November is National Adoption Awareness Month. To help promote awareness about adoption, we'll be sharing a few posts about adoption, ranging from stories about Redeemer families who have adopted to devotional reflections on the doctrine of adoption.

The following blog is from Greg Sund, a pastor at Redeemer, reflecting on the doctrine of adoption from his History of Redemption Blog Series:

Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace.  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. – Ephesians 1:4-6 NASB; Romans 8:29-30 NASB.

These verses are incredible.  They are so pregnant with doctrine and theology and truth about God, that I feel as if my head will explode with each step forward I take.  I feel like I could write a thousand blog posts based off of these 94 words.

While you may think of yourself as “called” or “chosen” or “in Christ”, how often do you consider that you were chosen “before the foundation of the world”.  That should cause YOUR head to explode.  Before God spoke the earth into existence by the breath of His mouth, He knew you, He loved you, and He chose you.  If you think you are significant because of your intelligence, or your charm, or your beauty, remember that God chose you before the foundation of the world.  It was THEN that He adopted you into His family.  It was not when you decided to follow Christ, or when you got your act together, or when you “figured it all out”.  It was before the foundation of the world.  Spend some time thinking about that, and let it blow your mind away.  This should point you not to your achievement and your success but to an eternal and sovereign God who is so loving and so kind that He would adopt you and love you and conform you to the image of His Son.

Adoption is a theological topic that is very dear to me, as I now have two adopted children.  I realize that any comparison I would draw between my adoption of them, and God’s adoption of me is limited and probably fraught with danger, given the infinite difference between myself and God.  But I do sometimes think about how my children, before they were adopted by my wife and I were helpless.  They could do nothing to “get adopted”.  They could not merit my favor, they could not impress me, they could not charm me into adopting them.  I loved them before I met them.  I loved them from the day back in 2002 when God called me to eventually adopt them, 7 and then 9 years later.  God loved me before the foundation of the world.  He called me to one day be holy and blameless before Him.  And since I could not make myself holy and blameless, He sent His Son Jesus Christ, to atone for all of my sins and to clothe me in His robe of holiness, that I could now stand before my Holy God, my Father, who adopted me, before the foundation of the world, who called me, who justified me, and who will one day glorify me, the praise of the glory of HIS grace!

For a wonderful discussion of the “order of salvation” (ordo salutis) please see Wayne Grudem’s book, Systematic Theology, Chapter 32.

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.  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” (Galatians 4:4-7).

Steve Timmis and Tim Chester's newest book, Everyday Church: Gospel Communities on Mission, has some really helpful insight for encouraging communities to be on mission for Jesus. One helpful tool they use is the following list of questions designed "to give a snapshot of the health of a missional community." The authors rightly emphasize that this questionnaire is not an occasion for discouragement or blame (107). Instead, this is an occasion to rest in the gospel and do so some self and community reflection.

We encourage you to read this with someone in your gospel community, or take your gospel community through this questionnaire as an opportunity for growth, celebration, and planning new ways to be on mission together. May our Redeemer GCs learn and grow from this tool and may Jesus save many through our ordinary, prayerful missional lives.

Questions for a Gospel Community (adapted from Everyday Church)

1. How often do you have conversations with people in your gospel community (GC) outside regular meetings?

a) once a month  b) once a week  c) twice a week  d) more than twice a week

2. How often are people from your GC in your home or you in theirs?

a) once a month  b) once a week  c) twice a week  d) more than twice a week

3. How often do people in your GC talk about how the Holy Spirit has been speaking to them through God's Word?

a) once a month  b) once a week  c) twice a week  d) more than twice a week

4. How often do you talk in your GC  about your struggles to follow Jesus ?

a) once a month  b) once a week  c) twice a week  d) more than twice a week

5. How often do unbelievers spend time with your GC?

a) once a month  b) once a week  c) twice a week  d) more than twice a week

6. How often does your GC spend time with unbelievers on their territory, in places where they feel comfortable?

a) once a month  b) once a week  c) twice a week  d) more than twice a week

7. Are the prayers of your GC gospel centered? Do you pray regularly for each of these:

a) one another's godliness  b) gospel opportunities  c) boldness to speak of Christ

d) conversion of the lost   e) the spread of the gospel around the world

8. With how many unbelievers does your GC have regular conversations about Jesus and how many are involved in Bible studies?

