Helpful Devotional Commentaries on 2nd Corinthians

Whether for preparation for Bible teaching or personal study devotional commentaries are very helpful. When at their best these authors not only provide the service of preparing the food but also cooking, arranging and serving it to you. The strength of such commentaries lies in the author’s proximatity to and understanding of the text. If he is a creative wanderer then you learn a lot more about him. However, if he is a textual grinder then you end up learning a lot about the Bible.

Sam Storms has distinquished himself as the later. Storms, himself a pastor, writes with a shepherd’s heart and with a scholar’s pen. He is clear, biblical, and practical.

Thankfully he has just published a two volume set on 2nd Corinthians. In his typical brief (but not doctrinally or practically skimpy) format he arranges 100 daily meditations on the book. This two volume work is entitled A Sincere and Pure Devotion to Christ.

I have previously recommended Storms’ other works (Psalms, Colossians & Revelation) in this same style as they have been greatly beneficial to me. So if you are planning to study or teach through 2 Corinthians this resource would no doubt bless you in your quest to see and savor Christ.

Discounted copies are available at Westminster Books or Amazon.

Getting Personal with the Gospel

One of my first jobs was as a shoe salesman at Foot Locker. I loved sneakers and basketball gear so the job was not really a ‘job.’ One of the things you’ll notice in a Foot Locker is the basketball hoop up by the register. Whenever someone ‘significant’ from the sports world came in the manager would have them sign the backboard. (I remember trying to get my manager to let a big time hip-hop artist to sign our board, but to no avail.) At any rate, the celebrity would sign the board and then mark their visit to the store. Other stores and business do the same type of thing.

The response to seeing such a signature on the board was to feel somewhat important or at least distinquished because of the visitor. Even if you were not working that day you would feel some sort of identity to the visit of this guest to your store.

In thinking about the visit of visits, the guests of guests, I think a little too much like a foot locker guy and not a personal recipient of grace.

The Personal Nature of the Incarnation
Jesus did not come in just a general way. He did not just impact society at large but rather individual people. He impacted and still impacts me. His mission is intensely personal. The benefit that I receive is utterly personal. I receive personal mercy, grace, love, care, righteousness, protection, help, understanding, promises, hope, and on and on we could go. And now I am indwelt by the personal God, the Holy Spirit.

I can very easily get comfortable slipping into a impersonal understanding and practice of Christianity. But the gospel blows this up on my lap! The whole point is that God has dealt so lovingly and graciously with me in Jesus. I loose the heart-pounding delight and intimacy when I forget the abounding grace and reconciliation that comes through Christ.

My Sin Punctuates Grace
Furthermore, I am not an good candidate for love. I am a perfect candidate for grace but not for love, and for the same reason: I am unlovely and unworthy. That is, I am needy.

Jesus’ personal and intimate rescue, recovery and restoration of someone like me actually is punctuated by the fact that I am an unworthy, helpless sinner who was actively involved in undermining the glory of God. The fact that I am a sinner makes this intensely personal and powerful work of Jesus truly jaw-dropping.

So shame on me and all other Christians who find ourselves content on a general, back-board signing visit to this world by Jesus. No it is far more. He has come to us individually and done the necessary heart work. He has given eyes to see his glory and a spirit to enjoy it. Our whole existence is bound up in the marvelous work of powerfully personal grace.

The Sword by Bryan Litfin

I am really not much of a reader of fiction. In fact, I cannot remember the last fiction book I have read. Time and tastes have dictated other genres for me. Therefore, I was not overly excited when I received The Sword from Crossway last month.

Then I read the back cover…

Four hundred years after a deadly virus and nuclear war destroyed the modern world, a new and noble civilization emerges. In this kingdom, called Chiveis, snowcapped mountains provide protection, and fields and livestock provide food. The people live medieval-style lives, with almost no knowledge of the “ancient” world. Safe in their natural stronghold, the Chiveisi have everything they need, even their own religion. Christianity has been forgotten—until a young army scout comes across a strange book.

With that discovery, this work of speculative fiction takes readers on a journey that encompasses adventure, romance, and the revelation of the one true God. Through compelling narrative and powerful character development, The Sword speaks to God’s goodness, his refusal to tolerate sin, man’s need to bow before him, and the eternality and power of his Word. Fantasy and adventure readers will be hooked by this first book in a forthcoming trilogy.

