Author Archives: Eric

Prayer is Appointed to Convey

Posted by on August 30, 2011 No comments

“Prayer is appointed to convey
The blessings God designs to give:
Long as they live should Christians pray;
They learn to pray when first they live.

“If pain afflict, or wrongs oppress;
If cares distract, or fears dismay;
If guilt deject, if sin distress;
In every case, still watch and pray.

“’Tis prayer supports the soul that’s weak;
Though thought be broken, language lame,
Pray, if thou canst or canst not speak;
But pray with faith in Jesus’ name.

“Depend on Him; thou canst not fail;
Make all thy wants and wishes known;
Fear not; His merits must prevail:
Ask but in faith, it shall be done.”

Joseph Hart

Lessons on Prayer from 1 Samuel 1

Posted by on August 28, 2011 No comments

1 Samuel 1

1There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 2He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the LORD. 4On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the LORD had closed her womb. 6And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb. 7So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the LORD, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

9After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD. 10She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. 11And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

12As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” 15But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. 16Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” 18And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

19They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. 20And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the LORD.”

Recently reading this, I was struck by the way Hannah prayed…

I read the first two paragraphs (v1-8) as a backdrop of the following couple of paragraphs. Even at the very beginning of the book in the second verse, we find a pretty blunt description of what’s going on: “Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.”

In the verses that follow, we find more on Hannah’s circumstances: Elkanah loved Hannah, and gave her a double portion on the day of the sacrifice (v5). On the other hand, Hannah experienced some emotional trauma when “her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb” (v6). This was an annual thing–Hannah endured year after year of provocation, which led her to such sadness that she “wept and would not eat” (v7).

Imagine being continuously tormented like Hannah was. She was (at this time) barren, and was provoked because of it. The interesting thing is that her physical condition was not something she had any particular control over–”the LORD had closed her womb.” This must have been pretty emotionally traumatic for Hannah. But how did she respond?

We find in verse 10 that “[s]he was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly.” Read her prayer:

11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.

It was curious to me that she would say “if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant…” And she eventually confesses that “[she had] been speaking out of [her] great anxiety and vexation” (v16).

Matt Chandler commented once that it is in God’s mercy that he would allow us a “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:6-8) for the sake of our humility. And this is certainly the case in Hannah’s situation. She was barren and emotionally traumatized, but she brought her trouble humbly before the Lord, petitioning for a child according to his will, while promising to be faithful. Eventually she left convinced of God’s faithfulness, and “went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad” (v18).

When we have requests, let us bring it humbly to the Lord, asking them according to his will, promising to be faithful no matter the circumstance. And let us be convinced of God’s faithfulness–we can be assured that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

It seems that rather soon, God provides Hannah with a child. How does she respond? She commends it to the Lord. She says, “I have asked for him from the LORD” (v20).

When God responds to our requests, let us commend it to the Lord, again remembering that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Tomorrow is No Longer Palm Sunday

Posted by on August 28, 2011 1 comment

Yup.

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday

Posted by on April 16, 2011 No comments

The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”

John 12:12-19

Sometimes they strew His way,
And His sweet praises sing;
Resounding all the day
Hosannas to their King:
Then “Crucify!” is all their breath,
And for His death they thirst and cry.

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, marking Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem and to his betrayal. How do you imagine this picture of Christ’s humility? That he our King would ride to his suffering and his death upon the back of a donkey, all while being lauded by the same people who would later demand his crucifixion.

Q. 27. Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist?
A. Christ’s humiliation consisted in his being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross; in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time.

Today is Ash Wednesday

Posted by on March 9, 2011 1 comment

I started writing something about Ash Wednesday. I remembered reading something on the Scriptorium Daily a while ago, so I found it, and it says all I struggled to say.

Today is Ash Wednesday, 2009, and I thought it would be good to reflect a bit on the meaning of Lent.

It seems to me that while Easter has escaped a lot of the ravages of Christmas (yes there are Easter eggs and bunny rabbits, just as there are Santa and reindeer during Christmastime, but Easter has largely remained unscathed from consumerism and greed), it seems that Lent has suffered more than Advent.

