I was recently confronted by a question as I mused on some thoughts surrounding the subject of my influence. What do I magnify?

When I consider what is important to me, I immediately submit essentials such as God, the Gospel and the Body of Christ – the Church. Any follower of Jesus Christ will quickly affirm these as subjects of ultimate importance. After all, they are the core topics about which the Christian Bible is written.

But, what is truly important to me? What do I make much of? When I become the subject of a conversation by others, what is it that people say I am all about? Sure, it is easy for me to quickly pledge allegiance to the central truths of the Christian faith. But, is my allegiance obvious to others when they observe my life? I find that I do not always make a big deal about the same things about which the Bible makes a big deal.

The health of the Body of Christ is dependent upon believers emphasizing the big deals of Scripture. The Bible calls the Church to unite around the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the express image of God. The whole Godhead is pleased to live in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Head of the Body. His Name will be exalted above every name. And it pleased the Father to crush Jesus in our place. Jesus represents all that God is; therefore, He represents the big deals of Scripture. Unfortunately, I throughout my life, like many other,  have fallen victim to the influence of spiritual leaders who make a big deal about things of little or no importance. They build their life and teaching around things that are insignificant or even irrelevant to the Name of Christ. They die on hills that are far from the battle and take down their own comrades in the process.  Ultimately, the legacy of their life is that which takes away from the Name of Jesus rather than magnifying it. This will cause damage to the Body of Christ.

So, I ask myself again, “What do I magnify?” I  now find myself  in a sphere of influence over people who are looking to me for guidance. What are they gleaning? The psalmist encourages me by saying, “O Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exult His name together.” The parallelism here leads me to believe that magnification is tied closely to exultation. It must be my goal in all I do and say to lift up specifically and clearly the character and works of the Lord.

This is possible only through a complete submission to the Word of God. I must first acknowledge that I am prone to wander and naturally desire for my name to be exulted rather than the name of Jesus. So, humility must be  my constant state of being. I must saturate my mind and affections with the whole Word of God so that God’s thoughts and affections become mine. And finally, I must plead with the Spirit of God to lead me and teach me daily so that I become a living channel of worship to God.

So, what do I magnify? My prayer and plea is that it is the Lord. “O God, kill me, that is my flesh, and make me a boisterous instrument used to proclaim those things which are your big deals.”

this is “grace at work”

“Not that we can never enjoy any pleasures of life, because these are gifts of God. But that we live independent of them so that they don’t have a controlling influence on us.” Andrew Franseen while teaching a lesson from John Piper’s book, Let the Nations Be Glad.

“Disciples must continually weed the garden of our affections. Ripping out thorns will give you bloody hands” Andrew Franseen on Matt 13 and the parable of the sower.

If I were to write a post everytime I thought about writing one, I would have a highly active blog. As it is, I have done a poor job of keeping up with everything. The blame goes to my lack of discipline which does not reflect too highly on me. However, recently, I have been reading through the book The Call to Spiritual Reformation by D. A. Carson with other men in my church.  The book focuses on developing a successful prayer life by examining the prayers of Paul. Already, I have been rebuked and encouraged regarding my communion with God through prayer.

In the initial chapter of this book, Carson suggests journaling as a discipline to help build an effective prayer life. I remember back when I was blogging regularly that I profitted greatly from the meditation that came with writing posts. It helped me to think through much of what God was doing in my life and put thought into a solid form. The absract took on form, if you will. Although I doubt no one cares to know the details of the cares of my mind and heart, I hope to write here general thoughts and ideas that are currently shaping my life. Due to the extended absence of my presence here, I am banking on the fact the few, if any, will be reading anyway. However, for those who may accidently stumble back here, I would appreciate your encouragement and accountability.

As for now, I am learning more and more of my dependence on God. He continually moves me into the realm of uncertainty where I find Him to be all that I have. Even the physical things that I trust are benefits which He has given to me. Some days where I find that I am trusting God much. Then, other days I am anxious and sinfully independent. This I am learning and is increasing my prayer life. I would much rather be here, humanly vulnerable and divinely dependent, than the contrary. God is working this in me.

