As you know, I’ve had an irregular but ongoing series simply presenting the words of Jesus with the question: “What if He really meant it?” Today continues that series and, in light of yesterday’s ponderings about the John 3:16 conference, presents two statements from Jesus that many like to ignore:

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day (John 6:44).

And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father” (John 6:65).

But what if Jesus really meant it? Would that affect your view of salvation? Your view of God?

• Read Jesus and the Gospels by Craig Blomberg
• Read Jesus the Messiah by Robert Stein
• Read Synopsis of the Four Gospels (English Only) by Kurt Aland

I was flipping through the channels the other day while exercising and came across a talk show. I’m really not sure which one it is and as far as I’m concerned, most of them are basically interchangeable. Regardless, they were talking about how angels are involved in our daily lives and how we should even consider praying to them because they are so infinitely more wise than us they are and how much more powerful. This thinking is all-too common and it is quite unbiblical. Consider Hebrews 2:14-18:

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted

Or, consider 1 Peter 1:10-12:

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

Think about what’s being said here, God does not help the angels the way He does people and our salvation in Christ has been something into which angels themselves even long to look. Oh, if only our talk-show hosts would read their Bibles. If only we would read our Bibles. If only we would understand the glory of salvation the way angels long to do.

• Read The Incomparable Christ by John Stott

We are quick to play down Jesus’ words, especially when they seem unrealistic (which they often do). He often confronts us with the ideal of living in complete faith and dependence on God, something we fall quite short of attaining. Today’s statement deals with prayer, something many, if not most of us struggle deeply with. We feel disconnected, ineffective and distracted during prayer and thus we feel guilty rather than encouraged. The confidence of Jesus’ words leaves us wondering: “what if He really meant it?”

And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith” (Matthew 21:21-22).

• Read Jesus and the Gospels by Craig Blomberg
• Read Jesus the Messiah by Robert Stein
• Read Synopsis of the Four Gospels (English Only) by Kurt Aland

We had quite a storm late Saturday night/early Sunday morning. Those of you who have experience Texas thunderstorms have an idea of what it was like. I have never heard thunder so loud. I am convinced that I saw lightning twice hit near our home. Flashes of eye-piercing brightness illuminated the roaring night. It was both beautiful and awe-inspiring; unless you’re a dog or a two-year old.

Our dog’s name is Baxter. He is a pure-bred Golden Retriever. Weighing in at close to 90 pounds, he’s no small dog. He’s quite loyal, gentle with our children and protective of family. All that to say, he’s a great dog. Except in storms. He is scared to death of thunderstorms. He shivers, he tries to get on the bed, he follows you around the house. In other words, he’s a big sissy when it comes to storms.

Baxter would whine and walk around in circles, occasionally trying to get onto the bed unless I reached down and firmly let him know that I was there. That calmed him down a bit and reminded him that he was safe. It doesn’t make trying to sleep through storms any easier or very comfortable because after a bit, my arm starts to fall asleep from being held out over the side of the dog to constantly remind him of my presence. As soon as I move or try to readjust my arm, the dog is up again trying to jump onto the bed in a near panic.

Carson, my two-year old son has essentially the same reaction to loud storms though its understandable for a two-year old little boy. He ended up in our bed some time during the storm and his method of coping was to scoot right up beside me so that at least his feet were touching me at all times. If I shifted or rolled over, he scooted closer, needing the reassurance of my presence. So I had the dog trying to get onto the bed on one side and my son scooting me ever closer to the edge of the bed on the other. It wasn’t the most comfortable night’s sleep.

Though it wasn’t a restful night, it was refreshing. It reminded me that “the name of the Lord is a strong tower” to which I can run to and be safe (Proverbs 18:10). It reminded me that when I am afraid, I should put my trust in God (Psalm 56:3). That storm helped me understand how James can say “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8). When the thunder shook the windows and my son or even the dog would press against me in fear, I didn’t recoil, I didn’t remove myself, I pressed closer, knowing that they were afraid, they were dependent, they were relying on my for security and a sense of safety, imperfect though it was.