a) none  b) one or two  c) three or four  d) many

9. How many people in your GC do your most significant unbelieving friends know by name?

a) none  b) one or two  c) about half of them  d) most of them

10. Would you bring your closest unbelieving friends to a typical get together of your GC?

a) no  b) in theory I would, but in reality I don't  c) only if it's specifically designed around them  d) yes

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  You shall have no other gods before me.” - Exodus 20:2-3  

[Adoration] Father, today I am reminded of the supreme position you hold over all of creation, and therefore of the supreme position you should hold in my heart.  You are a jealous God, who is jealous for our devotion to You, because You know with ultimate certainty, that it is only when we are devoted to You, that we become whole.  It is only when our affections are most stirred for You, that we will find true joy, true peace, and true fulfillment.  For we were created to be worshippers of You.  O Lord, You alone are worthy to be worshipped.  Thank You that You have shared this great truth with us.

[Confession] Father, forgive me.  You know my heart, and you know that it has served other gods before You.  Forgive me God for serving the false gods of money, and of lust, and of selfish ambition.  Forgive me Father for the countless hours I have devoted to perishable carvings that will one day be utterly destroyed.  But You are the everlasting God.

[Thanksgiving] Father, today I thank you for this reminder of who You are.  Thank you God for this call for us to humble ourselves beneath You.  Thank you for this call to cease from serving other gods, from serving idols that can never satisfy, idols that could never deliver us from the house of slavery, but will only enslave us further.  Thank you for not giving up on me, when I have spent so many years bowed before false gods, You continued to pursue me.  And thank you, that You did not abandon Your people when we were trapped in slavery, but that You came for us.  You came for us, and You died for our freedom.  Thank you merciful Father.

[Supplication] And now Father I petition You, and ask that You would be pleased to purify for Yourself a people for Your own possession.  And I ask that You would empower Redeemer church, by the person of Your Holy Spirit, to be a people who shall have no other god before You.  Teach us, your bride, to mortify sin each and every day, that we may seek You as our great and glorious treasure.  Teach us to be a people devoted to prayer, knowing that You are not just worthy of 5 minutes of prayer a day, but You are worthy of ceaseless prayer.  Teach us to be a people who are hungry for Your Word, devouring it daily, and holding it up as the ultimate source of truth, and wisdom, and hope.  Teach us to be a people who worship You, with our time, our money, our gifts, our everything.  And Father, make us a people who are deeply, deeply, in love with You.

Amen.

We have a great gift to guide us in prayer, and that is the Holy Bible.  Every word of scripture is God-breathed, and every word of scripture can be prayed through and prayed over.  I would encourage you today to spend time daily praying through scripture.  Don’t just read through your daily bible reading plan, but as you read, stop, and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten your mind to understand the depth of what God has spoken, and ask Him to quicken your heart and your mind and your affections for the One who has spoken to You.  You can start today with the ten commandments.  I encourage you to take the next 10 days to pray over each of these commandments, in adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication.  And may God our Father “give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ” (Ephesians 1:17-20).

Please be in prayer for the following:

1. That Redeemer would be a praying church.
2. That as the school season begins, we would see many college students hear the gospel and give their lives to Jesus.
3. That God would prepare us for our upcoming Perspectives course, starting in January.  Pray that God would lay it on the hearts of many to commit to this course, and that He would be pleased to reveal much of Himself and His plan to those who attend.
4. That God would raise up more team members to go with our church planting teams to Boston and to the Middle East.
5. That God would provide for us, in our facility, in our budget, and that He would continue to grow us daily in our understanding of His plan, His purpose and His glory.

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! - Psalm 105:4  

Father, teach us to be a praying church.  That is my prayer today.  Nothing more and nothing less.  Please make Redeemer a praying church.

