Hello, My Name Is Mr. Right. . . .

Here's a great article on what a true and godly marriage looks like: The Misery Caused by Foolish Husbands.

“For no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cares for it, just as Christ also the church” (Eph. 5:29)

No one ever hated his own flesh, but those who treat their wives hatefully do so without realizing it. The fool exalts himself over his wife, mocks her, demands service, and speaks in derogatory ways of her. Without realizing it, such fools are hating themselves. They demean their wives and suffer the consequences: highlighting the flaws of their wives only causes their wives to become less attractive as they grow more bitter, more discouraged, more frightened, and more suspicious. A one-flesh union with a bitter, discouraged, frightened, suspicious woman is hardly pleasant. Fools hate themselves. And wives of fools will have a difficult time respecting and submitting to husbands who treat them hatefully. When fools present their wives to themselves, they get what they have created for themselves: misery. Only by the abundance of God’s common grace do fools get any blessing from the the wives they have abused. They have hated themselves. They suffer for it.

Compare that to our True Husband:

Here is a paradox: by sacrificing himself Christ wins for himself a glorious church. Jesus gains what is desirable from an undesirable death. The very things that selfish people desire for themselves–good things that are desired inordinately and sinfully–are the things that Jesus gains by being unselfish. The very things that keep men from behaving in an unselfish way, from being concerned for the welfare of their wives first, are gained by Christ because he was unselfish. A selfish husband desires to be served and satisfied by a glorious wife. By unselfishly giving himself for his wife, Christ creates for himself just such a wife.

James M. Hamilton, Jr., “The Mystery of Marriage,” in For the Fame of God’s Name.

Jesus in Isaiah 6

When was the last time you read Isaiah 6? For me, this passage is familiar. It's one of those passages that I hope will hit me more and more. I desire that I would be filled with the greatness and awe of God's majesty, and this passage shows me just how majestic God is.

Recently I was listening to to our Vintage Jesus series that the teens in our youth ministry are going through, and Mark Driscoll brought up a point that I had never seen before: The description of God in Isaiah 6 is the description of Jesus. As a conservative evangelical Christian, I know that God is Triune, but it just hit me more to realize how closely related the Persons of the Trinity are when I heard Driscoll share this verse:

Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. - John 12:41

John is referencing Jesus in this verse. John is saying that Isaiah saw Jesus' glory and hence spoke of Him. At what point in time did Isaiah see Jesus' glory? It's rehearsed in Isaiah 6.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"

Jesus is not only the humble servant, but He is King of kings. He is the Holy Lord. He is the Mighty God whom seraphim continually worship. He is all-powerful. And, for anyone who trusts Him, He is their Savior!

Out of the Depths

For a while I've been wrestling with God regarding a theological truth. There are times in my life where these struggles seem to reach a point of intense mental opposition (where Galatians 5:17, or Romans 7, seems to be at a peak in my mind). I must say that I don't prefer these times. They times tend to carry along with them a long of physical, spiritual and mental strain - where I feel as though I cannot bear under the burden of these difficulties. That said, these times are (in some senses) needed in my life.

Last night I explained more to my wife what I was going through. And, our conversation was such a blessing. Tracy displayed so much grace, compassion, truth and wisdom. She challenged me in a way that showed me what faith needs to look like. I am so thankful to God for her!

I'm slowly re-learning (through God's great patience) that I need to exercise faith. This means to take my thoughts captive and fight sin actively and seek to trust God even (and maybe especially) when things do not make sense. So, instead of resorting to worry, I must actively engage in the lifestyle of faith - where I value and depend on who God is and what he says above anything else.

Now, your struggle might be different than mine. You might be facing some horrendously difficult trial. Either way, I hope that you see God's goodness towards you and that you embrace him with all your heart and trust him. "If you can't trace God's hand, trust his heart" (Spurgeon).

Here are some lyrics to a song that are especially encouraging to me, and I hope it is a help to you.

Out of the depths, O Lord, I cry to You
When I am tempted to despair.
And though I have failed to trust Your promises
You never fail to hear my prayer.
And, if you judge my sin, I'd never stand again.
But, I see mercy in Your hands.

So, more than watchmen for the morning,
I will wait for you, my God.
When my fears come with no warning,
In Your Word I put my trust.
When the harvest time is over,
and I still see no fruit,
I will wait. I will wait for You.

The secret mysteries belong to You.
We only know what You reveal.
And all my questions are unresolved
Don't change the wisdom of Your will.
In every trial and loss,
My hope is in the cross -
Where Your compassions never fail.

