The Blazing Center

Who’s the hardened sinner in your life? You don’t really need to think about it.

It’s the son or daughter that you’ve been praying for for years. It’s the neighbor who gets wasted every Friday night. It’s your old college buddy who is now so rich that he doesn’t need God. It’s your mom, who at the age of 70 doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon. It’s the name that has been on your prayer list for the last decade.

It can be discouraging to pray for someone, share the gospel with them, love them, serve them, and not see any fruit. After a while we stop wondering when God will save them and start wondering if God can save them.

I think the Apostle Paul was meant to give us faith for the salvation of hardened sinners. In 1 Timothy 1:12-13, Paul writes:

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.

Pre-Christian Paul made most sinners look like saints.

He was a blasphemer. He had a vendetta against Christians. He was insolent, arrogant, bloodthirsty, and angry. How many people imagined this guy getting saved?

But when Jesus decides to save someone, nothing can stop Him. Paul was on his way to collect, arrest, and possibly kill as many Christians as possible. Instead, he finds himself laying on the ground hearing the voice of Jesus. This is irresistible, powerful, eye-opening, heart-rending grace. Paul was a great sinner, Jesus was a greater Savior.

God can save your hardened son in a split-second. He can break down the walls of a drunken neighbor and melt the heart of a bitter mother. Don’t stop praying. Don’t stop asking.

God saved Paul, He saved you, and He can save the hardened sinner in your life.

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Originally published in October, 2009

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Last Tuesday night The Discovery Channel’s reality show, Deadliest Catch, documented the passing of Phil Harris, captain of the Alaskan crab fishing boat, the Cornelia Marie.

He suffered a massive stroke while his crew was offloading his boat in January and died in early February at age 53 while still in the hospital.

With the consent of his family, the reality show kept their cameras rolling throughout his ordeal, right up till the end.  There were a couple touching scenes with his sons, especially when he told them he loved them.

The Discovery Channel did a tasteful job though it seemed crass to me at first.  But a couple days before the episode I read these verses:

It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. (Ecclesiastes 7:2-4)

Initially these verses caught me off guard.  Why is it better to mourn than feast?  Who likes funerals or intensive care units?  Why is sorrow better than laughter and how does sadness make the heart glad?

The answer is that we can grow wise by contemplating death – “the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning.”

In our culture, we’re shielded from death.  We shove it to the backs of our minds.  We’d rather party. But parties don’t make us wise.  Funerals are opportunities to see that death “is the end of all mankind” and we who are “living will take it to heart.”  Intensive care units can remind us of the life to come.

Seeing death should help us contemplate our own death, think about eternity and live wisely.

By “sadness of face the heart is made glad” when we put our hope in Jesus, not in this world.

I feel sad for Phil’s family.  But I’m glad they allowed the cameras to keep rolling.  I’m glad they showed the hospital scenes with all the tubes and machines and his final conversations with his sons.  I hope it helps me grow more wise.  It reminded me that my own life is a vapor, and someday I’ll be with the Lord.

I don’t want to miss opportunities to glorify Christ, and to tell my wife, children and grandchildren I love them.

Beginning today, every Friday (if we remember) we hope to give you a simple songwriting tip.  Since we primarily write worship songs, many of the tips will be geared in that direction, but we also hope to have suggestions that will help any songwriter.

Tip #1: Focus on an aspect of God’s character or deeds

Bob Kauflin defines worship in this way: Worship is our whole-hearted response to God’s self-revelation in ways which please him and which he alone makes possible.

The first question I ask myself when attempting to write a worship song is “What has God revealed about his character or his deeds that I want to write a song about?”  When I say God’s character I mean his attributes – e.g. his sovereignty, love, faithfulness, goodness, unchanging nature, etc.

Observe how David focused on God’s character and deeds in Psalm 145:3-7

Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom. (character)
One generation will commend your works to another;
they will tell of your mighty acts.  (deeds)
They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, (character)
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.  (deeds)
They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
and I will proclaim your great deeds.  (deeds)
They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness. (character)

In these seven verses David mentions God’s unfathomable greatness, his awesome works, his glorious splendor and majesty, his abundant goodness and righteousness.  Each of these could be the subject for a song.

Start with God.  Pick an attribute or aspect of his character and focus on that.

