Well done Mr. President

I have just been on John Piper's blog where he commends President Obama's speech on education.

I have to say I agree with J.P.'s assessment of the speech as excellent.

I have been involved in teaching and have had parents make me feel responsible for the failure of students who had a lax attitude to study. To therefore have the president of the U.S.A. come out and encourage the young people of his nation to fulfil their role in their education was very gratifying.

He referred to parents not letting their kids spend all day in front of the T.V. or the Xbox (the sad irony is that such parents are the ones most apt to complain of their child's failure) but also encouraged kids to "show up to...schools; pay attention to...teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed."

It is about time someone in authority gave children and parents a good shake like this. We have weak parenting nowadays where parents let their children do whatever they like and pamper to their every whim. We have parents who spend scandalous amounts of money on Christmas presents for their children that are not even wanted never mind needed and just get thrown in the corner. We have parents who would rather have their kids come with them to bingo for company rather than go to school because school is too hard for their precious little diddums. How do I know this? I have met such parents.

People today are so used to the consumer culture and the nanny state that they expect everything to be given to them on a plate. This is the same in the U.S.A., the U.K., Spain and I am sure in other nations too.

So parents, get tough with your kids. Punish them when they are disrespectful. Award them when they work hard. Teach them the value of money.

Kids buck up your ideas. Listen to your teachers, your parents and grandparents. Play hard but work hard too.

And Mr. Obama back up your words with actions. Change society so that the temptation to be lazy and think that the State will do everything for you is less appealing.

Here endeth the rant!

God used Louie Giglio to blow my mind.

Last night a friend passed me a link for Louie Giglio's talks from his "Indescribable" tour that he did with Chris Tomlin. The guy totally blew my mind. I want to thank God for giving this man a passion for God's glory. This guy powerfully reminded me that we are so infintessimally small in comparison to God that for Him to love us almost seems ridiculous. Yet there is nothing God wants more from us. As I noted yesterday from John Owen, there is nothing that grieves God more than us doubting His love for Him. I preach to myself here when I say this next comment. We need to grow up and stop judging God by our circumstances and trusting in His essential character as revealed in Scripture which is love. God in Jesus said, "In this world there WILL be trouble...." so why do we surprised with God when it comes. His promise is to be with us. Remember that He holds the world together with the word of His power and that He holds you in His hand.

Shalom.

Getting to grips with John Owen

Having had a very busy but very blessed fortnight of outreach with the team from Northern Ireland, I decided I needed to get some spiritual nourishment and have opted to dive into the depths of John Owen. Having bought R.J.K. Law's abridged and modernised version of "Communion with God" and had several failed attempts at reading it I am determined this time to stick with it. If you have never read John Owen imagine reading a 17th century version of Don Carson and you will have some idea of why this is such a challenge.

The important thing I am learning about Owen is that he is not to be read in a hurry and that he is best read with a pen, Bible and notebook to hand. If you were really really hungry you might be able to eat an 18 inch pizza yourself but you would not try to wolf it down in one bite. The same is true of Owen. The depth of his exegesis is such that you must chew over every phrase to get the most out of it.

Here are some of the choicest extracts I have read so far:

In reference to the disciples talking to Jesus in John 14 and wondering if He would accept them Owen says, "Jesus, in effect, says, 'Don't worry about that. I do not have to pray that the Father may love you, for this is His special attitude towards you. He Himself loves you. It is true indeed that I will pray the Father to send you the Spirit, the Comforter. But as for that free, eternal love, there is no need for me to pray for that, because above all things the Father loves you. Be fully assured in your hearts that the Father loves you. Have fellowship with the Father in His love. Have no fears or doubts about His love for you. The greatest sorrow and burden you can lay on the Father, the greatest unkindness you can do to Him is not to believe that He loves you. '" How easy it is at times to doubt God's love for us but here we see that this grieves God's heart!

This next one is a "beezer"! "Christians are often worried as to whether God loves them or not. They are fully persuaded of Christ's love and good-will to them, but the difficulty they have is whether the Father accepts them and loves them...Such thoughts ought to be far from us. The Father's love ought to be looked on as the source from which all other loves flow." (N.B. see e.g. Titus 3v4)

Two things strike me about Owen. One is how Trinitarian his exposition is and like all the other Puritans his high Christology. In chapter 1 (The saints have communion with God) I count SEVEN times that he somehow refers to the link between our communion with God the Father and the work of Christ. This is also seen in chapter 3 (Communion with God the Father) where he says, "It is true that we do not come directly to the Father by faith. We can only come to Him by the Son...Through Christ, then, we have access to the Father, we behold the Father's glory also and enjoy fellowship with the Father in His own special love. All this we receive by faith. As we come to the Father's love through Christ, so the Father's love comes to us through Christ. The light of the sun comes to us by its beams. By its beams we see the sun, and by its beams the sun touches us. Jesus Christ is the beam of His Father's love and through Him [i.e. Christ] the Father's love reaches down and touches us. By Jesus Christ also we see and experience and are led up to the Father's love. If we, as believers, would meditate on this truth more and live in the light of it, there would be great spiritual growth in our walk with God." Wow!

So get to your nearest Christian bookshop or dust off that John Owen book from your shelf and get digging. I am sure you will find like me that his work will bless your soul and cause you to dig deeper into God's Word.

Soli Deo Gloria semper.