1. Reading. I mentioned this last night at Real Life, and I’ll probably write more surrounding it for the Cru website and/or listserv in a bit, but the ESV blog is promoting a “Read The Bible In January” Bible reading plan. The basic premise is that people make a New Years’ Resolution to read the Bible, then quit after a little while for all sorts of reasons. Solution? Finish reading in that “little while”. I don’t know exactly how much I’m going to attempt to read. Maybe just all of the Old Testament and the Gospels, since I’ve been spending much of my devotional time in the New Testament Letters these last few months. And I don’t quite know when to start. I don’t own a paper ESV Bible (should have brought one back from Cornell…..), so maybe after Christmas?

2. More reading. I brought home a large stack of books to read. Of course, my entire Christmas list was books, so this list may change come December 25. Right now, the current ordering of that looks to be:

1. Doing Things Right in Matters of the Heart by John Ensor
2. Finishing the last few chapters of The Mortification of Sin by John Owen
3. God Is The Gospel by John Piper
4. Preaching The Cross by Dever, Duncan, Mohler, and Mahaney
5. Some of Piper’s biographies, from The Roots of Endurance, The Legacy of Sovereign Joy, and The Hidden Smile of God

3. Programming. There are a few updates to be made to the Cru site, as well as a few interesting projects to be worked on. Perhaps I’ll write about these in the coming weeks…..

4. Blogging. Lots of free time and lots of reading means I should have lots of little things to say. The best way to keep up with them (and all blogs) is to subscribe with an RSS reader (see this explanation on the Cru blog about RSS readers).

-Ben

To Root Our Hope In A Sovereign God

First, God gives us money to root our hope in a Sovereign God, and not in money. Throughout Luke 12, the refrain is, “do not worry”, “do not worry”. Why do we not need to worry? Because God will take care of us. He takes care of the birds of the air and the grass of the field – and you’re so much more valuable than them! He knows every little thing that we need, and it’s trivial for him to give them to us.

Luke 12:30-32 – “For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” God knows you need simple, physical things to keep you alive, and he’ll give them to you, but he also knows that what you really need is HIM – the rest are just additions. Notice the word choice in this verse.

• “your Father” – you have a heavenly Dad who, unlike earthly dads, will never let you down and is 100% for you. He’s caring for you and looking out for your best interest. He wants to keep you safe and secure and comfortable and happy, and he knows precisely how to do that…
• “has chosen” – it’s an active decision that he’s made. he could have withheld it from us, but he didn’t – he chose to give it to us
• “gladly” – this is the Father’s attitude – he doesn’t do this begrudgingly or expecting repayment, but with the delight that you would expect from a loving gift-giver
• “to give” – this is the Father’s action – he doesn’t withhold it from you, and he doesn’t lend it to you and expect repayment – it’s a gift
• “flock” – the Father is also called the Good Shepherd. As Christians, we are part of his flock, under his watchful care, protection, and guidance.
• “little” – our relationship to the Father. He is big and powerful, and we are small and weak. But because he is good, he cares for us and protects us.
• “the kingdom” – The kingdom of God is what is referred to here, where the King – Jesus – reigns. Matthew 25:34, in the middle of the parable of the sheep and the goats, says “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” The Kingdom of God is the ultimate blessing for those who love the King, because we get to be with the King forever!
• “Do not be afraid” – we don’t need to fear not obtaining the kingdom, because it’s the Father who has chosen to give it to us. What he decrees will happen will happen, so we need not be afraid.

Your Heavenly Father holds you safely and securely in his arms, gladly giving you the best thing – Himself – along with everything else you need to live. And so our hope is rooted in a Sovereign God, instead of ourselves, and instead of money, to provide us with comfort and security. And with the Father securing us, and providing for all our needs, we can give generously and with compassion and broken-hearted care, not begrudgingly, with uncertainty, or fear. And the more we give, the more we trust his sovereign goodness as HE is unmistakably the one providing for our every need and we’re not looking to ourselves for a secure future.

Rom 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.

1Co 1:4-8 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge– even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you– so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Eph 1:15-16 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

Php 1:3-5 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

Col 1:3-5 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.

1Th 1:2-3 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

2Th 1:3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

To pull out some highlights from those verses, Paul is thankful TO GOD for the believers in these churches because of:

• The faith in Jesus that has been produced in them by the Holy Spirit (salvation)
• The spread of their faith (the Gospel) around the world (missions/disciplemaking)
• The grace that God has displayed in changing their lives (sanctification)
• Their love for each other
• The good work that is spurred on by the faith in Jesus and love for God and others
• The steadfastness and perseverance that comes from hope in Jesus

And so I want to publicly thank God for some of the believers that he has placed in my life. This isn’t to put them on a pedestal and proclaim how great they are, but to proclaim to you how great their God is, using sinners like them to encourage a sinner like me, and to offer some encouragement, as Paul encourages Timothy: “But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

I’ll start with my parents, since it was my conversations with them that spurred this post. I thank God for their love for me and the grace that He has given them to display to me, that despite my pride, arrogance, callousness, apathy, they still love me and care for me unceasingly, giving me a glimpse of how my Heavenly Father loves me and cares for me completely unconditionally and unceasingly.

I thank God for the guys in Crusade, who have strengthened and encouraged me by continually pointing me to Christ despite my desire to point towards me, who have placed their faith in Jesus and their hope in His sovereignty.

I thank God for Cru’s Small Group leaders, who work every week to strengthen and equip Crusade with the truth found in God’s Word, so that we might be able to “teach, rebuke, correct and train in righteousness.”

I thank God for Cru’s Praise Team, which works every week to contextualize the Gospel to believer and nonbeliever alike, making the truth of God come alive to us through song.

I thank God for the Freshmen in Crusade, who have been more and more desiring to get involved in bringing the Gospel to Cornell through loving service and evangelism.

I thank God for my co-shepherds – past and present – who have show me grace I certainly don’t deserve, loved me by pointing me to Jesus, and fought steadfastly alongside me in the work that God has prepared for us to do, reminding me daily that God is sovereign, I am not, and He will work all things out for His glory and our joy.

I thank God for men like John Piper, Mark Driscoll, and Tim Keller, by whose teaching of the Bible I have grown immensely.

I thank God for Liang, for the years of friendship, the tears, the patience, the necessary rebukes – gentle and harsh, the vision of God he’s helped me attain – a Sovereign God who pursues His own glory for His joy and ours, and the unity that’s by God’s grace stood firm, despite the storms that might destroy it.

This list is far from comprehensive – there are many more people, entities, and programs that should be here than I could possibly list, or even name, right now. God has blessed me with much, and has allowed me to be witness to much. Seeing lives change – my own, my friends’, and total strangers’. Seeing people realize that giving up everything to follow Jesus is the easiest decision to make because Jesus is that satisfying and that real and that worth it. Seeing people see God in new ways – marvelous ways that brings light to their eyes and joy to their hearts as they glimpse and understand something new and glorious. Seeing repentance and forgiveness and redemption and reconciliation – in my life and in my relationships.

By the grace God has given you, press on!

-Ben