As I write this, I am trying to hold back tears. It’s been a valiant fight the last few months, but tonight it’s a losing battle for me. I am completely overwhelmed with the grace and mercy that my God has shown my family and me since we moved to Fort Worth in 2007. Now, as we are just a few days away from moving, I just want to set up an “altar” to remember and to worship my Lord.

It is because of these reasons and so many more that I sit here with tears in my eyes. How could we have ever seen all of this coming? I thank God for his provision and wisdom. I thank him for every friend that he brought into our lives here, a list that could fill books. I thank God for the pastors and professors who invested in me. I thank God for my faithful Bride, who literally left everything to follow Jesus and her husband. I thank God for each precious child, three of whom were born in Texas. I praise God for this imperfect home, which has been our home longer than any other in our short marriage.

A hymn that has continued to bless us through the years is “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”. I love the last verse:

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow–
Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!

And the chorus:

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

As we close this chapter and open another in Baltimore (with another baby, Naomi!), we continue to look to this God to continue to amaze and humble us with his great faithfulness and grace.

How will 2012 be different? Will you serve the Lord more faithfully? Will you love him more? Will you serve others lovingly, like our Lord Jesus? Perhaps the better question is, How can 2012 be different, better than 2011?

One terrible way to approach the new year is with sheer determination. No one has ever lived a life pleasing to the Lord this way. The only way to please the Lord is with a continuous life of faith (Hebrews 11:6). But what fuels our faith so that we don’t fizzle out in mid-winter?

The only way our faith can continue to grow, and we can bear fruit consistently, is by cultivating minds full of God. And a mind full of God is a mind full of Scripture. Consider these verses:

So that we could encourage one another as one big church family, I suggest that we resolve (by faith!) to read the Bible regularly this new year. My favorite Bible reading plan is the Discipleship Journal “Book-at-a-Time” Plan. This gives us the opportunity to read the entire Bible together through the year, and it even has room for “catch-up days”, just in case we fall behind. You can find the plan here.

Since God not only requires that we hear from him, but that we also think deeply about all that he has said, I also suggest that we memorize Scripture together. My favorite Bible memorization plan is “Fighter Verses”, from Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. For encouragement on memorizing large portions of Scripture, I recommend this article from Andrew Davis, pastor of First Baptist Church of Durham, NC.

How will 2012 be different? Will you serve the Lord more faithfully? Will you love him more? Will you serve others lovingly, like our Lord Jesus? Perhaps the better question is, How can 2012 be different, better than 2011?

One terrible way to approach the new year is with sheer determination. No one has ever lived a life pleasing to the Lord this way. The only way to please the Lord is with a continuous life of faith (Hebrews 11:6). But what fuels our faith so that we don’t fizzle out in mid-winter?

The only way our faith can continue to grow, and we can bear fruit consistently, is by cultivating minds full of God. And a mind full of God is a mind full of Scripture. Consider these verses:

So that we could encourage one another as one big church family, I suggest that we resolve (by faith!) to read the Bible regularly this new year. My favorite Bible reading plan is the Discipleship Journal “Book-at-a-Time” Plan. This gives us the opportunity to read the entire Bible together through the year, and it even has room for “catch-up days”, just in case we fall behind. You can find the plan here.

Since God not only requires that we hear from him, but that we also think deeply about all that he has said, I also suggest that we memorize Scripture together. My favorite Bible memorization plan is “Fighter Verses”, from Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. For encouragement on memorizing large portions of Scripture, I recommend this article from Andrew Davis, pastor of First Baptist Church of Durham, NC.

As I prepare for my new assignment as pastor of First Baptist Church of Brooklyn (MD), I have been meditating on what it means to love. As I meditate on this, I noticed that Phil Ryken, former pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia and current president of Wheaton College, has written a book on 1 Corinthians 13 called Loving the Way Jesus Loves. It should come out next month and should be an encouragement to all of us. From the back cover:

Because he has taught nothing specifically, and because these things are not necessary for salvation, and for the upbuilding of the church ought to be variously accomodated to the customs of each nation and age, it will be fitting (as the advantage of the church will require) to change and abrogate traditional practices and to establish new ones. Indeed, I admit that we ought not to change into innovation rashly, suddenly, for insufficient cause. But love will best judge what may hurt or edify; and if we let love be our guide, all will be safe.