Amen.

Prayer is one of the greatest privileges that we has followers of Jesus get to enjoy.  Yet it is also a struggle for many of us.  We live in a culture filled with distractions, and to get alone with God and focus on Him, does not come naturally.  To learn how to pray may begin as a discipline, but it will over time be transformed into a joy.  The elders of Redeemer church want more than anything for Jesus Christ to be glorified in His bride, and we believe that this will not happen without us first and foremost becoming a praying church.  We hope you will commit to spending time daily with the God who loves you, who desires time with you, and who adopted you as His son or daughter.  Below are a few practical tools to strengthen your prayer life.

1. Identify your “best time” of the day to be alone with God.  For most of us this is early in the morning, before work, before the kids wake up, before you log onto your computer.  Commit this time to Lord.  This may mean disciplining yourself to go to bed earlier than you normally do, to ensure that you wake up early enough to pray.
2. Find a “prayer closet”.  This does not have to be a literal closet, but find a place where you will be alone with God, and where you are not surrounded by the distractions that may take your eyes off of Jesus.
3. Make sure that you are not just asking God for things, but include in your prayer time adoration, confession, thanksgiving AND supplication (remember the pneumonic “ACTS”).  Remember that prayer is an act of worship.
4. Use scripture to pray.  Start by reading over a portion of scripture and use that as a springboard for adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication.  The psalms lend themselves especially to prayer, but each and every verse of the bible can be incorporated into prayer.
5. Use the Lord’s prayer to guide you (see Matthew 6:9-15).
6. Pray alone and with others.  Pray daily with your spouse and your children.  Pray with your gospel community.  Prayer with your church family.
7. Ask your brothers and sisters in Christ what they need prayer for.  And don’t just tell them that you will pray for them, but pray for them right then and there.
8. Keep a prayer journal.
9. Pray big prayers and pray specific prayers.  God is real, He hears every prayer, and He has invited us to ask Him for anything, so do that!
10. Pray for people to be saved, and for God to be glorified, and for Him to use You for His ultimate purpose.

Here are a few resources and books to help you grow in your prayer life:

1. http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/scottysmith/ - This is a daily prayer blog by Scotty Smith.  This  will help to model prayer for you by praying daily through scripture.
2. A God Sized Vision, Colin Hansen
3. With Christ In The School Of Prayer, Andrew Murray
4. A Praying Life, Paul Miller
5. Prayer And The Knowledge Of God, Graeme Goldsworthy
6. 57 Words That Change The World, Darrell Johnson

As part of our ongoing international missions blog series, I though I would post a journal entry which I wrote on my way to Kenya back in 2010.  God blessed that trip in unexpected ways, and began relationships that continue to this day. Some thoughts from a justified sinner on his way from Bellingham to Bomet

“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” - Mark 10:42-45

As one who has never consistently journaled before, it seems like a good idea to start this with God’s words rather than my words.  I have started many times to journal my thoughts and feelings and prayers, but after a few entries, I ask myself “who am I writing this for?” and “wouldn’t my time be better spent doing something else, like praying, reading my bible, or eating humous?”.  But I have felt a certain “tugging” at me in the weeks leading up to this trip to write about my experiences.  I am still not sure who I am writing this for (for God?, for myself?, for some unknown audience who will one day read these words alongside those of Anne Frank?)  But I am committed this time, and I have armed myself with the world’s most expensive journal .... the MacBookPro.

So where do I begin?  I guess back at God’s word (see above).  This verse was written in the bible that was recently given to me by World Medical Mission, who is the agency sending me to Kenya for 3 weeks to the Tenwek mission hospital in Bomet, Kenya.  Currently I am sitting in the LA airport, where I just arrived from Seattle, and am now waiting for my 15 hour 50 minute flight from LA to Dubai.  I will spend the night in Dubai, then fly to Nairobi.  I will then spend a night in Nairobi, then be driven (about 3 hours?) to Bomet where the hospital is located.  And then I will see what God has in store for me over the following weeks.

