"...Richard Sibbes writes: "We should watch daily, continue instant in prayer; strengthen our supplications with arguments from God's Word and promises; and mark how our prayers speed. When we shoot an arrow we look to its fall; when we send a ship to sea we look for its return; and when we sow we look for an harvest....It is atheism to pray and not to wait in hope. A sincere Christian will pray, wait, strengthen his heart with the promises, and never leave praying and looking up till God gives him a gracious answer.""

~ David MacIntyre, The Hidden Life of Prayer, Kindle Locations 833-836.

Here is this week's (May 27-June 2) Bible reading plan for children in grade school - Word or PDF.

For more information on this reading plan go here.

Here is this week's memory verse.

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:12-13

Here is this week's catechism question:

Question: How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?
Answer: Christ, the Son of God became man by taking to himself a true body and a reasonable soul; being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary and born of her, yet without sin. (Heb. 2:14; Matt. 26:38; Luke 2:52; John 12:27; Luke 1:31,35; Heb. 4:15; 7:26)

"But if things go hard with us, and trials darken all our sky, are we still to give thanks, and bless our God? Most surely.

"Trials make the promise sweet;
Trials give new life to prayer;
Trials bring me to His feet,
Lay me low, and keep me there."

Let us thank God for our trials...Rich stores of corn and wine will never satisfy a hungry soul. Purple and fine linen may only mask a threadbare life. The shrill blare of fame's trumpet cannot subdue the discords of the spirit. The best night that Jacob ever spent was that in which a stone was his pillow, and the skies the curtains of his tent."

~ David MacIntyre, The Hidden Life of Prayer, Kindle Locations 429-438.

Earthly possessions are tough and there is the the risk of sinning in poverty and in abundance. Both have their pitfalls and the toughest temptations come to whatever place you find yourself in. This is what I mean. If you find yourself going through a thin time it is as tough as nails to be faithful to the Lord. But if you find yourself with a plump bank account then it is tough as nails to be faithful to the Lord. Either way it's tough and both have to learn the same lessons. Here are two.

First, both must learn to be content.

I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:12-13)

There is a test whether you have stomach pains at night from hunger or whether you have stomach pains at night because you ate too much steak. There are a lot of tests actually but one is will you be content or will you gripe because you have stomach pains? The godly person has learned contentment. They have also learned to repent of griping and eating too much steak.

Paul's words above are key. So are the Psalmists, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:25-26) The only way forward is to love the Lord with all your heart, mind and strength. To fail in this is disastrous. "They who have not progressed, in some degree at least, in this respect have scarcely anything to prove them as disciples of Christ." (Calvin, Institutes, pg. 723)

Second, both must learn to be wise stewards of what the Lord has put in their trust.

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. (Romans 14:12)

Here, moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. (1 Cor. 4:2)

Whether your bean counter says that you have lots of beans of you only have one bean the godly person realizes that bean(s) are from God. He entrusts us with beans (and other things too) and we must be faithful. "It decrees that all those things were so given to us by the kindness of God, and so destined for our benefit, that they are, as it were, entrusted to us, and we must one day render account of them." (Calvin, Institutes, pg. 723)

The bottom line is this: be content and faithful with the beans the Lord has given you.

I have been struggling with prayer lately. I am pretty sure others are too. Sin is in the mix somewhere taking the form of laziness, wrong priorities, lack of concern, and all out worldliness. There is probably a wrong view of prayer there too. It is easy to get it in our craniums that prayer is easy. The only reason we think that is because our brains have already turned to mush. Prayer isn't easy. It's hard and dirty and uncomfortable. It's warlike. And as soon as we firm up our bowls full of mush we will probably pray more and better. Notice a few verses:

• Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers.. (Colossians 4:12)
• [Jesus,] Who in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and having been heard for his godly fear... (Hebrews 5:7)
• And being in an agony [Jesus] prayed more earnestly: and his sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground. (Luke 22:44)

There is the Biblical proof that prayer is at the least going to include struggling, agony, crying and tears and Jesus modeled that for us. Here is a quote I came across today about Jesus and his prayers.

"Nor are we to imagine that His prayers were merely peaceful meditations, or rapturous acts of communion. They were strenuous and warlike, from that hour in the wilderness when angels came to minister to the prostrate Man of Sorrows, on to that awful "agony" in which His sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood. His prayers were sacrifices, offered up with strong crying and tears."

~ David MacIntyre, The Hidden Life of Prayer, Kindle Locations 190-192

Question #25: Who is the Redeemer of God's elect?
Answer: The only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was and continues to be God and man, in two distinct natures and one person, forever. (Gal. 3:13; 1 Tim. 2:5; John 1:14; 1 Tim. 3:16; Rom. 9:5; Col. 2:9)

Any explanation of this requires more than a blog post. It requires a book or two or seven. But this is a blog post and therefore I will briefly highlight five parts of this question and answer.

First, Jesus is the only Redeemer of God’s elect. There are no other Redeemers or co-Redeemers available. Jesus is the only Redeemer of God’s elect (1 Tim. 2:4-5).

Second, redemption refers to purchasing someone’s release from slavery or captivity and was a common practice in Paul’s day. As sinners we are slaves to sin (John 8:34; Romans 6:16-22) and death (Heb. 2:15; Romans 6:16-22). Jesus purchased the believer’s release by dying in their place on the cross. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Gal. 3:13). You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ… (1 Peter. 1:18-19). For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). This redemption carries with it the idea of substitution. Jesus died in the place of sinners.

