Jesus is the Greater Isaac

I was on the way home from my parents' house this evening, listening to a Sovereign Grace CD entitled Valley of Vision when I heard the line "crushed by your Father to call me your own."  This made me think back to the story of Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac.  That's when it all came together for me.

In Genesis 22 God tested Abraham, saying, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you" (v. 2).  Hebrews 11 gives us the quick summary: "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac" (v.17).  In other words, he obeyed.

Here's the detailed version from Genesis 22: "When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.  Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son" (v. 9-10).

Thankfully, though, "the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said....Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me." (v. 11-12).  God then provided a substitute: a ram caught in a thicket by its horns.

What struck me tonight as I was listening to that song ("How Deep is Your Love") was the fact that 2000 years later, another Father would be called to slaughter his Son.  Only with this Father, there wasn't any angel crying out who could stop his hand.  Rather, this Father poured out his divine wrath on his only Son, whom he loves.

Moreover, there was no other substitute provided.  In fact, this Son was the substitute, provided to be the sacrifice for the sins of all who would put their trust in him.  His name is Jesus Christ, and what's even more amazing, is the fact that he is a direct descendant of Abraham (Matthew 1:1).

"What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not with him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:31-32)

The Attributes of Christ: A Cross-Centered Look at the Character of God

Almost every Sunday, I teach the kindergarten through 2nd grade class at Emmaus Bible Church.  Our current series is called the ABCs of God: A Study for Children on the Greatness and Worth of God.  I really like the curriculum overall.  However, one thing I am noticing as of late is how it assumes the gospel (or at least, leaves it up to the teacher to include it).  I think at first I was okay with this, especially considering the curriculum itself says, "Jesus is not introduced until Lesson 14.  This is by design and is important in the flow of the curriculum.  We want children to see and understand that the Bible has a revealed order."

That makes sense, but is it the best way to teach children (or anybody for that matter)?  How many of us as adults would be okay with it if our pastor said that he was going to preach from the Bible, but not talk about Jesus until he got to the New Testament?  I, for one, would find another church.

More and more I am realizing just how important the gospel is, not just for unbelievers, but for believers as well.  We need it every day.  Moreover, trying to teach on the character of God without Christ is like...(any analogy here falls far short).  It just doesn't make sense.  In fact, it leaves us fearful and hopeless instead of comforted and full of joy, because we have to answer to that God without a Savior.

This drives me to want to include the gospel any way I can.  Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will teach the kids that God is jealous.  This means he does not put up with idolatry.  No Jesus, and that picture looks pretty bleak.  With Jesus, however, there is the possibility of having that God on your side.  Now that's glorious!

Pride = What will they think of me?

Three days into my third year of teaching, I feel very different than I did two years ago.  One of the main differences I would say is not worrying too much about what my students think of me.  This was a major concern my first year, so much so that I hesitated to discipline the children at times (so that they would think I was nice) and while on other occasions I was too harsh on them (so that they would think I was tough).  As you can see, this is a very man-centered fear.  Thankfully, God is in the process of liberating me from this fear.  Through a book I read this summer on the topic and more importantly by his grace, the Lord has changed me.  He has shown me that instead of needing other people to meet my felt (psychological) needs, the only One I really need is him.  There is a sense in which I still need people; however, it is not about me.  I need people to help me glorify him, because I cannot do it on my own.  By myself, I am a very poor representation of what God is like.  Yes, I am created in his image, but as someone pointed out to me recently, the only thing that was not good before the fall was for man to be alone.  That is because man cannot fully display God's character by going it alone.  That is why God created woman and eventually the church.  We need each other to reflect God's communicable attributes (those attributes of God that we share with him in part, such as knowledge, wisdom, love, and mercy).

Year 3! Can It Be?

Well, it is.  Hard to believe.  Two years ago I was just settling into Bellevue, scrambling to get my classroom set up, and praying hard that God would be with me.

He was.  I just didn't have eyes to see.  I won't give a complete recap of what happened, but I will say this: it wasn't good.  However, God is good.  He remains faithful to his own, even when we are faithless.

I am thankful for his work in me.  More than that, though, I am thankful for his work outside of me, namely, Christ's substitutionary atoning (wrath absorbing) death on the cross for my sins.  Not to mention his perfect righteous life that he credits to my account.

This is the gospel, and I need it every day.  And not just at the beginning of the day, but all day long.  It is a life of repentance and faith in Christ.  His blood has ransomed me forever.  There is therefore now no condemnation.  Praise God!

Loving Unbelievers

Let me ask you a question: do you love unbelievers? I mean, when you speak with them, do you have a deep sense of compassion for their souls, remembering that you were once one? I realize that they are dishonoring God with their lives. Yes, we should be zealous for God's glory, but how does that come across in your interactions with people outside the faith?

Do you look down on them? Is there a sense of superiority that you understand the doctrines of grace and they don't have a clue? Have you forgotten that you are in their shoes apart from God's kindness to you in Christ?

What did it take for you to believe...someone who didn't really care and just shared the gospel out of duty or a warped sense of making God happy by dropping the message on you, or was it a real friend who shared your struggles and remained gentle and open to you, even after you rejected his initial attempts at proclaiming the good news to your heart?

I think the latter gets closer to the heart of what it really means to love.

January = August?

January feels like August in many ways. The stress of starting new concepts in every subject. The difficulty of getting kids to behave and follow directions. The lack of motivation to grade papers and plan lessons. That being said, it has been a tough month.

I still battle sin each day. Teaching, I'm realizing, is just one of those professions where your heart is exposed over and over through trying situations. I trust God is using these to sanctify me, but my progress seems slow.

Thankfully, God does not accept me on the basis of my level of spiritual maturity. In fact, he does not even accept me because I want to change (because I do not even want that for the right reasons sometimes). I am accepted on the basis of Christ's finished work on the cross. He alone makes me acceptable to God by having bore the wrath I deserve to endure and by having provided the righteousness (or perfect obedience) that I am required to have.

And then comes Christmas...

Well, so much for writing about my experiences and keeping this blog updated once a month. It seems that without having the internet at home and with having blogs blocked at school, my motivation for regularly processing what has been happening has diminished significantly. This is sad, mainly because I think it is important and healthy for me to put on paper (or a computer screen) the thoughts in my head to keep them from remaining a bunch of jumbled ideas. The real question, however, is whether the organizing of these thoughts is worth anyone else's time or attention. That I have yet to discover. Perhaps I would have by now had I kept this thing current, but I have said enough about that already. Better luck next year, I guess.