is that each man would have one wife (Genesis 2:18; Matthew 19:4–6).
7. Marriage is ultimately a picture of Jesus’ loving relationship with the church (Ephesians 5:22–33; Revelation 19:6–9). Jesus is faithful to one bride, the church, as the pattern for all marriages.




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