By all accounts, the Old Rag Hike was a raving success. For me, the daily totals included more than a gallon of water, 5 granola bars, a turkey sandwich, Chex mix, 7.1 miles, 2510 vertical feet, 90 photos and many, many fun conversations.

To those of you who came, thanks for coming, and thanks for not falling off any cliffs! Send me your best 2-3 pictures, and I’ll post an Old Rag photo gallery in a couple of days. In the meantime, here are a couple of my favorites:

What was your favorite memory of this hike? Tell us about it…

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I’m quoting blogger Justin Taylor quoting blogger Zach Neilson quoting author Jerry Bridges’ book Transforming Grace, p. 124:

I think my parents’ pool hall fence was appropriate. But there is a lesson in my experience for all parents: Don’t focus on the fence. If you erect a fence for your children - for example, in regard to certain movies or television programs- be sure to focus on the real issues, not the fence. Take time to explain and re-explain the reason for the fence.

If you decide, as my parents did , that you don’t want your children going to the local pool hall, explain why. Distinguish between playing the game itself - which has neither negative nor positive moral value - and the atmosphere you are trying to protect them from.

For all of us, it may be good to have some fences, but we have to work at keeping them as just that - fences, helpful to us but not necessarily applicable to others. we also have to work at guarding our freedom from other people’s fences.

Some of the fences in our respective Christian circles have been around a long time. No one quite knows their origin, but by now they are “embedded in concrete”. Although it may cause conflict if you violate one, you must guard your freedom. To paraphrase Paul, “Stand firm in your freedom, and don’t let anyone bring you into bondage with their fences.”

I’m not suggesting you jump over fences just to thumb your nose at the people who hold to them so dearly. We are to “make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Romans 14:19). Use discretion in embracing or rejecting a particular fence. but don’t let other coerce you with man made rules. And ask God to help you see if you are subtly coercing or judging others with your own fences.

Categories: Thursday Thoughts For Parents, five15 blog
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I drank from a number of different cups today. The various cups from which I imbibed contained, in order: coffee, orange juice, more coffee, ice water, Mountain Dew, milk, and more ice water. None of the cups I held in my hand contained wrath. Good thing for me.

Jerry Bridges begins this chapter by taking us to the Garden of Gethsemane for Jesus’ famous prayer:

My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.

He explains the significance:

So we see that the cup is a metaphorical expression referring to the judgment of God as expressed in the pouring out of His wrath on sinful nations and people.

THE WRATH OF GOD

God’s wrath arises from His intense, settled hatred of all sin and is the tangible expression of His inflexible determination to punish it. We might say God’s wrath is His justice in action, rendering to everyone his just due, which, becuase of our sin, is always judgment.

It is the necessary response of God to uphold His moral authority in His universe. And though God’s wrath does not contain the sinful emotions associated with human wrath, it does contain a fierce intensity arising from His settled opposition to sin and His determination to punish it to the utmost.

THE CUP OF WRATH

What was in the cup? It was the wrath of God. It was the cup of wrath that we should have drunk.

2 Corinthians 5:21: “God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

PROPITIATION? WHAT’S THAT?

The Bible uses a strange word to describe what Christ did for us when He drank the cup of God’s wrath in our place: propitiation.

Propitiation is a good word and one that all sincere believers should understand and contemplate with wonder and amazzement when it is used to describe the work of Christ for us.

I believe a word that forcefully captures the essence of Jesus’ work of propitiation is the word exhausted. Jesus exhausted the wrath of God. It was not merely deflected and precented from reaching us; it was exhausted. Jesus bore the full, unmitigated brunt of it. God’s wrath against sin was unleashed in all its fury on His beloved Son. He held nothing back.

All who trust in Jesus need never fear the possibility of experiencing the wrath of God. It was exhausted on His Son as He stood in our place, bearing the guilt of our sin. That is what propitiation means.

