Abortion and Capital Punishment... What's the Difference?

Yeah, I know... it's been awhile. Two things I've learned creating this blog: One, this takes a lot of time. Two, I really don't have a lot to say! So, recently a friend encouraged me to use the blog to tackle issues and questions that come up in OD's. And I thought, "Now, there's a good idea." So for all of you OD leaders and helpers and for all of you people hanging out at UNCC in an OD, this is for you. Every week I'll tackle some issue or question that's come up and hopefully point you in the right direction.

(If you don't know what an OD is - find out here - www.mission28.com)

So what's the difference between abortion and capital punishment? Aren't they both death by murder? Therefore, aren't they both wrong? Well... Biblically, no.

Abortion is unequivocally wrong. Among the list of things that God hates in Proverbs 6 are 'hands that shed innocent blood'. Unlike any other living thing, human life is made in the image of God. God is ultimately the author of human life (Acts 17:25). God is ultimately the fashioner of human life in the womb. Therefore human life is more than just biology and it's clear that all human life begins at conception (Psalm 139:13-16). Moreover, God has clearly stated - 'thou shalt not murder' (Gen 9:6; Exo 20:13; Prov 24:11). Abortion is murder of the unborn and is, therefore, unequivocally morally wrong under any circumstance.

(I'll keep my comments on abortion limited to that. For more, you can listen to a recent message given on the topic at CrossWay Community Church entitled 'Defend the Weak' - www.crosswaync.org/sermons.html or you can check out www.desiringgod.org and do a search for an article entitled "Ten Reasons Why It Is Wrong to Take the Life of Unborn Children".)

So then, what's the difference between abortion and capital punishment? How is the death penalty any different? That's where the questions seemed to come up in OD. So, let's look at 2 important texts that will help shed light on this.

The first is Romans 13:1-7 - "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's serant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities not only because of possible punishment, but also because of conscience."

Along the same lines, 1Peter 2:13-14 weighs in by saying - "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right."

Ok, a couple important themes emerge here. One is that the governing authorities have been clearly established by God. As such, God has delegated the governing authorities with the responsibility of maintaing and administering justice. They are to do good to those who do what is right. And they are to punish those who do wrong. To neglect either of these responsibilities would be a failure to maintain justice and would violate the very purpose for which God has established them.

As it relates to the 'wrongdoer', the governing authorities have the authority as 'God's servants' and as 'an agent of wrath' to make judgments and execute justice by bringing 'punishment on the wrongdoer'. After all, the governing authorities don't 'bear the sword for nothing' - a metaphor for their authority to execute justice against those who do wrong.

Capital punishment (or the death penalty) has to do with justice. It is punishment for a crime. It is the responsibility of the governing authorities to maintain and execute justice by punishing those who do wrong. That authority has been given to them by God. There are places in Scripture where God clearly permits that that justice and punishment be carried out in the form of execution (e.g. Exodus 21:12 - capital punishment for the crime of murder. The governing authorities of Israel had the prerogative and authorityto execute that kind of justice for that kind of crime). In such a case, the issue is one of justice not murder.

ln conclusion: Abortion is an issue of unparalleled injustice. Unborn children have commited no crime - and in that sense they are innocent. They are the essence of the weak and needy that the governing authorities have the responsibility to defend and protect (Psalm 82:3-4). They're death is not the execution of justice - it is murder.

Capital punishment is an issue of the execution of justice - which the governing authorities have the prerogative and authority to carry out as established by God. They're death is not murder - it is justice. Of course, what constitutes a 'crime' and what constitutes 'justice' is always defined by God. Therefore, any governing authority that strays from what God has defined as 'crime', 'punishment' and 'justice' is to be condemned itself - it's an authority that has abused the purpose for which God has established it and has itself become corrupt.

So... I hope that keeps the conversation rolling.

For those of you who brought up the issue of war - I'll simply point you in the right direction - www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/QuestionsAndAnswers/ByTitle/1450_Did_Jesus_Teach_Pacifism/

The Missional Life

Evangelism. You let the word hang too long in the air and suddenly you have droves of Christians who either want to change the topic or who feel guilty because they don't do it. I lead an evangelistic ministry (www.mission28.com) and even I am aware of how hard it is to be personally, consistently faithful in evangelism. Every year I challenge people in Mission 28 to find one person, just ONE person, to reach out to, befriend, and invest their lives into for the sake of the gospel - and every time I make that challenge I feel my own sinful, selfish heart resist it.

Yet as Christians, sharing our faith isn't something we can get away from. God's Word won't let us get away from it. The great commission calls us to be disciples and to make disciples; to live the gospel and to preach the gospel. If I claim Christ, then that's part of Christ's claim on me.

I need to be reminded of that almost every day. And almost every day I need fresh perspective and motivation to be 'missional minded' and to live a 'missional life'. We all do. My desire for this post is to play a small part in reminding you of the great commission and to motivate you to embrace it. So the following is my attempt to do that...

This past May, over Memorial Day weekend, a group of us attended the New Attitude Conference (www.newattitude.org). It was at NA that many of us heard Eric Simmons' message about living the 'missional life'. For those of us who attended NA, Eric's message was a highlight. Recently the essence of that message was posted on the IX Marks website (www.9marks.com - this is Mark Dever's people) in an article entitled What is the Missional Life?

I've posted it here for you. Read. Enjoy. Be motivated. Apply.

(you can listen to Eric's message at www.newattitude.org/beta/downloads/ ; copies of this artcile will also be available at Mission 28 meetings.)

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What is the Missional Life?
By Eric Simmons

Welcome to my neighborhood. Here’s what it looks like:
- the lady ringing up my order at Panera Bread who is a lesbian;
- the neighbor with everything that life seems to offer—the big house, the Lexus, the beautiful wife, the straight- A kids;
- the guy next to me in the gym who is committing adultery and destroying the lives of himself and his family;
- the guy who works in the bike shop with whom I am pursuing a friendship;
- Phyllis, the 78-year-old woman who just lost her husband of 54 years.

