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By In Podcast

Episode 73, Ministering to Saints During Separation, Conversation with Rev. Justin Borger

In these difficult days, many are in need. The elderly community has suffered the most with the isolation. But we also remember the single mother and individuals whose families are not close at this time. How does the church move towards faithful ministry in these times?

On this episode, Pastor Brito interviews Pastor Justin Borger from St. Paul’s Presbyterian in Orlando, Fl. to discuss pastoral ministry in this Corona Virus times. We hope this is encouraging to some and motivates others to join in this needed ministry of mercy.

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By In Counseling/Piety, Scribblings

Lenten Journey, Day 14; What does it mean to be anxious for nothing?

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By In Counseling/Piety, Family and Children

Never Be Dismayed

Guest Post by Leta Sundet

I’m afraid of messing up. Not just of messing up in general, but of messing this up—the big This that is the story that is my life, the story that God is attempting to tell with me as His material.

The question casts its shadow over all my decisions. Can I ruin things? Is it possible for me to forfeit some good God intends for me or—worse—the people around me, by a sinful decision?

Say, hypothetically, I don’t relish the thought of hardship; so I don’t seize a challenging opportunity, and I miss my vocation. Say I’m afraid of rejection or of real, messy love, so I don’t risk a relationship with someone who might have been the Right One after all (and now I’ll never know). Say I safeguard my convenience and shun someone in need until it’s too late for me to help them, for anyone to help them.

Each one of those decisions, made in sin—I would have no trouble asking for forgiveness for it. But the exact nature of that forgiveness would be unclear to me. I know that Jesus died for my sins, that he will erase them from my record. But does grace mean that God will erase the consequences, the unraveling of those decisions? Rewind the tape? How could he?

And if, in fact, those decisions are irrevocable, shouldn’t I live in positive dread of sin? Not out of fear for my soul, which I know is safe, but out of fear for my story? (more…)

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By In Theology

The Upside-Downness of the Gospel: A Look at the Beatitudes, Part VI

Part VPart IVPart IIIPart IIPart I

G.K. Chesterton does a splendid job in demolishing the rationale of unbelievers. His great work entitled Orthodoxy is an apologetic for the Christian faith. Orthodoxy, which means “true and right thinking,” has fallen on hard times in our day. Thinking and living the Orthodox faith, the true biblical faith given to us once and for all, [1] is seen as hard, burdensome; “Why can’t we simply experience and privatize the faith?” But what we believe should influence the way we live. Chesterton understood this, and he understood that far from heavy and tedious, orthodoxy was “perilous and exciting at the same time.”[2] To be Orthodox for Chesterton was the sanest thing a human being could be.[3]

At Providence, we confess weekly the great Nicene Creed. By confessing the creed, we are confessing to one another that we are orthodox; that we believe what every Christian should believe. But more than that, we are also stating that we are willing to live out this creed, even if it means the mockery and verbal assaults of the world.

As we continue our short study on the Beatitudes, we need to be aware that living as Jesus called us to live is also our creed; it’s our way of life. You cannot affirm the incarnation of Jesus without living incarnational lives.

As we come to the second part of this poem, Jesus is building upon each beatitude.

Jesus says in verse 7:  “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Exodus 34 says:

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…”[4]

Jesus is Yahweh in the flesh. He embodies all mercy, because he became a merciful and faithful high priest,[5] so that He might become our substitute; the one who took our place and restored us. Yahweh is the embodiment/enfleshment of mercy. He was merciful in creation by giving Eden to Adam and Eve, and He was merciful when He gave the world to Abraham’s heirs.[6]

Of course, we need to cultivate mercy. But we don’t cultivate mercy to be merciful to ourselves, rather be merciful to others, just as God was and is merciful to us. To be merciful is an act of compassion; an understanding that there are those around us who are in need. And the way mercy looks like is by taking action on behalf of others.[7]

All of us here have felt the intense sting of our sins at one time or another. Our sins have left us paralyzed and broken. They have caused chaos. But in that dark night of the soul, as a believer in Jesus Christ, you find through repentance the forgiveness of sins and the ever-present mercy of God for you. When no one was forgiving, when no one was reaching out to you, God extended His right arm and pulled you out of your distress and depression and restored you. Why are we to extend mercy to others? Because God, in Jesus Christ, understood our plight and when others were merciless, He showed mercy.[8] You were broken in sin and in God’s mercy, He re-made you. But don’t be mistaken: your scars will remain, but they will not remain so you can grieve over a past sin, rather, so you can remember God’s mercy toward you in the present.

And it is this mercy that causes you not to be introspective, but extraspective[9] towards God and your neighbor; to look outside yourself. (Pause) People of God, how are you showing mercy to those who most need it? Showing mercy means to act on behalf of your neighbor; to alleviate a little of the pain, angst, and guilt.

Our hope is found in a God who continually showers us with deepest care and love. We may not receive the gratitude from the world nor from those we show mercy, but the pleasure of God should be sufficient for us. In his incarnation he has shown the world what mercy looks like; to show compassion to people that would show him little; to love and to live mercifully to a merciless world.
[1] Jude 3.
[2] Taken from the kindle edition of Orthodox.
[3] Ibid.
[4] English Standard Version
[5] Hebrews 2:17.
[6] Romans 4:13
[7] Peter Leithart, lecture on Matthew 5.
[8] Some of these ideas come from David Powlison’s excellent article I am making all things new http://www.ccef.org/i-am-making-all-things-new-0
[9] Powlison’s language.

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