By Cotton Mather

Our continual apprehension of God, may produce our continual satisfaction in God, under all His dispensations. Whatever enjoyments are by God conferred upon us, where lies the relish, where the sweetness of them? Truly, we may come to relish our enjoyments, only so far as we have something of God in them. It was required in Psalm 37:4, “Delight thyself in the Lord.” Yea, and what if we should have no delight but the Lord? Let us ponder with ourselves over our enjoyments: “In these enjoyments I see God, and by these enjoyments, I serve God!”

And now, let all our delight in, and all our value and fondness for our enjoyments, be only, or mainly, upon such a divine score as this. As far as any of our enjoyments lead us unto God, so far let us relish it, affect it, embrace it, and rejoice in it: “O taste, and feed upon God in all;” and ask for nothing, no, not for life itself, any further than as it may help us, in our seeing and our serving of our God.

And then, whatever afflictions do lay fetters upon us, let us not only remember that we are concerned with God therein, but let our concernment with God procure a very profound submission in our souls. Be able to say with him in Psalm 39:9, “I open not my mouth, because thou didst it.” In all our afflictions, let us remark the justice of that God, before whom, “why should a living man complain for the punishment of his sin?” The wisdom of that God, “whose judgments are right:” the goodness of that God, who “punishes us less than our iniquities do deserve.” Let us behave ourselves, as having to do with none but God in our afflictions: And let our afflictions make us more conformable unto God: which conformity being effected, let us then say, “‘Tis good for me that I have been afflicted.”

Sirs, what were this, but a pitch of holiness, almost angelical! Oh! Mount up, as with the wings of eagles, of angels: be not a sorry, puny, mechanick sort of Christians any longer; but reach forth unto these things that are thus before you.

Cotton Mather, (February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728), was an influential New England Puritan minister, prolific author of more than 450 books and pamphlets

One would think that Christians would live in constant expectation of Heaven. But the fact is, often we are too wrapped up in our present existence to give it much thought.

In his classic devotional book titled The Saint’s Everlasting Rest, English Puritan pastor and author Richard Baxter (1615-1691) wrote:

‘Why are not our hearts continually set on heaven? Why dwell we not there in constant contemplation? …Bend thy soul to study eternity, busy thyself about the life to come, habituate thyself to such contemplations, and let not those thoughts be seldom and cursory, but bathe thyself in heaven’s delights.’

A. Heaven Will Be The Saint’s Eternal Home.

“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

B. Heaven Will Be A Place Of Eternal Health.

“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:53)

“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians 5:1)

C. Heaven Will Be A Place Of Eternal Happiness.

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”” (Revelation 21:4)

D. Heaven Will Be A Place Of Eternal Holiness.

“But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (Revelation 21:27)

THE CONSCIENCE is the automatic warning system by which we become aware of spiritual and moral danger and by which we sense our guilt. It is the innate ability to sense right and wrong. It entreats us to do what is right and to refrain from doing what is wrong. The Puritan Richard Sibbes wrote in the 17th century that it is ‘the soul reflecting on itself.’ It is privy to all our secret thought and motives.

J I Packer defines it as ‘practical moral reason, consciously exercised, growing in insight and sureness of guidance through instruction and use, and bringing inner integration, health and peace to those who obey it.’

The Bible declares that everyone has a conscience (Rom 2:14-15) and that we are to purse a good conscience, stressing that if the mind is defiled it cannot accurately inform the conscience, so conscience cannot warn the person (Titus 1:15). It warns against anything that would defile the conscience (1 Cor 8:7), the dangers of a calloused conscience (1 Cor 8:10), a wounded conscience (1 Cor 8:12) and of a seared conscience (1 Tim 4:2).

Joseph Addison Alexander wrote this helpful poem about the conscience:

Calvin’s first rule of prayer was to enter into it with a full awareness of the One to whom we are speaking. The key to prayer is a spirit of reverence and adoration: “Let the first rule of right prayer be, to have our heart and mind framed as becomes those who are entering into converse with God.”

Calvin wrote of how easy it is for our minds to wander in prayer. We become inattentive, as if we were speaking to someone with whom we are easily bored. This insults the glory of God: “Let us know, then, that none duly prepare themselves [sic] for prayer but those who are so impressed with the majesty of God that they engage in it free from all earthly cares and affections.”

Calvin’s second rule of prayer was that we ask only for those things that God permits. Prayer can be an exercise in blasphemy if we entreat His blessing for our sinful desires: “I lately observed, men in prayer give greater license to their unlawful desires than if they were telling jocular tales among their equals.”