Keep looking and you’ll find just about everyone. The atheist. The mocker. The scoffer. The intellectual. The ignorant. These are people that need Jesus. These are the people that I have been called to reach. They are my mission field.

What does your mission field look like? I’m sure the faces are different, but the state of their soul before God is not.

Pastor, God has called you to more than just the people in your church. He wants to mobilize you and your people to reach another people. The people next door. Your little culture.

Many Christians have been giving a lot of attention to places like the "10/40 window," for which we should praise God. We should also keep praying that the Lord would send more workers into overseas harvest fields. But in our own post-Christian society in America there is an emerging unreached people-group. They’re not in a foreign country. They live right down the street.

Sometimes I think the most unreached people-group in the world are the ones next door.

The primary mission field for most of us is not far away, it’s in the routine of our daily lives. God doesn’t save us to be passive spectators. He saves us and then sends us out into the world to tell other people about Jesus. Each of us is called to play a part in God’s mission to save sinners—the same sinners we meet on a daily basis.

God’s kingdom—his inbreaking, redemptive rule—is advancing all around us. Paul says in Colossians 1, "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (vv. 13-14). What an incredible picture. God is doing the work of transferring people from the clutches of Satan and this world into a new kingdom. His kingdom.

Don’t you want to be involved in that? God invites you and your church to be involved in this glorious process of bringing people into his kingdom. We get to play a small part in what God is doing. How? By living like missionaries who are sent by God. We are not just going, we are sent.

We don’t just go to the gym. We don’t just go to Panera Bread, or the bike store, or the neighborhood barbeque. We don’t just go to work or the classroom. We don’t even just go home for Christmas. Thinking missionally changes our perspective. It reminds us that God, the sovereign ruler of this world, sends us to each of these places. He sends all those who belong to him into this world to help usher people from darkness to his kingdom of light.

Our job as pastors is to help our church members see that God has a heart for the non-Christians all around them, and that his divine hand has brought these non-Christians directly into their every-day communities with this purpose of mission. Sunday’s are assuredly for hearing the preached word and caring for one another. But Sundays should also be sending days for the church—a day to remember that the mission is not over, that we are being "sent" as missionaries into the world to reveal God’s glorious kingdom.

So how do we teach the members of our churches to be effective missionaries? God instructs us in Colossians 4 that we must teach our people to pray, to live, and to talk.

Continue steadfastly in prayer being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ on account of which I am in prison that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak. Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person (Col. 4:2-6).

TEACH THEM TO PRAY

First, we must teach our churches to pray. Paul says in verse 2 that our prayers should be steadfast and watchful. God wants us to understand that our communion with him through prayer is the key to mission work. In other words, effective evangelism begins with diligent, watchful prayer. God wants us to talk to him before we go out in the world and talk about him.

Paul then transitions from this teaching on prayer to asking for prayer. Specifically, he asks the Colossian church to "pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ." Paul is in prison, but he does not ask them to pray that the prison door be opened so that he could be released. No, he asks for the door of opportunity to be opened so that he can tell of the mystery of Christ. Paul basically says, "I might be in jail, but the word can never be imprisoned. Christ must be preached—even in jail. So please pray that, as I reach out to these people in this jail, the door of their hearts would be opened."

Do you see what vision for God’s kingdom and mission can do? It takes jail time and turns it into opportunity! Paul loved being a part of the kingdom, because he loved the King. And he was so radically changed by salvation that he was more concerned about the life and eternal destiny of the jailer holding the key to his jail cell than about getting out of jail himself!

Paul believed that he was sent. Rome didn’t put him in jail. God did. Why? Because God wanted his kingdom to be revealed in a Roman prison. To Paul, this was opportunity.

What can we learn? Effective mission work begins with appealing to the King for opportunities to tell people about his kingdom and the gospel that makes a relationship with him possible. We must model and teach our people that effective mission work begins with faith-filled prayers and petitions for opportunities. Every day that we wake up and go to work or go to the gym is an opportunity to share the gospel. So encourage your people to pray for opportunities in their lives.

But this point needs a warning label underneath it: enter at your own risk. If you pray for opportunities, they will happen. And often they will happen at the most awkward, inconvenient moments. Remember, Paul received his opportunity in jail. So teach your people that often it may be the very circumstances that are inconvenient and interruptions to their normal lives that are the opportunities that God is giving them to share his gospel! So teach your people to be watchful.

Around the time I began wrestling with the concept of mission and kingdom and praying diligently for opportunities, a friend named Andrew and I were driving across the country. We tried getting into Rocky Mountain National Park to go camping, but God decided to send ten inches of snow—even though it was June.

So we holed up for the night in Grand Lake, Colorado. We were dead tired, we were starving, and the only place open was…the Saloon. I kid you not: the Saloon. When Andrew and I walked through the double doors it felt like the record player scratched to a stop. Everybody turned to look at us, and I think they knew that we were not from around those parts.

Andrew and I hurried over to the corner, doing our best not to make eye contact. Near us was a group of about six people. They probably had twenty shot glasses on their table (that means they were drunk). And they were toasting, one shot at a time. One of the gentleman toasted, "To Jesus Christ, and to Satan, his brother."

I had prayed that morning for an opportunity to share the gospel. But this was not what I had in mind.

I looked at Andrew and said, "You know what? I have no clue what to do. I just know that he toasted Jesus and Satan, and I know that I just prayed about an opportunity this morning." I had a tract in my pocket, so I walked over. "Hey, how are you?" I said, making as little eye contact as possible. "You know, I heard you toast Jesus, and this is about Jesus. You might want to read it. I’ll be over there. If you have any questions, come on over."

I hurried back to our table, almost jumped into my chair, and started shoveling food into my mouth so that we could exit as quickly as possible. But sure enough, Kevin—the guy—and his girlfriend came over, and we started talking about Jesus. Kevin was belligerent, angry, and aggressive. But his girlfriend was open. She asked sincere questions about Jesus.

God used my prayers from that morning! He sent two idiots to Colorado, made it snow in Rocky Mountain National Park in June so that we couldn’t camp, led us to a saloon, and created an opportunity for us to tell this lady about Jesus. We got to pray with her that night as she professed Jesus. We left that saloon in awe.