Advent is usually quite beautiful as we light candles and prepare our hearts in anticipation of the birth of the Messiah. Lent, however, becomes more of an exercise in giving up things (what we can do) and less in looking forward to the death and resurrection of Christ (what Jesus can do). In true Dantean fashion, let me break this down into six fallacies (one less than a number of perfection, which symbolizes shortcoming):

First fallacy of Lent: fasting is just an excuse to splurge at the end.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people give up chocolate or coffee or some other food vice, only to completely gorge themselves on what they’ve been deprived of for 46 days come Easter Sunday. Is that what Easter is meant for, a debauchery fest? What a way to celebrate Christ’s resurrection!

Second fallacy of Lent: fasting is just an excuse to splurge at the beginning.
Many people think it’s OK to indulge their sins right before their time of deprivation/Lent. This is how Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and Carnaval/Karneval in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Cologne (Germany) got their origins. But this is like men who are about to get married who think that it’s OK to go to a strip club or hire a prostitute at their bachelor party because it’s their “last chance at freedom.” It completely ruins the spirit of discipline if this is how you begin! This is based on their false thinking that debauchery is a joy while discipline is drudgery. If marriage is drudgery and a restriction of their freedom to have sex with whoever they want, why even bother marrying? And similarly, if Lent is drudgery, why do it?

Third fallacy of Lent: fasting is an excuse to show off.
If you’re going to fast, don’t go around bragging about it! (This includes nonverbal signs exhibiting your suffering, hoping that somebody will ask you what’s wrong). If you do that, truly you have received your reward in full. This is not to say you can’t tell people what you’re fasting from (if you give up something that interferes with your ability to function normally in society but don’t explain it to people, it might attract unnecessary attention to yourself rather than helping people understand what you’re trying to do). I think the principle is not that you can’t tell anybody, but you shouldn’t let it draw attention toward yourself, and instead let it point toward Christ.

Fourth fallacy of Lent: fasting is suffering.
C’mon, do you really think giving up Nintendo Playstation is equivalent to Christ’s Passion? Not even close! I think we trivialize what Christ went through if we think our petty sufferings are anywhere near what he experienced. That being said, we shouldn’t not fast, but rather let every reminder of what you’re giving up emphasize the greater reality of what Christ did (much as the simple bread & wine are but dim reflections of Christ’s broken body & shed blood).

Fifth fallacy of Lent: think about all the benefits I get from fasting.
Yes, you may lose calories by not eating your favorite junk food, or even on a spiritual level it may help you to be more disciplined in prayer, but that’s not the end goal. Though the benefits may be good psychological assistance along the way to help you stay on track, secondary benefits pale in comparison with the ultimate end of Easter. Let not the minor obscure the major.

Sixth fallacy of Lent: fasting is the point of Lent.
No it isn’t! Fasting is a sign that points to the goal, which is identification with the crucified and risen Christ. If you fast but don’t have that as your goal, it is merely a human-centered activity. It is not the giving up of a thing itself that sanctifies you, the sanctification comes from the One who is infinitely greater than any troubles than you can possibly go through. Each time we remember what we give up, it should cause us not to think about ourselves (e.g. “Oh, I’m so hungry”) but remind us to set our faces toward the Risen Savior.

Here’s a tip: it’s fine to give something (or more than one thing) up for Lent, but instead of thinking about Lent as negation, think about it as a positive. Not what you can abstain from, but what opportunities abound for you with your extra time/money/attention! With your extra time, focus more on prayer and service, for one. With your extra money, give more to church or the needy, for two. And all this should flow not from your own strength but from an overflow of what the Lord has done for you. Be practical, rather than just theoretical, with your Lenten journey. Need a suggestion? My Bible study group is doing this, which I think rocks.

A Reminder of What Lent is All About, by Allen Yeh

How should Christians approach homosexuality?

Posted by on January 2, 2011 15 comments

I know this topic is somewhat taboo (what can of worms am I opening?!), but I think that it is incredibly relevant (see the recent revokation of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and what it has conveyed to the LGBT community). Today, LGBTs are lobbying for more ‘rights,’ acceptance, and recognition. And the ‘freedom’ that America is touting is stuck in a strange tension in resolving this. In light of this, the sexual brokenness ensued by homosexuality (but also sexual brokenness in heterosexuality, which I will not explicitly touch here) must be addressed by Christians, lest our views fall to the cultural norm.