Calvin’s third rule of prayer was that we must always pray with genuine feeling. Prayer is a matter of passion: “Many repeat prayers in a perfunctory manner from a set form, as if they were performing a task to God … They perform the duty from custom, because their minds are meanwhile cold, and they ponder not what they ask.”

A fourth rule of prayer from Calvin was that it be always accompanied by repentance: “God does not listen to the wicked; that their prayers, as well as their sacrifices, are an abomination to them. For it is right that those who seal up their hearts should find the ears of God closed against them.”

Calvin said a humble submission is required: “Of this submission, which casts down all haughtiness, we have numerous examples in the servants of God. The holier they are, the more humbly they prostrate themselves when they come into the presence of the Lord.”

If I can summarize Calvin’s teaching on prayer succinctly, I would say this: The chief rule of prayer is to remember who God is and to remember who you are. If we remember those two things, our prayers will always and ever be marked by adoration and confession.

Ligonier.org

That is the closing sentence of John Stott’s book ‘Basic Christianity’.  And it is a good place to start this New Year which God is giving to us.

‘Now’ – knowing whom we follow, our great God and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

‘Now’ – in the light of all that He has done for us in redemption and providence. How can we not continue to so follow Him?

‘Now’ – regardless of how much this has been true of us either last year or in the sequence of years since we became Christians.

 ‘Now’ – without delay or those excuses which focus on ‘me’ instead of on the Lord Jesus Christ.

‘Now’ – in the days of sorrows as well as the days of joy, in times which are inconvenient as well as convenient.

‘Now’ – with resolve to grow in knowledge and to grow in holiness.

‘Now’ – knowing that the very grace of God that has enabled me to so do so far will continue to help me today and every tomorrow.

‘Now’ – for it remains my calling every day, not just that of those around me and through whom the Lord is pleased to bless me.

In this the prayer of Derek Thomas is instructive:

‘I pray for the grace that will keep me enduring to the end.  I want Jesus to have everything there is of me.’

May God grant us such a hearing of the voice of Christ in His Word to renew our following Him in a way that suitably glorifies Him, and the echo in our voice as we ask for grace that it might indeed and increasingly be so. For only in this way will be know the wonder of a truly Happy New Year.

Jesus said: “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt 11:28-29).

⁹ For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ¹⁰ that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;    ¹¹ strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; ¹² giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. ¹⁸ And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

¹⁹ For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, ²⁰ and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

                Colossians 1:9-20

Many Christians today have an understanding of Christ that, according to Sinclair Ferguson, ‘is more informed by Santa Claus than Scripture.’ He speaks of the Santa Christ – and he is not nice but naughty.

Sinclair Ferguson identifies 3 ‘Santa Christs’.

1. The Pelagian Jesus. Pelagius taught that all people are naturally good. His Jesus then, like Santa, simply asks whether we have been good enough. So just as Christmas dinner is simply the better dinner we really deserve, Jesus becomes a kind of added bonus that makes a good life even better. He is not seen as the Saviour of helpless sinners.

2. The Semi-Pelagian Jesus. This view regards man as sick because of sin yet still capable of some good, especially with some help. This Jesus, Santa-like, gives gifts to those who have already done the best they could! You don’t have to be perfect, just pass in answering the soft question “Have you done your best this year?”

3. The Mystical Jesus.  This one is getting very popular today. Like Santa he is important because of the good experiences we have when we think about him, irrespective of his historical reality. In fact it doesn’t really matter whether the story is true or not; the important thing is the spirit of Santa Christ. For that matter, while it would spoil things to tell the children this, everyone can make up his or her own Santa Christ. As long as we have the right spirit of Santa Christ, all is well.

But we get a very different picture don’t we when we turn to the Bible.

There we soon discover that Jesus did not come to add to our comforts. He did not come to help those who were already helping themselves or to fill life with more pleasant experiences. He came on a deliverance mission, to save sinners, and to do so He had to destroy the works of the Devil (Matt. 1:21; 1 John 3:8b).

He did not come merely to add something extra to life, but to deal with our spiritual insolvency and the debt of our sin. He was not conceived in the womb of Mary for those who have done their best, but for those who know that their best is “like filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6)—far from good enough—and that in their flesh there dwells no good thing (Rom. 7:18). He was not sent to be the source of good experiences, but to suffer the pangs of hell in order to be our Saviour.

