2 little sleep + 2 much caffeine = headed 4 disaster

Note: “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.” NORMALLY Thursdays belong to Isaac.  However, he’s swamped right now, so I’ll be posting today instead. I’m sure Isaac would appreciate your prayers.   ~ Barry ~

“Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap.”

I crafted the silly little formula in the title of this post to express something true about myself.  It’s not a completely new realization for me; it’s more like I just connected the dots between a couple of old realizations.

I’ve always known that I don’t function well without adequate sleep.  Among other things, I can get irritable when I haven’t had enough sleep.  I’ve also always known that I’m sensitive to caffeine.  Too much makes me jittery and high-strung.  What I had never really thought about before is what a disastrous combination that is.

Think about it—not just irritability, but high-strung irritability, inciting me to act not just a little like Oscar the Grouch, but more like Oscar the Grouch on steroids.  It isn’t pretty.

A terrible reality dominates our existence.  We are all by nature sinners who deserve nothing but God’s wrath (Eph. 2:1-3).  In addition to that, sin has a blemishing effect on our minds and personalities so that we all have a few deeply ingrained character flaws, many of which we’re oblivious to.  Ideally, we need to know what those are.  It’s a healthy thing to heed Plato’s admonition: “Know thyself.”

But that’s not as easy as it might sound.  The same sin that deserves God’s wrath and blemishes our personalities warps our ability to know our own hearts, and even our ability to recognize that we may be deceiving ourselves.   “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9)

Randy Alcorn on embracing biblical paradox

Speaking of Charles Spurgeon…

…he’s one of those guys who continues to speak long after his death.  Many Christian leaders (and laymen) readily acknowledge their indebtedness to Spurgeon.  Take Randy Alcorn, for instance.

If you don’t already know who Alcorn is, I’d like to introduce him to you.  In fact, when you finish with this post, you might want to check out C.J. Mahaney’s recent four-part interview with Alcorn:  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.  Before you run off, though, I’d like to ask you to spend a couple of minutes with me here looking at one particular aspect of Alcorn’s theology that has a distinct Spurgeon-esqe flavor.

Shamed (again) by Charles Spurgeon

“Unto you therefore which believe He is precious.”—1 Peter 2:7

That was Charles Spurgeon’s text for the first sermon he ever preached.  22 years later, and not feeling well, he decided to preach another message from that old familiar text, partially because of its unique significance to him.  I’m glad he did.

I say “I’m glad” with some trepidation, because when I first read these words I felt like someone had just punched me in the gut.  As Spurgeon begins to expound on this text (in his own inimitable way), he describes what it means for Christ to be precious to believers, and the effect that a deep love for Christ has on those who believe.  This was the paragraph that gut punched me.

…he who really has this high estimate of Jesus will think much of him, and as the thoughts are sure to run over at the mouth, he will talk much of him. Do we so? If Jesus is precious to you, you will not be able to keep your good news to yourself; you will be whispering it into your child’s ear; you will be telling it to your husband; you will be earnestly imparting it to your friend; without the charms of eloquence you will be more than eloquent; your heart will speak, and your eyes will flash as you talk of his sweet love. Every Christian here is either a missionary or an impostor. Recollect that. You either try to spread abroad the kingdom of Christ, or else you do not love him at all. It cannot be that there is a high appreciation of Jesus and a totally silent tongue about him.

Spurgeon never was one to pull punches, but I appreciate that.  Sometimes a good punch in the gut is just what I need.

So I am either a missionary or an impostor.  I love Jesus so much that I can’t stop telling people about him, or I don’t love him at all. I mentioned in an old post that I’ve often felt shamed by Spurgeon’s passion for souls.  Today, I’m shamed by his fervent love for Jesus.

Dying of dignity (Part 1)

Within a few years of becoming a Christian in the mid-70s, I found that I was faced with a dilemma.  My heart was brimming with love for Christ.  I was completely overwhelmed by the realization that he had given his life for me, and I wanted nothing more than to give my life for him.  I was very emotional, and expressing my emotion in prayer and praise was as natural as breathing.

