Meditations

The Need is Power

October 14, 2020 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

AW Tozer, with that prophetic cayenne pepper of his, once said, “Protestantism is on the wrong road when it tries to win merely by means of a united front. It is not organizational unity we need most; the great need is power.” He is most certainly right. Politicians gerrymander coalitions through compromise and back-room deals. Corporations zig-zag to the whims of their customer base. Churches and denominations who are concerned about drawing the crowds fudge on the doctrines of our faith.

But, the success of the Gospel doesn’t hang on our ability to organize ourselves, our appeal to the masses, or our perfect harmony singing Kumbaya around the campfire. Rather, the Gospel hangs on the power of the Spirit in the living Word. As the Word is preached, as the Word is poured upon the head of covenant children and converts, as the Word is eaten in this bread and wine the Spirit makes it all potent.

Not just at Pentecost, not just in our moment of pandemic panic, but through all history the Church’s need is power from on high. Power to preach the efficacious Word with boldness. Power to resist sin in our lives, families, churches, and nations. Power to overcome the enemies of the Gospel. Power to be witnesses unto Christ, both in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to every nation, tribe, and tongue (Cf. Acts. 1:8). After all, in this meal we shew forth the Lord’s death (1 Cor. 11:26). As we eat this meal in faith, through the Spirit’s power we are witnesses. And this is our testimony, declared with power to the world, which we testify by this bread and wine: Christ died, Christ arose, and Christ is King of this world.

So come in faith, and welcome to Jesus.

Which Father = Which Table

October 13, 2020 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

The Lord has prepared this table for His people. But there’s another table, a table of devils. Paul tells us we can’t partake of both (1 Cor. 10:21). It’s an either/or. However, you can eat this meal in such a way that you are in fact partaking of your own damnation (1 Cor. 11:29).

But the question about whether you are eating this meal worthily or to your own damnation is not one of looking deep into yourself with “very serious thoughts.” The question is a matter of Fatherhood. Who is your father?

If the devil is your father, you’ll partake of his table wherever you are and whatever you’re doing. You’ll even come to the Lord’s table, and because the father of lies is your father, you’ll eat this meal as a liar. You’ll lie to yourself. You’ll lie to others, putting on the appearance of a moral citizen. You’ll lie to God, thinking He won’t see that your heart is charred over like a marshmallow left too long over the campfire.

But if God is your Father, you are partaking of Him, because you have partaken of His Son. Have you been baptized into Christ by faith? Then you are reckoned as one with Christ. The Father God looks upon you as a beloved child. He sees you and all He sees is the radiant righteousness of Jesus.

The devil was once your father, and so all you partook of was lies and murder and theft. But You have been adopted, God is Your Father, and so you partake of Him here and everywhere. Right now and for all eternity. So who is your father? That tells you everything you need know about which table you are seated at.

So come in faith and welcome to Jesus…

Your Next Footfall

October 12, 2020 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

The Christian life has been described by some as a “long obedience in the same direction;” that direction being towards Christ. Of course, the opposite of this is true as well: the reprobate’s life is a “long disobedience in the same direction.” That direction being towards hell.

What all this tells us is that your next step is a step towards glory or a step towards damnation. Apostasy doesn’t happen overnight. It is one unconfessed sin after another. It is one step of compromise after another. It is one selfish indulgence after another. It is one bitter vendetta after another. And each of those steps are the result of a dead heart that hates God and loves itself. The way of the transgressor is hard (Pr. 13:15), but it’s the only path they’ve ever known. Even their footfalls that outwardly appear to go more or less the right direction are steps of self-glory and vanity.

But if you step towards glory, if you obey, it is only because you’ve first been turned away from your sin and turned towards God. If you turn to seek after God, it is because God first sought you and turned you. And if God has turned you, even your sin and disobedience become another opportunity to move forward in obedience by confessing that sin, identifying it as the damnable iniquity that it is, and following hard after God, as His right hand upholds you (Ps. 63:8)

So what direction have you been headed? Have you, like David, ordered your steps in God’s word (Ps. 119:133)? Or have you, like Solomon warned, been walking in a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is the way of death (Pr. 14:12)? So do as John commanded us, “walk in the light, as he is in the light (1 Jn. 1:7).”

