Molly had a recent post on discipline and the “s” word which garnered quite a few good comments along the way. And someone inevitably brought up the passage from Hebrews(quoted below) which reminded me of a post I did a long time ago on a blog far, far away. So in lieu of something new I’m going to repost it here.

The question, of course, is can we use the Hebrews passage as support for the physical discipline of our children. See what you think.

Heb 12:1-11 ESV
(1) Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
(2) looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
(3) Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
(4) In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
(5) And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.
(6) For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
(7) It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
(8) If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
(9) Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
(10) For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.
(11) For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

And here’s my exposition of sorts…

The writer has just finished talking about the nature and power of faith in chp 11 and how that faith expressed itself in the lives of many in the past. He then uses that as a platform to start exhorting others to apply those same principles in their own lives.

We are to cast off every weight and sin which drags us down, looking to Jesus, who has already endured the same hostilities from sinners that we will go through. We should keep our focus on Jesus so that we will not become “weary or fainthearted” - remembering that we have not yet suffered trials as severe as they could be.

So, in all of these trials and sufferings, do not lose faith. Remember those who have gone before you and the faith they exhibited. Remember Jesus and what he endured. With all that in mind, do you think that your current trials mean that God does not love you? Of course this cannot be true. The endurance of the trials is in itself the discipline. God is treating us as sons by letting us undergo persecution, hardship, etc. because He loves us.

If we did not undergo trials, it is a sign that we are not really God’s sons. And the discipline is ultimately for our own good - so that we may share in God’s holiness. Even if it does seem painful at the time, the ultimate result of the training is righteousness.

Conclusion : It’s easy to lose sight of the overall thrust of the passage when looking at single verses. The passage is meant to be an encouragement to not lose faith in God’s goodness in the face of trials. Do we really want to use it as support for the idea that we have approval to physically discipline our children? I think to do so is take away from the author’s intended meaning and lose the full impact of this wonderful passage.

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of the kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously - no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinners - no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat, the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.

-C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

I’m not sure if I’ve posted this quote here before or not, but if I have, it’s worthy of repeating. I have a lot of disjointed thoughts when I read and meditate on Lewis’ words, the least of which is that I find this to be one of the most challenging realities of living a gospel-centered, Christ-honoring life.

(sigh)

I needed this reminder today.

We were downtown last weekend at one of those downtown, festivally things when out of nowhere appears a late 60s Mustang fastback - with the hood up. S3 needed no encouragement to appreciate one of the finer things in life. The girls kinda liked it too.

Rebecca is comparing gas prices this month. As you can see, gas here in Middle Tennessee costs around $3.45/gallon. I was lamenting this fact until I followed this link provided by Dorothy that compares US prices to international prices. Yikes!

Are you always on the look-out for the cheapest gas in your area? Visit this site, enter your zipcode and find the cheapest gas in your neck of the woods along with a handy map so you don’t use up even more gas trying to find the place. I’ve been told this site is updated daily.

How much are you paying? Add your price at the pump to the list over at Rebecca’s place.

Have you ever had so much on your mind that it is simply impossible to settle into a restful sleep? At this moment, it is 1:15am and I have so many unrelated thoughts swirling around in my head that I can barely think straight.

[Warning: the next paragraph is where I retch every last “issue” out of me. Feel free to skip it entirely.]

Attempts to “take my thoughts captive” are evading me. There are laundry and dishes to be done, groceries to buy, a field trip to prepare for and arrange carpooling for. And then there’s the landscaping guy who might be coming this week to do some major work, but he hasn’t returned any of our calls in the last week and a half. There are multiple responsibilities with the Bible study group I’m involved with including preparing dishes and table decorations for the end of the year bash, as well as my regular weekly duties dealing with childcare for the group. And then there’s the fiasco that occurred at church this morning: conflict with no immediate resolution, having to settle for being misunderstood, being told that asking questions is the same thing as complaining, all leading to less than ideal circumstances in which we will probably have to verbalize some things to church leadership we have been hesitant to verbalize.

Throughout all these thoughts, interwoven and set to music (because that’s about the only way that I can memorize them), has been flowing Scripture:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Phil. 4:6-7

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. -Hebrews 12:1-3

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose….What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? -Romans 8:28, 31

Somehow, in the midst of this cacophonous symphony of thoughts and prayer and praise, I am directed back to the One who has grace for it all. The One who holds it all in His hand and is not threatened by my questions, but simply thanks me for bringing them to Him. The One who gently helps me release my death-grip on my day and gives me the gift of another one with the hope that I will give this one back to Him more completely, for His glory not mine.