So it goes, once again I am back – hopefully to stay. And as usual…

this is “grace at work”

One would think that by the amount of posts that I have made in the last 9 months that my life has either been boring or busy – very busy. Well, as you can guess, it is the latter. So much has happened in this time that it would be unfair to my readers (all two of you – if you are still there) to try to sum up everything that has taken place. However, by no means have the events in my life been insignificant. On the contrary, some of the greatest moments of my life have occurred in these 9 months changing my life forever. So, in an attempt to be thorough, yet concise, I sum up.

On June 29, 2008, I turned 30.

On  October 4, 2008, I gained my very first sister-in-law. My brother was married.

On October 18, 2008, I entered the covenant of marriage with my wonderful wife Karlyn Tipmore Blaha. The ceremony was beautiful and wonderful. It took place in Fremont, MI, among the gorgeous autumn colors. We spent our honeymoon in a cabin in Colorado. We flew into Albuquerque, NM, drove to Pagosa Springs (where we spent the week), and finally drove to Denver where we flew home. It was amazing!

In November, Karlyn and I spent our first Thanksgiving holiday in Madison, WI, with Karlyn’s best friend. What a wonderful vacation.

In December, Karlyn and I spent our first Christmas together in our own apartment. Karlyn gave me a watch and a few other cool gifts.

In January, Karlyn and I went to  Maryland where we ministered at a teen retreat. The theme was “Shaped by the cross.”

Then, there was our first Valentine’s Day married. We celebrated Karlyn’s  birthday in March – she turned 24. And, of course, there have been so many other small blessings that have shaped the last 9 months of my life. Although I have not been able to blog these memories here, they have been logged into my mind and life and will continue to shape my life.

My desire is to begin to blog regularly once again. This has been a good discipline for me in the past, and I am always encouraged to go back and read what God has done in my life over the years. I have been encouraged by the response that I have received from you as you have commented. Please continue. I hope to encourage you and provoke you to find grace and truth in life. The most complete message of grace and truth comes through Jesus; but, as a follower of Jesus, I want to reflect His message through my life communicated in this blog. Just as the last 9 months have taught me much about God and His will, I pray that the next 9 months and following will teach me so much more.

This is “grace at work.”

“Look at the characteristics of our Lord’s attitude towards his bride, the church. He loves her: ‘even as Christ loved the church’. What an eloquent expression! He loved her in spite of her unworthiness, He loved her in spite of her deficiencies. Notice what He has to do for her. She needs to be washed, she needs to be cleansed. He saw her in her rags, in her wildness; but he loved her. That is the height of the doctrine of salvation. He loved us, not because of anything in us; He loved us in spite of what was in us, ‘while we were yet sinners’. He loved the ungodly, ‘while we were yet enemies’. In all our unworthiness and vileness He loved us. He loved the church, not because she was glorious and beautiful – no, but that He might make her such. Take note of the doctrine, and see what it has to say to husbands. A husband comes up against deficiencies, difficulties, things he feels he can criticize in his wife, but he is to love her ‘as Christ loved the church’. That is the kind of love he must show.”

-D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Life in the Spirit in Marriage, Home & Work)

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Life in the Spirit in Marriage, Home and Work: An Exposition of Ephesians 5:18-6:9, pg 139. Baker Books: Grand Rapids, MI. October 2003.

I have not said anything yet, but I cannot refrain any longer. God gave our local body a lead under-shepherd. Grace Bible Church in Moore, SC, voted in Andrew Franseen unanimously to be our main pastor. God has brought our church through some rough waters over that last year and a half and I am sure that the rough waters will continue. However, he has been faithfully completing the Gospel work that He has started in each of us. We are truly His workmanship, His children, and His sheep. May God be praised.