The biggest lie we tell ourselves is that our minor sins, our small shuffles of rebellion, our so called little white lies are somehow not a big deal. The Apostle James taught us that if we break one part of God’s holy law we’ve broken the whole thing. If you’ve been turned, God gives grace that you might turn in obedience to Him by confessing your sins for what they are. God then upholds you as you continue to seek after Him, no matter how slow your progress may be. So order your footsteps to seek His face.

Edible Hope

October 7, 2020 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

Despair, foreboding, fear, and anxiety are the fruit of the vine which has sprung up in our nation. We would not acknowledge Christ and His Gospel as our Lord and our Light, and so we have reaped what we’ve sown. But here is hope. Edible and drinkable hope. Hope which you can hold in your hand, hope which will leave a tang on the tongue.

Hope is not wishful thinking. Hope is certainty. When we eat this meal together we are memorializing, remembering, carrying out a renewal of the central truth of the world in which we live. A dead Man once rose from the grave. When we eat this bread and taste the earthy richness of grain turned into sustenance, we are tasting the reality that Christ was buried like a grain of corn, and sprang forth as the first man of a new human race. When we drink this wine and taste the sun-ripened sharpness, we are tasting the reality that Christ drank the entire cup of God’s wrath, and now all you feel is the sunny pleasure of the Father’s joy.

In truth, this meal bids unbelief be gone, it dispels dark clouds of foreboding, it underscores Christ’s Word to us, “Fear not, little flock, it is Your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” Your Father invites you to taste true hope. Here is our hope: Christ died for you. Christ rose for you. Christ reigns as King of the world for you. The Father now calls You His child, for you come to Him by faith in Christ.

So come in faith and welcome to Jesus…

The Absurdity of Covenant Breaking

October 6, 2020 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

There’s a Grand Canyon between covenant keeping and covenant breaking. To use a wedding ceremony as an example, the couple makes vows: the man to provide and cherish, the woman to obey and respect, etc. A faithful marriage is always marked by trust in the word of their vows, and then adherence to those vows. Unfaithfulness to those vows results in all manner of malformations; whether divorce which shatters the vows into splinters, or what modern society has cooked up with the insane notion of open marriage, which makes as much sense as saying square circles. So when we administer this covenant sign to a child we must remember that faithlessness in the covenant is an absurdity.

We don’t bring our children to the Lord to be baptized so that they can then go and live in total opposition to what is vowed here today. God says in this sacrament, “This one is mine.” To which the faithful child, as she grows, learns to say, “And You are mine.” God enters into covenant with this child welcomes her into the covenant by grace, and by God’s grace, He will uphold her to keep this covenant.

So welcome covenant child to Jesus Christ…

Self-Control for Future Fathers & Mothers

October 5, 2020 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

Self-control is the basis of all good earthly governments. Of course, we must note that self-control isn’t something which you do. It’s a grace which the Spirit of God works in you. Dead men have zero self-control, nature moves them wherever it pleases, grinding them back into the dust from whence they came.

But in a twice-born man, the Spirit gives the grace to control your desires, appetites, affections, and impulses. This need for self-control doesn’t dissipate with age, evaporate when you get married, or get shelved when you retire. The temptations you face may morph and change as you grow and mature, but the need for restraint on your sinful desires will not and cannot be outgrown.

Without grace, our impulses and desires won’t be restrained, and anarchy is the eventuality. But by the command of the Word and empowerment of the Spirit you are enabled to be self-controlled.

Fathers especially need to bear this in mind as they raise their sons and daughters. Your sons need to learn not to whine and pester their mother for snacks, to not aimlessly peruse the Vanity Fair of social media, and need to learn to control their strength so as to dig trenches, build dams, erect sky-scrapers, and create economies.

Your daughters need to learn to not burst into tears when something upsets them, or bat their eyelashes for the adrenaline rush of attention; instead they must be taught to control their glory and direct it into paint colors, gloriously spread tables, thoughtfully crafted outfits, and happy and healthy offspring.