THE LOVE OF GOD

“This is how god showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice [a propitiation] for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10)

Herein lies the glory of the cross. Justice and mercy are reconciled; wrath and love are both given full expression—and all of this so that we might expreince the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Some questions for discussion with your parents:

• What pictures or feelings come to mind when you think of “God’s wrath”?
• Jesus exhausted God’s wrath. The cup of wrath is empty. What does this mean for us?
• Why is it important for your daily life to know that God has no more wrath when He looks at you?

Categories: Summer Reading '07, five15 blog
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As best I can tell, the five15 Retreat is 57 days away. As the days crawl by, one way you can prepare is to pray. I want us to pray for revival. I was inspired by reading these words from D. A. Carson:

But if the Lord visited his people with revival, it was immediately evident in an extraordinary sense of the presence of God, in deep-seated repentance and a renewed passion for holiness, and ultimately in the sound and indisputable conversion of many people. Carson, For The Love Of God, Vol 1, 6/15.

I want more of that. I think we’ve been blessed with incredibly blessed by the presence and power of the Spirit at previous retreats and meetings, but we need to be filled again with the Holy Spirit. Let’s use the ideas above and the words of Ephesians 5:18-21 to guide our prayers:

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Categories: Retreat07, five15 blog
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According to the Desiring God blog, it is Christmas in June! Every book in the Desiring God Ministries on-line store is on sale for only $5 on Wednesday and Thursday this week, June 27-28.

Go crazy.

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A reminder: one week from today, we are going to hike Old Rag. This is a beautiful, scenic, and very challenging hike, a ton of fun! Relevant details:

• RIDES. We are not providing or arranging rides. You are on your own for getting there and getting home. If you are driving and want to caravan out with others so you don’t get lost, meet at the building, ready to roll by 8am. But have your ride arranged before you get there!
• MONEY. Each vehicle will need $15 cash to park. Please offer a few bills to the driver of your vehicle to help cover gas.
• CONTACT. Tony Rossell is running this. If you need to get in touch with him, call his cell phone or his home phone, both of which were on the flier we passed out at the last five15 meeting.
• HOME. We should be home around dinner time, Lord willing.
• WEATHER. Current 10-Day forecast is 88 and cloudy, but it’s weather: anything could happen. We won’t hike in the rain. Check back here for updates.
  

What to bring:

• A backpack. Fill it with lunch and lots of water.
• Hiking boots or a sturdy pair of sneaks. If you wear flips or sandals, you will regret it.
• Don’t forget lots of water.
• Modest clothes. Thanks for serving.
• Don’t forget lots of water.
• Camera. Great views + friends = cheesy photo ops.
• Don’t forget lots of water.

If you would like to learn more, check out this Old Rag website.

Finally, and VERY IMPORTANT! If you are planning on coming to this hike (or any other five15 event, like Six Flags or the Retreat), you’ll need to fill out a Participation Agreement. We’ve been doing these for years, we just need you to fill out a new one each year. You can print it off and turn it in on Sunday or bring it with you next Saturday. Download it here: Participation Agreement.pdf

Categories: Announcements, five15 blog
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Justice and mercy are the two equal and opposite responses to laws broken. In this chapter, Bridges describes the dilemma we face as we think about the justice we deserve and the mercy we want, we have to come to grips with the reality of who God is and what his plans are for the world.

Justice may be defined as rednering to everyone according to one’s due. Justice means we get exactly what we deserve—nothing more, nothing less… God does not exalt His mercy at the expense of His justice.

The answer to our dilemma lies in the cross. Through His death on the cross Jesus fully satisfied the justice of God on our behalf…

Through His representative union with us, Jesus assumed our obligation to perfectly obey the Law of God and obeyed it to the letter. Through that same union Jesus assumed our liability for not obeying the Law and paid that liability to the utmost. He fully and completely satisfied the justice of God on our behalf as our substitute. Therefore, everyone who has trusted in Christ as Savior can say, ‘God’s justice toward me is satisfied.’”

