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Archive for June, 2012

“If God is for us then nothing – in particular, not disability – can separate us from the love of God.” Bob Horning

Posted in commentary on June 10, 2012| 2 Comments »

(This is a guest post from my friend, Bob Horning.  God has done an amazing work in his life, and in his family.  He happens to be the father of Krista Horning (you may have heard of her book, Just the Way I Am: God’s Good Design in Disability!).  I am deeply grateful to God for the influence this brother has and continues to have on my life.)

Isaiah 50 is a prophecy about Jesus.  If you read the whole chapter that will be pretty obvious.  When I read it recently, verses 7-9 particularly stood out because of their similarity to some other verses (especially when you read it in the NIV).

Isaiah 50:7-9:

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.
He who vindicates me is near. 
Who then will bring charges against me?
Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.
Who will condemn me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
the moths will eat them up.

Sound familiar?  Read Romans 8:31-34:

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died —more than that, who was raised to life —is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Here’s the thing that almost took my breath away.  Isaiah 50 is talking about Jesus.  He deserves help from the Sovereign LORD.  He deserves the nearness and vindication of God.  He deserves no condemnation.  I deserve just the opposite: disgrace, rejection, condemnation, accusation.

But Romans 8 is talking about me.  And God promises me exactly the same things he promises His beloved, perfectly righteous Son…as long as I am in Christ.  Is that amazing grace or what?

So what does that have to do with disability?  Well…nothing directly.  It applies to every sinner who puts their faith in Jesus.  And all by itself, that should be more than enough.  But keep reading in Romans 8 and you see the link to disability, among many other things. These verses continue the flow of verses 31-34 (comments in italics are mine):

What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword (or disability)? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation (including disability), will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If we are in Christ, then God is for us.  And if God is for us then nothing – in particular, not disability – can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amazing!

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Suffering reveals even more about God, and that’s a good thing.

Posted in Quotes on June 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

From an interview Joni Eareckson Tada gave to Christianity Today in October 2010, shortly after receiving a diagnosis of breast cancer (paragraph formatting is mine):

How has your perspective on suffering and healing changed since your breast cancer diagnosis?

Thankfully, it hasn’t changed at all.

You examine Scripture again and follow every passage regarding healing. I did that with my quadriplegia, and I did that again 10 years ago, when I embarked on a whole new life of chronic pain. Just a month ago, getting diagnosed with breast cancer, I looked at those same Scriptures, and God’s words do not change.

Even though it seems like a lot is being piled on, I keep thinking about 1 Peter 2:21: “To these hardships you were called because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps.”

Those steps most often lead Christians not to miraculous, divine interventions but directly into the fellowship of suffering. In a way, I’ve been drawn closer to the Savior, even with this breast cancer.

There are things about his character that I wasn’t seeing a year ago or even six months ago. That tells me that I’m still growing and being transformed. First Peter 2:21 is a good rule of thumb for any Christian struggling to understand God’s purposes in hardship.

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Delighted in God’s unexpected gifts of encouragement

Posted in News on June 8, 2012| 2 Comments »

Hannah’s eighth grade graduation was last night.  I had never been to an eighth grade graduation before.

I wasn’t too surprised when the worship song to open the ceremony was Our God by Chris Tomlin.  The woman who leads the young people in their chapel uses excellent judgment in her choice of music and lessons.

But I was surprised – and delighted – at what happened after that:

  • The valedictorian concluded her speech with a reference to Jeremiah 29:11:
    • For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
  • The father who was invited to speak (who told us he was not a pastor) did a really nice exposition on 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:
    • So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
    • When I say ‘nice’ I don’t mean it was pleasant; I mean he dug into it in really helpful ways. When I thanked him for it afterward, his first response was to honor God.
  • The salutatorians closed the ceremony with prayer “because that’s what we do here.”

I was expecting a nice evening; what God provided was wonderful blessing and encouragement.

Paul, as usual, was not impressed by any of this.

Hannah, as usual, wasn’t the least bit upset or embarrassed by her brother.

Some of God’s most encouraging gifts come at the most unexpected times.  It was a good day, indeed.

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“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD. . .”

Posted in Scripture on June 7, 2012| 1 Comment »

Reflecting on Jeremiah 31 yesterday nearly always points me to another great text in Jeremiah, which I know also happens to be a favorite of Krista Horning:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV)

“The blind and the lame” in Jeremiah 31 are not a surprise to God, and not a mistake!  He has plans for every one of his elect, with disabilities and without.  And it is a plan meant for our good.

What a thing it is to live with the assurance of a future spent with Jesus!