- Institutes, IV, 10, 30

Last evening, at 6:31pm, Naomi Faith Locke was born. As I type this, I am rocking my new sleeping girl on my lap. Even with four children now, I never cease to be amazed at the mystery of a new child bearing the image of our glorious God. She is fearfully and wonderfully made, indeed.
Why Naomi Faith? While Annie was pregnant, I taught the book of Ruth for a Wednesday night Bible study. Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, had lost her husband and two sons (including Ruth’s husband) in Moab. By the end of the tragedies in Ruth 1, Naomi actually told her friends in Bethlehem, “Don’t call me Naomi (pleasant, happy). Call me Mara (bitter), for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me.”

The rest of the book recounts how the Lord providentially filled her emptiness as her Redeemer. First he provided a loyal daughter-in-law, Ruth, who never left her side. Then he provided a barley harvest in her hometown Bethlehem. Then he raised up a close relative, Boaz, who had godly integrity and care for her and for Ruth. Then he moved so that the nearest relative would not receive Ruth, and he provided Boaz to take Ruth as his wife. Then he opened up Ruth’s womb that she would have a son, thus fulfilling his role as Redeemer. Then he worked so that through this baby would come the greatest king in Israel’s history, David, and ultimately the King of Kings, Jesus the Christ. So from beginning to end, the LORD is Redeemer, and he alone is praised.

My prayer for Naomi Faith is that she, too, will see that the Almighty is the Redeemer. My prayer is that she will know that in times of sorrow, Christ is the lifter of her head. In times of famine, Christ is the provider. In times of emptiness, Christ is the fullness. Christ Jesus is the all-satisfying Redeemer, and I pray that she find her all in him alone.

As a side note, I read a few articles about Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church’s decision to ban interracial couples from becoming members and active participants in their ministries (except funerals, strangely). Though the pastor and local association disagreed and the church ultimately overturned the decision, the damage has been done; the majority of church members publicly stated that they do not welcome interracial couples.

Though I could give quite an extensive defense of interracial relationships as biblical and God-honoring, I would rather point to my daughter’s namesake. Though it seems that Ruth was an idolater like her fellow Moabites, she learned about the one true God through Naomi and her family and did not turn back. Not only this, but the means by which the Lord redeemed Naomi was through an inter-ethnic, interracial relationship between a Jew and a Moabite. And no one in the community objected: ALL gave praise to God.

It’s only fitting that redemption would be pictured this way, of course. After all, the biracial child would ultimately have a descendant named David, who would receive a covenant promise by God that his seed, Jesus, would be heir on his throne and would rule forever and ever (2 Samuel 7, Luke 1:31-33). And because of his redemption, people from every tribe and nation and language will worship before the throne of the One who was and is and is to come (Rev. 5).

So when I called my daughter, “Naomi Faith,” I am calling her to be satisfied in Christ the Redeemer, and I am calling her to rejoice in the redemption of the nations and their reconciliation as one in him. And my prayer is that all who see her may join in these joys.

But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:17-18)

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:15-17)

Many of us will quickly say that Love is the mark of the church. We will acknowledge the Lord Jesus’ words that the world will know that we are his disciples when we love one another (John 13:35) or Paul’s words that without love we are useless to the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). But we rarely search the Scriptures to define love. Thus love is left to each believer to define on his/her own, which leads to chaos and, inevitably, disobedience.

This is why I was thankful that Paul Tautges put together a list of verses that define what God means when he says, “Love one another”. I’ve reproduced the list below:

