Articles from this week (November 25-29)
How do we rekindle a passion for the Word?
https://www.ryleyheppner.com/articles/how-do-we-rekindle-a-passion-for-the-word
Whats the point in praying?
https://www.ryleyheppner.com/articles/whats-the-point-in-praying
Thinking about Bruce Willis and Jesus
https://www.ryleyheppner.com/articles/thinking-about-bruce-willis-and-jesus
Yesterday, the algorithm got the best of me.
Every time I opened up my phone’s web browser, the same article was sitting there staring back. I say ‘article’ loosely, because it wasn’t much of an article. It was a collection of pictures of celebrities and their families celebrating American thanksgiving. From morning to night, it kept showing up, until finally as the evening approached and all my self-control over ad clicking had been spent, I clicked.
For the next few minutes, I clicked my way through thirty-four pictures of celebrities posing with turkeys. You don’t have to remind me of what a complete waste of time this was. I will the wear the disappointment in myself over that initial click for the rest of the weekend. That being said, there was one picture that caught my attention and gave me a lot to think about. It was the one with Bruce Willis and his family, sitting on a couch in their casual thanksgiving clothes.
I don’t know if you have kept up with Bruce Willis’ life over the past while, but it has changed a lot since the Die Hard days. Willis was diagnosed in 2023 with frontotemporal dementia. As a result, he has faced rapid cognitive decline, to the point that he is no longer even capable of speaking.
To see John McClane (Die Hard reference in case you missed it) sitting and smiling with his family was a beautiful thing. It was the most beautiful picture in the set of thirty-four. At the same time, it was to me a staunch reminder of how fast our abilities can disappear.
We often talk as Christians about the suddenness of death. We talk to unbelievers about how important it is to not put off a decision for Jesus until later, because what if death comes calling when you don’t expect it. I wonder though have often we talk about or think about for ourselves, the suddenness of debilitation or disablement; how fast we can go from a fully functioning person, to our arms not working, our legs not working, our kidneys not working or even our mind not working.
In the same way that unbelievers can put off following Jesus, thinking that they have lots of time to make the decision, believers can put off radically following Jesus, believing that they also have lots of time to make that kind of commitment. Think about this for a second, because maybe it is you. You are a Christian and yet each day you justify why you’re not going to start really committing to Jesus until next week, or until after the new year. When that time comes, then you will pick up a serious bible reading plan; then you will shut off the TV and spend more time in prayer; then you will start putting resources to global missions; then you will make these changes to put Jesus first and finish your life with a legacy of seeking first His kingdom.
Listen, I am not preaching to you, I am preaching to myself, because I do this. I have an idea of how surrendered and devoted to Christ I want to be, and there is always a valid reason for it starting tomorrow. But as a I stared yesterday at Bruce Willis and his family, I could not help but think that maybe tomorrow won’t come, or at least not come in the same way that today came. I might not die tomorrow, but I might lose the ability to follow Jesus as radically as I am able to right now.
Limitations can arrive and will arrive just as fast as death. All we can really know is that we have whatever ability we have in this moment. So then why not capitalize on this moment, to seek first the Kingdom of God with everything we have, before we have less of an ability to do so? Jesus deserves that much and more; He deserves our prime years as well as everything that follows.
Today, I woke up with the full function of my mind and body. Tomorrow might be different. So, let me use all the ability that He has given me today for His glory, before I no longer have it. Let me take the risks today, because I have today, and because He is worthy of my complete devotion now and not just in the future.
I hope I don’t click on another set of celebrity photos, but I am thankful for the reminder that came through yesterday’s lack of self-control.
Sometimes I wonder about the power of prayer, and then I read Acts 12.
Herod has just killed James, the brother of John. Noticing how pleased the Jews seem with his actions, he goes ahead and arrests Peter in preparation for killing him too. Because its Passover, Herod thinks it will be better to wait until after the weekend to carry out his plan, and so he locks Peter up for the time being.
What comes next in Acts 12 is almost hyperbolic. Peter is put in prison, he is delivered over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, he sleeps between two of the soldiers, he is bound with chains, and sentries guard the prison door. The amount of precautions Herod takes to prevent Peter’s escape or attack seems like something out of a cartoon. Its just feels so over the top. Nevertheless, you know as the reader that there is no way anyone is getting in to grab Peter and there is no way that Peter is getting out.
But then it begins. An angel of the Lord shows up and a light shines into the cell. The angel strikes Peter on the side and tells him to get up. Peter gets up from between the two soldiers without waking them and the chains around his hands miraculously fall to the ground. He quietly gets dressed, gets some sandals on, and starts following the angel out of the cell. They sneak past the first guard successfully, and then they sneak past the second. Finally, they arrive at the iron gate leading into the city, and to quote Luke, the gate opens for them “of its own accord” (Acts 12.10). And with that, like a scene out of Shawshank Redemption, Peter is free! He heads to Mary’s house and the story continues on from there.
What an incredible scene! All those barriers to keep Peter securely inside of his cell, and somehow, with the help of an angel, he overcomes all of them. Of course, the ‘somehow’ is not really a ‘somehow.’ God is how. If you made it this far in the book of Acts, you know that God has been doing miracle after miracle in and through this early church. It is not all that surprising that now He springs Peter from prison. And yet, there is something else at work in this scene, that can easily go unnoticed.
