Prayer and the Ministry of the Word

Dear Courteous Reader,

Has it really been 25 years since Chariots of Fire? Michael Spencer, the Internet Monk, brought this to the attention of the blogging world last week, and invited fellow bloggers to write an article about the movie's effects on our lives.

Thank you, Michael. Here goes:

My mother took my friend Paul Hesse (Paul, are you out there?) and me to see the movie in the theater when it was released. My mom almost never took us to the movies, and I didn't understand why this one until much later. We were 12 years old, and did not know the story at all before going to the movie. I remember being excited by the race scenes, and intrigued by the 1920s cultural trappings, but I am sure I missed the point.

Now, 25 years later, I assure you that I get the point. Eric Liddell was a devout Christian, and a Scot. It has been said that in his time almost all of Scotland observed the Christian Sabbath, and very little activity could be seen in the streets or the countryside on The Lord's Day. Eric Liddell and his like-minded countrymen believed firmly that the 10 Commandments, including the Sabbath command, are eternal laws that reflect the essence of who God is. Liddell was able to say that he would not race on "the Sabbath," even in the Olympics, and maintain that conviction despite pressure from coaches, fans, teammates, and even the prince.

In our modern times, when even committed Christians are very unsure of the continuing relevance of the 10 Commandments, Eric Liddell's witness is desperately needed. A Christian today will typically say, "I have to work on Sunday," meaning that if he doesn't he may be fired from his job at Stuff Mart. But would that Christian murder to keep his job? Would he lie, steal, or commit adultery to keep his job? No, he would not do those things. But he does not understand that there are 10 Commandments, not 9 Commandments and 1 Principle.

Eric Liddell understood the importance of the 10 Commandments, and was willing to obey them no matter the cost.

The movie ends with Liddell's amazing gold-medal run. But his witness does not end there. Instead, it continued to his departure aboard a ship bound for China, where he served as a missionary for many years. It continued to his internment in a Japanese prison camp, where he died. It continued in Scotland, where the whole country mourned. It continues in its influence on prominent Christians, such as Alistair Begg, who refers to Liddell often in his preaching, and Twila Paris, who wrote a song about Liddell and fellow missionary Jim Elliott. It continues in the life of every young Christian who hears the story or sees the movie for the first time. And it continues in my life. Hardly a day goes by that I do not think of Eric Liddell, either running his heart out in a race for which he had not trained, or standing up to the prince, or preaching in the rain, or boarding the boat for China, or keeping the faith until death far from home.

God used an unlikely director and an unlikely actor to point the attention of the world to a very likely hero. May his memory continue to point us to God and His law and His Son. Amen.

Love in Christ,

Jeff

Dear Courteous Reader,

I must express my warm appreciation for Wayne Hatcher, who has been my partner slugging it out over at the new SBTC blog, with the Resolution 5 guys, who wish to add "Drink no wine" as an 11th Commandment. In addition to that fellowship, he also sent me some flower bulbs from his flower bed. When I received the box in the mail from Wayne, I was afraid it was a bottle of wine! I do not drink, nor does my wife, and we've never even had any alcohol in the house. So I was thinking, "What am I going to do with this?!?"

I apologize for my nearly two-week absence from this blog. I've had my head in theology books and sermon tapes, and just emerged for a brief respite before plunging in again. I hope you enjoy these few words.

A young man came home from the Korean War in 1952. He had sent his army paychecks home to his mom and dad, who saved it up for him. By the time he came home, he had enough money for a new car. This was a flashy guy, so he bought a flashy car, a yellow Chrysler convertible with maroon interior. So, he was quite the dashing young man around his small hometown, with his army uniform, his flat-top haircut, and his new convertible.

Shortly after he came home, he went to church on Sunday morning, and saw the most beautiful young lady he had ever seen, singing in the church choir. For the next several weeks, this young man was very faithful in church attendance! He had a hard time paying attention to the preacher, though, because his gaze kept drifting to the beautiful girl on the first row of the choir loft.

For a few weeks, he tried to get up the nerve to speak to her, but he wasn’t able to do so. Then, one day, his mother said, “Your sister and her new friend want to go up to the lake. She’s a really nice girl, and I’d like you to get to know her. Since you have that new car, would you please take them this Saturday?” He said, “Ah, Ma, I’m not taking my sister to the lake this Saturday. There are two races down at the dirt track. Dut and Sneezy and I are going to be down there all day.”

So, Saturday morning came around, and the young man was getting in the car to go to the races, when his little sister’s friend walked up to the house. And who do you suppose it was? That’s right---it was the girl from the church choir! Suddenly he forgot all about the races, and had a strong urge to go to the lake!

These lovebirds married in 1954, and celebrated their 50th anniversary before he passed away in 2005. This is the story of how my mother and father, Richard and Amy Young, met and fell in love.

For weeks my father admired my mother from a distance. There was a wonderful relationship waiting for him, and all it took was getting to know each other.

In the same way, Jesus Christ is a beautiful Savior, and he loves us very deeply already. But we need to get to know Him for us to fall more deeply in love with Him.

Consider this passage of Scripture:

(Philippians 3:7-11) But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. (8) What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ (9) and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. (10) I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, (11) and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Evidently the apostle Paul desired to know Christ better, and so to love Him more. Let us join him in the quest to know Christ Jesus.

Love in Christ,

Jeff

Dear Courteous Reader,

I’ve been tagged by Brother Tim Sweatman. Thanks, Tim; I needed a break from the Welch’s controversy of the past two days.

1. One book that changed your life: Quest for Godliness by J.I. Packer

-Packer introduced me to the Puritans!

2. One book that you've read more than once: Shaping of a Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot

-I have returned many times to her description of her father.

3. One book that you'd want on a desert island: Other than the Bible, Lord of the Rings (Trilogy paperback!)

-Wouldn't everyone?

4. One book that made you laugh: Cruel Shoes by Steve Martin

-"I sold my cuticles to buy you this shin bone polish." "But darling, I sold my shin bones to buy you these cuticle frames!"

5. One book that made you cry: The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter

-I have done so little to shepherd my sheep. God help me to be faithful.

6. One book that you wish you had written: Look Behind You: Interpreting the Bible Like They Did Before Evolution, Feminism, and the Rest of the Twentieth-Century Stuff Brainwashed Us by Jeff Richard Young.

-I wish I had written it already, instead of just getting started, and I wish I had a more succinct sub-title!

7. One book you wish had never been written: Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin

-I suppose someone else would have written it sooner or later, though.

8. One book that you are currently reading: Baptism of Disciples Alone by Fred Malone

-I'm learning about Reformed Baptist theology.

9. One book that you've been meaning to read: The Death of Death by John Owen

-I did get started, but it's not brief or easy reading!

I am supposed to tag four people, so Bob Cleveland, Wayne Smith, Jamie Wooten, and Wayne Hatcher, you’re it!

Love in Christ,

Jeff