The God Who Finds Us
What shade of darkness is surrounding your life today? Maybe there are some severe realities from your past that have caused you to struggle to believe God's goodness for your future. Maybe you don't carry around any dark secrets or weighty tragedies from the past, but still feel like you're walking under a black cloud of mild despair and nagging doubt.
What's interesting about doubt and despair is that they cause our focus to center on the very thing that God wants us to stop focusing on: ourselves. He knows that ever since Adam and Eve shifted the desire they originally had for God over to themselves, we inherited something we'd struggle with our entire lives. Us. It's this self-consuming focus on us that ultimately casts a dark shadow of doubt over our hearts and minds. And the world tells us this is a good thing. How many times a day do we hear these lines?
I need to do what's right for me.
I deserve some more me time.
I need to focus on myself.
I need to learn to love myself.
When we as believers struggle to believe, it's not that we've misplaced hope; it's that we've misplaced God, who is our hope. We've traded the desire and affection we're supposed to have for God with a desire and affection for self. It's a repeat episode of Adam and Eve. We find ourselves unclothed, afraid, and ashamed, living in doubt of God's promises and in denial of his goodness. But God finds us and restores our hope in himself alone. When we find ourselves under cover of darkness, God doesn't just hand us flashlights so we can see our way around without tripping over everything. No, he consumes the darkness with his light! He illuminates those areas in our lives so that we aren't hidden under darkness any longer but "hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3). He wouldn't be our great God if he did anything less.
For you are my lamp, O Lord, and my God lightens my darkness. (2 Sam. 22:29)
Look around and see what lamps are lighting your life. We constantly have the dim lights of careers, relationships, hobbies, kids, and homes threatening to replace the all-consuming, all-illuminating light of Christ in our lives. These dim lights ultimately burn out because they were never meant to be our ultimate source of light. In these times, our prayer needs to be like David's, when he was hiding for his life in a cave from King Saul:
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness! (Ps. 57:1-3)
Like he did for David, God will fulfill his own purpose in us. He will transfer our selfish gaze back to his selfless ways. He will provide us with joyful reassurance in our darkest times of doubt and wondering. He will show us mercy in the dark solitude of our storms and become the great refuge for our sorrowful souls when we repent of our self-sufficiency and return to the shadow of his wings. We will once again feel the strength and security of his steadfast love and be reminded of his never-ending faithfulness. He will lighten the depths of our darkness with the lamp of his transcendent love, and we will see ever more clearly the goodness of his grace and the greatness of his glory.
We will once again have hope in Christ, our only hope.
Editors' Note: This excerpt is adapted from Ted Kluck and Ronnie Martin's new book, Finding God in the Dark: Faith, Disappointment, and the Struggle to Believe (Bethany House, 2013).
Go Behind the Scenes of Songs for the Book of Luke
David LaChance, founder of Musaic Worship, is the staff worship leader at Christ Memorial Church in Williston, Vermont. He's also a big part of The Gospel Coalition's Songs for the Book of Luke worship record: songwriter, musician, vocalist, and arranger. Get the inside story on the creation of Songs for the Book of Luke in my interview with David.
You wore several "hats" in The Gospel Coalitionʼs Songs for the Book of Luke project. How did you came to be involved in this project?
I met Mike Cosper, who produced this project, in 2008. We interacted over the years, and in 2011 I came to Louisville for a yearlong project and attended Sojourn Church. Throughout this time Mike invited me to be one of the musicians on Sojournʼs The Water and the Blood album, for which I did a little arranging and co-wrote the title track with Neil DeGraide. The album was a positive experience that paved the way for my involvement in the Songs for the Book of Luke project.
For the Luke project, Mike invited me to again contribute as one of the musicians but also to arrange most of the selected songs. I played the piano on the album and sang lead on one track. I arranged a majority of the songs, including the choir arrangements. We had a recording session with a select choir from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and that was a project highlight for me. The arrangements were designed as structural placeholders that would allow the musicians to improvise efficiently and give them a "finished" starting point. Some of the arrangements remained intact while other arrangements took on a whole new personality as the musicians began to improvise and infuse their own style.