Sounds interesting?

I was drawn in. I began reading the book out loud to our family (ranging in age from 6-14). They too were drawn in. We often read in the car when driving to baseball games or late into the night. We could not put it down.

I think there were four big reasons why we enjoyed the book so much.

1. The Story. It is great. It is fast moving and action packed. There are great themes of redemption, romance, community, and theology. The author has admirably melded several themes together in this first book.
2. The Characters. Teofil is a warrior that is a gentleman. He functions as the savior of the weak over and over again. He is strong and compassionate. Anastasia is the other main character. She is the young lady who has won Teofil’s heart. She is also gritty, tough and marked by a remarkable faith in the newly discovered God of the Bible. The High Priestess is evil personified. She exists to promote idolatry and wickedness while trying to mute the God of the cross.
3. The Theology. The author weaves in orthodox theology throughout. He emphasizes the goodness, sovereignty, and mercy of God. Furthermore, he helps to contrast the attractive distinctiveness of the God of the Bible to the idols of the people. I really like how he has carefully woven so much of who God is here in the infant stages of biblical discovery. By the end of book 1 we only have portions of the Old Testament translated into the language of Chiveis. They do not have any of the New Testament. However, the people are trusting in a loving, powerful, sovereign, forgiving God who keeps his promises. It motivated me to be thankful for the whole Bible and the opportunity to pray and be informed with who God is in the fullness of his revelation.
4. The Author. I understand that this is the first fictional work published by Bryan Litfin. Bryan is a professor in the Theology Department at Moody Bible. He teaches courses in theology, church history, and Western civilization from the ancient and medieval periods. You can see how these various streams of life converge together with his writing ability in this work. I found the story and character development to be compelling and riveting.

As a family we cannot wait for April of 2011 for the next book to be released from Crossway. The only ‘caution’ I would like to provide is that the rating for the book might be about a PG-13. There were several instances when I took editorial license in order to recast some of the descriptions and scenes painted by the author. I do not feel that he was unduly crude or sensual by any means, but just that as a parent of young ones, I wanted to exercise that oversight.

You should consider The Sword if you are looking for a fun family book to read that will no doubt produce imagination and conversation. It is paperback and just over 400 pages. And remember this is just part 1 in the Trilogy. Stay tuned!

PURCHASE Discounted Copies via Amazon.

See more info on The Sword from author Bryan Litfin:

The Sword Trailer from Crossway on Vimeo.

O For A Thousand Tongues to Preach

Sometimes when thinking about preaching the greatness of Christ I find myself resonating with Charles Wesley’s burden. He wrote the song petitioning for a thousand tongues to sing the praise of the great Redeemer. The point is that his one is not enough to heap praise upon the great Jesus.

In thinking about preaching I feel the same way. There are times when the articulation and announcement of Christ is so transcendent, so glorious, so beautiful that I just want to call in reinforcements. I want to be arrayed and equipped with some manner of amplification and clarity to bring the glorious truth to the ends of the earth. The beautiful glory of Christ is to shake the heavens! O, to have a thousand tongues to preach, to proclaim my great Redeemer’s praise!

Smelling the Bouquet of Grace at a Farm…sort of

Yesterday my family and I went to a farm outside of Omaha. This is unique because I can probably count on one hand the number of times I have ever been to a farm. If you have ever been to one I don’t have to remind you that unique sites and smells abound.

In particular, I want to focus here on the smells. Now, I will not go into great detail, so queasy stomached folks may continue reading. However, the fact of the matter is, the place reeked. And frankly, I don’t even know what the smell was. My wife says it was the chickens. I thought it was the cows. Who knows?!

But this much is true: the farmer, his helpers, and the other people there buying things were oblivious to such a stench. Perhaps they had become used to it. They were nothing like the Raymond family who had our little girls running around looking at the sights with their noses pinched with their thumb and forefingers (despite my wife’s insistence that they might offend folks, to them it was a matter of survival).

OK, so you get the picture. The place stunk and folks really didn’t notice; they were used to it.

It got me thinking about sin and grace. As an unbeliever I was living in the pollution of my own sin. I delighted in the stench of my rebellion. It was where I lived. I not only practiced such things but gave hearty approval to others who did the same thing (Rom. 1). I was oblivious to the stench.