So teach and model such prayer for your congregation. Start in private and let your public prayers be an overflow of that private passion for mission. Then publicly share stories of how God answered those prayers in your own life. Share stories of your failures and stories of God’s powerful work. As you share, the faith of others will be inspired, and they will step out in their mission to reach the world next door.

TEACH THEM TO LIVE

Second, we must teach our people how to live. Remember this: effective missionaries live distinct lives among a specific culture of people. God tells us, "Conduct yourselves wisely towards outsiders, making the best use of the time."

There’s a huge assumption in this passage: that you and I live among people who don’t know Jesus (the outsiders). What is Paul implicitly telling us to do? Be where the non-Christians are. Go to where those on the outside of the family of God are. Be missionaries to them. Live where they live. Be friends with them.

Think about it for a moment. What kind of missionary would go to a foreign city, find a place to live, find a source of income, find where to buy food, maybe find a hobby and a wife, and then kick back and enjoy his surroundings, never befriending the locals. We wouldn’t call him a missionary. We’d call him a resident.

Some of us have lost the fact that all of us are missionaries, and we have taken up residency.

More explicitly, Paul tells us to live wisely toward outsiders so as to make good use of the time. That means living a distinctly different life. I think Paul is applying Colossians 1:10—"Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord fully pleasing to him"—to evangelism. In other words, as we live our lives in relationship with people who do not know Jesus, the world should get a glimpse of Jesus and his character from the way we live. Our people should know that they are billboards for Christ—billboards that reveal how worthy Christ is. That he is worthy of all of our life.

When a person who does not know Jesus scratches the surface of our life and witnesses our actions, our motives, our decisions, as well as how we handle our money, our time, our energy, our pleasure, and, most importantly of all, our sin, that person should be struck by how glorious Jesus is and how amazing the salvation he offers is. A transformed life through the Spirit’s power is one of the most strategic and effective tools for evangelism. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, self-control—all of these things will provoke outsiders. A joyful Christian walking through testing and trial will provoke people who are watching.

Does your church understand this? Do they understand why obedience and the fruit of the Spirit are so important? Obedience is not about winning points. It’s about looking like Jesus and imitating him. And as pastors this must start first with our own lives. Does your church understand how holiness has a greater end than just an "abundant" life? A holy life is God’s proof to a dying world that his kingdom really exists and living in his kingdom through Christ is far more satisfying than any life this world has to offer.

"Okay," you ask, "So, what about being relevant?" The topic of cultural relevance is thrown around a lot these days, and I am glad it is. It’s an important conversation to have when it comes to our mission. We need to know our surrounding area and the people that inhabit it, so that we can understand what conversations they’re having, and what conversations we should have with them.

But relevance is a packaging for truth. It is important, but it is certainly not as essential as the truth itself. The truth is essential.

Not only that, godliness and the fruit of the Spirit are far more important than "being relevant." Honestly, it’s easy to be relevant in our culture. Get a tattoo, get a nose ring, wear tight pants, and listen to the band Coldplay. Okay, great! Now you’re ready for the mission. You’re relevant and everybody around you is going to get saved, right?

Tight pants and a nose ring don’t compare to the power of the Spirit. If you own a Coldplay t-shirt and have a nose ring, that’s great. We need all kinds of people working in the kingdom, and I mean that sincerely. It’s very important not to moralize our preferences when it comes to appearance. It can turn people off to the gospel very quickly. But we do need to emphasize in our churches where the power resides for evangelism. It’s not the package, it’s the truth inside the package. It’s not the clothes that give us power, it’s the changed life that has been radically altered by Jesus.

We need to keep what is primary, primary. When those things that are secondary start pushing out what is primary in evangelism, danger is near. The emphasis should never be more on the shell and the packaging than on the message itself.

I love packaging. I really do. I still have the box from the iPod I got three years ago. It’s a brilliant piece of packaging: Smooth lines. Simple graphics. Pieces that fit perfectly together. Secret compartments. I could play with it for hours.

Packaging is great. But if the unbelievers around you open the package and see nothing different inside then there’s a problem. Your life has compromised the mission. Jesus Christ died on a cross so that what is on the inside of the package would be radically different.

If an unbeliever gets to know you—opens the package—and finds love, joy and humility, it will open up a whole new world for them. That’s relevant. As you talk to them about the grace of Jesus Christ as shown on the cross and how his grace changed you; and as you talk to them about what you were, about your anger, your pride, and how those things manifested themselves in your life; and as they get to know the real you changed by Jesus, grace will become amazing to them.

Teach your church that missionaries live distinct lives in a specific culture.

TEACH THEM TO TALK

We pray, we live, and thirdly, we talk. "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."

How can you be an effective and relevant missionary? Simple. Have conversations with unbelievers. Share your life with them. And in time share the gospel of Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross with them. And make sure when you share you speak so that they can understand.

A few years ago, I was talking on the phone with my uncle, whom I love, but who does not yet know Jesus. We were talking about my dad, and I said to my uncle, "You know, my dad is so relational and relatable." There was silence on the other end of the phone. Then I heard my uncle say, "What the heck does that mean? Did you just say ‘relational and relatable’?" I responded, "Oh, that’s bad pastor talk. I’m sorry. You know I’ve got that pastor hat on sometimes." And I asked him to correct me every time I talk like that.

We Christians need to learn how to communicate. Sometimes what works in our church doesn’t necessarily translate out there, as with terms like "relational and relatable." When that happens, we can just look at our non-Christian friends and say, "I’m sorry. That’s just Christian talk, here’s what I mean…"

But that does not mean that we accept the culture’s language in its entirety. There are certain elements that need to be rejected outright. Someone once told me that he curses around unbelievers because it makes non-Christians feel more comfortable. Now I’m grateful for this man’s evangelistic zeal. But cursing around non-Christians is not right, because Scripture clearly tells us, "Let no unwholesome speech come out of our mouth." Our lives and words must be distinct from the culture around us.

