Link of the Week #15

If you haven't read C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters, you should. Of all the helpful, and wonderful, things that came from the pen of Lewis The Screwtape Letters may be among the most helpful in the day-to-day life of the average Christian.

The premise of the book is simple: Screwtape (a senior demon) writes to his young, and often inexperienced, nephew Wormtongue counseling him on how best to deal with his "patient." As you can imagine, the demon's patients are us. Their job, as Screwtape puts it, is to "fuddle him." The brilliance of Lewis's work is that as we see the strategies and tactics of the devil explicitly explained we are taught in reverse. It's much the same approach taken by the great Puritan Thomas Brooks in his very helpful work "Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices" Sin shrivels in the open, and when we understand how Satan's attacks work they often lose much of their former power. For this week's link we'd like to highlight an article, instead of our normal audio lecture/sermon. Blogger, writer, and Pastor Kevin DeYoung has recently written an additional letter for Lewis's classic book. He's called it "A Lost Letter to Wormwood" and we trust that you will find it helpful and encouraging!

To read this week's link go here.

Does it really take a village?

I was listening to NPR this morning and they had a segment on the challenges facing the elderly in this country. One of the big challenges facing millions of aging Americans is how to grow elderly without leaving their homes. They have established lives, with friends and communities that mean a lot to them. Understandably many older folks don't want to move halfway across the country to live with their kids and even more balk at the idea of moving into assisted living or senior apartments. And as Betty (an 80 year old interviewee) said: " "We like to be around young people," she says. "There's so many walkers over there, and I feel sorry for them because they're in these long corridors."

So what is Betty's solution? She (along with many others around the country) are founding 'villages'. As the article describes them villages are "an organized network of volunteers dedicated to doing what's needed for seniors to stay in their own homes. For an annual fee, these communities help seniors manage household tasks they can no longer handle and arrange transportation when they can no longer drive." Whether an older person needs work done on the house, transportation to and from the doctors office, or a bit of expertise with electronics, these villages (and their many volunteers) are there to help. And this story is far from rare. As the article puts it "There are already 50 of these nonprofit groups around the country, with 100 more in the works — and it's a trend that's expected to gain steam as baby boomers hit their golden years."

So the question we face is simply this: how are we as Christians to react to such movements? On the one hand it's wonderful to see people reaching out to the elderly. In an age when so many view anyone over the age of 65 as useless it's wonderfully encouraging to see elderly people get support and assistance from their local communities and networks without falling back on government programs or expensive professionals. But something is not quite right here.

The testimony of the New Testament clearly shows us that we need not rely on any of the means listed above to care for the elderly. At the end of the day it's not up to governments, neighborhoods, or 'villages' to care for the elderly. Why? The answer is simple: you don't need a village when you have the church. The book of Acts gives us insights into many of the practices and beliefs of the first generation of Christians. A cursory glimpse at the first eight chapters of Acts shows us that the early church was very intentional about ministering to the weak and downcast in their midst.

How did they do this? The first (and primary) way that the early church cared for the elderly is stunningly ordinary. They called the family, and specifically the children, of the elderly to provide for their comfort and care. As the apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 5:8 "if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." It was through the mundane, day in and day out, life of the home that the church cared for the aging in their midst.

When this was not an option (either because of the callousness of the children or because the elderly person did not have any children) the church cared for them through a vibrant diaconal ministry. Acts chapters 3-6 pay special attention to the way that the early church provided not only for the elderly, but also for orphans, and anyone else who was in need. As Luke records it in Acts 4:34a "There was not a needy person among them..."

The third way the early church provided for the elderly and widows may be the most difficult for modern Americans to embrace. We live in a culture that values output, and older people are often not able to "produce" as much as they once did. Joints ache, memories fail, tempers run short, and life slows down. For us, the elderly are little more than a burdensome nuisance. But this was not the case in either the Old or the New Testaments. As Solomon rhapsodizes in Proverbs 16:31 "Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life." Indeed the book of Proverbs sounds the death knell for a low view of the elderly. Proverbs is a book about covenant succession. It's about passing down the faith from one generation to the next. And one of the most important ways that God does this is through the precious gift of age and experience. According to the teachings of Scripture (think Titus 2) the elderly are one of the single greatest gifts that God has given to the church.