The death of Jesus was a complete and full satisfaction of divine justice for all who trust in Him. At the cross there is no tension between justice and mercy; instead, they meet in full harmony. Therefore, as believers we can rejoice in the abundant mercy of God through Christ, while at the same time fully honoring the inviolate nature of His holy justice.

Talk to your parents about these questions:

• To what extent do you live with the fear that God will punish you—or is punishing you—for your sins? What prompts you to fear or not fear this?
• How will knowing that Christ has satisfied God’s justice on yoru behalf affect the way you deal with: a) an experience of suffering? b) yourself when you sin? c) an experience when someone else sins against you?

Categories: Summer Reading '07, five15 blog
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If you are planning to come to Six Flags with us on July 9 and want to get the special group rate price, remember that sign up ends on Sunday. So bring your $29 and don’t miss the table in the lobby.

Categories: Announcements, five15 blog
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Thanks to all of you who served at the car wash and yard sale on Saturday.  While it may seem that washing cars or directing traffic at event like this has only a small impact, the truth is that service with joy is very unusual, especially among youth. It commands attention! Mr. Uribe sent me an email earlier this week with these words, highlighting a few of his favorite things from the event:

The youth smiling, working, serving were a great testimony to the folks who came.  I had repeated interactions with guests who said, “I’ve never seen anything like this; young people working with the parents and apparently happy to be doing it.” “What do you guys do here? I’ve never seen youth work like this and not ask for money.” “So what kind of church is this where kids come to help out and not ask for money?”

My favorite though was the postman who delivers the mail at the church. He said that the reason he came was because every day when he comes to the church he finds the “young people always smile and greet him” and “believe me, that doesn’t happen everywhere I go.” “They’re always very pleasant” and he came to see what exactly we do to have kids like that.  He said he and his wife (or fiance) were so impressed with what they saw that they planned on coming Sunday morning to get more information (I looked for him, but did not find them. I’ll be looking out for him the next couple of weeks).

What an impressive testimony to your faithful service and joyful sacrifice. There are a lot other things you could have been doing with your Saturday!  I respect you for giving it up to wash cars (for free) and serve with the yard sale. I hope you feel the Lord’s pleasure in this!

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Obedience that is not delighted in is not perfect obedience. Yet that was the quality of obedience Jesus rendered throughout His life, from birth to death.

In this chapter, Bridges covers two very important concepts: the obedience of Christ and our union with Christ.

The obedience of Christ means was both “active and passive”:

They refer to the two works of Christ in regard to God’s Law. The Law contains both precepts and penalties. The precepts are to be fully obeyed, and the penalties are imposed for the least infraction of the precepts.

Jesus was born under the Law because He came to perfectly obey it in our place. He came to do what we, becuase of our sinful nature, could not do.

He actively obeyed the Father’s universal moral will, which we call the Lord of God, and He passively obeyed the fathers’s specific will for Him, namely to suffer the penalty for our sin.

Meanwhile, union with Christ means:

Jesus was appointed by God the Father as our legal representative. This legal representation is the basis upon whch the life and death of Christ become effective for us.

It is this legal union that the apostle Paul had in view when he wrote that we were crucified wtih Christ, that we died with Him, were buried with Him, were made [spiritually] alive with Him, and will ultimately be united with Him in His resurrection.

Therefore, we can accurately say that when Jesus lived a perfect life, we lived a perfect life. When He died on the cross to suffer the penalty of sin, we died on the corss. All that Jesus did, we did, because of our legal union with Him.

There is wonderful application at the end of this chapter. Talk about these questions with your parents:

Have you ever thought about the wonderful truth that Christ lived His perfect life in your place and on your behalf? Has it yet gripped you that when God looks at you today He sees you clothed in the prefect, sinless obedience of His Son? And that when He says, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am will pleased,’ He includes you in that warm embrace? The extent to which we truly understand this is the extent to which we will begin to enjoy those unsearchable riches that are found in Christ.

Categories: Summer Reading '07, five15 blog
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