Most commentators agree that the word judge carries an idea of being a deliverer or a savior. If you have studied the book of Judges you begin to realize that these men and woman, are really less than perfect deliverers. Many of them are helpful for a bit, deliver for a time, but them mostly we find them right back to where all of Israel was previously and all of Israel seems to follow.

Not so with Boaz or at least the author does not allow us to see Boaz’s failures. He is after all a human being. But Boaz does right by Ruth. He cares for her, he leads her, he doesn’t work around the laws in order to attain her as his wife. He redeems her in righteousness, though I know he himself is not righteous.

Many of you know that Ruth (the Moabitess!) is the great-great grandmother of David, who is of course the line through which Jesus, the Messiah came. I do not think it is an accident that God allows us to see the desperate failures of most of the Israelite deliverers in Judges, only to give us a beautiful picture of redemption that leads to our ultimate redemption!

Our redeemer, Jesus Christ, was perfect and did come to rescue and laid down his life for those who would repent of their sins and trust in His death and resurrection as the only means by which we can be made right with a Holy God (1 Pet. 1:3-5)!

I find it interesting that the book of Judges is the perfect prequel to Ruth. We all love Ruth. How could you not? It’s the classic love story. But we in the West are so used to the love story being all about the disappointment and triumphs in the story itself, rather than what we see in the big picture. With Judges and Ruth you get this really great contrast, and find that Ruth is stuck in the midst of these terrible things that are going on in Israel. The most stark contrast is the end of Judges when the tribe of Benjamin is almost wiped off the face of the earth due to their unwillingness to deal with the  Gibeahites who desecrated a Levitical Priests concubine (let that one marinate for a while). Not only this, but when Israel destroys most of Benjamin they leave them no wives to procreate with. What does Israel do? They go and steal some women for Benjamin. What Gibeah does to an individual (rape and abuse her all night), Israel does to two different sets of women (steal them and force them to be wives to the dying tribe of Benjamin).

Contrast this with Ruth. The author tells us that the events of Ruth take place during the time of the Judges. The end of the book of Judges goes from broad national themes to narrow individual themes, though at the end we are reminded that the nation is in trouble. Here again in Ruth, we get a close personal look at a life and the results are glorious. The bleakness of Judges is carried through in the personal events of Naomi and Ruth, but the picture of redemption seen in Boaz and Ruth gives a much needed relief to the darkness of the Judges, especially when one realizes that though a king is raised up, the real kingly line is found in this family.

Similar to this is God’s work in our day. God’s work of redemption is always a showing of His glory in the midst of the darkness of sin. For this we should be grateful, especially as we consider this week leading to the remembrance of His death and resurrection. God has rescued those who have repented of their sins and trusted in Christ’s death and resurrection alone from death and His own wrath (Romans 5:8-10).

Teach Them Diligently by Lou Priolo (for a class I’m teaching)

A Book on Small Groups (TBD)

Humility by CJ Mahaney

Let the Nations be Glad by John Piper

Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley

The Shepherd Leader by Timothy Witmer

Toward an Exegetical Theology by Walt Kaiser

The Passion Driven Sermon by Jim Shaddix

Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung

The Jesus Crisis by Robert Thomas and David Farnell

In G.O.S.P.E.L. Horton attempts to take the street lingo he was used to in his days before Christ when he was a pusher, to communicate the gospel to those who come from a similar background. This book is written mainly for the urban dweller, the inner-city folk, who Horton identifies as having cultural roots in the church, but very little knowledge of the true hope that is in Christ. However, don’t expect this to be a watered down contextualized message. Though this book is small, it is meaty with a strong Biblically substantiated gospel message, that does not leave the reader wondering where Horton stands on issues like repentance and lordship.

The reason the title is spelled the way it is, is that Horton uses it as an acrostic: G–God’s Image, O–Open Fellowship, S–Sin Introduced, P–Penalty and Price, E–Enter Jesus  and L–Life Everlasting. In each chapter the author addresses these issues from Scripture interspersing it with what he calls Thebonics (Theological Ebonics) to flavor the truth with street language. Again, Horton never allows this to detract from the beauty of Scripture and the clear message of man’s sin and his need of repentance and faith. Each chapter also includes a rap that Horton wrote to coincide with the topic he is addressing. He also recorded an album which features each of these songs.

Not only does Horton tell the reader how they can be made right with God through Christ’s death and resurrection, but in a chapter called “What Now?” he also communicates how the reality of one’s conversion can only be known through a lifestyle that reflects what they’ve said they believed.

The most encouraging part about the book is every time I thought the author was going to concede a strong point, to aid in “not being offensive” to the urban dweller in presenting the gospel, he shocked me with solidly Biblical responses. For instance, Horton encourages the reader that skin color or style has nothing to do with the effectiveness of gospel communication in certain contexts, but reminds us that “the Holy Spirit is responsible for bringing regeneration to the sinner, not the church or our methods. Minorities in the inner city are in need of the same gospel that is preached to the white-collar CEO in the suburbs.”

It is because of this kind of balanced approach that I can highly recommend Damon Horton’s book to you, both as an encouragement to your heart, as well as an extended gospel tract.

