Christian Contentment Mathematics

From the time we are very young we learn simple math.  2+2=4.  5+5=10.  7-4=3.  We look at these problems now and say they are quite easy to solve.  In fact, we could probably give the answers in our sleep.  I wonder though, how else have we been taught to solve problems from a very young age?  Specifically, when talking about contentment, is the issue resolved by addition or subtraction? 

When someone is discontent addition is often thought to be the solution.  “If I just had such and such then I would be content.”  “My condition is so low that it needs addition to be content.”  My one-year-old son’s discontentment is often taken care of by addition.  He cries, we give him something, and he stops.  What if we learned that contentment is not gained so much by addition but by subtraction.

This is exactly what Jeremiah Burroughs states as he unfolds the mystery of contentment in his book The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.

A Christian comes to contentment, not so much by way of addition, as by way of subtraction.

It makes sense to us that contentment would be received from addition.  How then can it be attained through subtraction?  Burroughs makes the statement that it is, “not by adding more to his condition; but rather by subtracting from his desires, so as to make his desires and his circumstances even and equal.”  These desires are worldly desires, not heavenly, God-honoring desires.   We need to associate these kinds of desires with greed, selfishness, and pride.  How often do we think we deserve more?  How often do we think we deserve better?  These thoughts only lead to discontentment in our lives.

The world is infinitely deceived in thinking that contentment lies in having more than we already have.  Here lies the bottom root of all contentment, when there is an evenness and proportion between our hearts and our circumstances.

Our prayer must be that our heart would be brought down to our circumstances.  Then there is contentment with little and with affliction.  Our desires must find their satisfaction in the Lord Jesus Christ.  What else do we think would bring us satisfaction in this world? 

Thus the gracious heart thinks in this way: “The Lord has been pleased to bring down my circumstances; now if the Lord brings down my heart and makes it equal to my circumstances, then I am well enough.” 

Family Life Conference #3

The next morning we gathered again in Heritage Hall of SBTS to enjoy a breakfast buffet (which included the excellent coffee).  After we ate, the men and women went their separate ways for a “breakout” session.  I will be blogging on the men’s session, but I will not go into great detail about all that was discussed to demonstrate some discretion. 

The main purpose for the men’s session was to discuss romance.  What are some elements of romance and how can we consistently pursue our wife?

Before going into these elements, Dr. York began by stating that the study of our life is to know our wives.  The husband’s ability to make his wife feel that she is the only one in the world for me is important.  One way to enhance this ability is through romance.

Elements of Romance

1.        The Element of the Unexpected.  Surprises say, “I’m thinking about you.”  It is a reminder of your love for her.  Learn to surprise her.

2.       The Element of Dating.  Too often we forget this after marriage.  My wife needs to be pursued.  Set aside specific times for dates.

3.       The Element of the Impractical.  It is good to do impractical things once and a while.  Do something during a time when you are busy. 

4.       The Element of Creativity.  Find what delights her and be creative to make it happen.  Do what’s romantic for her.

5.       The Element of Daily Love.  Romance cannot be an event.  It has to be a lifestyle.  Daily cultivate this in my life.

6.       The Element of Commitment.  Commitment is sustaining.  Remember you have entered a covenant with your wife.

After this session, we were joined by our wives again.  We had a helpful question and answer time with Dr. York and his wife.  I particularly found the examples they gave from their own life powerful.  My wife and I enjoyed the time at the conference as we received great instruction.  It was also good to meet some new people and hear what the Lord was doing in their lives.

Family Life Conference Session #2

After a 15 minute break, we gathered again that evening for the second session.  With another cup of coffee in my hand I was ready to go.  (Side note: The coffee was really good!) 

Dr. York began by saying this session would cover eight marriage killers.  The three most prominent problems for married couples are: money, sex, and children.  These can be the greatest sources of joy but also can be the biggest problems.  It is going to take work to resolve these issues because of different levels of desire.  It is necessary to deal with the problems quickly.  Married couples will have conflict, but you have to have a covenant that divorce is not an option.  You must find happiness with your spouse.  

The Marriage Killers

1.        Over commitment and over exhaustion.  These are recipes for disaster if you are doing it by the power of your won flesh.  You are going to have to find a way to get that energy and make sure the decisions you are making are ones you have to make.  If you are over committed and over exhausted and feel like you have no time cut out those things of little consequence (Here is where he said that married men should cut out their video game playing!  To which I say, “Amen!”  It’s time to grow up and act like men!)  You must guard yourself from discontentment.  Once discontentment sets in you easily get depressed.  Enjoy each season of life the Lord puts you in and seek to strengthen your marriage.