At times, I become concerned when the whole thrust of our churches’ teaching on evangelism is "be bold." I am all for being bold. Sharing your life and Jesus with unbelievers takes boldness. But in our desire to be bold, we can sometimes be arrogant. Scripture teaches us to be bold and to be humble. Every time you speak to an unbeliever, concentrate on how you say things. Concentrate on your attitude and your motive. Let the words you speak be marked by a humble—not arrogant—orthodoxy. Remember our motive needs to match our message.

Paul also says to let our conversations be seasoned with salt. Do you know what "salty" means? It means "witty and full of life." Let your conversations with unbelievers be witty and full of life. Let your joy come forth, so that they can see it.

There’s a young man in our church named Mike. He is one of the most joy-filled missionaries I know. One day Mike was supposed to lead an evangelistic Bible study at a local college campus. But when he entered the room he had reserved, there were about eight gamers sitting around. Gamers are the types who like to wear black—black trench coats, black eye makeup, black fingernails, black everything.

Mike walked in, and said in a friendly tone, "Hey guys, it’s our turn. Can I have the room?"
In response, a tall man in a trench coat screamed, "No!" He ripped his shirt open and bared his chest, and his girlfriend came over and stuck a pin in his chest.

Then he stood up, looked at Mike and said, "I wanna eat your soul." (I’m not exaggerating; this really happened.)

Here was Mike’s Spirit-led salty remark: "Well, don’t fill up on soul, because we’ve got plenty of free pizza."

Immediately, the man’s buddies started falling over themselves with laughter. That salty remark defused a scary situation. And the gamers? They all stayed for the Bible study.

Why does Jesus want our conversations to be salty and gracious? Because most of the time God intends for us to be seed-sowers rather than reapers. And God wants every encounter with one of his children to be a moment where that unbeliever experiences grace and wit and joy. So let’s do the next Christian a favor and not ruin it for them by being arrogant.

There was a young lady named Colleen that I and a number of other from our church were reaching out to at Starbucks. She didn’t know Jesus, but she loved to be a part of our campus planning meetings. I would say to her, "Colleen, come on over and tell us what we Christians are doing wrong. We need your input. We’re just trying to save you anyway."

And she loved it. She loved the people, and she loved hanging out with us. We got involved in her life. We gave her money to participate in an AIDS walk. It was a genuine friendship. But eventually she moved away to New York. I didn’t see her get saved, and it broke my heart.

Three years later, I was greeting people at the door of our church, and I saw Colleen walk in. Previously, she would never have set foot in a church. But there she was walking toward me with a huge smile and tears in her eyes. She was 8 months pregnant and unmarried.

She said, "Eric, I’ve heard that it takes a person 85 times to hear the gospel before they’re saved. Well, it took 86 for me. Thank you for telling me about Jesus."

I didn’t lead Colleen to the Lord, but I was part of it. One more person transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. Amazing grace.

Whether your church is in Dallas, Texas or Sydney, Australia, Philly or New York, La Paz or Orlando, God has strategically placed you and the members of your church in that place. He has radically converted you and called you to be missionaries. Why? Because he wants his kingdom to be revealed, he wants the lost to be saved. And your church gets to play a part in it. What a mission!

Eric Simmons leads the singles ministry at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD. Along with Joshua Harris, Eric also leads New Attitude—a conference for young Christians seeking to promote Humble Orthodoxy. For more information go to www.newattitude.org.

October 2006
Eric Simmons

©9Marks

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An Interview With A Rapper

Honestly, growing up I was never really into rap music. Funny how things change. When I became a Christian my foul language changed, a lot of my friends changed, my outlook on life changed. But one thing that took quite a while to change was my music. It was the one thing in my life that was probably the hardest to submit to Christ's lordship. And so on Sunday I'd sing In Christ Alone and then go home and pop in Rage Against the Machine. In my pride I'd argue that music was a matter of taste and preference and would dismiss anyone who sought to challenge me. It took quite a while for me to admit that music does have an effect on your heart - it either pushes it toward a love for God and His truth or a love for the world and what it craves. I knew that a good deal of the music I listened to encouraged me to embrace ungodly attitudes.

As the Lord began to bring conviction in the area of music in my life, my struggle became this: Is there really any good Christian music out there? By this point I was convinced that content mattered more than sound, and I was committed to buying and listening to music that glorified God in its content. BUT as anyone who listens to music knows - sound still matters! Nobody listens to music that doesn't sound good to them. Thankfully, people began to introduce me to bands like Delirious? and Shaded Red. Then I began to discover groups like The David Crowder Band, Shawn McDonald, Jeremy Camp, Shane and Shane. I thought, 'Wow, great content and it sounds good! Who'da thought?'

So how does rap music fit into all this? As I mentioned already, growing up I never really liked rap music. In 2001 someone introduced me to a group called The Cross Movement and you could say I had a conversion experience of a different kind. I was amazed by the Christ-centerend, gospel preaching, God glorifying content of the music and I was equally amazed by the sound and the skill and the apparent gifting of the artists.

The Cross Movement single handedly redeemed rap music for me. Since then I've discovered a whole new genre of music in the Christian music industry: Holy Hip Hop (yes, it's real). And since then I've discovered artists like Shai Linne, Flame, Lecrae, Ambassador, Timothy Brindle, Trip Lee - and my appreciation for God-glorifying, Christ-centered rap music has only grown.

In fact, I'm convinced that rap / hip hop is the one genre of music where you can communicate more truth in one song than in almost any other genre of music. Don't believe me? If you get around to it, check out a song called The Godhead by Flame or Justified by Shai Linne - you can look for it on i-tunes.

In fact, while you're at it check out www.CrossMovementRecords.com or www.Lampmode.com or www.ihearvoice.com and discover a whole world of Christ-centered, gospel preaching, God-glorifying rap and hip hop. Don't like rap or hip hop? Take some time exploring the above and get back to me...

So, what's up with the title of today's blog: An Interview With A Rapper. Well, below is an interview with Voice (Christian rap artist and friend Curtis Allen) done by Justin Taylor (he works for John Piper).