Then, the rushing gust of God’s grace came upon me through the gospel. It covered me. It bathed me. It cleaned me. It scrubbed me.

God descended upon an unsuspecting, unworthy, unattractive, stinky sinner with his glorious grace. He allowed me to sniff, inhale, and breath the fumes of grace. The fragarance of Christ’s righteousness filled my nostrils and delighted my senses. Oh, yes, this was far better and far more than I deserve.

So in this I rejoice. I delight to awake today and take a fresh sniff of the gospel and smile with humble joy in Christ.

(1Pe 3.18) For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God

*note: I don’t think farmers are stinky, dirty, or any more sinful than any other person, especially myself. I am merely using this as an illustration.

Jim Joyce & Armando Galarraga: Learning Contrition, Mercy & Forgiveness on the Baseball Field

Every once in awhile a news story comes along that really helps us to understand how we as a culture think. These are stories that blend in a bunch of social themes which represent our heartbeat. Today the baseball world brings such a story.

Last night in Detroit, Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was just one out away from the 23rd perfect game in Big League history. A perfect game refers to a game in which the pitcher retires all 27 batters in a game without allowing any to reach base (via a hit, walk, hit batsman, or error). In light of the skill of the MLB hitters and the variety of ways that things can go wrong, you can imagine how uncommon this (each of the 30 teams play 162 games a year and baseball has been around for over 100 years!).

But the plot thickens.

With 2 outs in the 9th Jason Donald hit a ground ball to first and was called safe. The perfect game is gone.

With the benefit of instant reply the announcers and all at home could see that while it was a close play the runner was clearly out. Galarraga should have gotten the 3rd out and the perfect game.

This missed call has touched off no small amount of angst amongst baseball fans. They clamor for justice and accuracy. Umpire Jim Joyce’s imperfect call is considered a mortal sin.

But what happened next is surprising.

After the game the umpire breeches typical protocol and goes to see the pitcher. He admits that he got the call wrong and he apologizes.

“You don’t see an umpire after the game come out and say, ‘Hey, let me tell you I’m sorry,’ ” Galarraga said. “He felt really bad. He didn’t even shower.”

Joyce later told the news media:

“It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the [stuff] out of it,” Joyce said, looking and sounding distraught as he paced in the umpires’ locker room. “I just cost that kid a perfect game.”

There are a number of things that stand out to me in this story.

First, the clamoring for perfection from imperfect people. Hey, listen, I am a sports fan. I want the calls to go right. But we have got to realize that the human (imperfect) element is part of the game. Major League baseball prides itself on not using instant reply. Therefore, the guys are going to miss calls. They get 99% of the calls right. Now the ump and his family are being roasted on TV, Radio, & social media. Joyce’s family has even received threats. Now the people who love righteousness and perfection are showing their true colors. We see a billboard sized announcement and reminder of human imperfection and our distaste for it.

Second, the contrite apology. In a day and age where professional athletes and other public figures can barely say “I’m sorry” or “I was wrong” without amending 48 qualifiers and excuses, Jim Joyce’s apology is refreshing. It is short and genuine. He owns the issue. He wears the hat. He was wrong and he knows it. And he, as Galarraga said, feels bad. A good, humble apology is good and refreshing for our culture.

Third, the mercy. Armando Galarraga showed great mercy and grace. He could have gotten quite upset that Joyce missed the call. He could have petitioned MLB to reverse the call. But he didn’t. In fact, after the botched call he went back to the mound and got the next guy out. Our culture is not used to this. Galarraga knows that he is imperfect and he makes mistakes, therefore he can empathize with Joyce.

In a tangible demonstration of this mercy Galarraga brought out the lineup card to Joyce before today’s game. This brought a roar from the crowd and tears from the umpire. This too is good for us to see. It is good themes of imperfection, justice, contrition, and mercy to intersect with us. We need to see it.

Further it is good for Christians to see. It is good for us to see these gospel themes on ESPN and at the water cooler. This is just another example to remind us of the pervasiveness of sin’s effects and the far reaching redemption of Christ’s atonement. Christians could also stand to learn from the humility, confession, and mercy demonstrated by Joyce and Galarraga.

And don’t feel too bad for Armando Galarraga, aside from the privilege of being a millionaire and playing the Major Leagues, he was given a 2010 Coverette by General Motors today before the game. Not bad.