Andrew’s recent sermons are posted on our churches website. They are worth the time and effort it takes to download and listen to them. Check them out.

this is “grace at work”

It has been almost a month since I last posted and, as you can imagine, much has taken place. Karlyn and I are taking gradual steps toward preparing for the wedding. Yesterday we registered at our first store. It has been quite the experience. We took about three scouting trips to Bed, Bath and Beyond before we actually registered. I have to admit that I was both excited and apprehensive. I was excited because it truly was invigorating thinking of all the cool new toys that we might get for our new home. However, I was a bit apprehensive for the same reason. It is our desire to not live pursuing the things in this world, so creating a wish list of things that we want stretches that tension a little more. By God’s grace, we will enjoy the things that He gives us but not cling to them.

In addition to registering, we are making steady headway toward completing the rigorous but necessary checklist of wedding preparations. However, we are steadily making marriage preparations as well.

About four weeks ago Karlyn and I attended an all day premarital boot camp held by Jim and Sandra Binney. God has given the Binneys the opportunity to counsel hundreds of couples throughout the many years that they have been serving. The information that we received in this boot camp was compiled from the years of Biblical counseling and practical applications of Biblical truths. We talked about personalities and spiritual gifts, the theology of marriage and sex, and financial budgeting and investments. It truly was a benefit to us to receive this kind of Biblically practical and experiential wisdom for our marriage.

Another thing that God has been using to encourage and prepare me for marriage are the words of Godly saints. One book that has been highly recommended to me by a number of people regarding marriage and love is D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ commentary on Ephesians 5. Although it is merely a compilations of Jones’ sermons, he communicates clearly the Biblical truth concerning the role and the responsibilities of both the husband and wife in a Godly marriage. But, perhaps the most effective truths that Lloyd-Jones communicates are those which marriage is designed to illustrate – primarily Christ relationship to the church. I have been so encouraged by this book that I would like to post some excerpts from these chapters that have been an encouragement to me. I would also like to post some other quotes from other men in church history that have meant a lot to me.

I praise God for His constant care and provision for my life. He does all things well for and for His own glory. Thankfully, I get to be a part of it.

this is truly “grace at work”

I am going to start a series of posts that deal with the process that Karlyn and I are following in preparing for our wedding and marriage. Already we have experienced a number of things that hopefully I can catch up on. But, for now, I would just like to post a link to a web page that we have set up with information about us and our wedding. Please visit it and sign our guest book. We would be so encouraged to know that you have visited.

Ricky and Karlyn’s Wedding Wire

Are you reading this post because you happened to read the title and were interested in reading what I was going to say about rock music? Perhaps you got all bent out of shape because I would dare make a statement like this, this post is for you. Keep reading. You have fallen victim to hearing and using the sloppy use of the English language used everyday all around us. You see, this post is not addressing music; rather, it is addressing an observation that I made in a conversation that I had today. You may finish this post and think, “He has too much time on his hands.” Well, go ahead and think that, but hear me out.

When we use the statement, “I believe in…,” is it really what we are trying to say. For example, if I say, “I believe in God” or “I believe in magic,” what I am saying is I believe that God exists; or I believe that magic exists. However, I don’t think that what a person means when they say, “I don’t believe in rock music” is that they do not believe that rock music exists. If they really believe that, they need to get out more or get a better grip on reality. It does exist. As a matter of fact, it is very prevalent. On the other hand, I think that what they really mean is, “I don’t believe that we should listen to rock music,” or, “I believe that rock music is wrong.” If this is what people think, then why don’t they just say it?

My friend and I were talking today, and he told me that he had a headache. I offered him Advil, but he replied, “No, I don’t believe in Advil.” After talking for a few seconds, I found out that what he really meant was, “I don’t believe that Advil works for me.” I knew that he had enough understanding to know that Advil exists.

“Picky Ricky” you call me? Maybe, but I think that if more people actually thought more about the statements they make, there would be fewer misunderstandings and more common sense in this world. So, do what your mom told you when you were a kid, “Think before you speak.”

A quick disclaimer: I thought that I might mention that I have discovered most of these sloppy speech patterns in myself. So, don’t be surprised if you find any sloppiness here. I am working on it too.

this is “grace at work”