For all of those in Mission 28 - don't forget - Voice will be performing here in Charlotte at CrossWay Community church on Friday, November 10. Bring your neighborhood!!

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Thursday, July 06, 2006

I Interview Voice
Below is an interview I conducted with Curtis Allen (aka Voice) (biographical sketch here)--rapper and pastoral intern at Covenant Life Church.

First you were “Mc Finesse.” Then you became “Intrigue Garcia.” Now you’re “Voice.” Why Voice?

When I first decided to do Christian Rap I really struggled with a name. Primarily because names in rap (secular) can typically highlight the individual or some element of pride they want to be known for. It was a struggle because I wanted a name that drew less attention to myself, and more on the content of what I would say on “Progression.” So I was reading the Gospel of Matthew and came across a description of John the Baptist as “The voice of one crying in the wilderness.” I thought to myself that is what I hope to a voice crying out to a generation of the church to love the cross of Christ and live humbly in light of the orthodoxy we have been given.

I wonder if we could start with some definitions. What, for example, is the difference between rap and hip-hop?

Good question. Hip-hop is a culture that consists of a style of dress, a language and art forms such as tagging, which are graffiti, break dancing, DJing and rapping. Rap is an art form that comes out of the culture of hip-hop. Similar to salsa music coming out of the Latin culture, yet there is more to Latin Culture than just Salsa as there is more to hip-hop than rap music.

When Joshua Harris asked you to perform at the New Attitude Conference in 2004, was that the first Christian rapping that you had done since your conversion?

Yes it was. It was then that I realized Christian “Reformed” rap could and does glorify God. To this day I am so grateful for New Attitude 2004.

It seems to me that Eminem’s move 8 Mile gave us a peek into the personal dimension of the world of rap. If you saw the movie, did you see a lot of similarities between your journey and Eminem’s?

I would see some similarities in terms of desire. I really wanted to make it in the rap industry before being a believer. I saw this drive in Eminem and could relate. The other similarity I saw was the freestyle. When I grew up freestyle, which means to make up your rap as you go along in the moment, was how you proved you were a real MC (old school name for rappers).

Why do you think so many white kids are attracted to hip-hop these days? I noticed that in “All Rap Is” you say that Emimem “gave white people something to relate to that couldn’t claim the streets.”

Yeah, well this is bit of a deep issue but I will try to succinctly answer this. I think our generation is very much removed from the civil rights generation. The more time that goes by, racism between blacks and whites will matter even less. Having said that, I think because of that racist history our generation feels an obligation to embrace that which our parents have said was wrong in the past. Because of the acknowledged wrongs of racism by our previous generation, our generation has wanted to distance itself from that. This transcends far beyond music but nowadays it has primarily parked itself at black culture. In society today, among Caucasians it is trendy to accept and want to be black. It has become the in thing to identify with struggle, and rap represents that struggle in the most influential form created, music. That’s why 80% of Secular rap consumers are white. I could go a lot deeper on this but I hope this makes sense.

Is the scene changing? One of the lines in “All Rap Is” says: “But lately I don’t know if you noticed but to me rap is low key saying Jesus save me.” What does that mean and what do you think is going on?

Well there seems to be an intellectual agreement of salvation through Jesus, which is being communicated more and more. Not that people are being saved but you can identify with faith in Christ without being booed. "Jesus Walks" was a song by Kanye West that was the number one song in the country last year. I think the harvest is ripe right now.

For this next question I’m thinking about increasingly smaller circles. In the first circle you have all the musicians in the world. Within that circle is a much smaller one that holds all the rappers in the world. Within that is a smaller one yet of guys trying to live a fairly clean, moral lifestyle. Within that you have Christian rappers. And finally, you have perhaps the smallest segment of all—Reformed Christian rappers. But you’re not the only one, are you? Who are some of the other Reformed brothers out there doing hip hop and rap?

Right now the guys I listen to are Christcentric (Christcentric.net) Shai Linne and Timothy Brindle (Lampmode.com). These guys, groups influence me the most and the ones I like to listen to. There are more but I don’t listen to them as much.

Do you regard Ligon and John Duncan as two of your biggest rap competitors—or do you all get along okay?

After seeing them at Together [for the Gospel] I was thinking that the Lord was revealing to me that these are the men he has called to use rap to glorify himself. I thought I should no longer be doing rap but then I realized it wasn’t the voice of the Lord after hearing them. Seriously I thought that was hilarious! People were looking at me wondering if I would be offended but I was dying laughing. I think it helped Christian rap in that people see that these guys not only are aware of it but in some sense enjoy it.

Al Mohler and Ligon Duncan wanted and got CD’s of Progression after the conference.Tell me about your first CD, Progression.

Progression is an album that I wanted to make that I considered to be a “Very Human” album. Sometimes Christian music can lack the everyday struggle of the Christian or can easily gloss over the problem and go right to the solution, but that is not always the case in real life situations. Sometimes we doubt God’s Sovereignty, and I wanted to capture that on the album. It has 14 songs, and the album progresses. So it starts off with faith in Christ and excitement in being like him in the world. Then after a few songs you get to a bit of unbelief and complaints about the very thing you were celebrating in the first few songs. Then in "Contemporary Job," like the book of Job, God addresses those complaints with His perspective. After that the Christian is refreshed and is ready to again fight sin in "Divide and Conquer" and so forth. So I see Progression as the Christian life in many ways. We all face doubts and encouragement and I wanted to have that element on Progression.

If I can just add a personal note here—the song I enjoyed the most on your album was “Why Should I Care,” where you recount a conversation he had with a hurting single mom who needed to hear the gospel.

Thank you. Very tough situation that was, but God gives grace in those moments to speak truth and be sensitive to what people are going through.

Do you have any more albums in the pipeline?

Yeah I am working on an album called “The Crucible” that will be available early September.

When we think of racial harmony in the church today, most of us think about whites not welcoming blacks. But your experience seems to show the flip side of that: a white guy inviting you to a predominantly white church, but your feeling that their whiteness was an obstacle for you. Tell me about that. Why was it an obstacle, and how did God work to overcome that in your heart?