1. Be devoted to one another (Rom. 12:10).
2. Give preference to one another (Rom. 12:10).
3. Be of the same mind toward one another (Rom. 12:16).
4. Accept one another by withholding judgment (Rom. 14:1).
5. Accept one another by showing deference (Rom. 14:1–5; 15:7).
6. Esteem [highly regard] one another in love (Rom. 14:5; Phil. 2:3).
7. Build up one another (Rom. 14:19; 1 Thes. 5:11).
8. Counsel one another (Rom. 15:14).
9. Serve one another by showing deference in matters of liberty (Gal. 5:13).
10. Bear one another’s sin burdens (Gal. 6:2).
11. Be gentle with one another (Eph. 4:2).
12. Be kind to one another so as to preserve unity (Eph. 4:32).
13. Speak truth to one another (Eph. 4:25; Col 3:9).
14. Submit to one another (Eph. 5:21).
15. Show compassion to one another (Col. 3:12).
16. Bear with the inherent sinfulness of one another (Col. 3:13).
17. Forgive one another (Col. 3:13).
18. Use Spirit-filled, Word-saturated music to teach and admonish one another (Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:19).
19. Comfort one another with the hope of Christ’s return (1 Thes. 4:18).
20. Encourage one another (1 Thes. 5:11).
21. Live in peace with one another (1 Thes. 5:13).
22. Seek good for one another (1 Thes. 5:15).
23. Encourage one another to forsake unbelief and hardness of heart (Heb. 3:13).
24. Stimulate one another to spiritual growth (Heb. 10:24).
25. Encourage one another by faithful participation in your local church (Heb. 10:25).
26. Confess sins to one another (James 5:16).
27. Pray for one another’s spiritual and physical healing (James 5:16).
28. Be long-suffering and patient toward one another (1 Peter 4:8; Eph. 4:2).
29. Be hospitable to one another without complaint (1 Peter 4:9).
30. Serve one another (1 Peter 4:10; Gal. 5:13).
31. Act in humility toward one another (1 Peter 5:5).
32. Show holy affection to one another (1 Peter 5:14).
33. Participate in the holy walk with one another (1 John 1:7).
34. Refuse to become resentful toward one another (1 John 3:11–12).
35. Give sacrificially to meet one another’s needs (1 John 3:16–17).
36. Fight fear together by growing in love (1 John 4:18).
37. Walk in truth together (1 John 3:18; 2 John 1:5).

Do you mean this when you say you are a loving Christian? Do you new this when you say you are a loving church? May the God who is love, who has demonstrated his love for us in Christ, and who has given us the Spirit of new covenant love, make us a properly-defined loving people for his glory.

Now the full number of those who believed were of  one heart and  soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but  they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

In the middle of this passage is, I think, the spark that ignited this spirit of generosity: “And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all” (v.33). But that connection isn’t exactly clear. How does the resurrection produce generous people?

To see this I had to go back through the previous chapters of Acts. As I read the apostles’ (mostly Peter’s) witness concerning the resurrection, I recognized four main points regarding Jesus’ resurrection that I think ignited this generosity:

1. Jesus’ resurrection loosed the pangs of death (2:24). Therefore, people do not have to live and hoard from fear of death.
2. Jesus’ resurrection confirmed him as the exalted Lord (2:33, 36), Christ (2:36) and Savior (4:10-12). Therefore, we can find our sufficiency in Christ and not in things.
3. Jesus’ resurrection calls all who rejected him to repent and believe in him (2:37-38, 3:14-15, 19, 26). Therefore, we can be delivered from all of our sins, including the sins of greed and covetousness.
4. Jesus’ resurrection makes the Holy Spirit available to all believers (2:33, 38-39). Therefore, we are joined together and empowered by the Spirit to love Christ and others.
5. Jesus’ resurrection guarantees the restoration of the kingdom (1:6-7, 3:19-21). Therefore, we can let go of the things of this world in hope of the indestructible kingdom to come, where Christ rules.

May the resurrection continue to draw hearts away from this world, that we may cling to Christ and his kingdom, as seen in our generosity towards our brothers and sisters in Christ.

(Numbers 14:17-19) “And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

(Nehemiah 9:16-21) “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.

“Even when they had made for themselves a golden calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies, you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.”

(Psalm 86:14-16) O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
and they do not set you before them.
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant,
and save the son of your maidservant.

(Psalm 103:6-14) The LORD works righteousness and justice
for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.

(Psalm 145:8-9) The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The LORD is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.

(Proverbs 14:29) Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding,
but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

(Proverbs 15:18) A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,
but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.

(Proverbs 16:32) Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

(Proverbs 19:11) Good sense makes one slow to anger,
and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

(Joel 2:12-14) “Yet even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?

(Jonah 4:2-4) And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
And the LORD said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

(Nahum 1:2-6) The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;
the LORD is avenging and wrathful;
the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries
and keeps wrath for his enemies.
The LORD is slow to anger
and great in power,
and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
he dries up all the rivers;
Bashan and Carmel wither;
the bloom of Lebanon withers.
The mountains quake before him;
the hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
the world and all who dwell in it.
Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.

(James 1:19-21) Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.