As the storm raged, I marveled at how God often uses the turmoil in our lives to bring about peace. We all know Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God” but we don’t always remember the context. Psalm 46:1-3 sets the stage:

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling

God is not telling the Psalmist to engage in a “Christianized” transcendental meditation, trying to block out everything else, He is telling the Psalmist to rest in God, even as the earth itself seems to be giving way around Him. Notice that the comfort the Psalmist receives in perhaps the best-known of all the psalms happens “in the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23). Apparently, the still waters and green pastures were in the valley itself.

God often uses life’s storms to bring our theology to life. Do we trust Him? He will give us opportunity to demonstrate it. Do we find comfort, strength and security in Him? He will soon bring circumstances our way that reveal whether or not we do. Sometimes we just need to be reminded that God is near (Psalm 75:1) and He is our refuge (Ruth 2:12). Unless we understand this, we will never consider our trials with joy (James 1:2).

To see similar sentiments expressed better, watch this from Rob Bell:

• Read The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer
• Read Knowing God by J.I. Packer

For some time now I’ve had an ongoing but irregular series in which I simply present the statements of Jesus asking the question “What if He really meant it?” So often we approach Jesus’ words as though they were mere slogans, as if He didn’t really mean what He said, maybe He just said it for shock value? But what if He did mean it? What difference would it make in your life?

Today’s consideration comes from Matthew 6:25-34:

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

What if He really meant it? Does your life exude rest in God?

• Read Jesus and the Gospels by Craig Blomberg
• Read Jesus the Messiah by Robert Stein
• Read Synopsis of the Four Gospels (English Only) by Kurt Aland

By Eddie Exposito

I was raised in a moral home, high on religiosity and regulation, but low on gospel. In that traditionally Catholic meadow my musical foundations were developed around a monolithic console stereo with a turntable and an eight-track tape player that belted out everything from Carole King and Stevie Wonder to Janis Joplin and Elvis. I can remember sitting on the shag carpet in my add-on den in the suburbs of New Orleans with my back leaning up against the vibrating speakers imagining myself playing in the band and becoming enamored with what I would later find out is called “the groove”.

Years later I would learn to play percussion taking up the drum kit as my mainstay and forming a local band called Fresh Young Minds which became highly popular in the early 90’s around the New Orleans music scene. God converted me during that time translating me from a bitter atheist into a green believer and I no longer pursued music as a profession; however, my love of music has never died. After battling rabid non-beat Gothardites and a stint with radical fundamentalism whereby I almost literally burned about seventy-eight CDs that were not “Christian” enough, I landed in a confused marshland not sure of what to listen to or whether I could even listen to anything at all without feeling guilty or overwhelmed by hyper-analysis.

Fast-forward to the present: I have a wife and four daughters, over a decade in the faith, pastor a local church, and have found a new love for music. I had gotten burned out on the CCM rotations after they seemed to me to be generating more cheese than gold. At some point I also did not believe that I could stomach yet another love song to Jesus that sounded like a sensual ballad from the star struck to lovelorn. And so I began to uncover my old discs and listened to forbidden rock fruits and nibbled on jazz-ensembled nectar and asked myself exactly why it was that I almost burned all of this creativity?

For the first time I saw these songs as gifts rather than enemies. Sure, some were rotten but I quickly found out that even the rotten fruits were good in that they taught me how to think through the volatile topic of music biblically and became examples that I could use in teaching the proper use vs. the improper use of creative talent. I began for the first time to see that I didn’t have to throw the baby out with the proverbial bathwater as it were and could instead take each song on its own merit to see if it had any redeemable qualities. Suddenly my musical acumen was not about castigating an entire musical genre but in taking the opportunity and time to listen, analyze, and learn. Later, I would see the tremendous benefit in applying this approach to my children and their schooling.

