Author Archives: Stephen Rodgers

It’s a Great Year to Grow

by Pastor Patrick Cho

I’m so thankful for a good start to the New Year! Midweek Bible studies are back in session, Sunday School classes are meeting up again, and Sunday worship services are continuing as always. It was particularly good to begin the first weekend of the year by celebrating communion together with the church body and being reminded of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. The New Year always brings a sense of excitement. Some take the moment to think back on their blessings and lessons learned from the previous year. Others look forward to new opportunities for self-improvement and growth. However you treat the New Year, as believers in Christ we ought to consider how we might continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18).

Some of you will endeavor to read God’s Word this year. This is such a helpful commitment for spiritual growth. You cannot overemphasize the importance of being in God’s Word regularly to learn about Him and understand His ways. I hear people say all the time that they are not good at reading, but growth apart from God’s Word simply doesn’t happen. If you are not a good reader, you should work to become one. This would be worth every minute of investment. I believe many people simply use the excuse to justify their laziness and lack of discipline.

Others will seek to improve some other spiritual disciplines such as prayer or evangelism. These too are precious goals that every believer ought to strive to improve in their lives. With the New Year, we were able to look at James 4:2-3 and the topic of failure in prayer. We need to be honest with the truth that our prayerlessness is more than just a lack of discipline. It is a serious sin for which we need to repent. Our lack of prayer reveals a problematic attitude of the heart, one that ventures to live without God’s strength, provision, and grace.

Likewise, we should all strive to make opportunities to share the gospel. Considering the great need for the truth and how many continue in life completely blind to the light of Christ, we have an obligation to tell others about the hope of the gospel. Understanding this, some of you will seek to be more strategic in your conversations and relationships. We need to have the courage to broach the topic with others and to help them understand the meaninglessness and dreadfulness of life without Jesus. We worship and serve a God of mercy and grace who is full of love. Perhaps He will use some of our conversations this year to change people’s hearts and cause them to turn to Christ in faith.

Regardless of how you seek to grow, the greatest issue underlying these disciplines and practices is the motive behind them. We do not seek to grow merely for personal improvement. We certainly shouldn’t seek to grow for the esteem others give us as a result of our successes. At the heart of what we do should be a desire to see God magnified in our lives. We live for a glorious and great God, and we have the distinct privilege of knowing Him and living for Him. We can reflect His greatness and honor Him with our lives, or we can sadly live as though He is insignificant or even absent.

How big is your God? He is the one who created the universe and sustains it by His wisdom and power (Gen. 1:1; Acts 17:28). He is the one who knows the beginning from the end and is sovereign over all history (Isa. 46:9-10). He is the one with the wisdom to invent math, science, and logic such that all truth is ultimately His and there is no ultimate truth apart from Him (Ps. 18:30; Prov. 30:5; cf. Rom. 3:4). He is morally pure and not stained even by the hint of evil (1 John 1:5). The fact is that God is infinitely great.

As believers we can know Him, and His greatness is the greatest motivation for us to grow in Him. We can pursue Him with all our time and effort, and even be aided by His Spirit, and we will not exhaust what there is to know of Him. We could give Him every ounce of strength for every minute of every day and it would not be enough to match His infinite worth. It is always good to consider the greatness of God and to have an acute understanding of His attributes and character. We live in obedience to His will because He is worthy of all praise, honor, and glory.

They Shall Be Abundantly Satisfied with the Fatness of Thy House

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Psalm 36:8

Sheba’s queen was amazed at the sumptuousness of Solomon’s table. She lost all heart when she saw the provision of a single day; and she marvelled equally at the company of servants who were feasted at the royal board. But what is this to the hospitalities of the God of grace? Ten thousand thousand of his people are daily fed; hungry and thirsty, they bring large appetites with them to the banquet, but not one of them returns unsatisfied; there is enough for each, enough for all, enough for evermore. Though the host that feed at Jehovah’s table is countless as the stars of heaven, yet each one has his portion of meat.

