After reading my last post, my mother ran to grab “Deserted by God” by Sinclair Ferguson and read the following excerpt to me (pp. 14-17). I love his emphasis on all of us needing “long-term help”—not a quick-fix; the importance of God’s word in overcoming spiritual dryness; and the story he shares about Martin Luther’s wife (from which I drew the post title). Enjoy!

Ferguson writes: Most of us come to a book like this looking for help for ourselves or others: as quick a fix as possible. But quick counsel will only see us through from one crisis to the next. We need long-term help, and that can only be provided by long-term measures. Disciplined, thoughtful, prayerful study of God’s word, undertaken with the Spirit’s help is what we need. It will change the way we think, and consequently the way we live, and ultimately the way we feel.

When we study and meditate on the Scriptures, they begin to make a significant impact on the whole of our lives. They give “teaching”—about God, Christ, ourselves, sin, grace, and a multitude of other things. They thus bring us to know God, shape our thinking, and give us clear direction in life. They also “rebuke”—searching our hearts and touching our consciences. God’s word is

living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whome we must give account (Hebrews 4:12-13).

A cleansing process takes place when our lives are thus exposed to the influence of God’s word in Scripture. We are, as Jesus prayed, “sanctified” through the truth that is God’s word (John 17:16). That process is as important to our spiritual well-being as the cleansing of a wound is to its healing.

Paul then adds that Scripture “corrects” us. When I was a schoolboy, I regarded being rebuked and being corrected as synonymous and enjoyed neither! But Paul’s word correct is not simply another way of telling us we have gone wrong. In fact it was used outside of the New Testament in the world of medicine for correcting a damaged limb, mending a broken leg. Through God’s rebuke we see our need; though the healing powers of his word—its encouragement, redirection, assurance—our minds and spirits can be healed.

In fact, says Paul, all the equipment to help us to be stable servants of Christ can be found in Scripture. And stability is the very quality we need when we are discouraged and have begun to think, “I cannot stand it much longer.”

Most of all, Scripture refocuses our hearts and minds on the God whose character is revealed in it. Knowing him better is our deepest need. Meeting that need will put all of our other needs—our doubts, discouragements, depression, and disconsolation—in their proper context.

“It seems that God must have died!”

On one occasion when he was greatly discouraged, Martin Luther, the sixteenth century reformer, was forcefully reminded of this by his wife, Katharine. Seeing him unresponsive to any word of encouragement, one morning she appeared dressed in black mourning clothes. No word of explanation was forthcoming, and so Luther, who had heard nothing of a bereavement, asked her: “Katharine, why are you dressed in mourning black?” Someone has died,” she replied. “Died?” said Luther, “I have not heard of anyone dying. Whoever can have died?” “It seems,” his wife replied, “that God must have died!”

Luther took the point. He, a believer, a Christian, with such a great God to call his Father, was living like a practical atheist. But Luther knew that God was not dead. God was living, reigning, active in the events of history and in Luther’s own life. How foolish he had been! Discouragement was immediately banished.

Knowledge and love of God create an environment in which discouragement and a sense of depression or spiritual desertion find difficulty breathing. That, ultimately is what the psalmists discovered over and over again, and tell us in different contexts and a variety of ways. Let us sit at their feet and learn to see what they saw:

“Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Psa. 27:7-8).

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Psa. 27:13-14).

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes find myself suffering from a sense of over-familiarity with God and the gospel. Reading my Bible doesn’t excite me. Listening to sermons becomes routine. Even worship feels common and mundane. At times like these I crave something new and compelling to jolt me out of my spiritual rut. I figure that if I only had a better devotional book, a more powerful preacher, or a worship band with slightly more musical gifting, then my heart would become responsive again. Sin makes us stupid like that.

Of course, I’m not denying that there are better devotional book or more powerful preachers. We should read great books, not mediocre books. We should look for churches where God’s Word and the gospel are faithfully preached. But I often find myself dissatisfied with truths — however poorly presented — that should thrill me.

“A mature Christian is easily edified.”

Two weeks ago I stumbled across that statement by Dr. Harold Best — and it hit too close to home. Easily edified? That doesn’t sound like the Brett Harris I know. To borrow from friend and blogger, Justin Taylor, too often an accurate assessment of my life would reveal that I am easily annoyed, easily irritated, easily impatient, easily hurt, easily angered, easily distracted, easily arrogant, etc. Justin concludes:

Wouldn’t it be great if those who knew us best could honestly say, “It is so easy to edify him. It doesn’t take much. It doesn’t need to be the best sermon ever preached or the most excellent song ever composed or the most powerful book ever written or the most theologically eloquent statement ever uttered. Just the simplest truth was enough to refresh his heart in Christ.”

