How Great Our Father's Love

I just finished watching the Dateline Special about David Goldman’s battle to be reunited with his son Sean. Unfortunately NBC is not posting this special on the web at this time, but you can learn more of the story here. Basically, David's wife returned to her home country of Brazil with Sean (he was four at the time), divorced David, and refused to return Sean to him. She remarried in Brazil, then later died in child birth. After four and a half years, countless setback, and legal battles, the Brazilian Supreme Court finally ordered Sean to be returned to his father. Sean is now nine years old.
As I watched this heartbreaking tale unfold, I could not help but see how much love David felt for his son. He would never stop fighting until he was with Sean again. He would be satisfied with nothing less. Through all the frustration and battles going on, David never quit. Seeing this, I realized that Sean would be ok. When he finally returned home with David, I knew that he would be loved and that his dad will continue to do whatever he needs to see that his son will be well taken care of. Such devotion and determination is something we rarely see today.
Amidst watching this story, I cannot help but think of God’s love for us. It’s a familiar concept. John 3:16 – “God so loved the world.” 1 John 4:8 – “God is love.” In fact, it could be so familiar that we don’t stop to think about his love for us. We begin to take it for granted. But David Goldman shows us on a small scale the lengths that a loving father will go through to be with his child. This is the God who, instead of sending us to Hell as we deserve, chose instead to give his Son for us so that we could be with him (Romans 5:8). He gave at the highest cost so that we could call him “Daddy” (Romans 8:15). And if he’s given so much for this to happen, he will continue to give us what we need to trust him and rest in his love for us (Romans 8:32).
I confess that I haven’t felt the depth of this love for some time. Saying “God loves you” has become a phrase that doesn’t really have a lot of impact for me, not a phrase that makes me stand in wonder. Yes, I believe that God loves me. I believe he loves everyone. But I can’t remember the last time when I felt that love. How about you? When was the last time that hearing “God loves you” really moved you? Have you taken his love for granted?
I thank God that he has given me a fresh glimpse of his love through the moving story of David and Sean. And I pray that you and I alike would feel the depth of God’s love – a love that goes beyond all limits. I hope that we will "[s]ee what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God
(1 John 3:1). I leave you with the promise of God’s undying love for us. I pray it will stir you to draw near to God and to trust in his perfect love.
“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 8:38-39).

Fulfill William Tyndale's Dream

I've been reading some of John Piper's book Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ, covering the lives of William Tyndale, Adoniram Judson, and John Paton. William Tyndale was the first to give us a Bible in the English language. When talking to a Priest about this, Tyndale said, "If God spare my life ere many years, I will cause a boy that driveth the plow, shall know more of the Scripture than thou dost" (p. 30). His desire was that the common man would know the Bible as well as, and even better than, a priest would. Indeed, Tyndale gave his life to see the Bible written in the language of the common man and not limited to the scholarly and well-learned.
As we come up on 2010, I have a question for you: have you tried to fulfill Tyndale's lifelong dream? I read a statistic that more than 85% of Christians have never read the Bible all the way through. Am I the only one who has a problem with this? And, I can already hear some objections:
#1 - "The Old Testament is Dull and Dry"
#2 - "The Old Testament isn't important anymore - we have Jesus"
#3 - "I don't really see the point in reading the Bible"
I'd like to answer these objections with 2 Timothy 3:16-17: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." Consider these two verses for a minute.
1. "All Scripture is breathed out by God" - ALL of it. The genealogies, the laws, the prophets, the psalms, the histories - everything. The whole book is from God.
2. "All Scripture...is profitable" - The Law is useful, the genealogies are useful, the Gospels, the stories and the prophecies. Through these various means of communication, we learn what to believe, we learn what is wrong in us, we learn what to do about it, and we learn how to live. The reason is so that we can be "equipped for every good work." It's not just about reading it all and knowing it all - it is about changed lives. It is about us knowing God properly and being prepared to do his work in the world.
God wants us to know his Word so that we can be effective in his World. So I challenge you to read the Good Book this year. Make William Tyndale's dream come true: know the Scripture more this year.
If you'd like to read through the Bible this year, here are a couple of links to some plans that can help you do it:
Into Thy Word - This site has several plans for you to choose from. I'm using their Genres Plan this year. I have made this plan into easy-to-use bookmarks if you are interested. Leave a comment if you would like these bookmarks in a Word Document format.
Discipleship Journal Plan (via Bethlehem Baptist Church) - This has a plan that also prints out on convenient bookmarks for your reading. Also, this plan breaks the Bible into 300 reading days, giving you about 5 grace days every month. I used this plan a few years ago.
You can also Google search "Bible Reading Plans" and come up with a wealth of plans for your choosing. Or you can create your own plan. Whatever you decide, please choose - no, resolve - this year to help fulfill Tyndale's vision. Above all, I pray that God transforms us all this year as we look into his perfect Word. God bless you as you seek to know him more!

Romans and the Reason for the Season

Romans has long been my favorite book of the Bible. It was the first book I ever interacted with, the first book I memorized Scripture from, and it has been foundational to my thinking and understanding about what God and the Christian life are all about. As I was listening to it yesterday, I couldn't help but think about how fitting it is for this time of year, how it's message leads us to rejoice this season that the Church has set apart to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Romans is a message about the gospel, or the "good news." In fact, Paul says that the the good news is so good that it is "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes"(Romans 1:16).
You see, humanity has a problem. I have a problem, you have a problem - all of us have a problem. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (3:23). Basically, this means that all of us have turned away from the true God and worshiped other things (1:18-23). And because we turned from the true God, we have also ended up doing all sorts of things to hurt ourselves and each other - from selfishness to murder (1:24-32). We have judged and condemned others (chapter 2). As Paul said, ALL of us have done it. I am not exempt. Neither are you.
Yet, Paul tells us that God has continued being kind to us so that we would return to him (2:4). And in his kindness, God did the ultimate act of kindness he could. Some would call it the ultimate Christmas present. He gave us his Son. Jesus came into the world while we were unable to help ourselves and he gave his life for us (5:8). He died and rose again so that we would not have to be judged for our sins (3:24-26), and we could be at peace with God (5:1). He died so that we could be reconciled to God (5:11). What amazing love is this!
So, how do we respond to such a great gift and incredible offer? By faith (3:24). We receive God's gift by putting our trust and our hope in Him. And that is how the gospel has the power to save us. Those who believe are free from sin. They are free from the "wages of sin" which is death and separation from God (6:23). We are free from the influence of sin - in other words, we can live lives that God meant for us to have, loving him and loving others (chapters 6-8; cf. Luke 10:25-28). We can give our lives serving each other, sharing the good news, and living as we ought in the world, wherever we are (Romans 12-16).
The message of Romans is the message of Christmas. God gave his Son to save us from sins and to give us relationship with him. What will you do with God's amazing gift?