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September 24, 2009
 

Arthur Burns' Helpful Prayer

In the 1970s there was a group that met in the White House for a time of informal prayer and fellowship. A newcomer to the group was asked to lead one week, and at the end of the meeting, he asked Arthur Burns to close them in prayer. The kicker that the newcomer didn't know: Burns was Jewish. What would he say?  How would he pray in the context of a Christian prayer fellowship? In The Call, Os Guinness records Burns' prayer for us:

"Lord, I pray that you would bring Jews to know Jesus Christ. I pray that you would bring Muslims to know Jesus Christ. Finally, Lord, I pray that you would bring Christians to know Jesus Christ. Amen."

Burns was praying for revival, which is when religious people are stripped of their religion and come alive to the wonder of God's grace through the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus. That is what I am praying for in my own life... to be stripped of my religion (being accepted by God based on my doing) so that I, as a professing Christian, can really know Jesus (being accepted by God based on his doing).  So thanks, Arthur, for such a helpful prayer.

Filed under  //   moralism   prayer   religion  

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September 23, 2009
 

The Danger of Moralizing the Old Testament

In his book, On the Old Testament, Mark Driscoll provides a helpful corrective to preacher-types like myself who may be tempted to dare folks to be a Daniel. He says,

"Unless Jesus is the central message of the Old Testament, many errors abound. The most common is moralizing. Moralizing is reading the Old Testament not to learn about Jesus, but only to learn principles for how to live my life as a good person by following the good examples of some people and avoiding the bad examples of others." 

After all, on the road to Damascus, Jesus himself showed two travelers that the entire Old Testament was about him, whether through prophetic promises, Christophanies, types and shadows or titles. This is because the Old Testament teaches us that we need a Savior, not just better behavior.

Filed under  //   driscoll   moralism   old testament  

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