Not a bad way to pray — for ourselves and for others.

Over the past few months God has been working in my heart to restore a sense of awe and amazement — to ignite the idle sticks of my heart into a roaring blaze — but I am still God’s work in progress. Pray for me, as I pray for all of you, that we would grow together into men and women after God’s own heart.

“In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!” — Psalm 119:14-16, 32

Brett and I are excited to announce that Reilly will be helping to lead worship at the Chicago conference on July 11th. The band hails from Philadelphia and has garnered national attention for their unique violin-rock sound and spiritually rich lyrics — and the band members also serve regularly on the worship team at their local church.

Reilly has been one of Brett’s and my favorite independent Christian bands for the last few years. We’re pretty stoked to have them backing up our older brother Joel at one of our events. This is another first for the Rebelution conferences this year — along with the new interactive texting service we debuted in Louisville.

Whether you’re planning to attend the Chicago conference or not, be sure to check out Reilly’s music at their official site and on Facebook. The pre-registration pricing deadline for Chicago is this Saturday — prices will jump $5 per person after that.

+ Reilly Website — Register Online +

Tomorrow afternoon Brett and I will be helping WaterBrook Multnomah test out a live video streaming presentation — and we’d love to have you join us. We’ll be talking about our new book (and the title we finally settled on), the conference tour this year, and a new idea about what it means to be a rebelutionary.

The presentation should last about ten minutes — and we’d appreciate your live feedback. The video stream will go live at 3:30 PM (EST) at the link below. When you click the link there will be a short advertisement before you are redirected.

Live Video Stream - June 25th, 3:30 PM (EST)

A powerful reminder that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

NOTE: Some readers have expressed concern with the fact that Matt Chandler says something about the church being an “enemy of conversion.” Outside the context of the complete message it could come across as if the Chandler (and subsequently, Alex and I) are promoting an anti-church perspective. That is absolutely not true. The video is awkwardly cut. Chandler is sharing the story of how he came to reject that mindset. If you listen to the entire message you’ll understand. Sorry for the confusion.

Our last post focused on the distinction between busyness and fruitfulness — drawing on the writings of C.J. Mahaney. Today we’d like to expand on the topic of time-management — this time drawing on the writings of Jonathan Edwards. In an essay written in 1734, Edwards lays out four reasons to value our time, identifies three ways we can waste our time, shares four reasons for improving our time, and closes with three practical suggestions for doing so. Our good friend and blogger, Justin Taylor, provides the following helpful summary:

In the first section Edwards explains why time is precious, and he offers four reasons. Time is precious because (1) a happy or miserable eternity depends on the good or ill improvement of it; (2) time is very short; (3) we are uncertain of its continuance; (4) when it is past, it cannot be recovered.

In the second section Edwards offers some reflections—with a serious of rhetorical question—regarding time past.

In the third section Edwards asks who chiefly deserves to be reproved on this subject of the preciousness of time, and in particular he identifies those who spend their time in (1) idleness; (2) wickedness; and (3) worldly pursuits while neglecting their soul.

In the fourth section Edwards exhorts us to improve time by considering the following four things: (1) that you are accountable to God for your time; (2) consider how much time you have lost already; (3) consider how time is sometimes valued by those who come near to the end of it; (4) consider what value is set upon time by those who are past the end of it.

In the fifth and final section Edwards gives three pieces of advice to those seeking to improve their use of time: (1) improve the present time without any delay; (2) be especially careful to improve those parts of time which are most precious; (3) improve well your time of leisure from worldly business.

NOTE: This essay won’t be the easiest thing you’ve ever read, but push yourself to understand it. Start with a quick read-through. If you get stuck, keep moving. Then, read through again more slowly. Use your dictionary.

Our recent post on a study linking teenage depression to bedtimes drew a healthy discussion in the comment section. One reader named Micaela asked a question about “busyness” — and we thought it was important enough to share with you.

Micaela wrote: “I have question. The purpose of the rebelution is to encourage young people to “do hard things” and to “rebel against the low expectations of today’s culture.” I think this is absolutely wonderful, and I have a few ideas brewing on how I am going to do this. But how can you tell the difference between doing “hard things” and just plain doing too much?”

Micaela’s question gets to the heart of what it means to “manage our time” for the glory of God. As Christians we must live our lives with proper understanding of the preciousness of time (we’ll post about this next week), but in Micaela’s case, also grasp the difference between busyness and fruitfulness.