So, more than watchmen for the morning,
I will wait for you, my God.
When my fears come with no warning,
In Your Word I put my trust.
When the harvest time is over,
and I still see no fruit,
I will wait. I will wait for You.

(from the Psalms CD, Sovereign Grace Music)

Living Theology

This is a recent blog post that I found (the link to the original post is in the title). I hope it is encouraging to your heart!

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I have read about and heard of people who cringe at the idea of ‘studying’ God, as if learning theology is clinical, like some kind of divine autopsy. But Scripture consistently calls us to grow in our study and knowledge of God and says there is an important connection between what we know about God and how we should live.

I recently spoke at a retreat entitled – "The Ology." The idea was that of all our learning, studying and knowing God is most critical to all of life. God is the most important thing we can study, the most important "ology". In 2 Timothy 4, Paul presents this as he talks about the importance of “being trained” in “good doctrine." He directly connects theology to growing in godliness. Theology is not just book knowledge or head knowledge, it is heart and life knowledge. It is not just about what you know about God, but living in a way that is dictated by what you know. In their book, Let the Reader Understand, Dan McCartney and Charles Clayton say, “Doctrine has not been known properly until it has been lived out.” Wayne Grudem agrees in his definition of Systematic Theology when he says, “Defining Systematic Theology to include 'what the whole Bible teaches us today' implies that application to life is a necessary part of the proper pursuit of systematic theology (emphasis mine).” For Paul, having “good doctrine” is important because it causes us to grow in godliness – it affects the way we live.

Then in the familiar passage to not allow people to look down on Timothy’s youth, Paul calls him (and us) to “set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim 4:12). Paul says when we believe rightly it should cause us to live in such a way that we are examples to other believers. There should not be anyone looking down on us because of our age, but rather they should find themselves impressed, challenged, encouraged, and inspired by our speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. Paul is telling Timothy that even though he is young, his pursuit of God and passion for the Savior should be an example for those around him. And, in like manner our pursuit of God and passion for the Savior should be an example for those around us.

I see this everyday in the college students I serve.

Colin is a guy I know who is determined to spend time daily in the scriptures to study hard and know God. When I see him lead a morning prayer meeting on campus at 7am every Wednesday, I know he is not just doing it because he is a morning person. He knows that in the gospel, Christ has not only redeemed him but given him access to the Father in prayer. He knows God gives us prayer as an essential part of life and that God will answer our prayers (1 Thes 5:16-18; John 14:13). And so he prays and leads others to pray. When he takes a few hours on a Tuesday evening going out on campus to specifically start conversations about the gospel, it is not because he is finished all of his studying or has nothing better to do. He knows that eternity is at stake for students on the campus of West Chester University—that Christ died to save them in their rebellion and that hearing the Gospel can bring them from death to life (Rom 1:16-18; 2:5; 5:8 ;1 Cor 1:17-24). He does these things because of what he knows about God!

Another guy, Mike, has done a great job of honoring his Dad as he makes decisions about everything from jobs to school to how to spend his free time. As Mike looks at the gospel he realizes that Christ’s death for his sin frees him to honor God by honoring his father and provides him with the grace to do so. Even when his Dad’s perspective has differed from what Mike was hoping, it has not only been Mike’s keen sense of humor that has helped him to cope. Mike has also been able to see how his heart, though free from the dominion of sin, is still influenced by remaining sin. Knowing this helps him to seek God’s grace to be humble and receive input from his dad. This has served Mike all the more in his relationship with his girlfriend as he is not only open to his own father’s perspective, but also the thoughts and perspective of his girlfriend’s father.

Eszter is an au pair from Hungry. As she grown in her understanding and experience of the gospel, she sees how Christ’s blood has purchased her to be included among the people of God. Becoming more involved in her local church, she is constantly telling me how she finds joy in the word of God preached, in her friendships and in seeking to serve. Because coming to America can be a big adjustment, Eszter is often contacted by other au pairs who are moving to the Philadelphia area. What Eszter has learned about God in the gospel gets lived out not only in her own involvement, but in her enthusiasm to bring other au pairs to experience the same thing. Because she knows God has called her to be part of a local body of Christians, she wants others to experience the blessings of this kind of community.

Like so many other students I serve, what Colin, Mike and Eszter have learned in studying God (theology) has affected the way that they live (i.e. prayer, submission to parents, commitment to a local church). And this is an example to me and to our whole church!

