The Sketchpad

Nov 10

Idolatry of the Heart, or Knowing What to Do and Not Doing It

I probably shouldn't be writing this. I've only had 2 hours sleep and my mind is all over the place, but I've gotten this far so I might as well press on.

Of late, I've been feeling a million miles out of character. The ideas of love, romance, relationships, etc. are usually futile for me. It's just not an aspect of my personality I want to get acquainted with, if you catch my drift. I value my general uptight, serious nature - after all, it's generally kept me out of trouble for an 18-year-old. In fact, I've driven my parents to despair more than once whenever the subject of relationships would come up and I'd retort, "Girls are an unnecessary complication in the general scheme of things" (Now you have to understand - to African parents, not being even the slightest bit interested in matters of the heart is cause for sleepless nights). All that to say this: I never really cared.

Fast-forward to this summer - that all changed, because I met an amazing sister in Christ. At first, I figured I needed to check myself, "This is not you, Doug - pull your crazy self together." And I did, I just put the thought of her out of my mind and got on with preparing for moving to university. The endless hours of preparing, making calls to the utterly inept Student Finance folks, as well as preparing the beginnings of a study in Romans were a welcome distraction and the thought of her did eventually leave my mind. Well, fast-forward to the present - I'm now living on campus on my own, which is great since the millions of distractions I usually suffer from home aren't here and I can get twice as much done...but there is a downside (Isn't there with everything good?)

The general quietness of living on my own causes me to think...a lot. It has its advantages but it also has its disadvantages - one of which is killing me and I'm taking a little action of it. Remember the sister in Christ at the beginning of this? Well I find myself thinking about her a lot, so much so nowadays it's literally causing me sleepless nights. I will be blunt - that should not be happening! Now, before y'all say, "You're overreacting, Doug", hear me out.

For me as an individual, very little causes me to stay awake at night - I can count the things that do on one hand. Those things are mostly wholesome - stuff I read about, or material for blog posts. But this latest "food for thought" isn't wholesome. I don't feel happier or more contented afterwards - I feel saddened. Deeply saddened. And yet...I keep on doing it.

It was sometime this morning that it finally dawned on me - this is subtly becoming a form of idolatry. I am setting this girl high in my affections and letting those affections toss me like a Caesar salad...rather than doing what I know to, which is to quit thinking and start praying about it. I've been trying to meander my way through the web of emotions, thoughts and feelings...rather than letting the Spirit of God do his superintending work. So I've resolved that everything this comes up, I will not entertain mere thoughts about it - I will pray about it. If it's God's will, we'll see what comes of it, and if it is not, then I'll move on and see what it is, down the road. But the days of engaging in idolatry of the flesh are over - or at least by the grace of God, I hope them to be.

Sep 28

Thomas Watson on What It Really Means to Glorify God

It's no secret to those who know me that I love Thomas Watson's insightful little work A Body of Divinity. In my prep work for this week, I came across this little gem in his work, looking at what it means to glorify God. It's indicative of the racing, penetrating and readable style of Watson's sermons - and so here is Pastor Watson.

Q. What is it to glorify God?

A. Glorifying God consists in four things: 1. Appreciation, 2. Adoration, 3. Affection, 4. Subjection. This is the yearly rent we pay to the crown of heaven.

1. Appreciation. To glorify God is to set God highest in our thoughts, and, to have a venerable esteem of him. Psalm 92:8. "Thou, Lord, art most high for evermore." Psalm 97:9, "Thou art exalted far above all gods." There is in God all that may draw forth both wonder and delight; there is a constellation of all beauties; he is prima causa [the first cause], the original and spring-head of being, who sheds a glory upon the creature. We glorify God when we are God-admirers; admire his attributes, which are the glistening beams by which the divine nature shines forth; his promises which are the charter of free grace, and the spiritual cabinet where the pearl of price is hid; the noble effects of his power and wisdom in making the world, which is called "the work of his fingers." Psalm 8:3. To glorify God is to have God-admiring thoughts; to esteem him most excellent, and search for diamonds in this rock only.

2. Glorifying God consists in adoration, or worship. Psalm 29:2. "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." There is a twofold worship: 1. A civil reverence which we give to persons of honour. Gen. 23:7, "Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the children of Heth." Piety is no enemy to courtesy. 2. A divine worship which we give to God as his royal prerogative. Neh. 8:6,"they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces towards the ground." This divine worship God is very jealous of; it is the apple of his eye, the pearl of his crown; which he guards, as he did the tree of life, with cherubims and a flaming sword, that no man may come near it to violate it. Divine worship must be such as God himself has appointed, otherwise it is offering strange fire, Lev. 10:1. The Lord would have Moses make the tabernacle, "according to the pattern in the mount." Exod. 25:40. He must not leave out anything in the pattern, nor add to it. If God was so exact and curious about the place of worship, how exact will he be about the matter of his worship! Surely here every thing must be according to the pattern prescribed in his word.

3. Affection. This is part of the glory we give to God, who counts himself glorified when he is loved. Deut. 6:5, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul." There is a twofold love: 1. Amor concupiscentiae, a love of concupiscence, which is self-love; as when we love another because he does us a good turn. A wicked man may be said to love God, because he has given him a good harvest, or filled his cup with wine. This is rather to love God's blessing than to love God. 2. Amor amicitiae, a love of delight, as a man takes delight in a friend. This is to love God indeed; the heart is set upon God, as a man's heart is set upon his treasure. This love is exuberant, not a few drops, but a stream. It is superlative; we give God the best of our love, the cream of it. Cant. 8:2,"I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate." If the spouse had a cup more juicy and spiced, Christ must drink of it. It is intense and ardent. True saints are seraphims, burning in holy love to God [from the Hebrew word saruph, to be burned up]. The spouse was amore perculsa, [an overwhelming love], in fainting fits, "sick of love," Cant. 2:5. Thus to love God is to glorify him. He who is the chief of our happiness has the chief of our affections.