2.       Get a handle on your credit.  Use your money for the Lord.  You don’t have to have everything your parents had.  You don’t have to have everything.  Learn to get by with less.

3.       Watch out for selfishness.  The need of the Holy Spirit working in our lives is great.  You must learn to cultivate humility.

4.       The Interference of In-Laws.  Don’t ever ask your spouse to deal with your parents.  Listen to wisdom and counsel from them, but be responsible for your own life.

5.       Unrealistic Expectations.  Do not have a Hollywood picture of life.  Do not judge what is best for you by the level of its difficulty.

6.       Space Invaders.  Whoever cares least about the relationship has all the power in the relationship.  The ideal: you both care and no one has the power.  It is not about power; it’s about obedience.  Build trust and hold each other accountable.

7.       Alcohol Substance Abuse.

8.       Pornography, gambling and other addictions.  Anything that seeks to capture your heart away from Christ or your spouse needs to be stopped.  Get into the business of trying to out bless one another.

The second session had a particular impact on me because many of the marriage killers were things which could easily happen while attending seminary.  Since I have come to Louisville, I have been thinking about the necessity of holding to certain marriage and parenting principles, which I will not sacrifice for seminary.  These marriage killers were great reminders to be on guard, especially in seminary.

Here ended the second session of the Family Life Conference.  Stay tuned to the final session recap.

Family Life Conference Session #1

My wife and I attended the Family Life Conference this Friday and Saturday put on by the Seminary Wives Institute and the Gheens Center for Christian Family Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  It was a great time of thinking about our marriage and our family.  Dr. Hershael York and his wife, Tanya, taught the conference and were a great blessing to the couples.  I thought it would be good to give you a synopsis of the conference so you may be encouraged by what was said there. 

Friday night we arrived for a “romantic” candlelight dinner with about 40 other couples.   The food and fellowship were great.  Our friends, Derek and Amy Brown, were there to enjoy the conference as well.  While we waited in line to get our food, I asked Derek if he could tell me what he was looking forward to or thinking about as we began the conference.  Derek said, “Yeah, I am thinking about how The Office is going to premiere on NBC in five days.”  Obviously, we didn’t know what we were in for as we feasted on roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a nice slice of chocolate cake to top it off.

After dinner our first session began with Dr. York. 

He started by using the example of Warren Buffet. Hhe said a mere $1,000 invested with Mr. Buffet around 1960 would be worth about $27 million today.  Marriage is an investment.  It is important that we know what we want our marriage to look like 20 or 40 or 60 years from now.  Our goal must be to move in the same direction as our spouse.  The person we married will not be the same person 20 years from now.  This is why it is necessary to make sure we are growing together rather than apart.

Moving in the same direction will require:

1.        Cooperation – Working with each other under God’s plan.

2.       Coordination – Two people who are radically different need to have a coordinated plan.

3.       Completion – Working to bring about God’s design.

 

Dr. York went on to tell how he and his wife met and were engaged.  They now have been married 27 years and have two sons.  He advised us to be prepared for the “stuff” of life.  If we don’t have a strategy when the “stuff” comes in life it will bury us.  We will need commitment to priorities and objectives.  How awful it would be at the end of life to find out you succeeded in all the wrong areas of life?  The dangerous part of any marriage is our own ego.  It is necessary to understand our ego is irrelevant.  Our ego gets in the way of serving our spouse.  Our ego makes us ugly.  Instead it should be our goal to be attractive to one person (our spouse) and to take steps to beautify our lives with God’s Word.  We need to say no the temptation of short cuts.  Our marriage will take hard work and it will take constant attention.

 

 Some of our priorities and objectives:

1.        Personal Integrity – Working on your own personal walk with the Lord and then beautifying your partner in their walk and witness.  If we are focused on our own personal integrity we will be able to say no to the temptations set before us.

2.       Marital Intimacy – Willing to put what you must into the relationship exclusively between you and your wife/husband.  Sex is not the goal.  Intimacy is the goal.  The heart of the family unit is the marriage.  Marriage is hard work.  If we think marriage is hard, we must understand divorce is harder.  The children need to understand our relationship together and realize their relationship to us is secondary.  Intimacy knows those special things which are meaningful to your spouse.

3.       Parental Responsibility – What exactly are our God given goals and guidelines for raising children?  One goal is to raise children other people enjoy being around.  Teach your children the preciousness of other people.  Teach them to be like Christ and to be liked. 

4.       Shared Service Competency – Encourage one another in the Kingdom work.  God has put us together to serve together as one. 