Tell me about the recording process for this record. What was it like to work with a variety of worship leaders and pastors from around the country? Did they all come to Louisville to record live, as you did?
The recording process happened in two phases. In the first phase all of the musicians traveled to a studio in El Paso and spent a week working off of my arrangements, coming up with variations, deciding to keep the original in some cases and in other cases coming up with entirely new arrangements. In the second phase the singers and some of the musicians traveled to Louisville for a week to track the vocals.
It really is a joy to work with like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ who have the first priority of abiding in truth and then feeding Christʼs sheep. The body of Christ is a mosaic of different preferences, styles, methods, and callings. Yet the world knows us by our unbreakable unity despite these broad preferential differences.
I appreciate the variety of contexts and age groups represented in the contributors to this project. This project wasn't made by a group of elitist hipsters or the Nashville machine; older and younger generations of men and women serving their local churches in traditional and contemporary contexts all worked together without an attitude that implied their way is really the right way. This is the definition of loving the brethren. This is the love the world witnesses, wonders about, and knows us by.
You wrote a song for this record called "Song of Zechariah," arranged and inspired by Zechariahʼs song in Luke 1:67-79 (a hymn of praise commonly known as the Benedictus). What drew you to that section of Scripture?
The passage is a well-known song . . . so I figured there must be an advantage to working with a proven "lyricist." Joking aside, I like the idea of connecting musically with something in our Christian history that originally contained music.
For the most part, we sing the same notes today as first-century Christians did, so I feel like in some way we are speaking the same language even though we are worlds apart. In a way, music has that power to reverse the confusion of Babel. Itʼs just a little more edifying knowing these words were also sung, and these words are full of prophetic, gospel truth. Also, I was surprised that I was unable to find a contemporary treatment of the Benedictus, and I thought this was a good reason to choose this text.
When choosing a passage, I also keep the corporate application in mind, and in this case it was the "already/not yet" tension of the Christian life. I have attempted recently to convey this tension in my lyrical content, not from the viewpoint of the struggle with our sin (guilt-wrought groveling), which I think is often an inverse of the "me-centered" worship songs, but between the struggles with suffering that results from sin being in the world and of our certain promises of all things being made new in Christ. Because of Christ, we offer praise amid trials without any doubt that God has saved his people once and for all. Yet we are a people being saved through defeat in this world and will continue to groan along with creation for the consummation of Christʼs kingdom—even in the afterlife (Revelation 6:10).
However, we are not without a firm hope, and this is what I attempt to convey in the song. Even after Christʼs declaration "It is finished," our song remains a saving plea and a song of praise, or "Hosanna in the highest!" This is summed up and restated in the bridge of the song: "We sing a song of faith, we sing a song of hope, we sing a song of love, and for the sake of love we are saved" (John 3:16, Romans 8:38-39).
At your site MusaicWorship.com, youʼve posted the demo mp3 of "Song of Zechariah." Although the melody is the same, the arrangement on the Songs for the Book of Luke record goes in a different direction than some would have expected. How did you settle on that arrangement?
My song was one of the only songs we went into the studio with that retained the original arrangement of the submitted demo. So when we went to record the song, we essentially started out with a blank canvas. At first, we went the CCM route of the demo, but this direction wasnʼt ideal for all of the musicians. Dan Phelps, who played lead guitar on this album, starting playing a Motown-style guitar rhythm. The band immediately went in that direction, and the arrangement fell into place. The end result is a lot different from my original vision, but the song ended up adding a flare of energy and fun on the album.
You can read David's full interview at my site, "My Song in the Night." You can also purchase or stream the album on The Gospel Coalition's Bandcamp page.
Is Self-Sacrifice Ultimately Selfish?
If sacrificing my interests for another's sake makes me feel good about myself, is my so-called "act of kindness" selfish at its core?
Most of us don't know how to answer. Does tithing just make me feel good inside? Do heroes just die just for their own glory? Since we are sometimes blind to the true reasons behind our actions, how can we ever be sure our own motivations aren't somewhat selfish?