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Knowing and enjoying the glory of God – we were made for this. All of us, of every ability!

Posted in Quotes, Scripture on June 6, 2012| 1 Comment »

For devotions on Tuesday, Jon Bloom read the entire first chapter of Pastor John’s Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ.

My heart leapt when I heard this (again)!

The deepest longing of the human heart is to know and enjoy the glory of God. We were made for this. “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth. . . whom I created for my glory,” says the Lord (Isaiah 43:6-7). To see it, to savor it, and to show it—that is why we exist.

John Piper, Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, p. 14.

Part of why this brought me joy was remembering another place in the Bible where God is specific that when he gathers, it includes those who live with disabilities:

Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here.  (Jeremiah 31:8 ESV)

None of God’s elect will be forgotten, and all will gather because GOD WILL DO IT!

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“The daughters of Sarah fight the anxiety that rises in their hearts.” John Piper

Posted in News on June 5, 2012| 2 Comments »

In 2007 Pastor John was preaching in 1 Peter 3:1-7 on The Beautiful Faith of Fearless Submission.

This statement then and now reminded me of my Dianne:

So verse 5 said that the holy women of old hoped in God. And then verse 6 gives Sarah, Abraham’s wife, as an example and then refers to all other Christian women as her daughters. Verse 6b: “And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.”

So this portrait of Christian womanhood is marked first by hope in God and then what grows out of that hope, namely, fearlessness. She does not fear the future; she laughs at the future. The presence of hope in the invincible sovereignty of God drives out fear. Or to say it more carefully and realistically, the daughters of Sarah fight the anxiety that rises in their hearts. They wage war on fear, and they defeat it with hope in the promises of God.

Today is Dianne’s birthday.

I’ve observed that the anniversary of another year of life produces great anxiety in some people.  Not true for her.

She also has an infusion appointment today related to her cancer.  For more than seven years she has endured an almost-monthly reminder that this life is unpredictable and the future is unknown to us.  She doesn’t live with anxiety about that either.

Not perfectly, of course.  Pastor John was right and wise to say we must wage war on fear.

God has granted her the faith to fight, and to make this Proverb a reality in our home:

Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. (Proverbs 31:25 ESV)

I am a very blessed man and very grateful to God for my wife!

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“I will come to you.” Jesus

Posted in Scripture on June 4, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Pastor John used this text in his sermon yesterday.  Even before he began preaching, I was encouraged!

Jesus speaking as recorded in John 14:15-18:

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

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“Beware the thought that all is vain.” John Piper

Posted in Uncategorized on June 3, 2012| 1 Comment »

Pastor John wrote an advent poem on the book of Job many years ago.  It was later turned into a book.

It is a stunning portrait of one man’s clinging to God.

And now it is available as a movie with Pastor John’s narration for just $1.99 at iTunes.

The two-minute trailer is below.

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Fight the chaos – believe!

Posted in Scripture on June 2, 2012| 1 Comment »

Thursday morning was chaotic, even for us.

So, of course, I complained in my spirit and felt sorry for myself.

God is kind to look at that mess and rather than incinerate me for my idolatry, he brings me  to himself through his word with reminders that he alone is in control:

Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people.
Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it?
And you are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides me?
There is no Rock; I know not any.”
(Isaiah 44:6-8 ESV)

No, there is no god like our God.  And there is no person who can do what God can do.

And Jesus has already provided what we need the most, and he will continue as we cling to him in faith:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
(John 14:27 ESV)

My day never felt like it was under control – I was moving from one thing to another, one conversation to another, one child’s activity to another.  But I could rest under the assurance that God most certainly is in control and continually moving, shaping and ordering all things for his glory and for my good.

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We must warn the enemies of our children – God is coming

Posted in commentary, Scripture on June 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »

As I’ve explored here before, there is a horrible, unbiblical, idolatrous line of thinking that says only people who are strong and have some sort of usefulness really deserve to live.  The evil is breath-taking.

God warns about such thinking, and what will happen to those who take advantage of the weaker member:

I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.  (Ezekiel 34:15-16 ESV)

And God also tells us in several places how he will behave toward the weaker members, the ones cast off by the strong:

In that day, declares the LORD, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted; and the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore.
(Micah 4:6-7 ESV)

God is coming.  Those who would destroy our children with disabilities need to be warned that he will deal with them either as they deserve for abusing little ones he has created, or he will NOT deal with them as they deserve because they cling to Jesus as their righteousness.

And for those who are being abused and afflicted and ignored today, God himself is making them into a strong nation – one that will last forever.

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