I love the verse above from Mark.  It is one of my favorite verses in the bible.  The relationship between social justice and evangelism is one that has fascinated me for months now.  Obviously God passionately loves both, but big questions have been percolating in my mind, like “what does God intend the relationship between the two to be?”, “is it wrong to use social justice as a springboard for evangelism”, “how can we do both of these well?”.  I don’t claim to have answers to these questions, but perhaps with time and prayer, God will open my eyes more to His wonderful plan.

I suppose I should spend some time exploring my motivations, and my expectations for going on this trip (since it is just getting started).  I figured out on my drive to the airport that this is my 10th trip to Africa (although 2 of these were when I was a baby, but I am still counting them).  It is my 7th mission trip.  And I am constantly asking myself, “why do I keep making these trips?”.  I am always concerned that my motives are more selfish that Christ-centered, and that the cost of the trip is so much, that wouldn’t it be better to just send them a check to feed starving people?  So here is a list of possible motivations for me to take another mission trip to Africa:

1. I like to travel, especially to exotic places.
2. I like to see the look on someone’s face when I tell them I am going to Africa to care for sick people.
3. I like racking up frequent flyer miles.
4. I like studying foreign languages.
5. I like bringing home little African “treasures” to give to my wife, kids and friends.
6. I like the idea that I have in some small way grown into a man like my dad, who travelled all over the middle east.
7. I like to buy travel-sized electronic gadgets (like the computer I am typing this on), justifying it by saying that I REALLY need this for my next trip.
8. I am a wretched sinner, who God pursued, then saved through the blood of His Son on the cross, and as a result of my love for Him, I want to pour out my life in His service.

Pretty horrible, right?  I wish I could say that reason number 8 is the only reason I make these trips, but I feel that I should be confessional with you (whoever you are), and tell you that although I desire for that to be my sole motivation ... it is not.  I am a horrible person, thank God that it is not about me.

I pray that God will forgive me for my selfish motivations, and will take my life and make it His, all for Him and for His glory.  I do want this more than anything, to have the faith and the selflessness I believe Christ has called us to.  I make these trips because I do feel that God has called me to serve in Africa.  When I stand back and look at what He has given me to do this, it astounds me.  He has given me a profession that is useful for service, the money and physical ability to make these trips, a job that allows me the time to do this, a desire to travel, and above all, a wife who is willing to send me.  All praise be to God!

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!  May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! ...... May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!  May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners!  May the Lord fulfill all your petitions! - Psalm 20:1, 4-5  

Oh gracious and tender God, thank you for these encouraging words spoken by the Psalmist.  In these verses of God-breathed scripture, I hear You urging us to bring our desires and our needs to You.  What an invitation!  That we, a bunch of sin-covered wretches, could ask YOU, a holy and perfect God for anything, is astounding.

And the sad truth is, that I waste this great opportunity on a daily basis.  Forgive me Father.  Forgive me for not bringing all things to You.  And forgive me for not believing that You can and will answer all prayers. Forgive me for all of my “safe prayers”, prayers that are vague, prayers that betray my lack of faith in a God who hears and who acts.  As You teach me, and our church to become a praying church, give us confidence to pray specific prayers, and to pray big prayers.  And then let us rejoice as we watch You, in all Your sovereign might answer these prayers.

And Father, as I grow in my faith and in my knowledge and understanding of You, please make my petitions those that will glorify You.  Teach me to submit all my plans to You, resting in the countless promises that You will guide my steps.  Please Lord, align my desires with Your desires ... and then fulfill all my petitions!

Amen.

Please be in prayer for the following:

1. That as college students return to Bellingham, that  they would meet Jesus, early in the Autumn.
2. For our resident missionaries focused on Western, that God would grant them opportunities to witness to those He is pursuing.
3. For 40 baptisms by the end of this year.
4. For our upcoming Perspectives course, that God would be glorified through the course and be worshipped all the more by those involved in it - that they would be more captivated by God’s glory and delight in Him making a name for himself in all the earth.
5. That Redeemer would become a praying church.