As Alex and I have wrestled through this same issue in our lives, we have been well-served by C.J. Mahaney’s seventeen-part blog series on Biblical Productivity. God used this man to convict us of being busy procrastinators and hectic sluggards and to help us to re-align our priorities to achieve “biblical productivity.” Below is an excerpt from the first installment. See if it whets your appetite for more:

Lazy? Not me. I’m busy. Up early, up late. My schedule is filled from beginning to end. I love what I do and I love getting stuff done. I attack a daily to-do list with the same intensity I play basketball. Me lazy? I don’t think so!

Or at least I didn’t think so. That is, until I read about the difference between busyness and fruitfulness, and realized just how often my busyness was an expression of laziness, not diligence.

I forget now who first brought these points to my attention. But the realization that I could be simultaneously busy and lazy, that I could be a hectic sluggard, that my busyness was no immunity from laziness, became a life-altering and work-altering insight. What I learned is that:

• Busyness does not mean I am diligent
• Busyness does not mean I am faithful
• Busyness does not mean I am fruitful

Recognizing the sin of procrastination, and broadening the definition to include busyness, has made a significant alteration in my life. The sluggard can be busy—busy neglecting the most important work, and busy knocking out a to-do list filled with tasks of secondary importance.

Read the entire article »

If you feel you suffer from busyness — and especially if you automatically equate busyness with productivity — we would strongly encourage you to read Mr. Mahaney’s entire series. In the meantime, join in the conversation in the comment section. How would you answer Micaela’s question? What is the difference between “doing hard things” and just doing too much?

Download Blog Series as PDF :: Leave a Comment

Though overshadowed by the recent murder of abortionist, Dr. George Tiller, the abortion debate does show signs of shifting in a pro-life direction. For the first time since Gallup began tracking the issue, a majority of Americans consider themselves “pro-life” — a reversal of 2006 numbers. Other studies indicate that our generation is the most pro-life generation since Roe vs. Wade — and we can attest that no other cause excites greater devotion among rebelutionaries.

How have you been involved in the pro-life movement? Whether you’ve volunteered at your local pregnancy resource center, or participated with pro-life organizations like Abort73 and Bound4Life, use the comment section to share your stories and suggestions. Is the abortion debate changing? What should other young people do to get involved? Share a good resource or action-item and we’ll add it to this post.

+ Educate Yourself +
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Abort73.com :: Abortion Unfiltered

Any young person interested in the abortion issue should start here. Abort73.com is the best youth-oriented, educational resource on abortion available — and one of the best educational resources on abortion, period.

Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments by Randy Alcorn

It’s one thing to be pro-life, it’s another to know how to defend and articulate that conviction to those who are opposed. This is an encyclopedia of the defense of the pro-life position. Get this book.

+ Activate Yourself +
———————————————————

Bound4Life.com :: A Prayer Movement

This grassroots movement focuses on the simple but critical role that prayer plays in this fight. You’ve seen these guys and gals on TV. You know, the ones with red LIFE tape over their mouths? Why not join them?

• From Steph: “According to Chuck Colson, William Wilberforce and his team spent three hours a day in prayer as they fought to end slavery. Imagine what could happen if a thousand of us dedicated an hour a day to praying for an end to abortion for forty days.”

Volunteer at a Pregnancy Resource Center

Every year thousands upon thousands of hurting and confused mothers are served and thousands of babies are saved through the work of local Pregnancy Resource Centers — and most PRC’s rely heavily on volunteer support.

• From Becca: “We have a pregnancy crisis center in our area. I am too young to volunteer but they always are in need of maternity clothes, diapers, wipes, and so many other things. These small things help keep the center running and this center has saved over 50 babies this last year. Small in number but they are making a difference.”
• From Anna: “The most practical thing I have done is to collect baby items to donate to the crisis pregnancy center in our area. Most recently for my 16th birthday party, I asked my friends to bring baby gifts instead of presents. Everyone had fun picking out cute baby stuff. The volunteer at the center was so thankful and she said the need for baby things to give to the women is huge. I encourage other rebelutionaries to think about doing something similar.”

Face the Facts :: Awareness Campaign

• From Nicole Tera: Many rebelutionaries from the forums will remember this project — a pro-life campaign through Facebook and Myspace. Hundreds of participants committed to posting one abortion fact per day as their status message on social networking sites. If you are interested in participating in another “Face the Facts” campaign — leave a comment here, send Nicole a message through the forums, or join her Cry Action group on Facebook.

Rock for Life :: Music and Education

• From Rebecca Cicione: “I will be going with them for two weeks this summer to music festivals on the East Coast in order to educate teens and college students on the processes and results of abortion, as well as to provide support and hope. I am also very involved in the Christian music scene, and am booking a concert/one day festival to raise money for their efforts. If anyone is still interested in helping out this cause, I believe that they are looking still looking for volunteers for their three tours.”