We're not alone in our altruistic skepticism. According to Judith Lichtenberg in The New York Times,"[T]he view that people never intentionally act to benefit others except to obtain some good for themselves still possesses a powerful lure over our thinking."
The idea that humans are always motivated by selfishness is called "psychological egoism." Psychological egoists believe that even if an action seems altruistic, it's ultimately done for direct or indirect personal gain. The possibility of true self-sacrifice without receiving anything in return is completely ruled out.
Though they may not use the term, many people believe in psychological egoism for two reasons:
- As economists claim, every rational being behaves in his or her own self-interest.
- As Christianity teaches, humans are fallen and prone to selfishness.
However, psychological egoism challenges our Christian call to be self-sacrificing like Christ.
Self-interest and SelfishnessBefore exploring how psychological egoism and self-sacrifice are at odds, we need to set one thing straight: there is a huge difference between self-interest and selfishness.
The distinction between self-interest and selfishness seems to be so blurred in public discourse that self-interest nearly means selfishness. But this is far from the true definition of self-interest.
Selfishness is a sin, but self-interest is necessary to live out the Christian life. While the Bible clearly condemns selfishness, self-interest is a good thing—it enables us to become well-functioning, contributing members of God's community. Self-interest motivates us to get up and go to work in the morning, to make friends, to care for our children, to drive carefully to work, and to go to church. It is even in our self-interest to be altruistic. Self-interest is not mutually exclusive from altruism in the Bible.
But is altruism also selfish if you like the way it makes you feel? No. Feeling good after an act of charity or self-sacrifice is not selfish. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:7, "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
God loves a cheerful giver. That means God wants us to give freely and enjoy the act of giving. Rather than attributing the benefit of cheer we feel after giving to our selfishness, we should accept this joy as a blessing from God. After all, joy is a fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22). Why would God want us to feel bad for doing something good?
God's Pleasure—and OursThis brings us to a deeper and more theological question: Is it sinful for a Christian to seek joy and happiness in this life? Aren't we supposed to seek God, not our pleasure?
To answer questions about our own pleasure, we need to understand a crucial truth about hedonism, or pleasure-seeking. In 1986, John Piper introduced the term "Christian hedonism" in his book Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. Although the term "Christian hedonism" sounds like an oxymoron, it is not a contradiction at all. We are Christian hedonists because we believe the song of Psalm 16:11: "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness and joy, in your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
According to Piper, Christian hedonism is desiring the vast, ocean-deep pleasures of God more than the mud-puddle pleasures of wealth, power, or lust. Unfortunately, too many Christians have bought into the lie that God doesn't want us to be happy. Piper dispels this myth in his essay "What Is Christian Hedonism?"
We value most what we delight in most. Pleasure is a gauge that measures how valuable someone or something is to us. Pleasure is the measure of our treasure.
[. . .]
If a friend says to you, "I really enjoy being with you," you wouldn't accuse him of being self-centered. Why? Because your friend's delight in you is the evidence that you have great value in his heart. In fact, you'd be dishonored if he didn't experience any pleasure in your friendship. The same is true of God.
Even Christ, who offered the ultimate sacrifice in the history of the world, died for joy. Hebrews 12:2 tells us, "For the joy set before him he endured the cross." Knowing this truth should make our own giving and sacrifice all the more joyful.
Images from TGC13
Fellowship and Friendship at TGC13
[Editor's Note: Throughout the TGC13 conference, Trillia Newbell will be reporting on events and interviewing attendees.]
As I walk past the coffee shops and restaurants, head to the lobby, and down the escalators, making my way to the main convention hall, I hear small excerpts of conversations ranging from "God was speaking this into my life" to "I finally got a chance to meet . . ." The conference has provided opportunities and a context for rich fellowship and friendship reunions.
As she pack to fly from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Staci Eastin, 41, hopes to keep the experience going. "I love the focus of the TGC conference, all the great teachers and speakers converging in one spot, and the chance to meet with people I only interact with via email, twitter, and websites," said Eastin.