Third, Jesus was and continues to be fully God. In Jesus the fullness of deity dwells (Col. 2:9). It was necessary for Jesus, as the only Redeemer of God’s elect, to be fully God in order to pay the full penalty for sin on the cross. Anything less than an infinite sacrifice could not pay the full penalty of all the sins of God’s people. This is one reason why the blood of bulls and goats could never adequately pay the price of sin (Heb. 10:4).

Fourth, Jesus was and continues to be fully man. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). It was necessary for Jesus to be fully human because he had to be like us in order to be our mediator and die for us. This is another reason why the blood of bulls and goats could not pay the price of sin (Heb. 10:4). They are bulls and goats and not human. Jesus 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 (Hebrews 2:17-18).

Fifth, the most mysterious and miraculous aspect to this is that Jesus is fully God and fully man in one person. Jesus did not switch back and forth from being fully God to being fully man like a light blinks on and off. As J.I. Packer states in Concise Theology “[Jesus] did and endured everything, including his sufferings on the cross, in the unity of his divine-human person.” More could and needs to be said but it is safe to say that Jesus is the most unique person who has ever lived.

From Psalm 77 in our daily reading.

If you haven’t been there you will. It’s that sinking feeling you get in your stomach. Just the thought of Him makes you do something between cringe and cry…or at least feel like crying. You don’t sleep and your eyelids know the reason. Transcendent staples have them pinned on open. If you try and express how you feel your tongue entangles your feet and you trip. For the most part you look, sound, and feel stupid. It’s Psalm 77:1-5 all over again and this time all the verses fit.

What do you do? How do you navigate through this perilous fog bank? The only questions that come to mind are, “will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has His steadfast love ceased for good this time? Are His promises at an end? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has His anger shut up his compassion?” (Psalm 77:7-9)

What do you do?

Here is what you do. You appeal to what God has done in the past.

Then I said, "I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High."  11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.  12 I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.  13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?  14 You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. (Psalm 77:10-14)

The way forward through the fog is by looking back. Look back in order to go forward. It seems backwards but it’s really the way forward. The Psalmist looks back to what God has done for His people in the past. Like what God did at the exodus and the Red Sea.

By the way, this is why it pays to believe what the Bible says. If you think it is all myth and fairy tales because you have listened to Mr. and Mrs. Naturalist then you have nothing to look at when you look back except more bleak fog. Of course this is exactly what you were looking at before you looked back…or was it forwards? And now you are all turned around because everywhere you look is fog and you can’t remember what was forwards and what was backwards. All because you bought into the ancient lie, “there has to be a more natural explanation then what God has really said.”

Anyway, looking back to God’s previous acts is helpful for the saint walking through the dark valleys of life. If God led His people out of Egypt and through the wilderness He will continue to lead His saints now (Psalm 23:3-4). If God sent His Son into the world to die for the world on a cross what more proof of His love and grace do you need?

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

You can be confident that God will not abandon His purposes for His people nor will the wells of compassion dry up because you can look back to what God has done and the supreme example of His love is at the cross. Therefore even in the thickest and darkest fog you can confidently say, “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. (Proverbs 3:11-12)

"When we recognize the Father's rod, is it not our duty to show ourselves obedient and teachable children rather than, in arrogance, to imitate desperate men who have become hardened by their evil deeds?...Scripture teaches that this is the difference between unbelievers and believers...Now you must choose in which group you would prefer to be numbered."

~ John Calvin, Institutes, pg. 706-707

Facebook has been in the news a lot and not only because of the Wall Street fiasco. Facebook evidently is becoming a bigger player in divorce court.

According to a SmartMoney blog Facebook “isn’t always so marriage-friendly.  In fact, lawyers say the social network contributes to an increasing number of marriage breakups.” The article goes on to say that “More than a third of divorce filings last year contained the word Facebook, according to a U.K. survey by Divorce Online, a legal services firm. And over 80% of U.S. divorce attorneys say they’ve seen a rise in the number of cases using social networking, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.”

This isn’t good news so what should people do?

We need to understand the Bible’s teaching on marriage and there is a lot of ground to cover but let’s consider this one aspect of marriage. In marriage a man and a woman become one flesh (Gen. 2:24). “One flesh” is important because it contains the number one. Married couples are one flesh and therefore are not independent of each other (1 Cor. 11:11-12). They aren’t two. They are one.

This has some radical points of application for Facebook usage among married couples. Let me give you seven of them. Yes I know seven is a number representing completeness but this is by no means a complete list of Facebook rules.

1. If you must use Facebook consider having a single account that you both use. After all, you are “one” flesh. Doing this will ensure that messages and friends are known to both.
2. If you have separate Facebook accounts makes sure you are friends with each other (sounds like a no brainer but you never know…) and allow each other access to messages and wall posts. You are one flesh.
3. If you feel you must hide something then you should not be on Facebook. You shouldn’t be on the internet either. After all nothing is hidden (Eccl. 2:20; Luke 12:2-3) so don’t fool yourself. It will only make you look dumb and hurt others.
4. If you have relational baggage from the past (and it seems the majority of Americans do because everyone gets around) why would you want to bring that into your living room with your spouse sitting there? Again, it will only make you look dumb and it really will hurt others. Repent of past sin and move on with your spouse at your side.
5. Do you really need to be on Facebook? Don’t substitute fake, online relationships for the real thing. And don’t let online usage interfere with a real relationship with your spouse. Talk to each other in person and not through instant messages.
6. Don’t flirt and don't make it seem like you are available because you aren’t if you are married. Don’t put up with someone flirting with you either. Your spouse and your marriage will thank you.
7. Do you really need to be on Facebook? Seriously! People aren’t making money off of Facebook and marriages certainly aren’t getting better on Facebook so do you really need Facebook?