I found a great sale on refurbished mp3 players and bought three of them; one for me and one for each of my oldest daughters who are ten and twelve. I loaded our players with a variety of songs and tunes including two albums by Anathallo, some Thelonious Monk, the White Stripes, and a few Verdi arias. Their assignment was to listen to the songs and be ready to discuss them with me. They were armed with notepads and pencils as we sat down in our den listening to a few tunes from the selection on our Bose acoustic wave machine. We discussed dissonance and syncopation and crescendos and dynamics and tone and timbre and harmony and bass and counterpoint and rhythm; every aspect of appreciation. I gave them print outs of the song lyrics and we combed over them biblically to see if their subject and message melded or conflicted with Scripture and we talked more about chord structures and arrangements and whether they even liked the songs at all.

What I discovered is that instead of making a long list of musical do’s and don’ts and tabooed types, we should see music as a tool: a tool to teach our children how to discern for themselves what is worthy of discovery and what is worthy of the trash heap. Far more productive conversations have come from this type of discussion and discourse than from me simply banning certain bands from our home.

Give your children the tools they need to figure things out for themselves and you’ve stimulating their minds to think biblically with a critical eye while equipping them for life. Simply ban, dodge, and restrict their choices and you’ll only end up stirring the flesh.

Eddie Exposito and his wife Michelle have four daughters (Elizabeth-Kay, Carlyn, Jeanne-Marie, and Ruby). They have been married for fifteen years living just outside of Slidell, LA where he serves as the pastor of Sovereign Grace Fellowship. He is also director of Sovereign Grace Homeland Missions (SGHM.org) which ministers to the greater New Orleans area, a rebuilding and evangelism outreach established as a result of hurricane Katrina, where the work to rebuild homes and lives continues to this very day.

• Read Music Through the Eyes of Faith by Harold Best
• Read This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin

There are some things in life I just don’t understand. I don’t understand weak coffee. I don’t understand the appeal of Dancing With the Stars or even American Idol. I don’t understand Christians who claim that abortion is a “gray” area or even support abortion. I also don’t understand Christians who support Barack Obama. I don’t understand Southern Baptist legalism. And I don’t understand people who say that the Bible does not teach that God chooses people.

The truth is that the idea of God’s sovereign choice is everywhere in Scripture for those with eyes to see. Israel is repeatedly referenced as God’s “chosen people.” For example, in Deuteronomy 7:6, Moses addresses the people saying: ‘The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” This is idea is repeated throughout Scripture, including Deuteronomy 14:2 and Psalm 135:4 which says that “the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession.” Psalm 105:6 refers to Abraham’s descendants of Abraham as “the chosen ones” as does Psalm 106:5. Psalm 65:4 says:

Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!

Some try to wiggle around such clear statements by arguing that this is merely an Old Testament concept, it does not apply to the New Testament Church. Yet Jesus quite clearly told the Disciples in John 15:16: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you.” Furthering this, Jesus says in Matthew 11:27:

All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Clearly the implication here is that the Son does not choose to reveal the Father to everyone. Luke 10:22 cites the same teaching while Jesus, in John 6:44 says that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws Him, and then repeats this same idea in John 6:65. John 1:12-13 says that believers are born “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

This of course has not included references to “God’s elect” which is another way of saying “God’s chosen people.” For example, Matthew 24 repeatedly refers to “the elect.” Romans 8:33 asks who will bring a charge against God’s elect while Romans 9:11 speaks of God’s purposes in election. In 2 Timothy 2:10 and Titus 1:1, Paul speaks of ministering on behalf of the elect. 1 Peter 1:1 addresses the “elect exiles” while 2 Peter 1:10 urges believers to make our calling and election sure and 2 John 1:1 addresses “the elect lady and her children.”

There are many other verses teaches the same thing but neither time nor space allows a comprehensive survey in a blog format. We might disagree as to what it means that God chooses, we might disagree on what grounds God chooses and even how He chooses, but it seems to me that the least we can do is be honest with the Scriptures and say that the concept is there in one form or another.

• Read The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination by Loraine Boettner
• Read Chosen By God by R.C. Sproul