An unhealthy far of death is not rooted in the fear of God. It is the fear of terror. it does not curb sin, instead it expands it through irrational fear. It does not make a man die to the world, instead causes him to embrace the world by being self-centered, focusing more on self, than on God.
Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action,
and let me not seek moral virtue apart from thee.
In the last decade, there has been a resurgence in the writings of the puritans and for good reason. Christianity is not a new religion. Many faithful saints have trod these old paths before us and we will do well to learn from them.
The puritans read the same Bible we read, prayed to the same God and served the same Christ, so their theology is not a different one. What is different about the puritans is their deep knowledge of God through the scriptures.
The puritans understood the glory of God. Everything they did including their prayers was focused on the glory of God. They were focused on walking with God in holiness and righteousness.
Their prayers showed a deep knowledge and understanding of the scriptures, a knowledge of the sinfulness of man and the holiness of God. They never made light of sin and were quick to confess their sins.
We will look at one of their prayers today, titled “The Deeps” it can be found on page 134-135 of “The Valley of Vision: A collection of puritan prayers and devotion”.
It is my prayer that you will make this your prayer today and this week. That you will not only pray this prayer this week, before and/or after every personal study of the scriptures, but meditate on its truth as well.
LORD JESUS,
Give me a deeper repentance,
a horror of sin,
a dread of its approach;
Help me chastely to flee it,
and jealously to resolve that my heart
shall be thine alone.
Give me a deeper trust,
that I may lose myself to find myself in thee,
the ground of my rest,
the spring of my being.
Give me a deeper knowledge of thyself
as Saviour, Master, Lord, and King.
Give me deeper power in private prayer,
more sweetness in thy Word,
more steadfast grip on its truth.
Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action,
and let me not seek moral virtue apart from thee.
Plough deep in me, great Lord,
heavenly Husbandman,
that my being may be a tilled field,
the roots of grace spreading far and wide,
until thou alone art seen in me,
thy beauty golden like summer harvest,
thy fruitfulness as autumn plenty.
I have no Master but thee,
no law but thy will,
no delight but thyself,
no wealth but that thou givest,
no good but that thou blessest,
no peace but that thou bestowest.
I am nothing but that thou makest me,
I have nothing but that I receive from thee,
I can be nothing but that grace adorns me.
Quarry me deep, dear Lord,
and then fill me to overflowing
with living water.
Amen.
I believe it is wrong for any pastor and church leader to conclude that most new believers are unable to handle the teaching of Biblical doctrines straight out of the Bible. To think this way is to have a low view of the word of God and of the Holy Spirit who inspired the Bible. When you consider that most of the New Testament letters which were full of deep theology were written to new believers under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
Biblical contentment is not rooted in what we have or the circumstances we are in, Biblical contentment is rooted in the person and character of God.
The book, The Valley of Vision is a collection of puritan prayers. This book was my first introduction to the writings of the puritans, and it completely blew me away! I honestly had never heard (read) anyone pray with so much devotion, so much awareness of their personal sin and the holiness of God.
I am very thankful to the puritans for writing down their prayers, without which this book would not have been possible. In my opinion, no Christian home should be without this book. The puritans were mostly known for their deep prayer life and meditation on scripture.
The prayers in this book caught my attention like no other. My prayers can be sometimes selfish and self-centered, all about me and what I want: my protection, my provision, my success, my family’s protection, etc. While there is nothing inherently wrong with asking God for those things, our personal needs can become idols when we don’t put them in their properly place. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, He started the prayer asking for God’s name to hallowed, for His kingdom to come and for His will to be done on earth as in heaven. Jesus taught us to pray with the glory of God in mind. At the heart of the prayers of the puritans is the glory of God. This should be at the heart of our prayers as well.
I would love to share one of the prayers from “The Valley of Vision” titled “The Family”. This prayer can be found on page 208. The prayer seemed to have been written by a woman (I think). What caught my eye about this prayer is the way she dedicates her home & family to God. She prays for her domestic duties and the raising of her children to be blessed and used for the glory of God, asking in her prayers for her home to be a nursery for heaven!
Ladies, your duties as a wife and mother at home are sacred duties meant to bring glory to God. I pray this prayer will encourage you to see your duties in raising your kids and being a keeper at home as a sacred service to God.
The Family
O Sovereign Lord,
You are the Creator-Father of all men,
for you have made and support them;
You are the special Father of those who know, love, and honour you,
who find your yoke easy, and your burden light,
your work honourable,
your commandments glorious.
But how little your undeserved goodness has affected me!
How imperfectly have I improved my religious privileges!
How negligent have I been in doing good to others!
I am before you in my trespass and sins,
have mercy on me,
and my your goodness bring me to repentance.
Help me hate and forsake every false way,
to be attentive to my condition and character,
to bridle my tongue,
to keep my heart with all diligence,
to watch and pray against temptation,
to kill sin,
to be concerned for the salvation of others.
O God, I cannot endure to see the destruction of my kindred.
Let those who are united to me in tender ties
be precious in your sight and devoted to your glory.
