Ten Ways to Pray for Moms

I posted these three years ago on the Seeking Him blog, but since that is deceased now I thought I'd re-post it here (thanks to my friend Erin for giving these requests to me):

1. to be gospel centered- without the hope of Jesus cleansing us from our sin, reconciling us to God and spending an eternity in heaven, all of our work will be in vain
2. to memorize and meditate on the promises of God throughout the day so that we are focused on the One who gives all things for His glory and our good
3. for the fruit of the Spirit in all we do so that our children may see the hope of Jesus
4. for a soul at rest in the Lord so when struggle comes the peace of God still transcends
5. for a heart so satisfied in God that every word, facial expression and tone reflects a knowledge of the great grace we have been granted and extends that grace to others
6. for a knowledge of God’s person and the Scriptures so we may easily instruct our children in the every day occurrences of life
7. for the high standards of God’s Word in parenting our children so we do not fall into simply settling for half-hearted obedience from our children
8. for strength to persevere when they days and nights are long, knowing that we will reap a harvest in due time
9. for a great love and respect for our husbands so that our children know they are in third place in our lives and their dad is the leader of the home
10. for a contentment in the place God has us and a thankfulness that does not wish time away or hope to be somewhere else, but delights in the gift of being a wife and a mother

Moms, what would you add to this list?

Prodigal

We Need Truth

John Piper:

"When there is no truth that deserves assent from everybody, the only arbiter in our competing desires is power. Where truth doesn’t define what’s right, might makes right. And where might makes right, weak people pay with their lives. When the universal claim of truth disappears, what you get is not peaceful pluralism or loving relationships; what you get is concentration camps and gulags."

She Must Really Love Horse-Racing

I found this picture humorous (click the photo to enlarge):

Can someone think of a caption?

Everyone Has a Gospel Story

On Monday at the Acts 29 regional conference, Jeff Vanderstelt made this same point articulated by Tim Chester on his blog:

Four points of intersection
Everyone has their own version of the ‘gospel’ story:

creation – who I am or who I should be
fall – what’s wrong with me and the world
redemption – what’s the solution
consummation – what I hope for

When we hear people expressing their version of creation, fall, redemption or consummation, we can talk about the gospel story. Talking about Jesus begins with listening to other people’s stories and sharing our own story of Jesus.

Seatbelts and the Sanctity of Life

On Randy Alcorn's blog, I saw this commercial advocating the importance of seat-belts:



I imagine that very few (if any) people are offended by this ad, though it advocates restricting a person's choice to not wear a seat-belt. Our government requires drivers to wear seat-belts, and failure to comply is a punishable crime. I do not know anyone who finds it morally repugnant that our government hinders the person's "right to choose" on this matter.

The government can indeed, and does, tell people what to do or what not to do with their bodies. So in the discussion on abortion, it will not do for the advocate of choice to simply say, "I do not believe the government can tell a person what to do with their bodies."

Our seat-belt laws makes this clear as can be.

What is a Missional Community?

Earlier in the week I mentioned being in Philly for the Acts 29 regional conference. The theme was building and multiplying missional communities.

So what exactly is a missional community? Jeff Vanderstelt, who was the main speaker for the day, defined the term this way:

A missional community is a gospel-formed community that lives out the mission of making disciples together in a specific area and to a particular group of people by demonstrating the gospel in tangible forms and declaring the gospel to lead people to faith and formation in Jesus Christ.

A mouthful for sure, but worthy of serious reflection and prayer. Vanderstelt uses some key words to remind people of this calling: family, missionaries, servants and disciples.

If all this sounds like a lot of extra stuff to add to an already busy schedule, I particularly was challenged by this statement from Vanderstelt:

"I'm not asking you to add anything to your life; I am asking you to live differently."

As I posted earlier, resources from Vanderstelt explaining how he has worked out this understanding of mission among his people in Tacoma can be found here.

Indicatives & Imperatives

Here is a good, simple post from Justin Taylor explaining the difference between indicatives and imperatives in the Bible, and how the former is meant to motivate the latter. The conclusion is this:

"Pastor, are you encouraging your people to become who they already are in Christ Jesus?"

I hope the answer to that question is, "Yes!"

The Secret of the Gospel

On Monday JT linked to this quote from Kevin DeYoung:

"The secret of the gospel is that we actually do more when we hear less about all we need to do for God and hear more about all that God has already done for us."

Read DeYoung's whole article here.

When God's Answer is Different from Your Petition

A good quote from Tim Keller thanks to my friend Phil Henry:

"When God answers our prayers differently than we ask, he gives what we would have asked for had we known everything he knows."

Acts 29 Regional Conference

I hope to write a bit more later in the week, but for now I will just say that I thoroughly enjoyed my time yesterday in Philadelphia at the Acts 29 regional conference at Real Life Church.

Jeff Vanderstelt, from Soma Communities in Tacoma Washington, is a man of great wisdom and I was very edified and challenged by his two teaching sessions. Gino told me that audio from the conference would be posted to the web, so if I find that I will post it here. For now, here's one quote that I gave a hearty Amen to:

"The goal of Bible study is not information, but transformation."

Sports World and Real World

I just learned today that Phillies' pitcher Ryan Madson, who went on the disabled list last week with a broken toe, suffered that injury when he kicked a chair in the Phillies' clubhouse after blowing a save last week. He probably will not pitch for at least a month.

Is there any other profession in the world outside of sports in which a person can do something so immature and foolish that hinders him from doing the job he is being paid to do, yet continue to earn his salary as though nothing has happened?

Exploring Missional Communities

I anticipate that this week will be a light one in regards to blogging. Today I am headed into Philly for most of the day to be a part of the Acts 29 regional conference on exploring missional communities.

Our church is not a part of the Acts 29 network of churches, but I have great respect for what they are doing and was invited by my friend Gino, who serves in the church that is hosting the event. We will sit under the ministry of Jeff Vanderstelt.

If I have the time, I'll post something this week with some thoughts on the event.

One way to know you've received God's mercies

Gordon Fee, commenting ($58 retail for a commentary!?) on 1 Corinthians 1:4:

"In every redeemed person there is evidence of the grace of God, and that brings forth Paul's gratitude both to God and for them. To delight in God for his working in the lives of others, even in the lives of those with whom one feels compelled to disagree, is sure evidence of one's own awareness of being the recipient of God's mercies."

Don't Forget to Groan, 5/1

A landslide destroyed portions of a major highway outside the port city of Keelung, northern Taiwan, as seen in this April 25 aerial image. Four people were killed.

(Why should we groan?)