Like many on social media, Eastin, a blogger and author of The Organized Heart (Cruciform Press, March 2011), has seen links to many articles by various writers and bloggers but may not have a chance to meet face-to-face without events like the TGC National Conference. "I finally got to meet Gloria Furman for the first time after two years of interacting via email and twitter," she added.
Of course connecting to others hasn't been the only benefit from attending the conference. Eastin was also eager to hear from the conference speakers, and up first on Tuesday was Kevin DeYoung. DeYoung spoke on Luke 15:1-32 addressing three different parables in one effective message.
"I've heard separate sermons on all of those parables but I've never heard a sermon that tied them all together. It was really helpful," said Eastin. When asked what she would take home from the message she said, "[DeYoung] made the comment that God seeks out sinners—a reminder of something that I know. A lot of times, though, I think of what I need to be doing. He gave me a fresh view of the beauty of repentance, grace, and salvation."
God's grace doesn't end at salvation. He came to seek and save the lost and to transform us to his image from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3: 18). "I get distracted by secondary issues" explained Eastin, "I have to remember how we need to meditate on salvation and the simplicity of the gospel. I get focused on works."
Tonight's conference closed with a worship album concert featuring the band for the Songs for the Book of Luke available now.
TGC13 National Conference - Wednesday Schedule
The Gospel Coalition's 2013 national conference is a five-day event running April 6 to 10, including a weekend world missions conference and three-day main conference focused on the mission of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. Overall the event features 80 speakers from around the world aiming to stir your affections for Jesus Christ, equip you to live faithfully in this world, and spread the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Watch our free livestreaming video feed (live.thegospelcoalition.org) of the follow events and sessions (all times are EDT):
For more information visit our 2013 National Conference section.
9:00 AM - Worship
9:30 AM - Plenary Session #8 - Gary Millar: Jesus Betrayed and Crucified (Luke 22:39-23:43)
11:00 AM - Plenary Session #9 - Tim Keller: Jesus Vindicated (Luke 24:1-53)
FAITH AT WORK POST CONFERENCE
1:30 PM - Session #1 - Redefining Work - Tim Keller
2:00 PM - Panel Discussion #1 - Redefining Work - Tim Keller, Bob Doll, Katherine Leary Alsdorf, Greg Forster, Dave Kiersznowski
2:45 PM - Session #2 - Reframing Pastoral Work: Bob Doll - What Business Leaders Need (Part 1 - 15 minutes); Tom Nelson - The Pastoral Vocation (Part 2 - 25 minutes)
3:15 PM - Panel Discussion #2: Reframing Pastoral Work - Tom Nelson, Tim Keller, John Yates, Bob Doll, and Crawford Loritts
4:30 PM - Session #3 - Rethinking Work: Katherine Leary Alsdorf (Part 1 - 15 minutes); Dave Kiersznowski (Part 2 - 15 minutes)
5:10 PM - Panel Discussion #3: Rethinking Work - Tim Keller, Tom Nelson, Dave Kiersznowski, and Katherine Leary Alsdorf
For more information visit our 2013 National Conference section.
The Storyframes Collective
Every Christian is a storyteller. To share the gospel is to tell someone a story about what God has done for the world through Jesus Christ. To be entrusted with the gospel is to own the responsibility to tell this story to others. Sharing the gospel with someone means you tell them story of redemption—sin, sacrifice, forgiveness, renewal, and redemption.
The Gospel Coalition and the Austin Stone Church recently collaborated to create the Storyframes Collective for the purpose of celebrating the extraordinary work of God in the lives of ordinary people.
Through excellence in the art of storytelling (film, photojournalism, spoken word, and writing), this project aims to recount God's redemptive, transforming work in the lives of our brothers and sisters. In form, this website collects encouraging stories about God's grace. In function, we want these stories to inspire you to praise God.
AudioThe Gospel Goes Further - "I remember that fear gripped me, I knew what was coming. I remember thinking please, God, don't let it happen. And it happened anyway."
VideoWhen Love Leads - In the face of betrayal and on the brink of divorce, David and Marlena discover afresh the pursuing love of Jesus. "Forgiven to Forgive" is this couple's story of betrayal, distance, confession, redemption—and of the marriage-mending power of the gospel.