The same needs to be true in every area of our lives: the way we run after godliness, the way we choose entertainment, the way we serve a friend, the things we say or don’t say, the way we give money or time to help those who are hungry, or sick or in need. How we live must be rooted in what we know about God. Knowing God will affect the way we live. Getting to know God is not about performing a divine autopsy; rather, it is the Living God making Himself known to us and then changing us by his grace to live out what we know. Study hard.
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Joseph Stigora serves Covenant Fellowship Church as the College-Age Pastor as well as by overseeing music and leading worship.

I've seen this particular skit multiple times now and it still brings me to tears. I hope that it points you to Christ also!

The Love of God

To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: ^Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ~ Romans 1:7

Last week I wrote about the great grace of God working out an obedience with which God is satisfied.

This week I want to focus on one phrase: "loved by God". This verse clearly shows us that there is a special love that God has for those who are saints. While we would agree that God displays love to all humanity, we must also admit that God's love varies depending on the people. Here's an example of this in our own lives: you might be able to say that you love everyone in this world; however, you love your parents, wife, or children more than the person down the street. Now, you would certainly not say that your love for the person down the street is defective simply because you love your spouse or parents more than he or she. This type of varied love is natural.

God displays similar love. And, as you're reading this post, I'm wanting to focus your heart on the Father's love towards those who believe. This love is so grand love that it enraptures His children and radically changes their entire being.

1 John 4:19 says, "We love because he first loved us" (ESV). Let us not dare think that we are the initiators in a relationship with God. No, in fact, God, out of His great love, initiated our relationship. If He hadn't begun our relationship, if it were left to the saints to initiate, we'd still be reveling in our sin. And, despite our deserving eternal, holy wrath, God decided to display His love towards us.

So, we not only experience a loving pity that God displays to the entire world, but we also experience all the benefits and blessings of being in the family of God. We are loved as a friend and child. We are adopted and that can never be revoked.

To say you are loved by God (in the ultimate sense) is to say that you are eternally secure in Jesus - having been given an all-satisfying relationship with the Father because of Christ through the power of the Spirit.

Oh what comfort and joy in knowing we are loved by God! Savor this truth today and the rest of your life.

Jesus Learned Obedience

Does that phrase shock you? It did to me when I read it this morning. Then I began to study the passage from which it came.

"In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him," (Hebrews 5:7-9, ESV)

This passage is somewhat full of confusion. Although, after studying it some, I find some great encouragement.

First, note Jesus' humanity. He didn't just pray. He prayed with emotion - with loud cries and tears. He had passion. He felt pain and agony. Do you see this? Do you imagine Jesus in the Garden? There's pain, passion and pursuit of the Father! This verse also reveals that Jesus is reverent. In all of this, Christ worshipped God and submitted to His will. He praised God for Who He is.

Second, we find that Jesus learned obedience. How can a perfect man learn obedience? Simply put, whenever He was taught something regarding true obedience or greater obedience, he embraced it fully and used it for future scenarios. Think of learning how to read or write or do math problems. A teacher can tell you how to work the problems, and if you learn from her correctly, you will do exactly what she says. In a similar way, Jesus was taught by his earthly parents and God Himself. Whenever Jesus was put in a situation, He learned and obeyed. He also used what he learned so that He could withstand the trials that were coming surrounding His death.

Third, through Jesus' experience with human emotions, temptations and perfect obedience, He was placed as the perfect High Priest. The passage says, "being made perfect". That means that Jesus, through all His life, proved Himself as the Preeminent One to be worshipped and adored.

From all of these facts, I want you to see the beauty of Jesus. He was a man who had pains. He had to learn obedience. But, through all of this, He reverenced God. And, because of that, He can truly "sympathize with our weaknesses" (Heb. 4:15). He knows where you're at today. He knows what you're struggling with. But, He also confidently opens His arms up to you so you also can run and find refuge, hope and strength to obey!

"Dear Lord, You endured suffering by simply becoming a human being. But, in order to experience the fullest extent of obedience, you desired to come to this earth and suffer for the sins of men! Now we can come to Your presence boldly with praise. Let us find rest and comfort in these truths. Amen."

Worthy Of Our Calling

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (ESV)

"To this end we always pray for you, that our God may ^make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."

What is God's calling? It's a calling to Himself and to His family. It means we are heirs, children, priests and kings. It is perfect and complete. It's a statement that teaches us who we are and what we have yet to become.

As Paul talks about the Thessalonians faith in the midst of trials and the inevitable punishment the people afflicting them, he says that he always prays that the Thessalonian believers would walk worthy of God's calling. Why would he pray this? If the Thessalonians are already called God's children and a kingdom of priests, do they really have to attain to anything more?