Sanctify and prosper my domestic devotion,
instruction, discipline, example,
that my house may be a nursery for heaven,
my church the garden of the Lord,
enriched with the trees of righteousness of your planting,
for your glory;
Let not those of my family who are amiable, moral, attractive,
fall short of heaven at last;
Grant that the promising appearances of a tender conscience,
soft heart, the alarms and delights of your Word,
be not finally blotted out, but bring forth judgement to victory
in all whom I love.
Amen…. (emphasis mine)
Ladies: I would love to hear your thoughts on this prayer in the comments. Thanks.
In order to fulfill their God given roles of wife and mother, Christian moms need to know what the Lord requires of them. All that we need for life and godliness has been revealed in the Bible (2Peter 1:3). We need to study it like our lives depend on it, because it really does.
Christian parents are called by God not just to raise any kind of child, but to raise “godly offspring”.
Malachi 2:15
Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.
The responsibility of raising godly offspring falls on both parents, with dad being the head of the house. However, moms are the ones that are usually more involved in the everyday process than dads. They are the ones that take care of all the details of nurturing and training. Also, they are usually the ones the kids go to first with questions about God, the Bible and life in general. This is why I believe every Christian mom should be a theologian.
When I say every Christian mom should be a theologian, I do not mean they have to go to seminary, what I mean is that every mom needs to spend lots of time in the scriptures studying, becoming well versed in it and know how to rightly apply it to everyday life. In order to be a godly wife and mom, her time in the word and prayer and listening to godly sermons is invaluable. No child grows up knowing instinctively the right way to behave, not even Christian kids. They have to be trained to know what is right, proper and godly.
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Some Christian families have taken this verse to mean that if you train up your child in a Christin home, teach them the Bible and take them to church, then they will definitely become saved as adults. This verse makes no such promise. This is not a verse about salvation, but about training in general. While the Lord sometimes works through families to save, it is not always the case. We have all heard or know of people were not raised in Christian homes but are faithfully serving the Lord today. Likewise, we also know God fearing parents who raised their children in a godly home, took them church every week whose children remain unsaved. Salvation is of the Lord.
How does one raise “godly offspring”?. Deuteronomy 6:3-7 spells it out for us.
Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
These verses call the parents to first love God with all their heart, soul and might, before they are able to teach the children. Christian mom, the Lord is calling you to love Him with all your heart, soul and might, then and only then, will you be able to teach the word of God to your kids. In other words, you cannot give what they do not have. How are we to love God? What does loving God look like? Jesus tells us in John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. You have to know the commandments, before you can keep them.
Christian mom, the Lord has graciously given us a manual for life – the Bible. Spend time in it. Study it. Believe it. Live it out. Teach it to your kids. No parent has the ability to save their child, salvation is of the Lord, however every parent has been equipped by God with all they need to teach their children what true godliness is.
May God’s grace be yours.
Most Christians have heard the word “quiet time”. This is supposed to me a time, usually in the morning where you spend time alone in the word and prayer. The “quiet time” is sometimes referred to as your personal devotion time. I was surprised to learn that wikipedia had a definition for “quiet time”. Here it is:
Quiet time, also stated as heart-to-heart time, or one-on-one time with the creator, is a regular individual session of Christian spiritual activities, such as prayer, private meditation, contemplation, worship of God or study of the Bible. The term “quiet time” or “sacred time” is used by 20th-century Protestants, mostly evangelical Christians. It is also called “personal Bible study” or “personal devotions” . Interesting!
When I first got saved, I was taught that it was best to have a ‘quiet time’ preferably in the morning hours. The purpose of an early morning time alone with God was to help set / focus your mind on the word of God as you begin the day. However, I was not taught that I had to use a devotional, I was taught that “quiet time” was a time for Bible study (actually opening the Bible) and prayer. I will be forever grateful for that. As time went on, I began to notice a trend among Christians that stressed the need to use a devotional book (daily devotional) for your “quiet time”. Perhaps that was always the case, but it was new to me. The devotional usually has a Bible verse or two and then a short story or exhortation to help clarify the verse(s), & help with personal application. At the same time, I also began to hear that the amount of time spent in “quiet time” did not matter, that it could be as little as 5mins a day. The most important thing was that you were “doing your morning devotion” or “quiet time”.
Now I am not against using daily devotionals, I believe they can be very helpful, I sometimes use them myself from time to time. From experience, I can say nothing is as profitable to the believer as actually studying the Bible itself. I was also shocked at the idea of only spending 5mins day in Bible study. 5mins a day? Why would anyone think 5mins a day of Bible study is sufficient to make them spiritually mature over time? Some people try to make the argument that 5mins a day is better than nothing.
Nothing worthwhile takes 5mins a day to accomplish. No one becomes a doctor by studying for only 5mins a day. No one becomes a professional athlete by practicing 5mins day. No good mother invests only 5mins in caring for their child. It takes more than 5mins a day to put a nutritious meal on the table for your family.