Jacob Chen: An Adoption Story - "Jacob Chen: An Adoption Story" follows the Chen couple as they meet their adopted son, Jacob, for the first time. As the film demonstrates, adoption can be an outward witness to and expression of worship for God's adoption of us—and a way to showcase the gospel in living color to the world (Gal. 4:4-7).
Living with Cerebral Palsy - "The hardest thing is loneliness. I am my own greatest enemy when I am left to my loneliness." This is a story of how Roger finds hope in the midst of living with cerebral palsy.
We hope you not only enjoy reading, hearing, and seeing these stories, but also take time to observe the stories of those around you. Tell others the story of what God has done for the world in Jesus Christ, and tell us your story — what God has done in you.
Kicking Off the 2013 National Conference
[Editor's Note: Throughout the TGC13 conference, Trillia Newbell will be reporting on events and interviewing attendees.]
It's buzzing in the Rosen Shingle as about 5,000 men and women representing 49 states and 42 countries pour in to kick-off the biennial 2013 National Conference.
Today culminates two years of planning, organizing, and praying for every aspect of the conference. Walking through the halls you get a sense of the anticipation that is building for those who desire to learn and grow and—most importantly—apply it in their local communities.
Perusing through the exhibit hall, which features over 93 exhibitors representing publishing, ministries, and non-profit agencies, was Amber Chadwell, 25, of Tampa, Florida. Chadwell and her group of six friends have been anticipating this conference all year. "I've never been to a conference where there were so many people representing all the different denominations, uniting for one purpose," said Chadwell, who is attending TGC's National Conference for the first time. She serves as a worship leader in her church, singing and scheduling leaders, and hopes to learn more about worship and music ministry.
"I want to gain a deeper understanding of ministry," she added. "I'm excited to hear about the various issues and how to work them out and then to get a fresh view on the ministry."
The conference started with a chorus of voices singing "Come People of the Risen King" led by the modern hymn writers Keith and Kristyn Getty. "I love hearing her reading Scripture with her Irish accent," shared Nathan Simmons, 25, of Knoxville, TN. "I'm super thankful to have them not only because they are gospel-centered," said Simmons, "they have songs about the implications and mission of the gospel. They have songs about the Jesus' heart for the lost. Jesus came to set captives free."
The Getty's encapsulate the theme of the entire conference: His Mission: Jesus in the Gospel of Luke.
Today's plenary sermons focused on the gospel from Jesus' birth to his death. Speakers included John Piper, Colin Smith, Crawford Loritts, and Don Carson.
You don't have to be in Orlando to hear the messages from the plenary sessions. Watch the worship and plenary sessions all week via the livestream.
TGC13 National Conference - Tuesday Schedule
The Gospel Coalition's 2013 national conference is a five-day event running April 6 to 10, including a weekend world missions conference and three-day main conference focused on the mission of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. Overall the event features 80 speakers from around the world aiming to stir your affections for Jesus Christ, equip you to live faithfully in this world, and spread the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Watch our free livestreaming video feed (live.thegospelcoalition.org) of the follow events and sessions (all times are EDT):
9:00 AM - Worship
9:30 AM - Plenary Session #5: Kevin DeYoung: Jesus and the Lost (Luke 15:1-32)
11:00 AM - Plenary Session #6: Stephen Um: Jesus and Money (Luke 16:1-31)
12:15 PM - Zondervan Panel: How to Engage and Study Doctrine in the Local Church - Kevin DeYoung (Moderator), Michael Horton, Justin Buzzard, and J.D. Greear
1:30 PM - Faithful and Fruitful - Matt Chandler
2:45 PM - Every Disciple Making Disciples, Every Church Multiplying Churches - David Platt
4:00 PM - A Biblical Theology of Revival - Tim Keller
7:00 PM - Plenary Session #7: Panel Discussion - Don Carson, Kevin DeYoung, Tim Keller, and John Piper: Did Jesus Preach the Gospel?
8:30 PM - Worship Album Concert
For more information visit our 2013 National Conference section.