The issue isn't about attaining. The issue is about living out what you truly are: righteous, perfect, complete in Christ. If you are a believer, you have a satisfaction in Christ that will grow as your faith grows in Him. As you become filled with Jesus on a regular basis, your desires change from being inward focused to outward focused (i.e. - you desire that Jesus will be viewed as preeminent in your life, not your own self).

But, how can we really live out the what God commands of us? The answer: just as our calling is given by God's grace, so is living it out. You and I cannot do anything apart from the supernatural work of God in our lives. Without Christ, we can do nothing (John 15). Verses 11-12 make this point clear. Paul prays that God will make us worthy of the calling by His grace.

So, do you desire to maximize the glory of God in your life? Do you have great resolves for good and yet become dissatisfied with the fact that you're not carrying it out (Rom 7)? If so, stop and meditate on these verses. Who do you view the main agent of change in your life? If your answer focuses on you, repent. Turn to Christ now and submit to God! Run to Him. Then, preach the truths of the gospel to yourself. When you're focused on Christ's work in you, the Spirit births greater desires and passions in you so that you cannot help but serve God!

"Dear Lord, strenghten us by Your grace. We are weak, but You are strong. We are Your children, but so often we fail to live out our calling. Help us, Father, to truly look to Christ and depend on Him for every desire and ability. Thank You for the Cross and the blessings that proceed from it. We praise You and love You."

Jesus Is The Light

This morning, as I was praying, I believe that the Lord has taught me something new. It's such an undeserved gift to have a relationship with the Eternal Creator!

You might have heard people explain passages on Jesus being the Light in these terms only: the light enables you to see things around you. You can see your own sin. You can see the sin of the world. And, the light enables you to know where to walk so that you are going forward on the straight and narrow path. All of these aspects are correct, but on my prayer walk, as I was enjoying the sun (up here in Michigan, we haven't had many sunny days this year), I was encountered with another truth relating to the light - it's enjoyable!

On my prayer walk I was merely basking in the fact that it was sunny and warm. Do you ever do that? Do you love beautiful days? When it's a sunny day, does your attitude change? Do you enjoy the light?

Now, let's apply this to Christ. He is the Light of the world. Not only does He give us what we need in order to fight sin and pursue righteousness. But, at a more basic level, He melts our icy hearts and causes us to delight in who He is.

So, are you growing in your delight of Him? Have you found any joy in Christ? Do you bask in the Son? I don't want to be "cheesy" with my choice of words, but I do want to challenge you to not merely know the facts about Jesus. I want to encourage you to move to the relational level with Christ. Has Christ melted your heart or are you content with an icy cold world?

Jesus is the Light! Lay yourself at His feet and seek satisfaction in Christ.

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" - John 8:12 (emphasis mine)

"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." - 2 Corinthians 4:6 (emphasis mine)

"and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel," - 2 Timothy 1:10

My Life

I feel bad because I haven't posted in a while; however, as everyone else, I've been quite busy with this, that and the other thing!

Thankfully, that busyness has not caused me to run further from God. Instead, in the midst of this busyness, I've been drawing closer to God.

Currently, I'm reading through several books (as you can see in the side panel) and I'm blessed by each of them in different ways. On Wednesday nights, I'm going through the "Don't Waste Your Life" study with our teens. We're on our third week and I've definitely been learning. It's amazing how one point will just stick in your head to meditate on. And, I've learned, through Packer's book that this is one means by which God speaks to us. He implants certain things in our mind and teaches us specific truths so that we can grow and seek His glory with even greater fervor!

I'm extremely blessed.

Here are several reasons for me saying that (I'd encourage you to write down some blessings, too, so that you think on God's favor towards you, His child):

1. I'm learning from God.

2. God has allowed me to catch a glimpse of some beautiful fruit in the teens lives. This past weekend was even more than the icing on the cake. We had an all-night prayer on Friday night. To be honest, I was praying that God would meet us, but I never expected what did happen: we literally spent hours praying, praising and meditating on God! It was beautiful and I was blessed to be a part of it.

3. We also had a missions trip meeting on Sunday - what a blessing to see the teens growing in spiritual unity and desiring to seek after God. Oh, how beautiful.

4. I have a wonderful wife and joy-producing boys. In the midst of my ministry-life and all the non-glamorous moments, God has used my family to point me to the things that really matter. (Thank you, Tracy, for your patience, love, perseverance, joy, etc.)

5. I have people lifting me up in prayer. I'm convinced that nothing truly great can happen without prayer, and I am honored that people are praying for me.