 

Dr. York closed by talking about the husband’s leadership.  Leadership is not just about the position but about the person.  A husband has to earn the trust of leadership.  If your wife trusts you she will easily follow you.  Acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses so you can work better together.  Magnify each other’s strengths.  Submission is not for women, it’s for Christians.  Husbands are to submit first to Christ and then to their wives desires.  We take each other for better or worse, not for granted.  It really doesn’t matter how successful we are outside the home if we are a failure in it. 

 

This ended the first session of the Family Life Conference.  Look for the other sessions to be posted soon. 

Check Out the Pages

Heart of Ezra Readers (all two of you),

 

Don’t forget to check out the pages at the top of the site.  I have tried (and am trying) to think of information you might find interesting, helpful, or insightful.  Obviously, as you can see, I have very little knowledge of any information, but still I have put that little amount here for you to peruse.

 

My pages include:

Currently Reading – Here are the books I am currently reading.  I will try to let you know how they turn out.  I also have put the books I just finished reading.  If you have any questions about them feel free to ask.

About – Here you can find out about me and why I have this blog.

 

Sultze Links — These are two links to my other websites.  One is to my family blog where you can see tons of pictures of my son.  The other is my podcast website. 

 

Suggested Reading — On this page I give a few titles of books I have read and a brief sentence about why I think you should read them.

 

Upcoming Titles — Here you will find books that have not yet been released, but ones I think you should check out once they do.

 

Suggested Sermons — This page has a list of sermons and links to sermons that have had an impact on my life.  You can’t go wrong with any of these. 

 

New Books — These are books I have not read, but books I would like to read.  Perhaps it will encourage you to pick one up sometime.

 

So what are you waiting for?  Stop by one of the pages . . . let me rephrase that . . . stop by all the pages today and enjoy the vast information at your finger tips. 

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

I recently purchased a book by Jeremiah Burroughs entitled The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.  I bought this book because I have seen lately my own need for contentment.  So far I have found this book a great encouragement, help, and rebuke.  Not only has the author challenged the way I think, he has also pressed the Word of God to my heart and shown me my sinfulness.  I believe this is what a “good” book must do.  Those books I have found most pleasant over the years are not the ones who simply state something I agree with.  Instead, they are the ones which skillfully use the Word of God to perform open-heart surgery on my soul.

I wanted here to give the definition Burroughs uses for contentment.  He gives the following description:

Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.

What is impressed upon me by this definition is the fact that it must be the habitual way of the Christian.  Perhaps I am able to live this definition out here and there, but to live it out all the time?  To live it out in every circumstance?  How am I going to be able to do this?  I will only be able to accomplish this by the grace of God working in my heart.  It is only a heart that “freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal.”  Not only is it a surrendered heart, it is a delighting heart.  Is a heart content when it is content merely out of duty?  The content heart does submit, but it also delights in how God works and why God works. 

Listen to what Burroughs says about the importance of habitual contentment:

A Christian who, in the constant tenor and temper of his heart, can carry himself quietly with constancy has learned the lesson of contentment. Otherwise his Christianity is worth nothing, for no one, however furious is his discontent, will not be quiet when he is in a good mood.

Read over that last sentence a couple times, and think about what your Christianity is worth as you contemplate your contentment.  I look forward to sharing more from this book in following blogs.  Until then meditate on these great words from God’s Word.

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  Philippians 4:11

On The Lighter Side: Lutzer/Graham

On Tuesday, September 11, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary had the honor of hearing Erwin Lutzer in chapel. I went to chapel wanting to hear this well known author and pastor. What I got in the first few minutes was more than I expected.

Impressions are not my thing. If I try to impersonate someone else it never does them justice. In this particular chapel, we heard Pastor Lutzer do an impression of Billy Graham. I enjoyed it so I thought I would share it here on my blog. In all fairness, Pastor Lutzer made sure it was understood that he greatly respected Billy Graham and that few men have had the impact he has on his life. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

There is also a rumor going around that Dr. Mohler does a great Jack Black/Nacho Libre impression. I would love to hear that sometime.

Lutzer as Graham

Discipline and Doctorates

I have just started my seminary education at The Southern Baptist Theological.  This semester I am only taking two courses.  One of my courses, Systematic Theology, is taught by Dr. Stephen Wellum.  I am enjoying this class and would like to share one thing he said last class which I found interesting.  He said (paraphrasing), “Getting your doctorate is more about discipline than it is about intelligence.” 

Upon hearing this statement I thought, “Praise the Lord!  There is hope for me to someday get my doctorate.”  Intelligent, I am not.  Being disciplined, though, seems more attainable.  I am used to discipline as I have gone through my undergraduate studies and work experience.  Intelligence, on the other hand, always appears to be fading in the distance as I scramble towards it.