Think how much grace one saint requires, so much that nothing but the Infinite could supply him for one day; and yet the Lord spreads His table, not for one, but many saints, not for one day, but for many years; not for many years only, but for generation after generation. Observe the full feasting spoken of in the text, the guests at mercy’s banquet are satisfied, nay, more ‘abundantly satisfied;’ and that not with ordinary fare, but with fatness, the peculiar fatness of God’s own house; and such feasting is guaranteed by a faithful promise to all those children of men who put their trust under the shadow of Jehovah’s wings. I once thought if I might but get the broken meat at God’s back door of grace I should be satisfied; like the woman who said, ‘The dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the master’s table;’ but no child of God is ever served with scraps and leavings; like Mephibosheth, they all eat from the king’s own table. In matters of grace, we all have Benjamin’s mess-we all have ten times more than we could have expected, and though our necessities are great, yet are we often amazed at the marvellous plenty of grace which God gives us experimentally to enjoy.

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The Great Joy of the Christian Life

by Elder Mike Chon

Life is uncertain. If you turn on the news today it won’t take too long to hear about all the events that no one could have predicted and all the different trials that people are facing today. You’ll definitely see the good, the bad, and the ugly in the news. Many times our personal lives seem as unpredictable as what we see on television. In a single day we can enjoy great happiness and in a moment experience the lowest of lows. Many of us live through life hoping and trying to avoid those disappointments or difficulties because we believe that avoiding these things will bring joy to our life. On the contrary, the Scriptures teach that we should consider it joy when we do face various trials in our life (James 1:2).

Why would Scripture teach us that we should consider it joy when we face these trials in our life? The reason is that God is using these trials to produce in us a spiritual change which results in being perfect and complete.(James 1:3-4) Our desire in this life is not to become comfortable but it is to become holy. If our joy is set on material things, our circumstances, or our health…we’ll interpret these difficult moments as obstacles that stand in the way of our joy. Instead we are to be concerned with those things that are eternal and find joy when we face trials since it will produce in us a greater faith, a greater trust, and a greater love for our Lord and Savior.

Even the apostle Paul understood this when he was given his thorn in the flesh. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) After pleading three times with the Lord to remove this from him, Christ answered him with “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Again we see this perfecting work in the midst of a trial which God produces in us. The result for the apostle Paul was to state that he will boast all the more gladly of his weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon him. He was glad to boast about his weakness. Instead of it producing sorrow or anxiousness, Paul’s trial produced in him joy. His joy was found not upon his circumstance but instead knowing that through his circumstance that God is working in and through him. Even though the prayer was not answered the way that Paul wanted it to be, he found joy in knowing that God knows what is best for him. Paul found joy in the eternal and not the temporal.

A.W. Pink wrote concerning our expectations regarding prayer in the midst of trials:

“God’s answer is not always along the line that we think; how good for us that it is not. How little we are able to perceive what would be for our good. ‘We know not what we should pray for as we ought’ (Romans 8:26). Often we ask for temporal things, and God gives us eternal; we ask for deliverance, and He grants us patience. He does not answer according to our will but according to our welfare and profit. Hence we must not be disheartened if our requests are not literally answered. Sometimes God answers by reconciling our minds to humiliating trials. ‘My grace is sufficient for thee.’ Sufficient to support under the severest and most protracted affliction, to enable the soul to lie submissively as clay in the hands of the Potter, to trust His wisdom and love, to be assured that He knows what is best for us.”

The great joy of the Christian life is to know that God cares for us so much that he doesn’t allow us to believe that this earthly world is the best for us. He always wants what is best for us and at times that means that he may bring us through a difficult time to show us our need for him. “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:10)

My Grace Is Sufficient for Thee

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From 2 Corinthians 12:9

If none of God’s saints were poor and tried, we should not know half so well the consolations of divine grace. When we find the wanderer who has not where to lay his head, who yet can say, ‘Still will I trust in the Lord,’ or when we see the pauper starving on bread and water, who still glories in Jesus; when we see the bereaved widow overwhelmed in affliction, and yet having faith in Christ, oh! what honour it reflects on the gospel. God’s grace is illustrated and magnified in the poverty and trials of believers. Saints bear up under every discouragement, believing that all things work together for their good, and that out of apparent evils a real blessing shall ultimately spring-that their God will either work a deliverance for them speedily, or most assuredly support them in the trouble, as long as He is pleased to keep them in it. This patience of the saints proves the power of divine grace.