Please give us any suggestions you have for future posts on songwriting, in case we run out of ideas in 2 weeks.  Thanks!

photo by garryknight

Laughter is a gift from God, and I love to take advantage of that gift. Laughter helps me temporarily forget the struggles of this life. Laughter injects joy into an otherwise gloomy day. Laughter lifts me out of the pit of introspection. Laughter refreshes me and rejuvenates me. Nothing is better than a night spent with good friends, howling with laughter.

Proverbs 15:15 sums it up well: “All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.” (Proverbs 15:15)

Laughter helps me to have a cheerful heart.

So what makes you laugh? Here’s what makes me laugh…

- My brother, and my dad

- This sermon illustration by C.J. Mahaney

- This video by Brian Regan:

- This hilarious article by Dave Barry

- My friend Luke, who you probably don’t know, but he would make you laugh too

- This scene in Napoleon Dynamite:

Let’s create a list of things that make us laugh. What makes you laugh?

What a change Jesus works in us when he brings us to life.

Christ himself comes to live through us.  And the Spirit begins his work of transforming us into the image of Christ, from glory to glory.  We begin to exude Jesus.

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.  For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,  to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? (2 Corinthians 2:14-16 ESV)

Jonathan Edwards put it this way:

“But when Christ arises upon [the spiritually dead], then all things begin to revive, the will and affections begin to move, and they set about the work they have to do. They are now awakened out of their sleep: whereas they were still before, now they begin to be diligent and industrious; whereas they were silent before, now they begin to sing forth God’s praises. Their graces now begin to be put into exercise, as flowers send forth a fragrancy when the sun shines upon them.” –Jonathan Edwards in Strachan and Sweeney, Jonathan Edwards on Beauty

Let us seek to leave a fragrance of Christ everywhere we go.  Even if we don’t have the opportunity to share the gospel, may others experience our joy, humility, thankfulness and kindness.  Though they may not be able to put their finger on it, may the fragrance of Jesus linger long after we’ve left the room.

photo by Lel4nd

So many times I feel like my devotion to God is very distracted.

The moment I wake up in the morning, the afterburners in my mind kick on. I’m thinking about what needs to be done, what I already did, what I need to eat, etc.

I sit down to read my Bible and I’m distracted. When I pray I feel like a dog who is always chasing after whatever comes into his path. When I sing worship songs or listen to a sermon, my mind is often zipping in a thousand different directions.

This struggle with distraction really ticks me off. I hate being distracted when it comes to the things of the Lord.

So how can I fight distraction? I find the words of Thomas Manton to be very helpful.

Meditate upon the greatness of God. It is of great consequence with whom we are dealing. O if you could see him that is invisible, you would have more reverence! Imagine yourself in heaven in the midst of the blessed angels standing before the all seeing God. (Voices From the Past, 191)

How would my prayer life, and worship, and Bible reading change if I caught a visible glimpse of God? If my eyes beheld the living God who makes the angels tremble? If I came face to face with the holy, holy, holy God?

There would be no more distraction. No more wandering mind, no more weak, half-hearted devotion. My heart and mind and eyes and soul would be gripped by God.

It is of great consequence with whom we are dealing.

I may not see God, but I am still in his presence. I am still praying to, worshiping, and reading about the living God. It’s no small thing to come into his presence. We don’t just wander into the presence of God with no purpose or goal. We come into his presence to engage with God.

And he is worthy of my focused attention.

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+photo by ssh

Tom’s father had been gone for a long time.  He wondered how his father was and what his father was thinking.

Every day when he collected his mail, there was another letter to him from his father.  And every day he tossed the letter unopened onto an ever-growing pile on his coffee table.

“I wonder if my father loves me?”  he said on the way to the mailbox.  “I wish he were here so I could get his advice.  I wonder how my father would feel about these choices I’m making,” he said as he laid the latest unopened letter from his father atop the stack on the coffee table.

“If only he would give me a sign.  If only I could look up in the sky to see clouds in the shape of ‘thumbs up.’  If he could only let me know somehow that I’m on the right path.”  And the pile of unopened letters continued to grow.

How often are we like Tom.  Wondering if God loves us, wishing he’d give us a sign, unsure of his will, when all the while God’s love letter to us – our Bible – lays unopened on the coffee table.

What a treasure God’s Word is.  It’s filled with hope-fueling promises and assurances of God’s love, especially demonstrated at the cross.  It’s a lamp to our feet, a thousand comforts, a shield and a sword, an unfailing spiritual GPS to guide us on the highway of righteousness.  And it contains hundreds of descriptions of our beautiful Savior.