4. Subjection. This is when we dedicate ourselves to God, and stand ready dressed for his service. Thus the angels in heaven glorify him; they wait on his throne, and are ready to take a commission from him; therefore they are represented by the cherubims with wings displayed, to show how swift they are in their obedience. We glorify God when we are devoted to his service; our head studies for him, our tongue pleads for him, and our hands relieve his members. The wise men that came to Christ did not only bow the knee to him, but presented him with gold and myrrh. Matt. 2:11. So we must not only bow the knee, give God worship, but bring presents of golden obedience. We glorify God when we falter at no service, when we fight under the banner of his gospel against an enemy, and say to him as David to King Saul, "Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine," 1 Sam. 17:32.

Sep 26

The Humbling Effect of Teaching God's Word

It's not everyday you get to teach God's Word. It's not everyday you get to teach the Book of Romans. It's not everyday you get to teach the Book of Romans with folks you truly love and care about. And yet, that's the position I find myself in of late. Here's the backstory...

My good friend and brother in Christ, Stephen, whom I affectionately refer to as "Uncle" for reasons known only to me, approached me with a view to starting a Bible study, which is no surprise in the evangelical climate of today. We have Bible studies available for "a dime a dozen" as my American friends would be inclined to say. The difference was that we would be doing this Bible study on Skype - a peer-to-peer calling program which allows for group conversations. It sounded like a good idea, so I jumped on it. Stephen took the first study on Romans 1:1-17, which was thoroughly enjoyable, and then it was my turn. Being the type who cannot do anything fast at all, I began in verse 18-19, considering the difficult doctrine of the wrath of God. This week, in two parts, I covered verse 20, looking at the ideas of divine revelation and human responsibility.

Now I am no theologian, scholar, exegete or preacher. I am actually rather laborious, boring and quiet by nature, and that transfers to any sort of public forum - even if it's a Bible study done over the computer. My wonderful friends who find themselves bearing with me will note that I have a thing for self-effacing humour as relates to my own ability - which they are very fond to speak kindly of. Add to that, an obsession with detail and it makes for quite a horrible experience listening to me drone on for 40-45 mins. Question is, why do it?

Well, dear friends, I would argue that I am being introduced to God's own bootcamp as I sit down preparing two Bible studies a week in what is arguably one of the toughest books in the NT. I find myself being continually being humble as I consider these weighty truths (my next studies are verses 21-25 on Tuesday and 26-29 on Friday) as I confront the reality of not only my own insufficiency to function (something I figured out a while ago), but also the greater reality that this is not a chance for me to flex my theological muscle or show how smart I am. This is an opportunity to serve - to humbly help God's people as best as a weird kid from East London can. Ultimately, it's a good thing that I'm laborious, boring and quiet by nature - this is God's way of stripping me of what pride lurks beneath the surface. As I grapple with the text, realising just how little I truly know of anything, I'm being continually made to understand just how infinite the
mind of God is and just how finite and weak my own mind truly is. It's like waking up from a dream and still figuring out you're still asleep.

In the end, I couldn't ask for a greater honour than to put on my Skype headset, open up the Scriptures and humbly serve a group of saints much greater and much more worthy than I. So folks, I'll see y'all on Tuesday and thanks for the opportunity to serve...

Sep 17

Discovering a Love for the People of God

Something very odd has happened to me over the last two years. I was converted at the age of 14, and at first I loved going to church and wanted to get to know the people. Soon after, I found that the people, some of which weren't even converted, actually got on my nerves and I grew to despise many (though not all) of the people I sat in the pews at church with. In fact, I developed a little adage to explain my feelings about the state of "unconverted Christians":

"Two types of snake in the world: One moves under the grass, the other sits in a pew"

Characteristic of the hurt I was feeling at the time of having so few serious believers around me at such a young age, that phrase would be a sort of mental fortress I use to insulate my already shy self from having to deal with people, who in my opinion, were mere hypocrites. It would be two years until I discovered the doctrines of grace before I revisited my theology of the Church. In doing so (and it was a painful period of confronting stereotypes, "sacred cows" and the pride of my own heart), I soon discovered that the true church is not composed of some weird amorphous mixture of converted and unconverted. In the NT, God's people ALL knew Him and knew Him intimately, and that rocked my worldview. Almost overnight, I began to discover that I need to be with God's people.

This last summer, as I've had a lot more opportunity to be with the folks from my church, I have to say I've become more and more fond of God's people. Are they still unconverted people in the church? Yes, and there always will be. But does that mean I shouldn't love the local expression of the body of Christ on that basis? Absolutely not. Christ loved the church, dear friends, and we ought to as well. And so, I'm not ashamed to say at age 18, and almost four years in the Christian life, I've rediscovered a love for the people of God.

Sep 17

"Sola Scriptura!" All Biblical Scripture is God-Breathed

Dr. James White (http://www.aomin.org) of Alpha and Omega Ministries discussing "SOLA SCRIPTURA!"

Sep 16

Welcome to The Sketchpad!

Hey folks,

Welcome to The Sketchpad! Well, why would I, who already has a full blog, start a microblog? Well, there are times when I want to discuss something but not in as full a way as I would on my blog, so this will serve as a space for me to "doodle" ideas relating to my faith, as well as sport, general happenings and life in general.

I hope this new venture will be of some benefit, and ultimately the Lord would be pleased to use it to His glory.