A Picture of the Adopting Love of God

As I sat watching this with tears in my eyes, I was overcome by two facts:

1. By his blood, Christ Jesus has "ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation," (Revelation 5:9) that we might together become one family.
2. When God chose us to be his adoptive children, he did so not because of anything that was (or wasn't) in us, but because of his great mercy and our great need. 

 Please take six minutes and watch this powerful video.

 

(HT: Challies)

Stained Glass Windows

Check out the video below and experience the story behind Stained Glass Windows, the most recent single from The Daniel Doss Band. It's a story about how God creates beauty out of our shattered dreams, and a reminder that his plans are far greater than our own.

The lyrics to the song are at the bottom of this post and you can click here to purchase the MP3.



“Stained Glass Windows” by Daniel Doss
Last week I walked on water
Today I’m sinking low
Can your hand reach down to me and pull me up once more
The dreams I had are shattered, scattered on the floor
The last time you picked up the pieces helped me dream some more

Cause we're making stained glass windows
Every piece a different shade
Broken and then put together like a big mistake
But when the light shines through the colors form a tapestry
A hundred different images of how you keep loving me

Each moment you are with me
Each word I hear you say
Help me understand and trust in your higher ways
The road that goes through valleys help me cling to you
And when we find a mountain top we’ll dance the whole day through

Cause we're making stained glass windows
Every piece a different shade
Broken and then put together like a big mistake
But when the light shines through the colors form a tapestry
A hundred different images of how you keep loving me

I don’t know why, I don’t know why
You keep loving me
Yeah, yeah

Broken and then put together
We're making stained glass windows
Every piece a different shade
Broken and then put together like a big mistake
Oh and when the light shines through the colors form a tapestry
A hundred different images of how

And when the light shines through the colors form a tapestry
A hundred different images of how you keep loving me

(HT: Vitamin Z)

A great story...even if it is the Yankees.

(HT: Challies)

A Privileged Position

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I am studying through the Book of Ezekiel, and one of the first things that struck me was the frequency with which we find the phrase "know that I am the LORD." Clearly, a key message that God is communicating through the prophet is his identity.

Whenever we see the word "LORD" printed in all caps (as it is in 67 of the 72 times "know that I am the LORD" appears in Ezekiel), that alerts us to the fact that the Hebrew word that is being translated is actually the divine name, YAHWEH. Jews had such respect for the name of God, and so feared misusing it (in violation of the third commandment), that instead of speaking it, they actually said, "adonai," the Hebrew word for "LORD."

So it is, that when we see God so emphasizing throughout Ezekiel his desire that people would "know that I am the LORD," it is more than a job description he is a talking about; it is his very identity. In light of this, it is interesting to note a slightly more specific phrase that appears four times in the Book of Ezekiel: "Know that I am the LORD their God." In each instance where we find this phrase, it is in the context of Ezekiel's prophetic words specifically to the house of Israel.

Make no mistake about it: YAHWEH is no tribal deity; he is God over all creation. Regardless of whether people bow their knee before him, he is God. But what we see here is that he is God of his people in a special way peculiar to their relationship. He is not just the LORD. He is not just the LORD God. He is the LORD, their God, and as such, they are in a position of amazing privilege.

Now we must be careful to realize that this doesn't mean that the people of God were (or are) necessarily better than the other peoples, nor have they have in any way earned this privileged relationship. Throughout the Book of Ezekiel, the prophet chastises the people of God for their sin just as he does the other nations (actually, even more so). Their special standing as God's particular people is a product of nothing but his grace and his steadfast love toward them.

The New Testament picks this idea up in Jesus' teaching that we should pray to God as "Our Father." This is not a prayer for all people, but rather the prayer of a disciple, one who has been conferred the benefits of adoption. May we, as Christians, never fail to exult in the fact that we are in a special relationship with God. And may we always do so humbly, knowing that it is nothing but the work of Christ that has established this relationship for us.

The Gospel in Three Words

"Were I asked to focus the New Testament message in three words, my proposal would be adoption through propitiation, and I do not expect ever to meet a richer or more pregnant summary of the gospel than that." 

J.I. Packer, Knowing God, p. 214


(HT: Justin Taylor)

Adopted for Life

A few months back I was fortunate enough to win a package of books from Crossway Publishers. I recently began reading one of them, Russell Moore's Adopted for Life. Dr. Moore is the dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to this, he is also a wise and gifted pastor and author. I had heard many good things about this book and so far I have not been disappointed. Whether or not you have any interest in adopting a child, Moore shows in this passage (from pp. 29-30) how adoption is at the very heart of the gospel:

Imagine for a moment that you're adopting a child. As you meet with the social worker in the last stage of the process, you're told that this twelve-year-old has been in and out of psychotherapy since he was three. He persists in burning things and attempting repeatedly to skin kittens alive. He "acts out sexually," the social worker says, although she doesn't really fill you in on what that means. She continues with a little family history. The boy's father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather all had histories of violence, ranging from spousal abuse to serial murder. Each of them ended life the same way, death by suicide--each found hanging from a rope of blankets in his respective prison cell.

Think for a minute. Would you want this child? If you did adopt him, wouldn't you keep your eye on him as he played with your other children? Would you watch him nervously as he looks at the butcher knife on the kitchen table? Would you leave the room as he watched a movie on television with your daughter, with the lights out?

Well he's you. And he's me. That's what the gospel is telling us. Our birth father has fangs. And left to ourselves, we'll show ourselves to be as serpentine as he is...But the New Testament addresses former Satan-imagers with good news. It's not just that we have a stay of execution, a suspension of doom. It's not simply that those who trust in Christ have found a refuge, a safe place, or a foster home. All those in Christ, Paul argues, have received sonship. We are now "Abraham's offspring" (Gal. 3:29).

It is only when we come to grips with the heinousness of our sin, that we can truly realize the enormity of God's grace. Thanks to Dr. Moore for his blunt and vivid portrayal of this fact. I look forward to reading the rest of the book.

Book Review: Hello, I Love You

Hello, I Love You: Adventures in Adoptive Fatherhood is the most recent book from award-winning author Ted Kluck. Ted and his wife Kristin have adopted two sons from Ukraine, and this book is a memoir of their experiences dealing with the highs and lows of international adoption.

Full disclosure here: I know Ted and I like Ted. We’re friends. Maybe not the closest of pals, but certainly more than just facebook friends. I admit, my opinion may not quite reach the standard of complete objectivity. But I not only know and like Ted, I also know and like his writing style, his sense of humor and his heart. Having enjoyed his work as an author before ever having had the opportunity to meet him, this is not merely the effect of bias. As such, I’m convinced that even if I didn’t know and like Ted, I would definitely like this book. This sense was buoyed when my wife read Hello, I Love You. She’s never met Ted, but she enjoyed the book very much as well.

It’s a funny book as Ted’s ironic sense of humor is on full display. It’s a painful book as Ted openly and honestly talks about his own sinful attitudes (specifically lack of trust in God) as he and his wife dealt with the struggles of infertility and international adoption. It’s a convicting book, causing me to recognize my own lack of gratefulness for all of the blessings that God has poured out upon me. But most of all, it is a good book, a memoir in which he manages to somehow seamlessly weave together deep theological truths with the occasional reference to the classic film, ¡Three Amigos!

Those who have gone through infertility or adoption will no doubt find this book compelling. I would recommend it though, whether or not you’ve ever dealt with either of these, as Ted’s treatment of them stands to teach us all a number of lessons. Among these are the beauty of our adoption as children of God, how very much God has blessed us as such, and the glory of the gospel.