We don’t need signs.  We need to open the mail.

photo by Pink Sherbet Photography

I spend a lot of time reading. Not nearly as much as some of the reading monsters like Al “I Just Read Five Books, and Wrote Three, What Did You Do?” Mohler and Tim “Turns Out Something Good Can Come From Canada” Challies, but a fair amount nonetheless. I love getting new books, I love walking into a bookstore, and I love sitting down with a book and a large cup of coffee.

But is reading really that important? With all of the things that you could be doing, why bother reading? Why should you (or I) invest our precious time in staring at pages splashed with ink?

Let me tell you two of the reasons that I read in the hope that you’ll also be inspired to read.

I Read So That I Can See New Things About God

Throughout the history of the church there have been many men and women who were far more godly and wise than I will ever be. Men like Jonathan Edwards, who saw the brilliance of God’s glory, and Martin Luther, who was willing to die for the gospel, and C.S. Lewis, who had such a wonderful, biblical grasp of reality.

Reading books by men and women like these has allowed me to see new things about God that I would have never seen on my own. I get to stand on the shoulders of Jonathan Edwards and benefit from the hundreds and thousands of hours he spent poring over his Bible. I read books so that I can enjoy the fruit of someone else’s labor.

I Read So That I Can Encourage Others

There are many people I know who are enduring trials and challenges far greater than anything I’ve ever experienced. Because I haven’t endured what they have, I don’t always know how to encourage them. When is the best time to speak a word of encouragement? When is it best simply to pray for a person? When should I give advice, and when should I keep my mouth shut?

Books often provide wisdom when it comes to these questions. Men and women who have gone through trials have put their thoughts and experiences into book form, and I get to benefit from their experiences. I get to see how God encouraged them, and how other believers encouraged them, and what sustained them in the midst of grief and heartache. Books provide wisdom that I just don’t have.

I’m not a particularly wise man. I don’t have enough experience, or enough godliness to make it through life on my own. I need the insights, and wisdom, and godliness of others. That’s why I read.

Why do you spend time reading? How would you encourage a person who doesn’t see the benefit of reading?

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+photo by takomabibelot

Psalm 100:2 presents some problems for me. It reads:

Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

I can serve the Lord. No problem. He says, “Lead worship”, I say, “How many songs?” It’s the gladness part that makes things difficult for me. Because most of the time I don’t feel especially glad about serving the Lord.

For example, our church recently went from one service to two. That means I now get to do everything twice. Lead worship, hear the sermon, give the exhortation, etc. And I really am grateful for the opportunity to serve God and his people in this way. But I have to admit, on Saturday night I’m not always overflowing with gladness.

On Saturday night, my version of Psalm 100:2 usually goes something like this:

Buckle down and serve the Lord, even if you don’t feel like doing it, because it will be over soon enough and you can go home and rest.

Have you ever felt this way? Like you just aren’t in the mood to do any serving and you would rather stay at home and lay on the couch with a bag of chips next to you?

But recently I’ve been made aware of a simple truth that has helped me. God and his people are worthy of all my enthusiasm and gladness.

God is worthy of two worship services. Of six worship services. Of a thousand worship services. His worth doesn’t diminish based on my feelings. The preciousness of God’s people doesn’t lessen along with my energy. God and his church are objectively worthy of all that I can muster. Period.

I can’t be content to serve God glumly. When I’m not in a “serving mood” (as if there ever was such a thing), I need to remember that God is worthy and then ask him for fresh strength and gladness. Then I need to just get moving and quit feeling so sorry for myself.

What has helped you to serve the Lord with gladness?

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In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.  (Ecclesiastes 11:6)

I heard that Coldplay wrote 71 songs to choose from for their X & Y album.  As a songwriter this provoked me.  Whenever Sovereign Grace Music solicits songs for albums, I write as many as I can.  I have an Ecclesiastes philosophy: “You do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.”

Ecclesiastes encourages us to be diligent and leave the results to God.  We should sow morning and evening  because we don’t know which seeds will grow – maybe the first, maybe the last, maybe all of them. If I invite 10 people to church, I don’t know whether one will come, or maybe all ten.

So keep sowing.  Keep praying for your loved ones.  Keep asking the Lord to provide. Keep giving to the kingdom, leaving tracts, witnessing, serving, encouraging.  Keep telling your children about Jesus.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.  (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Keep sowing!

photo by Richard Thompson