There is a lighthouse out at sea: it is a calm night-I cannot tell whether the edifice is firm; the tempest must rage about it, and then I shall know whether it will stand. So with the Spirit’s work: if it were not on many occasions surrounded with tempestuous waters, we should not know that it was true and strong; if the winds did not blow upon it, we should not know how firm and secure it was. The master-works of God are those men who stand in the midst of difficulties, stedfast, unmoveable,-

‘Calm mid the bewildering cry,
Confident of victory.’

He who would glorify his God must set his account upon meeting with many trials. No man can be illustrious before the Lord unless his conflicts be many. If then, yours be a much-tried path, rejoice in it, because you will the better show forth the all-sufficient grace of God. As for His failing you, never dream of it-hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now, should be trusted to the end.

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Weekly Links (1/11/2013)

 “People ask me, ‘Why pray if God is Sovereign?’

I respond, ‘Why pray if He isn’t?'”

(Michael Horton)

by Stephen Rodgers

Welcome back for the first weekly links of 2013!

January Updates & Releases

Free Resources

Other Articles of Note

  • Tim Challies has been busy, continuing his series on essential doctrines of the Christian faith and penning posts on adoption, sanctification, incarnation, idolatry, and church.
  • I normally don’t care much for “top 10” posts (yes, I know, the hypocrisy is rampant), but I’d make an exception anyway for the Top Tabletalk of 2012 kind.
  • Last but not least, there a couple sales that you should be aware of. I’m particularly pointing out the ESV Module Sale, since I’ve written before that having digital versions of the ESV Study Bible and the MacArthur Study Bible in the same place is a potent combination…which can now be yours for $12.  It’s something to think about.

Pro Rege

Marriage Is Hard Work!

by Pastor Patrick Cho

When I was engaged to Christine, we used to discuss what to expect in marriage with the older married couples of the church. Surprisingly and without fail, every couple warned us about the hardships and strains that come with marriage. We received almost no positive feedback or encouragement. Instead, the consistent report was that marriage was difficult. I remember growing a little disillusioned and even embittered by this at the time. I wondered, “Why did you get married at all if it’s so bad? Maybe it’s better to stay single since that’s so much easier!” I remember telling Christine that if other engaged couples talked to us about marriage, we were only going to speak positively to affirm how wonderful it is. They could get the discouraging news from everyone else!

Now that I have been married for over seven years, I understand better where those other couples were coming from and I agree with them that marriage is hard work. That isn’t all it is (it is wonderful, too!), but it certainly is that. I can see that those couples were lovingly trying to prepare us for the worst trials and experiences so that we would not be unnecessarily caught off guard or unprepared. The truth is that marriage is hard and it requires intense devotion, constant vigilance, and self-sacrifice. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that wives are to submit to their husbands, and husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:22, 25). These are not easy instructions! They are extremely difficult and even impossible apart from Christ.

There is a romantic tendency in many engaged Christian couples to think it won’t be as difficult for them. They reason, “We will never fight, and even if we do, we will reconcile quickly” or “Think about how great we get along! After all, how could marriage be all that different than dating?” Older, more experienced couples sometimes smile (scoff?) at the naivete and foolishness of young love. It is essential that young couples be prepared for the difficulties that come with marriage while still believing that it is a wonderful institution created by God for our good.

Does it have to be difficult? It depends on what you mean by “difficult.” Does it have to be exasperating and frustrating? I suppose not. But does it have to require hard work? Absolutely. This is because we are not naturally inclined to pursue God’s glory with our lives and relationships. We are not naturally inclined to love Him and others. Our sin stands in the way of our having ideal marriages, and unfortunately we deal with our sin (not to mention the sin of our spouses) every day. Too often we struggle with self-centeredness, pride, anger, jealousy, and discontentment. We struggle because our natural bent is merely to care for ourselves and satisfy our own desires.

Many marriages struggle today in particular because couples have failed at putting in the work to make their relationships strong and successful. Couples don’t spend quality time together but instead allow precious time to go wasted. Hundreds of opportunities to have meaningful conversations are averted. Too often the only times families pray together is before meals. Husbands come home from work with a sense of entitlement to rest and relaxation instead of investing in their marriages. TVs, computers, and gaming systems are flipped on and wives are neglected because of the desire to satisfy “me time.” I am particularly calling out husbands because the Bible teaches that the burden of responsibility to lead spiritually in the home rests on them.