Steps for Life/Walk for Life :: (and other walk-athon fundraisers)

Whether you like walk-athons, bike-athons, or swim-athons, there are plenty of options to “get out and move” and raise money for pregnancy resource centers at the same time. Your local PRC can plug you into a fundraising drive in your area — and if there isn’t one, you better start one. Below are some examples mentioned by rebelutionaries in the comment section.

• From Alyssa: “I have participated for many years in the Steps for Life fund-raising event for Pregnancy Resource Centers [in Portland].” This year over 500 walkers from 88 churches raised nearly $150,000 for PRC’s in the Portland metro area.
• From Todd: “There is a group of us in the Jacksonville, FL area that are putting together a 5K run to raise funds for pregnancy centers who support pro-life options to unplanned pregnancies. Come visit the website.” If you like what Todd and his friends are doing, start something similar in your city. That’s what they did.

Coins and Quilts 4 Life :: (and other creative fundraising ideas)

Think creatively about ways you can use your unique gifts, abilities, or resources to help the pro-life cause. Bake sale? Yard sale? Quilting? Beading? Below are some of the ideas others have shared in the comment section:

• From Tabitha: “I am currently working on starting some sort of nonprofit organization called Coins and Quilts 4 Life. The purpose being to provide hand-made baby quilts and funds to pregnancy resource centers and, personally to say thank you to those young mothers who have chosen life when it would have been much easier to deny it. If you are interested in offering your support please leave a comment on my blog or PM me (Tabitha Hems) through the forums.”

Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity

From the website: “On October 20th, people from all over this nation will give up their voices for a day in solidarity for these children. Red arm bands and duct tape will identify them as taking part in the Pro-life Day of Silent Solidarity. They will carry fliers explaining why they are silent and educate others about the plight of the innocent children we are losing every day.”

• From Alex: “I have personally taken part the past two years and it is moving and life changing. The first year it started out just me and my friend. By the end of the day about 75% of the school was not talking.”

If you have yet to actively engage in this cause, we’d encourage you to take the above suggestions seriously. Think about it. If the abortion debate really is changing, then you’ll wish you’d been in the thick of it. Because, after all, there’s nothing more exciting than being part of what God is doing. Don’t stay on the sidelines.

Share thoughts, stories, resources, questions, etc.

We posted about this message over a year ago when it was delivered and still highly recommend it to every rebelutionary. Seriously. If you haven’t listened to it yet you are missing out. To our knowledge, there is no better message on 1 Timothy 4:12.

Anyway, I stumble across this video excerpt the other day and felt it was worth sharing as a stand-alone piece — especially if accompanied by some questions for reflection and discussion. Take the time to watch the video (above) and work through the questions below, whether personally and privately or along with your fellow rebelutionaries in the comment section.

Some questions for discussion:

• Piper shares seven negative characteristics of youth — disrespect, rebellion, self-absorption, cliquishness, conformity to peer pressure, indifference to serious issues, and a fixation on fun as the only thing that satisfies. Are any of these qualities pronounced in your life?
• Piper makes it clear that we must not be indifferent to what adults think, but neither should we see adult opinions as supreme. Which of these two errors is a greater temptation for you?
• Ultimately, we must look to God’s standards to guide our behavior. Are you growing (by grace through faith) in obedience to God’s standards “in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity?”
• Holly’s “Bonus” Question from the Comment Section: Ephesians 4:22-32 instructs us to “take off” certain sins by “putting on” the God-glorifying opposites of those sins. For example, replacing stealing with honest work, and replacing corrupting talk with encouragement. If we are to effectively take off the negative qualities Piper describes, what would be the opposites of these that we should put on?

In a slight departure from Brett’s and my normal blog protocol, I am very excited to announce something I’ve wanted to share with all of you. As of this past Easter weekend, I am engaged to my best friend and love of my life, Courtney Edmonds. Lord-willing, we will be married at the beginning of next year. Needless to say, we are both thrilled and so thankful for God’s faithfulness and goodness to us.

Courtney and I met through debate in early 2005 before God took us on separate paths — me to launch the Rebelution and Courtney to study history at Cedarville University — that kept us from seeing or communicating with each other for several years. This past fall, in His perfect timing, God brought us together again. With our parents’ blessing, we discovered a shared vision for our lives, confirmed the deep respect we had felt for each other for so long, and saw that respect turn to love.

We appreciate your prayers for this upcoming year — as Brett and I continue the work of the Rebelution and study at Patrick Henry College, and as Courtney and I prepare for marriage and she joins me in the work God has called me to do.

Soli Deo gloria!