We live in an age of unparalleled prosperity, yet many elderly folks in our midst suffer from lack of income and (just as importantly) from lack of love. What if the modern church were to look to some of the passages we've mentioned to care for the aged? What if the church once again called children and grandchildren to the mat for their negligence? What if we valued gray hair and wisdom like Solomon? Perhaps we don't need a village after all.

Link of the Week #14

Hello readers! We had the great privilege of worshiping with the saints at Bethel OPC in Broomfield, Colorado last week. We heard part two in a series that the Pastor (Rev. Greg Thurston) is beginning on the prophets. Needless to say I've gone back and listened to part one as well and both sermons were excellent. The prophets are probably the most neglected portion of Scripture and sadly even many mature Christians know next to nothing about them. Yet the truths contained in these 16 books are as relevant to the church today as any of the Pauline epistles. As Christians who wish to proclaim (and receive) the "whole counsel of God" we cannot afford to ignore these books any longer. Let me encourage you to subscribe to the podcast so that you can grow in your knowledge of and appreciation for, this wonderful portion of Scripture!

To listen to this week's link go here.

Wisdom for Distracted Souls

It is amazing the amount of junk mail and publications that a pastor has come across his desk! Every ministry, business, & cause wants to convince the pastor of the importance of what they are doing so that he will become their cheerleader and promote whatever it is that they are advocating. They know that if they reach the pastor, they will most likely reach the church. So it becomes very easy as a pastor to become less than enthusiastic in sorting through the numerous publications & pieces of mail that come his way.

Having said that, this week I was sorting through my usual pile when my attention was caught by the title of an article published in the Tolle Lege (pick up and read) newsletter that I receive from Reformation Heritage Books (a company that has GREAT books). The title of the article was Wisdom For Distracted Souls. As I read the article, the Lord used that article to remind me that regardless of what I am going through at this time in my life, I was not made for this earth but for a better place. Not only that, but as a Christian I am to live my life on this earth with the reality of heaven in mind. It was a timely reminder for me and I thought it might be beneficial for you as well:

During times of personal or public worship, do you find your heart wandering from religious duties? Do prayer, meditation, and listening to the Word become times of deep inner struggle as your heart is pulled from one distraction to another? We are all familiar with such times, for sin ever fetters the heart of man to the things of this world so that even in times of solemn worship we find we cannot raise ourselves to where Jesus Christ is seated. In his book, Attending upon God without Distraction, Nathanael Vincent writes:

While we are in this world, truly this world is too much in us; it is suitable to our senses, and apt to entice and draw away our hearts. Let the eye of faith pierce through the clouds and see heaven’s joy and glory, and then this world’s vanity will be the more apparent. How vain it is for you to be so thoughtful about it and eager after this world. When faith has seen how God is attended upon by saints and angels above, it may help to kindle in you a holy zeal and a vehement desire to more resemble those excellent attendants, and to serve the Lord more gladly and seriously here below.

Oh, cry out to have the cure of distractions carried on further toward completeness. Live as strangers and sojourners here on earth, not concerned about worldly things as others are. Declare plainly that you are born from above, and let your hearts and thoughts more and more ascend there. Carry yourselves as fellow citizens with the saints, and as those who are of the household of God. Let there be more of God, and more of grace in all you do and speak, in all the powers of your souls, in all the duties you perform. And think with gladness and longing of the blessed inheritance, when you shall be fully delivered from sin and death, and from all deadness and distraction in mind and heart. Everlasting rest must eternally exclude whatever now troubles you. How perfectly healed and perfect in holiness and joy will you be in every way when you have attained to the glorious liberty of the sons of God!

As Paul reminds us in Colossians 3:1-4:

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. (Col 3:1-4 NAU)

May God give you the ability to see the circumstances of earth through the lenses of eternity!

In Christ,

Rick

Link of the Week #13

Hello readers! As a follow up to last weeks link, we'd like to highlight something that just came out today. Our friends over at Reformed Forum recently interviewed Chad Van Dixhoorn about the Westminster Assembly. He is also the guy behind the magnificent Westminster Assembly Project which is tirelessly working to make the minutes, papers, and writings of the assembly available for print. Be sure to check out the website and maybe consider how you might volunteer. We hope you enjoy this week's link!

To listen to this week's link go here.