Whose interests are most important in the home? Is it the interests of the husband who provides the leadership and direction? Is it the interests of the wife whom the husband serves and loves sacrificially? The answer is neither. Ultimately, both husband and wife need to think about God’s interests for their lives. The husband needs to consider what kind of man God wants him to be, and the wife needs to consider what kind of woman God wants her to be. It is ultimately about having a relationship that is honoring and glorifying to Him. But again, this takes work. It isn’t simply going to happen because both husband and wife are Christian. Spiritual health doesn’t just occur in a vacuum. They need to work at it in faith by being obedient to Scriptures commands and principles in full dependence on the Lord.

Ask yourself these questions to help gauge the spiritual quality of your marriage. Do you and your spouse regularly pray for and with one another? Do you and your spouse regularly talk about spiritual issues and concerns? Do you and your spouse read and study God’s Word together? Do you and your spouse actively love and serve others in the church? These are spiritual investments that will reap tremendous spiritual benefits for your marriage. But more so, working at spiritually strengthening your marriage will bring glory to God.

Besides focusing on spiritual concerns, practical steps can be taken to further strengthen the marriage bond. Do you and your spouse regularly and frequently affirm each other emotionally and physically? Do you make time for one another to have meaningful conversations? Do you have fun together and cultivate your friendship? Do you listen to each other’s requests, desires, and opinions? Do you endeavor to further learn about each other and deepen your relationship?

If you are solely focused on satisfying personal desires, if you believe you rightfully deserve “me time” at the expense of working at marriage, you shouldn’t be surprised that your marriage lacks the strength God intends it to have. Too many couples seek counseling when their relationship is all falling apart knowing that they haven’t done much to build up and sharpen each other (cf. Prov. 27:17). Sadly, most couples have some sense of what they need to do, but they simply don’t do it. This is one vital area where good intentions fall short and talk is cheap. Especially in prayer and dependence upon the Spirit of God, let’s work to build strong marriages for the glory of God.

Reading Your Bible in 2013

“…it is a sin and a shame not to know our own book or to understand the speech and words of our God…” (Martin Luther, from “To the Councilmen of All Cities in Germany That They Establish and Maintain Christian Schools”)

by Stephen Rodgers

As we begin a new year, many of us will once again embark upon that familiar adventure: the Bible reading plan. It’s something of a sad cliche in Christian circles that going solely by the state of our reading faithfulness (or lack thereof), by the time we die, we’ll have read Genesis to Exodus 20-ish about 50 times…and not much else.

I once had the opportunity to ask a bodybuilder who had trained for decades what the “best” workout was…and with a smile, he told me that “it’s the one that you actually do.”  In some ways, that’s a lot like reading the Bible.  Ultimately what matters is not the sophistication or particular structure of our Bible-reading plan, it’s that we actually are taking the time to daily immerse ourselves in the very word of God.

To make our shame even greater, we live in a time with unprecedented access to the Scriptures.  Consider this:

  • Unlike the Christians of apostolic and early patristic eras, we have the complete canon of Scripture, and not just whatever collection of NT books we were fortunate enough to gather.
  • Unlike the Christians of the medieval era, we don’t have to study foreign or dead languages just to be able to read the Bible. (To say nothing of the fact that we aren’t actively persecuted for daring to own a Bible in our native language either).
  • Unlike the Christians of the reformation period (and even the recent past), we don’t even have to rely solely on the Bible in bound and printed form.

The word of God has never been more available, which only compounds our guilt if we fail to take advantage of the riches that we’ve been given. Here at the Beacon, we’ve actually made a point of collecting a lot of material on the subject of Bible-reading plans. But if the prospect of digging through all that material to find one that’s the “best” for you gives you a headache…let me help you narrow it down and make it simple.  Just head on over to the ESV Reading Plans page and pick one.  They’ve got 10 to choose from, and they’ll even let you choose the format for delivery: RSS, iCal (format for calendars), a website, a printed index, or emailing it directly to you. Surely there’s some format there that can accommodate your schedule?

Like I said before…of all Christians throughout history, we are most without excuse.

Editor’s Note: January 2013

by Stephen Rodgers

And…we’re back!

So the good news is that you’re reading this on the new and improved Beacon!  We’re now simpler and sleeker than ever, and regardless of what the resolution is on your device, you should have a truer reading experience now that the upgrade is complete.  So take a moment to poke around and enjoy the new theme. If you notice anything not working correctly, please drop me a line and we’ll get it fixed.