Well prior to coming to Covenant Life I had only had segregated experiences in the church. I am from the “Hood” so when I came to CLC it was just too many white people to me. I focused more on the cultural differences, like music clothes and lingo, too much. But I went to New Attitude 2000 and God revealed to me that I was proud to be uncomfortable around my white brothers and sisters in the Lord. Through the word he helped me see that I was Christian first and a black man second and that in heaven we will all be there together worshipping Him. So I see going to Covenant Life Church, a predominantly white church/ministry, as preparation for Heaven.

Where do you hope to be five years from now?

I hope to be a pastor in Sovereign Grace Ministries.

Are you doing concerts these days? If so, what are you trying to accomplish through your concerts, and what sort of impact do you think it’s had so far?

I am. Josh Harris (my senior pastor) and Eric Simmons (my boss), along with myself, have felt that God is opening doors in music. I have been able to do some concerts and bring the gift that God has given me in rap to edify the body of Christ. I have been received well, and by His grace I have been able to get some pretty significant concerts. It’s hard to measure impact, but I hope to use this because of rap’s influence on the next generation and ours. I want to make music that glorifies God and points others to do the same.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of audiences are you usually performing in front of these days? Black, white, etc. Do you have a sense of the average breakdown?

Justin, this is the wildest thing to me. I do shows and 99% of the time the crowd is white. As a matter of fact, I have only done one show so far where the crowd was more black and Latino. It is the white pastors who bring me to their churches to influence their youth and singles groups. Although, I recently opened for Matt Redman at a JAMA conference and that was a crowd of 2300 Koreans. The people who are the most supportive of the ministry are white people, and I praise God for that. I have had many people that are not rap-oriented or even liked it prior to hearing Progression have encouraged me and are wanting to bring me to their churches. Very humbling and I am very grateful.

If someone reading this wanted to bring you to their church or event for a concert, how do they do that?

Well they could go to my website IHearVoice.com and go to the booking page and fill out the info. It sends an email directly to me. That is how most of my requests come in. Either that or by word of mouth from people who have brought me out and have enjoyed the ministry.

Voice, thanks very much for taking the time to talk about these things. I really appreciate your time, and the way you are using your gifts to glorify the Savior and to edify the church! Folks who want more info on Voice can go to IHearVoice.com.

Thank you, Justin! I know that this kind of interview on your blog isn’t what people read it for. Thank you for taking the time to listen to Progression and actually enjoy it enough to do this! I hope others know that if God works in Mysterious ways, rap is one of them. FYI, I did a really cool interview with Matt Redman on Monday, July 3rd. The podcast will be on Newattitude.org in a few days and the video will be on my site on Friday. He had some very interesting things to say about Worship. When you go to my site IHearVoice.com go to the Media star and you will see it on your left--click and watch. Justin, I hope to do a concert near you buddy! Maybe we can freestyle together or something, haha!

posted by JT @ Thursday, July 06, 2006

God and Cancer

I write this just a little more than two weeks after my mother-in-law, Kathy Bowers, went home to be with the Lord after a 7 year battle with a rare kind of cancer. When I saw her body one last time before the burial I was deeply affected by how savagely the cancer had decimated her body. She was no more than 65 pounds when her life ended and I could barely tell that it was her when I looked at her - her face completely sunken, every bone in her body visible. She died in extreme pain, had lost control over her bowels, and was in and out of consciousness the last couple days she was alive.

I say all that to say this: Not once was she ever heard complaining. When she could talk, she spoke of how grateful she was that God was good to her and had saved her. She would say that everything outside of hell was pure grace. At her burial nearly 200 people gathered to pay their respects and at her memorial service at Covenant Life Church some 800 people gathered to honor her one last time! Through her service, her faith, her witness, her devotion to the Lord, her example and her love for her family she had inspired many people. The resounding 'amen' at her memorial service was that Kathy Bowers not only lived bringing glory to God, but she died bringing glory to God. She lived and died well.

The question is 'how'? Few things reveal a person's true character like the news 'you have cancer'. And cancer affects all of us at some time or another. Just recently a friend a fellow Mission 28er Angelo DelliSanti heard the news that his mom has cancer... a rare cancer... and the news, humanly speaking, is not good. So how does one respond to such news in a way that glorifies God and encourages hope? How do we think about God and Cancer?

Below is an article written by John Piper (pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church and leader of Desiring God Ministries) and David Powlison (Christian Counseling and Education Foundation; Journal of Biblical Counseling) entitled Don't Waste Your Cancer. As they will tell you, this was written as they were engaged with their own personal battles with cancer. And what is written is a wonderfully biblical perspective - the answer to the question: how does one respond to cancer in a way that glorifies God and encourages hope?

Let me encourage you to read this... and to save this. One day, if not already, you or someone you love will hear the words 'cancer'. I trust this will serve you when it happens.

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Don't Waste Your Cancer
By John Piper February 15, 2006

[Editor's Note: Our friend, David Powlison, of the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation, who also was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, has added some helpful expansions to John Piper’s ten points. Indented paragraphs beginning with "DP:" are written by David Powlison.]

I write this on the eve of prostate surgery. I believe in God’s power to heal—by miracle and by medicine. I believe it is right and good to pray for both kinds of healing. Cancer is not wasted when it is healed by God. He gets the glory and that is why cancer exists. So not to pray for healing may waste your cancer. But healing is not God’s plan for everyone. And there are many other ways to waste your cancer. I am praying for myself and for you that we will not waste this pain.

DP: I (David Powlison) add these reflections on John Piper’s words the morning after receiving news that I have been diagnosed with prostate cancer (March 3, 2006). The ten main points and first paragraphs are his; the second paragraphs are mine.

1. You will waste your cancer if you do not believe it is designed for you by God.
It will not do to say that God only uses our cancer but does not design it. What God permits, he permits for a reason. And that reason is his design. If God foresees molecular developments becoming cancer, he can stop it or not. If he does not, he has a purpose. Since he is infinitely wise, it is right to call this purpose a design. Satan is real and causes many pleasures and pains. But he is not ultimate. So when he strikes Job with boils (Job 2:7), Job attributes it ultimately to God (2:10) and the inspired writer agrees: “They . . . comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). If you don’t believe your cancer is designed for you by God, you will waste it.