Back it up to verse 5. Luke is telling the reader about all about Peter’s arrest, and he includes this little, but substantial detail, “But earnest prayer for him was made to God by the Church” (Acts 12.5).
Now, why include a detail about prayer in a story about God’s wonder working, prison escaping power? Well, maybe because the two are connected. Maybe because this story is about something more than simply a display of God’s power. Maybe it is a story about the power of a praying church and God powerfully acting in response to those prayers.
I say maybe, but I don’t mean maybe. This is a story about the power of prayer. Peter is imprisoned, chained, guarded, and then the Church prays, and all of the walls between him and the outside world fall down. That is the order of events. Would Peter have been released if the church wasn’t praying? Who knows. All we know is that that were praying and God did something miraculous in response to their prayers. And what else does the church need to know then that?
The reality put forth by Acts 12 is that when the church prays and prays earnestly, she can be confident that God both hears those prayers and will answer those prayers. Of course sometimes He may answer in ways we were not necessarily wanting, but other times He may answer in ways far beyond what we were expecting.
Remember Church, you are praying to an all-powerful God. So don’t underestimate the power of earnest prayer.
A couple of nights ago I got this text message from a friend: “How do we rekindle a passion for the Word?”
I was so excited to get this question for two reasons: 1) Because the question reveals the desire. Assuming he was asking for himself (and he was), the question means that my friend is desiring to rekindle a passion for God’s Word, and what could be better news to receive than that? And then 2) Because this is at least one question that I think I have an answer for.
I have been married long enough to know now that there is only one thing that makes me fall in love with my wife over and over again. If ever I find my affections for her beginning to grow stale, I just return to this one thing and it works like magic. You know what it is? Time! Focused, intentional, uninterrupted time.
As soon as I start giving my wife my undivided attention (and not to my phone), all the reasons that I married her and more begin rushing back, and I find myself falling head over heals once all over again.
Now, I don’t think its just something that works for me and my wife or even just for husbands and wives. I think that time is the answer for rekindling all relationships, parent and child, friend to friend, siblings, spouses, you name it. There might be more to the health of these relationships sometimes, but not less. Time is the irreplaceable component.
And it is no different when it comes to us and God, because that is after all, another relationship. Just read a couple verses that say as much.
John 15:15 "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."
Galatians 4:6-7 "And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."
Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me."
Its another relationship. By way of faith in the finished work of Christ, the God of the universe has invited us into relationship with Himself. And and the key to that relationship growing and thriving, just like every other relationship, is time. There is no other way to make that relationship grow. There are no short cuts.
At this point you may say, “You have not answered the question that your friend asked. He asked you how to rekindle a relationship with God’s Word, not a relationship with God.” That is true, but the two are not disconnected. If spending time with God is about getting to know God, well what is the primary way that we get to know Him? Just listen to Jesus’ words to the Pharisees, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5.39-40). It is the Scriptures lead us to Christ! Add to that the words of Psalm 19, that the Word of God actually revives our souls, puts joy in our hearts, and enlightens our eyes (Ps 19.7-9).
According to the Scriptures, it is the Scriptures, by the power of God’s Spirit, that brings us to engage with God Himself. And if that is the case, then time spent in the Scriptures will excite us for the Scriptures because of how they serve to stir our affections for God! It might not be easy, but it is also not that complicated. To rekindle a love for God we must rekindle a love for His Word, and to rekindle a love for His Word we must spend our time in His Word.
So listen, is your relationship with God struggling? Is your passion for His Word lacking? Build a home in the Scriptures and live there. Be much alone with God through His Word, and then watch your love for God and His Word explode.
“Daily Doctrine: A One-Year Guide to Systematic Theology”
Published by Crossway, 2024.
Kevin DeYoung does it again! What a brilliant idea for a book, and so masterfully executed.
“Daily Doctrine” is DeYoung's latest book. Put out by Crossway, it is exactly what it sounds like, a daily dose of doctrine. The book is divided nine sections that fall under nine different theological headings, like Preliminary Considerations, Theology Proper, Christology, Soteriology, etc. Under the nine headings the book is then divided into fifty-two weeks, with each week having five daily devotional size entries that work through content related to a particular heading.
The daily entries are devotional in size (i.e. one to two pages) but not so "devotional" in nature. What I mean is that there are not many stories or illustrations, if that is what you are looking for. That being said, the content is extremely engaging and easy to follow. Even if you are not used to theological type language, for the one and half pages that most of the entries are, DeYoung will undoubtedly hold your attention. Or rather, the Scriptures and the theology of the Scriptures will hold your attention, because each entry is so incredibly full of both.
I have often thought that there should be a daily devotional type book that teaches systematic theology; something that takes readers deeper than the average devotional does, but does in a similar format. Well here it is! And it is so perfectly done.
Whether you are a seasoned theologian, or a Christian looking to be a little more challenged and seasoned, this will be a worthwhile book to grab! I cannot recommend “Daily Doctrine” highly enough. And I cannot wait to get more copies to start handing out to friends, family and congregants.