There’s never quite enough time to finish everything, so we’ll be wrapping up some of the other projects that I mentioned back in December in the weeks to come.  To celebrate the new year and the new theme however, I thought you might enjoy a quick look back on the most popular posts of 2012.  If you missed any the first time around, now’s a great chance to catch up.

The most popular page by far was just people landing on the home page, but once you get past that we quickly get into the top ten posts:

  1. LBC Ministry Overview – A list of the various ministries that you can get involved in here at LBC. If you’re new to the church and wondering where you can serve, this list is a great place to start!
  2. DTR – Hub Post -The hub post for various articles and sermons on the subject of dating.
  3. Mission: LBC Los Angeles – Pastor Patrick’s article announcing the LBC LA church plant.
  4. Hub Post Directory – The collection of all the various hub posts available here on the Beacon.
  5. Signs of Spiritual Maturity #5: Changes in Friendship – The fifth post in Elder Peter Lim’s ongoing series on spiritual maturity.
  6. Recommended Resources – Our collection of external resources that we hope will be edifying, encouraging, and challenging.
  7. Gray Issues – Hub Post -The hub post for Elder Peter Lim’s seven-part series on understanding so-called “gray issues” (or “wisdom issues”) in the life of a Christian
  8. Caution – Hub Post – The hub post for Elder Mike Chon’s three-part series on humility and pride.
  9. Encouragement – Hub Post –  The hub post for Elder Mike Chon’s seven-part series on encouragement.
  10. Signs of Spiritual Maturity #6: Conservative Decision Making Motivated By a Hatred of Sin – The sixth post in Elder Peter Lim’s ongoing series on spiritual maturity.

Thanks for reading in 2012, and we look forward to picking up where we left off in 2013!

Pro Rege

Editor’s Note: December 2012

by Stephen Rodgers

Just to let you all know, the Beacon will be on its traditional Christmas hiatus for the next couple weeks.  If all goes well, we’ll be back the second week of January.

I say “if” simply because we’re also planning on doing some fairly important upgrades to the blog, so on the off-chance that we encounter some unexpected downtime, don’t panic.  I think you’ll agree that the end result is worth it.  Spoiler alert: our smart phone and tablet users should be much happier with us after the changes.

We’ve also got a small pile of awesomeness planned to go live around the same time we return, including more illustrations for some of the article series, one more pass to make the BOB articles inter-relate to one another to a greater extent, and a secret project that should enable you to conduct theological research much more easily.

Merry Christmas!

Pro Rege

He Saw The Spirit Of God Descending Like A Dove

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Matthew 3:16

As the Spirit of God descended upon the Lord Jesus, the head, so He also, in measure, descends upon the members of the mystical body. His descent is to us after the same fashion as that in which it fell upon our Lord.

  • There is often a singular rapidity about it; or ever we are aware, we are impelled onward and heavenward beyond all expectation. Yet is there none of the hurry of earthly haste, for the wings of the dove are as soft as they are swift.
  • Quietness seems essential to many spiritual operations; the Lord is in the still small voice, and like the dew, His grace is distilled in silence.
  • The dove has ever been the chosen type of purity, and the Holy Spirit is holiness itself. Where He cometh, everything that is pure and lovely, and of good report, is made to abound, and sin and uncleanness depart.
  • Peace reigns also where the Holy Dove comes with power; He bears the olive branch which shows that the waters of divine wrath are assuaged.
  • Gentleness is a sure result of the Sacred Dove’s transforming power: hearts touched by His benign influence are meek and lowly henceforth and for ever.
  • Harmlessness follows, as a matter of course; eagles and ravens may hunt their prey-the turtledove can endure wrong, but cannot inflict it. We must be harmless as doves.
  • The dove is an apt picture of love, the voice of the turtle is full of affection; and so, the soul visited by the blessed Spirit, abounds in love to God, in love to the brethren, and in love to sinners; and above all, in love to Jesus.
  • The brooding of the Spirit of God upon the face of the deep, first produced order and life, and in our hearts, He causes and fosters new life and light.

Blessed Spirit, as Thou didst rest upon our dear Redeemer, even so rest upon us from this time forward and forever.

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