…

Okay, it took me a while to get here (for those who keep track of such things, it’s now 2am). Thanks for listening. (Yawn.) I think I’ll be able to get a little sleep now…

Hellllppp…

A8 has a tendency to embarrass easily and holds great disdain for the feeling of being in the spotlight. With that in mind, I’ve been thinking and talking with Brian about how/when to have The Talk with her. I suppose how much of The Talk is also on the table. I’m especially interested in finding some materials to use with her so that we can converse about the materials, rather than focusing on her. (Semantics, I know, but I think it might make a difference in her comfort level.) Any suggestions?

(Larger version here.)

I’m going to be working this one out for weeks :

Gospel-centered worship actively recognizes that God has not only provided us with His gracious movement toward us in Christ but also with our responding movement toward Him in Christ as well. God has not only provided that which we must respond to, namely, the gospel, but also our Response, Jesus. The Gospel teaches us that Christ is our acceptable response to the Father given to us by the Father. Christian worship is never simply something we do. It is both something that already has been done in the life and death of Jesus and something that Jesus is doing for us in his High Priestly ministry. As we worship we must be careful to understand Christian worship as participation in what Christ has done in His vicarious life and death and presently is doing as our heavenly High Priest. It is never simply a response to who God is and what He has done.

HT : Eucatastrophe

A week or so ago, Jared Wilson did a post looking at some statements from Mark Driscoll on how he pastors. Great post and great comments - you should read it if you get a chance. The challenges to being a mega-church pastor are many and I think it probably isn’t too odd that a pastor in this situation isn’t, well, very pastoral. At least in the traditional sense.

So I want to bring the question down to a level that represents more of the average church in America. Here’s the context of the church :

• Less than 200 members

• Membership is multi-generational
• May or may not have elders and deacons
• Regardless, the pastor is the de facto leader
• Pastor is full-time, not bi-vocational

My question for you guys is - How should a pastor pastor in this setting? What are his goals? How does he interact with the members. How does he feel towards them. What does he do on a daily basis? What are those telltale signs of a good pastor(i.e. He knows everyone’s name and that Susie lost her guinea pig last week)?

I think you see what I’m trying to get at so please comment and let me know what you think.

As Christians, do we feel the need to put forward a more sanitized version of Christianity to the world? It’s like we have this image to maintain of a “blessed” life that is more attractive to the world. How that blessedness is defined depends on you particular context - money, the right job, well-behaved kids, good marriages, inner peace, joy and smiles through disaster, etc. Whatever they are, we use them to attract those outside the church to the “good” life.

What’s missing is that we are still a sinful people. We’ll admit this behind church walls but we tend to obscure it to the general public. But, I think they kinda know. The iMonk says this in a recent post talking about how young people view Christianity in a negative light :

At the heart of much Christianity is a strange irony: in a faith that requires us to confess, not avoid, the knowledge of our own sinfulness, we make it almost a fetish to find ways to blame unbelievers and non-believers for their low opinion of Christians.

So then, perhaps part of the solution is not to deny what we know to be true. This is not about flaunting our imperfections. But rather being honest that we’ve not yet arrived and it’s looking like a long trip down the road before we do. We need to get past offering principles and steps and move on to Jesus as our source of hope. He is the real difference and it’s too often that he’s treated as a step along the path to success. Paul says in Colossians 1:16-22 :

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

Jesus is not just a rung on the ladder of spiritual success. He is the first and foremost in God’s plan for not just redeeming us, but for all of creation. When we see him in his proper place, we must boast in him. Not in the supposed “blessed” life we feel we have to put forward to look attractive to the outside world. Besides, if iMonk is right that plan’s not working quite like we’d like anyway.

Parts of a conversation with S3 last night while cuddling and putting off bedtime:

Jenn: What can you tell me about Jesus?
S3: Jesus will grow up and be a singer
Jenn: Jesus is already grown up.
S3: God can come to the concert. (thoughtful pause) I like Jesus.

A moment later…

S3: I like you the best and Dad the best and my girls the best!
Jenn: Did you know God loves Sam the best, and Mommy the best, and Daddy the best, and Ty (his friend) the best? God loves everyone the best!
S3: (very excited) God loves Ty the best??? Yes!!! (best said like Tiger Woods) That makes me happy!

Jenn: Tell me more about Jesus.
S3: He had a nose…and hair…and a body.
Jenn: What happened to Jesus?
S3: He died.
Jenn: Did he stay dead?
S3: No. He’s alive!…And he rode on a donkey.