Studying the Bible and praying for 5mins a day is not something a Christian should aspire to. I am convinced most Christians do not think this way about issues in other area of their lives. I don’t know of anyone who thinks, showing up to work, or school for only 5mins a day is better than not showing up at all. Nothing worthwhile takes 5mins a day to accomplish. No one becomes a doctor by studying for only 5mins a day. No one becomes a professional athlete by practicing 5mins day. No good mother invests only 5mins in caring for their child. It takes more than 5mins a day to put a nutritious meal on the table for your family. I sure hope you don’t attend a church where the Pastor only spends 5mins a day preparing his sermon! No one is ever going to mature as a Christian by studying their Bible for only 5mins a day.
I understand that for some people, there is just not enough time in the morning for deep Bible study and prayer for a variety of reasons, then I would advice they find a more appropriate time during the day. Your spiritual growth and life, your sanctification depends on a through knowledge of the Bible and time in prayer. It is not legalistic to stress a deeper study of the Word and prayer. We need to create order in our lives to make room for time alone with God in prayer. JC Ryle in his book “Practical Religion” said this about prayer:
I might say something of the value of regular times in the day for prayer. God is a God of order. The hours of the morning and evening sacrifice in the Jewish temple were not established as they were without a meaning. Disorder is notably one of the fruits of sin. But I would not bring anyone under bondage. I only say this, that it is essential to your soul’s health to make praying a part of the routine of every twenty-four hours in your life.
Just as you allot time to eating, sleeping, and business, so also allot time to prayer. Choose your own hours and periods. At the very least, speak with God in the morning, before you speak with the world; and speak with God at night, after you have finished with the world for that day. But settle it in your minds that prayer is one of the vital things of each day. Do not put it into a corner. Do not give it the scraps, and leftover minutes of your day. Whatever else you make a business of, make a business of prayer.” (emphasis mine)
Becoming a woman of prayer and a student of the Bible will demand some investment of time as well as some discipline, there is no way around it. The apostle Paul constantly compared the discipline our Christian life demands to that of an athlete. In 1Cor. 9:24-27 he compared our spiritual journey to that of an athlete running to win. For that to happen, the athlete must discipline himself. He said:
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (emphasis mine)
All growth, including spiritual growth takes time, discipline and effort. Some people seem to think that when it comes to spiritual matters, the Holy Spirit will somehow supernaturally just make up for what we lack. While the Holy Spirit has been given to assist us in knowing more about the Lord, He is only able to do so with what we have already studied from the word. The Holy Spirit enlightens our hearts as we study. When there is nothing there, there will be nothing for Him to enlighten. Becoming spiritually mature takes a lot of discipline that will involve taking the time to spend lots of time in the word of God. In the end, it will be worth it.
Christianity is not a “new religion”. It did not begin in the 19th century nor the 18th century. The Church was born when Jesus was raised from the dead – the post resurrection Church as I would like to call it. There was a pre-resurrection Church. It began with Abraham. All the OT saints were part of the pre-resurrection Church. We can even go back further to say that the Church was conceived even before creation. Rev.13:8 says Jesus is the lamb that was lain before the foundation of the world.
Since Christianity is not new, this then means there is no new teaching/doctrine. Millions have been walking these “old paths” for a long time. By ” these old paths”, I mean the godly path of fidelity to God’s word as revealed in the Bible.
God does not only give us teaching in the Bible, He also gives us history. I do honestly believe that most Christians would treasure their faith more by learning about faithful believers who have walked the paths ahead of us. While we do have the word of God to guide us, learning how our forefathers handled, pain, sickness, death, disappointments and even doubts but still remained faithful till the end would not only encourage us, but strengthen our faith as well.
It is to this end that I plan to make quotes of prayers and the gospel message from faithful preachers of old, mostly puritans part of my blog posts from time to time. Since these faithful preachers (past and present ) have been give as gifts to the Church by the Lord, I believe their writings would edify the body. Some of you may be familiar with their works, while for others, this might be the first time getting acquainted with them. Either way, I believe everyone will be blessed.
Those of you who follow me on twitter or are familiar with my tweets know that in addition to scripture and some of my own thoughts, I do tweet quotes from JC Ryle, Thomas Watson & others. I plan to do the same thing on this post from time to time.
Elizabeth
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
In the verse above, we are called as Christians to live out the faith we profess to possess. Our lives should be lived out in such a way that the world, in seeing our good works (godly lifestyles), would give glory to God. As it is often the case, this verse is not about pleasing the world, neither is it about us trying to look good to the world, but about living godly lives that bring glory to God.
As Christians, our faith is not measured by how much people like us or think about us, it is measured by how our lives brings glory to God. A life that brings glory to God is a life that is obedient to the word of God. A life that loves what the Lord loves and hates what He hates.
There is nothing in scripture that calls or encourages Christians to live to please the world around them, instead Scripture warns us that if we live godly lives, the world would hate us. Jesus made this clear in John 15:18-19:
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
Living for Christ is not a call to strive for the world’s approval, but an admonition to glorify God with our lives.
Scripture however does encourage us to go the extra mile for other believers in Jesus.
Galatians 6:10 – “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (emphasis mine)
We are to do good to all *especially* to those within the body of Christ. Part of living lives that glorify God is really going the extra mile for other believers.
As Pastor John MacArthur said in his commentary on the above verse, “Our love for fellow Christians is the primary test of our love for God”.