DP: Recognizing his designing hand does not make you stoic or dishonest or artificially buoyant. Instead, the reality of God’s design elicits and channels your honest outcry to your one true Savior. God’s design invites honest speech, rather than silencing us into resignation. Consider the honesty of the Psalms, of King Hezekiah (Isaiah 38), of Habakkuk 3. These people are bluntly, believingly honest because they know that God is God and set their hopes in him. Psalm 28 teaches you passionate, direct prayer to God. He must hear you. He will hear you. He will continue to work in you and your situation. This outcry comes from your sense of need for help (28:1-2). Then name your particular troubles to God (28:3-5). You are free to personalize with your own particulars. Often in life’s ‘various trials’ (James 1:2), what you face does not exactly map on to the particulars that David or Jesus faced – but the dynamic of faith is the same. Having cast your cares on him who cares for you, then voice your joy (28:6-7): the God-given peace that is beyond understanding. Finally, because faith always works out into love, your personal need and joy will branch out into loving concern for others (28:8-9). Illness can sharpen your awareness of how thoroughly God has already and always been at work in every detail of your life.

2. You will waste your cancer if you believe it is a curse and not a gift.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). “There is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel” (Numbers 23:23). “The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).

DP: The blessing comes in what God does for us, with us, through us. He brings his great and merciful redemption onto the stage of the curse. Your cancer, in itself, is one of those 10,000 ‘shadows of death’ (Psalm 23:4) that come upon each of us: all the threats, losses, pains, incompletion, disappointment, evils. But in his beloved children, our Father works a most kind good through our most grievous losses: sometimes healing and restoring the body (temporarily, until the resurrection of the dead to eternal life), always sustaining and teaching us that we might know and love him more simply. In the testing ground of evils, your faith becomes deep and real, and your love becomes purposeful and wise: James 1:2-5, 1 Peter 1:3-9, Romans 5:1-5, Romans 8:18-39.

3. You will waste your cancer if you seek comfort from your odds rather than from God.
The design of God in your cancer is not to train you in the rationalistic, human calculation of odds. The world gets comfort from their odds. Not Christians. Some count their chariots (percentages of survival) and some count their horses (side effects of treatment), but we trust in the name of the Lord our God (Psalm 20:7). God’s design is clear from 2 Corinthians 1:9, “We felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” The aim of God in your cancer (among a thousand other good things) is to knock props out from under our hearts so that we rely utterly on him.

DP: God himself is your comfort. He gives himself. The hymn “Be Still My Soul” (by Katerina von Schlegel) reckons the odds the right way: we are 100% certain to suffer, and Christ is 100% certain to meet us, to come for us, comfort us, and restore love’s purest joys. The hymn “How Firm a Foundation” reckons the odds the same way: you are 100% certain to pass through grave distresses, and your Savior is 100% certain to “be with you, your troubles to bless, and sanctify to you your deepest distress.” With God, you aren’t playing percentages, but living within certainties.

4. You will waste your cancer if you refuse to think about death.
We will all die, if Jesus postpones his return. Not to think about what it will be like to leave this life and meet God is folly. Ecclesiastes 7:2 says, “It is better to go to the house of mourning [a funeral] than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.” How can you lay it to heart if you won’t think about it? Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Numbering your days means thinking about how few there are and that they will end. How will you get a heart of wisdom if you refuse to think about this? What a waste, if we do not think about death.

DP: Paul describes the Holy Spirit is the unseen, inner ‘downpayment’ on the certainty of life. By faith, the Lord gives a sweet taste of the face-to-face reality of eternal life in the presence of our God and Christ. We might also say that cancer is one ‘downpayment’ on inevitable death, giving one bad taste of the reality of of our mortality. Cancer is a signpost pointing to something far bigger: the last enemy that you must face. But Christ has defeated this last enemy: 1 Corinthians 15. Death is swallowed up in victory. Cancer is merely one of the enemy’s scouting parties, out on patrol. It has no final power if you are a child of the resurrection, so you can look it in the eye.

5. You will waste your cancer if you think that “beating” cancer means staying alive rather than cherishing Christ.
Satan’s and God’s designs in your cancer are not the same. Satan designs to destroy your love for Christ. God designs to deepen your love for Christ. Cancer does not win if you die. It wins if you fail to cherish Christ. God’s design is to wean you off the breast of the world and feast you on the sufficiency of Christ. It is meant to help you say and feel, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” And to know that therefore, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 3:8; 1:21).

DP: Cherishing Christ expresses the two core activities of faith: dire need and utter joy. Many psalms cry out in a ‘minor key’: we cherish our Savior by needing him to save us from real troubles, real sins, real sufferings, real anguish. Many psalms sing out in a ‘major key’: we cherish our Savior by delighting in him, loving him, thanking him for all his benefits to us, rejoicing that his salvation is the weightiest thing in the world and that he gets last say. And many psalms start out in one key and end up in the other. Cherishing Christ is not monochromatic; you live the whole spectrum of human experience with him. To ‘beat’ cancer is to live knowing how your Father has compassion on his beloved child, because he knows your frame, that you are but dust. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. To live is to know him, whom to know is to love.

6. You will waste your cancer if you spend too much time reading about cancer and not enough time reading about God.
It is not wrong to know about cancer. Ignorance is not a virtue. But the lure to know more and more and the lack of zeal to know God more and more is symptomatic of unbelief. Cancer is meant to waken us to the reality of God. It is meant to put feeling and force behind the command, “Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord” (Hosea 6:3). It is meant to waken us to the truth of Daniel 11:32, “The people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.” It is meant to make unshakable, indestructible oak trees out of us: “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:2). What a waste of cancer if we read day and night about cancer and not about God.