My thoughts then went to the discipline as seen in the life of a believer.  Aren’t I to be disciplined, not just in academic studies or in my career, but in my life before God?  Paul gives this instruction below to Timothy as he instructs him in the ministry.  I believe though, the minister is to do this as an example to the whole church.  These words then are not just for ministers, but for all in the church who live as good servants of Jesus Christ. 

Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather ^train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as ^it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

1 Timothy 4:7-8

Discipline is not simply needed for academic endeavors, but for all who live for Christ.  Focus on discipline which leads to godliness.  These are truly lives lived following God and are for His glory.  Gaining godliness holds promise now and for the life to come.  Our discipline for godliness is not merely a temporary undertaking, but it has benefits that go into eternity.  What steps are you taking to discipline yourself for godliness?

Blowing the Trumpet for the Unborn

I came across an interesting letter while reading Brother’s, We Are Not Professionals by John Piper.  In his chapter, “Brothers, Blow the Trumpet for the Unborn,” Pastor John shares a letter he wrote to the Editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.  I found this letter very compelling and a demonstration of how to stand up for aborted babies. 

Dear Editor,

                Are you aware of the fact that the same day the Senate Health and Human Services Committee approved unconditional permission to terminate the lives of twenty-four-week-old fetuses, the neonatology unit at Abbot Northwestern was caring for a twenty-two-and-a-half-week-old (500 gram) preemie with good chances of healthy life?

                Now that is news and calls for profound reflection.  Instead, your lead editorial the morning after (Feb. 26) glossed over this critical issue and endorsed abortion because it is “one of the most personal decisions a woman can make” and because “the abortion decision is undeniably sensitive.”  This level of reflection is unworthy of major editorials in good newspapers.

                I assume you mean by “personal decision” not: having deep personal implications, but: having deep personal implications for only one person, the mother.

                But abortion is emphatically not a “personal” decision in that limited sense.  There is another person, namely, the unborn child.  If you deny this, you must give an account of what that little preemie is at Abbot Northwestern.  Abortion is a decision about competing human rights: the right not to be pregnant and the right not to be killed.

                I assume you approve of the Committee’s action.  But I also assume you would not approve of the mother’s right to strangle the preemie at Abbot before its twenty-fifth week of life.  If so you owe your readers an explanation of your simple endorsement of abortion because it is “personal” and “sensitive.”

                In fact I challenge you to publish two photographs side by side: one of this “child” outside the womb and another of a “fetus” inside the womb both at twenty-three or twenty-four weeks, with a caption that says something like: “We at the Star Tribune regard the termination of the preemie as manslaughter and the termination of the fetus as the personal choice of the mother.”

                I have read in your pages how you disdain the use of pictures because abortion is too complex for simplistic solutions.  But I also remember how you approved the possible televising of an execution as one of the most effective ways of turning the heart of America against capital punishment (a similarly complex issue).

                We both know that if America watched repeated termination of twenty-three-week-old fetuses on television (or saw the procedure truthfully documented in your paper), the sentiment of our society would profoundly change.  (The Alan Guttnacher Institute estimated over nine thousand abortions after twenty-one weeks in 1987.)

                Words fail to describe the barbarity of an unconditional right to take the life of a human being as fully developed as twenty-three weeks.  You could never successfully defend it in the public presence of the act itself.

                You can do so only in the moral fog of phrases like: Abortion must be left to the woman because it is “undeniably sensitive.”  This is not compelling.  There are many sensitive situations where the state prescribes limits for how we express our feelings where others are concerned.  If you are willing, you may meet this “other person” face-to-face in dozens of hospitals around the country.

                                                Sincerely yours,

                                                John Piper

 

After reading this letter and the entire chapter, one verse came to my mind.  It might not be a verse many think of when it comes to combating abortion.  The verse is Psalm 150:6. 

 

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!”

 

What a tragedy it is for those who never have a chance to praise the Lord.  All that has breath was made to glorify God and ascribe praise to His name.  In taking the life of an unborn child, we do not only commit sin against that person but also against the very image of God in which this child was formed.  The odiousness of this sin should overwhelm us and make us stand up for these little ones, as well as for the glory of God.  I pray that we would never stop “blowing the trumpet for the unborn.” 

Guess Who Said It

Here’s how the game is played. I give you a quote. You read the quote and then leave a comment giving it your best guess as to who said it.  After I think enough comments have been left or enough time has gone by, I will reveal the author of the quote.

Here’s the quote:

“If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century.”

Well, there is at least one clue in the quote.  Hope it helps narrow down your options.  Good Luck.

UPDATE ANSWER:  The person who gave this quote is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.