There are a myriad of other reasons to be thankful, too, but these are just a few. Praise God for His gracious blessings!

To God Alone Be The Glory!

Leaning On Myself = A Lack of Confidence

Over the past week I've been dealing with a low-grade guilt (as C.J. Mahaney puts it in The Cross Centered Life ). I've been seeing difficulty with the passage in 1 John 1:9 where it says, that God only forgives us when we confess our sins. I've been making that verse LAW instead of seeing it as a GOSPEL truth. I would look at that saying, "I sin all the time; so, that must mean I'm never fully forgiven because I don't know ALL the sins I commit at all times."

In reality, this passage is discussing two truths about the sinfulness of man: 1) We are to acknowledge the fact at all times that we're sinners. 2) We need to agree with God that those sins are treasonous and we desire to grow relationally with our Father. Instead of this verse saying that God's wrath is on His children who do not confess their sins (which could never be the case). We must view this as a verse that helps us to draw closer and closer to our loving Father who desires that we know Him to the fullest!

That said, I came across the prayer "Confidence" from The Valley of Vision . One particular phrase (which will be italicized below) struck me. Very simple yet always profound.

O God, thou art very great,
My lot is to approach thee with godly fear and humble confidence,
for thy condescension equals thy grandeur,
and thy goodness is thy glory.
I am unworthy, but thou dost welcome;
guilty, but thou art merciful;
indigent, but thy riches are unsearchable.
Thou hast shown boundless compassion towards me
by not sparing thy Son,
and by giving me freely all things in him;
This is the foundation of my hope,
the refuge of my safety,
the new and living way to thee,
the means of that conviction of sin,
brokenness of heart, and self-despair,
which will endear to me the gospel....

See, the reality is that we always know we're guilty, but we also know that God is always merciful. He covers our sin in love and then forgives us when we come to Him again with our uncleanness.

Look at Romans 3:23-25: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith." We tend to use that for the unsaved world, but do you see that this passage particularly talks of the Christian? It says that all have sinned and all are justified. That's not the unbelieving world. It's those who have been given (received) Christ by faith. And, the beauty of this passage ties in what I want to say: for all have sinned (past tense) and fall short (present tense - continually fall short). But, the reality is that God is boundless in his compassion towards us.

We are justified FREELY because of Christ. Hope in Him. Go to Him and be satisfied in His perfect way.

The Fragrance of Christ

2 Corinthians 2:14-15:

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,

Here are a couple of big ideas from the passage:

1. Jesus is THE conqueror. - In Roman days, the triumphal procession was something that was rarely done. The commander who won the battle had to fulfill strict stipulations that the senate had made. "[It] was required that the victory be complete and decisive, that it should be over a foreign foe, that at least five thousand of the enemy should be slain in a single battle, that the conquest should extend the territory of the state, and that it put an end to the war."1 Jesus has and is conquering everything for YOU, Christian! And, He is ALWAYS (not just sometimes) leading you in triumphal procession. He conquered the greatest foes. And, He did it so that you might know Christ, be satisfied in Him, and so that He might...

2. Spread the fragrance of Christ through you. - Paul is still using the "procession" analogy. You must remember that a Roman Soldier lived for this day. Being a soldier was his only occupation. But the soldier wasn't the only one excited. Everything in a city was focused on the procession down to very specific details. They'd even have incense burning throughout the city. Imagine what it was like for a soldier marching behind his victorious commander while people are cheering them on and the city streets smell glorious! In the same sense, Paul is telling us that God spreads the fragrance/smell of Jesus through us. And, this fragrance (which is the knowledge of Christ) is all-satisfying. Listen, Paul isn't saying, "If you'd just do all the right things, God will spread the fragrance of Christ through you." No, Paul says that God does spread the fragrance through you, a righteous sinner. He accomplishes His will through you, and He has purposed to satisfy you with Christ.

So, wrapping up, I want you to be encouraged by the fact that you are ALWAYS being led in triumphal procession. You, only on the basis of Christ, are victorious over sin, death, hell, Satan and your flesh! I also want you to walk away being reminded that Christ is the ultimate satisfaction. He's the fragrance that you cannot get enough of. He's all-satisfying, and because he is all-satisfying, that fragrance spreads through you to others so that they too might draw closer to Christ!

Praise God that He's victorious!



1. Freeman, James M. ; Chadwick, Harold J.: Manners & Customs of the Bible. Rev. ed.]. North Brunswick, NJ : Bridge-Logos Publishers, 1998, S. 541