And please note that I want to disclaim any authority on the matter–only (mere) reflection–and am, therefore, petitioning your opinion and discussion. And really, I’m just asking questions to get your thoughts as I have some tentative.

EDIT: many of these considerations use the word ‘homosexual’ and its derivatives applied to implied meanings of the practice of homosexual acts as well as same-sex attraction.

–

First of all, I am not entirely confident in Christianity’s response to homosexuality–I wonder, does it even exist? How have Christians responded to the cultural approval of homosexuality?

Before you answer those questions, I want to ask this: how many people in your church do you know deal with homosexuality?

I know only of one. But wait–isn’t the church a gathering of sinners? Isn’t it a body of those who acknowledge their sins in repentance and hope in Christ’s completed work on the Cross? If so, why aren’t there more people in the church who struggle with homosexuality?

I have a couple of (not exhaustive) proposals for the answer to that last question.

1) People who struggle with homosexuality are universally withdrawn from the church.
2) There exist people who struggle with homosexuality within the church, but are not entirely open with their burdens.

I tend toward the idea of the second–I think that there are Christians who are struggling with homosexuality. Let me pause for clarification here: I think that there are Christians, who acknowledge that they are broken and sinful, burdened with the temptation of homosexuality, but have faith in Christ’s justifying work on the Cross, and are now living in repentance and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. But where are they as we sit in pews among liars, thieves, gossips, and adulterers? Have we really welcomed those who struggle with homosexuality into our church? Or have we scared them into thinking that they are somehow worse than the rest? Have we scared them into thinking that they cannot live in the love of Christ because of their sexual brokenness?

I know not how to phrase it any differently, but I think we have scared those who struggle with homosexuality by not really loving them. And if we’re scaring struggling Christians, how can we reach the entire nation of those struggling with homosexuality outside the church?

Respond as you will, but if I can conclude with my questions in a somewhat ordered matter, you may like following that:

1) How has Christianity responded to homosexuality?
2) How many people in your church do you know struggle with homosexuality?
3) Where are the ‘homosexuals’ in the church?
4) Has Christianity’s response to homosexuality been one of love?
5) How do we respond?

Or even more summarily:

1) How should Christians approach homosexuality?

A Snowflake’s Flight

Posted by on December 17, 2010 No comments

Here I am, a snowflake white
Falling, blowing ever so light
Racing, flutt’ring toward the ground
Myself willing, forcing down.

To my left and to my right
Snow-speckled air–what a sight!
What joy in my flutter found
Yet unknown, to my doom I’m bound.

I do not know whereto I fly
But only in my nature delight
Is that the end, a pale white mound?
I think it is! But what’s that sound?

A cry and screech, mourning in the night
From where’s this noise, my ears to bite?
Cries: “slow down! stop yourself! slow!”
I hear, and I think I now know.

My kin now in suffering quite,
Found the ground not to like
It’s there they die, I guess I will too
Alas, I wish that higher in the sky I knew.

city and school

Posted by on December 14, 2010 5 comments

content

got my coffee
got my bag
got my phone
what else to add

ready for work
ready to go
ready to live
all on my own

work on a project
work to get paid
work to fulfill me
nothing else my heart stays

ive got it all
ive got all i need
ive got money and shelter
only myself do i lead

lonely

bored with my work
bored with my home
bored with my paycheck
i think my life is gone.

there’s got to be more…
do we all but drone on?
there’s got to be more!
are we but America’s pawn?

hopeful

But someone might tell me:
To the Cross! To the Cross!
Turn your head and your heart
To Jesus Christ on the Cross!

a reflection of life in the city

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent

Posted by on December 1, 2010 No comments

One of my favorite hymns–originally from the Liturgy of St. James. Watch & listen to it here.

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood;
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six winged seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!

Who are your companions?

Posted by on November 16, 2010 2 comments

“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”
- Proverbs 13:20 ESV

If you counted websites, television shows, and musical artists as companions, would you say you’re walking with the wise or the foolish?

Shared from JoshHarris.com