At the same time, I was learning a lot, as I was devouring books by J.I. Packer, Charles Spurgeon, John Stott, Jerry Bridges, A.W. Tozer, C.S. Lewis, Watchman Nee, Andrew Murray, Corrie Ten Boom, Elisabeth Elliot, and many others.  My understanding of God’s Word was growing, and my thinking was maturing.

Then it happened.  Slowly, I began to realize I was going to have to make a choice I didn’t want to make.

D.A. Carson and C.H. Spurgeon on Compatibilism

I want to resurrect two important but easily overlooked items that were buried in the comments of an old post.  The discussion under that post wandered away from the original topic somewhat, and eventually led to the inclusion of two items which I think deserve a post of their own.

The first item was a two-part lecture by D.A. Carson entitled, ”On Being Prepared for Evil and Suffering.”  The other was a quote by C.H. Spurgeon.  These two men articulate, perhaps better than most, the danger of overemphasizing either one of two fundamental truths, usually at the expense of the other: God’s sovereignty, and human responsibility.

That’s not really what Carson’s lectures are about, though.  He’s actually examining the problem of suffering and evil in light of the goodness and power of God.  If you’ve ever struggled to understand how a good and all-powerful God could allow evil and suffering (a specific branch of theology sometimes called theodicy), I would strongly encourage you to listen to these two messages.  They are incredibly good.

Charles Spurgeon on Gossip

Something interesting happens in the latter half of Romans 1.  Paul describes mankind’s casual disregard of his Creator and his consequent descent into sin.  “…although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools” (vv. 22-23).

As a result, “God gave them up to a debased mind” (v. 28).  Paul then lists some of the characteristics of a debased mind.

What sort of person do you imagine when you think of a debased mind?  A brutal serial killer?  A dangerous psychopathic stalker?  A pedophile?  Fascist dictators torturing and executing Christians?

Treasuring God’s Word

And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”  (Luke 4:4)

We can no more live without God’s word than we can without food, although we don’t always act like we really believe that.  The quotes and Scripture passages below are just a few simple thoughts I hope you may find helpful in that respect.

At times it’s good to read all the way through the Bible, trying to grasp the big picture.

For some years now I have read through the Bible twice every year. If you picture the Bible to be a mighty tree and every word a little branch, I have shaken every one of these branches because I wanted to know what it was and what it meant. –Martin Luther

It’s also good at times to concentrate on smaller portions of Scripture.

Some people like to read so many chapters every day. I would not dissuade them from the practice, but I would rather lay my soul asoak in half a dozen verses all day than rinse my hand in several chapters. Oh, to be bathed in a text of Scripture, and to let it be sucked up in your very soul, till it saturates your heart! –Charles Haddon Spurgeon

In both cases, God’s Word should make us think hard.

Shamed by Charles Spurgeon

Some people have a hard time reconciling evangelism with God’s sovereignty.  J.I. Packer devoted an entire  book to the subject.  But there have always been men who loved the glorious and humbling truth of God’s sovereignty, and at the same time cared deeply about the souls of men.

J.C. Ryle was one of those men.

Another was C.H. Spurgeon, who is still held in high esteem by preachers all over the world.  I think one of the reasons for that is the obvious passion he had to lead people to Christ.  One of his most popular books was The Soul-Winner.

At the same time he loved to magnify the absolute freedom and sovereignty of God.  One of my favorite sermons by Spurgeon is one entitled “Election”

His passion for souls was evident throughout his entire ministry.  I like to read these words from one of his sermons frequently.  To be honest, they shame me.  I know how important evangelism is, but I’m not nearly as broken-hearted as I should be over those who are lost.  I don’t weep with compassion like Jesus did when he stood looking out over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41)

Oh, my brothers and sisters in Christ, if sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies; and if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay, and not madly to destroy themselves. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.

In that, I want to be more like Spurgeon.

Additional Resources:

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer
The Soul-Winner by C.H. Spurgeon
Election a sermon by C.H. Spurgeon