All of this takes self-control. To resist sin, and to pursue righteousness. Thus, if a man or women, family or empire is to stand, they must do so by laying down their life in Christ, and being resurrected in the power of the Spirit.

We have become a people controlled by every wind of whim and every breeze of doctrine. We are, in many ways, not anchored to God’s Word and so we drift to our own indulgences. If we would have our families stand firm, our cities remain peaceful, and our nation endure in justice we need self-control in each of our individual lives. We need the Lord to grant us grace to restrain our sinful desires, and strengthen our muscles to do the good works He has prepared in advance for us to do.

Unity by Division

September 29, 2020 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

Our nation is spiraling off into chaos. We deserve it, because we have attempted to unite around idols. But idols are jealous by nature. Territorial. Clannish. Tribal. They get envious of the worship rendered to other idols, and the followers fight to get more attention for their false god.

We’ve set our idols of money, science, power, sex, and pride in the center, and unsurprisingly divisions are the result. After all, your fame competes with mine. You and I want the same thing, and we can’t both have it. So, we take sides respective of our feelings on the particular idol in question.

The Apostle James tells us that it’s our envy which leads us to war with each other (Jas. 4:1-5), biting and devour along the way (Gal. 5:15). We tear each other to shreds, huffing off into our tribal groups, all because of our unfulfilled desires. The idols allure us with unity, but only grant division.

Not so with Christ. He was divided, and now offers His people true unity. Christ was torn, so we could be united with God. Christ’s body was broken, so that we could have true fellowship with His spiritual body, the Church. All the cultural chaos is because we refuse the unity, the fellowship, the cohesive force of Christ crucified.

By faith, His death for your sins binds you to His resurrected life. His death reconciles you with God and neighbor. His body was divided so that His Church might be united. His blood was shed so you and I could forgive each other’s trespasses as God has forgiven us. It’s always either Christ or chaos. It’s either erratic drumbeats of rival envies, or glorious harmonies of praise for the salvation we partake of in Christ’s broken body.

So come in faith and welcome to Jesus…

Why We Say “Amen”

September 28, 2020 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

Families accumulate habits like a magnet sweeping over metal shavings. When a baby is born––or a child is adopted––into the family, they immediately begin acclimating to those customs. A wise family should be able to point at their traditions and give a good reason for why they do it. Parents should always be ready to give an explanation of the customs to curious minds, and encourage cheerful participation in family customs. All those mottos, chants, and traditions should reinforce unity and loyalty. But they aren’t the source of the unity.

If you’re new here, you might’ve noticed that we punctuate our songs and prayers with a corporate “Amen.” Let me assure you, it’s deliberate. We want to follow a custom which we see in Scripture (Deu. 27, 1 Ch. 16:36, Neh. 8:6, & Ps. 106:48): “And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.” We continue this family practice by exclaiming hearty “amens” after our sung and spoken prayers.

Amen (אמן) is Hebrew for “truly, certainly, assuredly, so be it.” It was used in the ancient church to affirm agreement and unity in what was just vowed, spoken, sung, or read. We say it together, because the Father has adopted us into His family. We do it heartily, because the Spirit invigorates us to trust the Word. We say it frequently because our service is piled high with sweet promises from our Savior, and we rejoice in each one.

One practical observation for parents of young-un, this is a great way to help them participate. Even one-year–olds can shout out a loud amen, mingling their infant voices with the rest of the saints as we affirm what our Lord has said to us and our corporate agreement in what we have petitioned Him for.

So, instead of saying “Amen” to God’s promise of forgiveness, we’ve said “Amen” to the retribution of envy, the vengeance of pride, and the indulgence of lust. Instead of saying “Amen” to the praise we should render to Christ, we’ve said “Amen” to our self-love, self-glory, and self-righteousness. Instead of saying “Amen” because we confess that we’re God’s people, we’ve said “Amen” to the creeds and confessions of worldly men. So let us repent of all our sinful “Amens”, and receive grace to turn from all the false gospels, saying “Amen” to the true Gospel that Christ alone is King.