DP: What is so for your reading is also true for your conversations with others. Other people will often express their care and concern by inquiring about your health. That’s good, but the conversation easily gets stuck there. So tell them openly about your sickness, seeking their prayers and counsel, but then change the direction of the conversation by telling them what your God is doing to faithfully sustain you with 10,000 mercies. Robert Murray McCheyne wisely said, “For every one look at your sins, take ten looks at Christ.” He was countering our tendency to reverse that 10:1 ratio by brooding over our failings and forgetting the Lord of mercy. What McCheyne says about our sins we can also apply to our sufferings. For every one sentence you say to others about your cancer, say ten sentences about your God, and your hope, and what he is teaching you, and the small blessings of each day. For every hour you spend researching or discussing your cancer, spend 10 hours researching and discussing and serving your Lord. Relate all that you are learning about cancer back to him and his purposes, and you won’t become obsessed.

7. You will waste your cancer if you let it drive you into solitude instead of deepen your relationships with manifest affection.
When Epaphroditus brought the gifts to Paul sent by the Philippian church he became ill and almost died. Paul tells the Philippians, “He has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill” (Philippians 2:26-27). What an amazing response! It does not say they were distressed that he was ill, but that he was distressed because they heard he was ill. That is the kind of heart God is aiming to create with cancer: a deeply affectionate, caring heart for people. Don’t waste your cancer by retreating into yourself.

DP: Our culture is terrified of facing death. It is obsessed with medicine. It idolizes youth, health and energy. It tries to hide any signs of weakness or imperfection. You will bring huge blessing to others by living openly, believingly and lovingly within your weaknesses. Paradoxically, moving out into relationships when you are hurting and weak will actually strengthen others. ‘One anothering’ is a two-way street of generous giving and grateful receiving. Your need gives others an opportunity to love. And since love is always God’s highest purpose in you, too, you will learn his finest and most joyous lessons as you find small ways to express concern for others even when you are most weak. A great, life-threatening weakness can prove amazingly freeing. Nothing is left for you to do except to be loved by God and others, and to love God and others.

8. You will waste your cancer if you grieve as those who have no hope.
Paul used this phrase in relation to those whose loved ones had died: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). There is a grief at death. Even for the believer who dies, there is temporary loss—loss of body, and loss of loved ones here, and loss of earthly ministry. But the grief is different—it is permeated with hope. “We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Don’t waste your cancer grieving as those who don’t have this hope.

DP: Show the world this different way of grieving. Paul said that he would have had “grief upon grief” if his friend Epaphroditus had died. He had been grieving, feeling the painful weight of his friend’s illness. He would have doubly grieved if his friend had died. But this loving, honest, God-oriented grief coexisted with “rejoice always” and “the peace of God that passes understanding” and “showing a genuine concern for your welfare.” How on earth can heartache coexist with love, joy, peace, and an indestructible sense of life purpose? In the inner logic of faith, this makes perfect sense. In fact, because you have hope, you may feel the sufferings of this life more keenly: grief upon grief. In contrast, the grieving that has no hope often chooses denial or escape or busyness because it can’t face reality without becoming distraught. In Christ, you know what’s at stake, and so you keenly feel the wrong of this fallen world. You don’t take pain and death for granted. You love what is good, and hate what is evil. After all, you follow in the image of “a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” But this Jesus chose his cross willingly “for the joy set before him.” He lived and died in hopes that all come true. His pain was not muted by denial or medication, nor was it tainted with despair, fear, or thrashing about for any straw of hope that might change his circumstances. Jesus’ final promises overflow with the gladness of solid hope amid sorrows: “My joy will be in you, and your joy will be made full. Your grief will be turned to joy. No one will take your joy away from you. Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy will be made full. These things I speak in the world, so that they may have my joy made full in themselves” (selection from John 15-17).

9. You will waste your cancer if you treat sin as casually as before.
Are your besetting sins as attractive as they were before you had cancer? If so you are wasting your cancer. Cancer is designed to destroy the appetite for sin. Pride, greed, lust, hatred, unforgiveness, impatience, laziness, procrastination—all these are the adversaries that cancer is meant to attack. Don’t just think of battling against cancer. Also think of battling with cancer. All these things are worse enemies than cancer. Don’t waste the power of cancer to crush these foes. Let the presence of eternity make the sins of time look as futile as they really are. “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Luke 9:25).

DP: Suffering really is meant to wean you from sin and strengthen your faith. If you are God-less, then suffering magnifies sin. Will you become more bitter, despairing, addictive, fearful, frenzied, avoidant, sentimental, godless in how you go about life? Will you pretend it’s business as usual? Will you come to terms with death, on your terms? But if you are God’s, then suffering in Christ’s hands will change you, always slowly, sometimes quickly. You come to terms with life and death on his terms. He will gentle you, purify you, cleanse you of vanities. He will make you need him and love him. He rearranges your priorities, so first things come first more often. He will walk with you. Of course you’ll fail at times, perhaps seized by irritability or brooding, escapism or fears. But he will always pick you up when you stumble. Your inner enemy – a moral cancer 10,000 times more deadly than your physical cancer – will be dying as you continue seeking and finding your Savior: “For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is very great. Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose” (Psalm 25).

10. You will waste your cancer if you fail to use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of Christ.
Christians are never anywhere by divine accident. There are reasons for why we wind up where we do. Consider what Jesus said about painful, unplanned circumstances: “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness” (Luke 21:12 -13). So it is with cancer. This will be an opportunity to bear witness. Christ is infinitely worthy. Here is a golden opportunity to show that he is worth more than life. Don’t waste it.

DP: Jesus is your life. He is the man before whom every knee will bow. He has defeated death once for all. He will finish what he has begun. Let your light so shine as you live in him, by him, through him, for him. One of the church’s ancient hymns puts it this way: “Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger” (from “I bind unto myself the name”). In your cancer, you will need your brothers and sisters to witness to the truth and glory of Christ, to walk with you, to live out their faith beside you, to love you. And you can do same with them and with all others, becoming the heart that loves with the love of Christ, the mouth filled with hope to both friends and strangers.

Remember you are not left alone. You will have the help you need. “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
Pastor John

© Desiring God
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Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: http://www.desiringgod.org/. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.

Introduction

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