– Based on an adapted excerpt from Sinclair Ferguson’s ‘In Christ Alone’

After all, there are songs on mainstream radio proclaiming the birth of a King, whom people are coming to adore, a Saviour who can save us all from Satan’s power. This is the time of year when people are most open to going to a church service or watching your kids sing in a Christmas program. Yet, even during this special time of year, sharing the gospel with family can be difficult. Why? We’re up against some tough obstacles (just to name a few):

• Our world is fallen.
• People are slaves to sin.
• The Devil is not sitting idly by as we tell people to turn from darkness to the light of Christ.
• There can be challenging family dynamics or strained relationships.

(adapted from Bringing the Gospel Home)

Evangelism is never really comfortable, natural, or easy. And that’s not the goal of evangelism anyway. Rather, “[the goal is] evangelism that heralds accurately and powerfully the goodness of the gospel—regardless of the difficulty for us proclaiming it or the resistance from those who hear it,” explains Randy Newman, author of ‘Bringing the Gospel Home.’

Randy Newman who is a converted Jew tells of his struggles to bring the gospel home to his Jewish family, and provides helpful insights in what is often a difficult task for us and yet one we long to fulfil, a task of love for the Lord and for those near and dear to us.

I have read the first chapter as I write this, which gives a balanced biblical view, and therefore a high view, of the family which is so essential for evangelism, followed with some practical implications and pointers for us in relating to non-Christian family members.

Crossways is making an electronic version of this available free to download this Christmas (in 3 formats – pdf, mobi (kindle) and ePub). Go to http://www.crossway.org/blog and look for the link. I encourage you to download a free copy.

As an aside, it always interests me that such people generally only talk about claiming interesting things for Christ – supermarkets, public transport, and trash collection have not, as far as I recall, been the subject of `Christianity and Culture’ conferences.

In this context, it is worth asking whether all of the concern for Christianity and culture is a function of the affluence of contemporary society.  2 Corinthians 5 is quite instructive here.

If ever there was a chapter in the Bible in which a heavenly-minded vision is laid out, it is surely this one.

Writing out of a ministry which involves acute suffering, mental, emotional, and physical, Paul expresses his longing to be with the Lord in heaven and, beyond that, to receive his glorious resurrection body.

Indeed, it is this hope which actually makes the unpleasantness of his earthly pilgrimage both bearable and worthwhile; and the focus is not on himself and his work, but on Christ.

This is why, in the latter part of the chapter, Paul turns his attention to Christ.

Yes, he could have spent his time outlining his own plans or looking to claiming this or that bit of the culture for Christ or proclaiming that, if his political party do not achieve power, the world is going to the dogs.

Rather, he focuses on Christ, His person, His work, and the reconciliation effected in His name; and then he points to how this changes everything.  No longer is the world to be judged according to the flesh.  The only thing that really counts is whether one is in Christ or not.

That may not impress the culture vultures; but it is Pauline Christianity.

-          Carl Trueman (www.reformation21.org)

Here is something of such significance it is worthy to take time to see it, to think about it, to wonder how it could be, and why it should not be. Here is a startling and provocative reality!

Here we are encouraged to “Behold” a beauty beyond all others: the union of the saints all dwelling together in sweet communion and fellowship.

Why is this such a startling and provocative reality?

Well look around us, what do we see? We live in a world full of war and hate.  We see divisions between nations, within nations. Maybe you have felt the divisions and hurts within your own family from time to time.

The Psalmist David knew it nationally and personally. When he became King of Israel after the death of Saul the Northern tribes rejected his reign, with the potential of civil war. In his own family as a father he saw the hostility between his sons, and knew it from his son Absalom against himself in his effort to wrestle the throne form his father.

David in time knew the joy of seeing the nation united under his leadership, but not within his family.

Maybe all of this made the unity he saw and participated in among genuine believers, whom he calls brothers, all the more precious. As that which is to be delighted in and to be maintained (Eph 4:3). Unity among the people of God is always fragrant and makes them appealing to unbelievers. But the odour of disunity will drive them away!

Jesus prayed “Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.” “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17: 11a, 20–21)

Under Christ’s leadership people of different race, gender, culture, backgrounds are united. “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation” (Eph 2:14).

Unity is a rare thing. This unity is a beautiful thing. This unity is Christ’s thing, and if we are in Christ it is our thing. We are a family in Christ. No Christian is an only child. We can’t thrive in isolation. We need to see our identity in the Body of Christ, and express it in the unity we have in Christ.