This does not replace the church. We must be a part of a local assembly, showing humility by submitting ourselves to godly leadership and serving the body (Eph 4:1-16; Heb 13:17).

For the formal aspects of discipleship I would recommend you use something like Bruce Ware’s book Big Truths for Young Hearts. In it Dr. Ware does a great job of explaining the truths of Scripture in a down to earth and bite sized way. For you as parents, wanting to learn what it means to formally and informally instruct your children I recommend Shepherding Your Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp. Tripp also has other volumes that are helpful in this area. Here is his Amazon page.

More than instruction to any of you who read this, this is a reminder to me of my responsibility as I seek to honor God through the rearing of my children. Parenting is a joyful, heart wrenching, complex, wonderful and exciting venture. I have enjoyed my 12+ years of it and it really does become more of a joy as the days go by. I know that there are always times when I wish I had done better and those time will still come. I know there were times when I was disappointed and that those times are still to come. If parenting has taught me one lesson over and over again, it is that if I can be disappointed in sin and be grieved over it when my kids continue in it, yet I love them still, and at that imperfectly; how much more does my Heavenly Father, who has loved me infinitely, though I know I can grieve him, continue to love me perfectly.

As a pastor this is a hard thing to admit. I’m thankful for the candid way my pastor has dealt with this reality and that I have learned to not only say this, but how God has allowed me to experience it as well. Yes, I know it comes as a shock, but I have let people down. In fact I hate to say it happens all the time. The reason we let people know this is because people tend to put pastors/elders on pedestals and to some degree there is cause for this to a certain degree. Elders are held to a higher accountability (1 Tim 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9, 1 Peter 5:1-4) and the congregation is held to a standard of conduct in regard to their leaders (Heb 13:17). So it’s understandable that when a pastor/elder disappoints a member of the flock that it can be a huge let down.

The question then is, “What do I do, as a pastor,  when I unintentionally let someone down?” We must do what the Scriptures tell us. We must humble ourselves (1 Pet. 3:8) and seek forgiveness and reconciliation with those whom we serve (Matt. 5:23-24).

This does several things. First, it puts actions to the words spoken about sometimes disappointing people unintentionally. If I am unwilling to admit that I am wrong or have done wrong, then I am a proud leader, who is not willing to serve the body rightly. Secondly, it allows me to be a “real person” to that other person and should hopefully take away the possible “pedestal” they have placed me on. Thirdly, it allows me to exhibit the kind of humility that Paul calls us to in Phil 2:3-11. Fourthly, it engenders trust between me and that person. Fifthly, it makes the next unintentional disappointment a little bit of a softer blow. Lastly, and most importantly, hopefully it points to our need of ultimate dependence on Christ and not men.

Understand, by these things I am not stating that pastors/elders should not do their best at fulfilling promises and everything that is included in shepherding the flock. This is a non-negotiable in the mind of Paul in Acts 20:28, as we see that it is the precious blood of Jesus that has purchased the flock we oversee. But their are times, even with the best of intentions and the hardest striving, that we will disappoint our flock.

Between Two Worlds by Justin Taylor – Justin just brings it all together. By this I mean Between Two Worlds is where a lot of the world of Evangelicalism is brought to the attention of the blogosphere. Justin is constantly updating and sharing bit and pieces from all over Evangelicalism. Very helpful for keeping up on what’s going on out there.

Dr. Ibex – Ideas by Dr. William Varner – Dr. V (as many affectionately call him) is professor of Bible and Greek at the Master’s College in Santa Clarita, CA. He is in my opinion one of the best unknown scholar’s in the U.S. It’s not that no one knows who he is, it is that not enough people know that he is there and that he is a tremendous scholar, theologian and pastor. Stop reading right now and get over to his blog and start reading. He has basically put his entire devotional commentary on the Psalms on his blog for free. He has led trips to Israel more than 42 times. Get his books and read them. Read what he reads and learn from what he learns from.

joethorn.net by (you guessed it) Joe Thorn – Joe and I went to Moody together and though we were only acquaintances there, I appreciate Joe’s humility and his love for Scripture and the Church. His book Note to Self needs to be on your shelf and the practice of it in your heart and life. His blog is a must for practical theological application in your life. He does add some personal stuff in there as well, which gives you insight into his love for his wife and children.

NT Resources by Dr. Rodney Decker – Rod Decker is professor of Greek and New Testament at Baptist Bible Seminary in Clarks Summit, PA. Because I am a wannabe Greek geek, I follow Dr. Decker’s blog. He has great insight into translations and their philosophies, as well as throwing out the occasional Greek controversy doozy.

Thoughts on Theology by Andy Naselli – Andy is the Research Manager for D.A. Carson and is a Adjunct Professor for several seminaries across the U.S. He often posts like Justin Taylor, bringing the best from around the evangelical web, with video interviews and book reviews, etc. Another great way of keeping up with all things Evangelical.

Counseling One Another by Dr. Paul Tautges – I first met Paul when he was teaching a different course than I was taking at my seminary this last year. Paul is a friend and a wonderfully humble pastor. He pastors Immanuel Bible Church in Sheboygan, WI. His insights into the world of Biblical Counseling, his thoughts on pastoral ministry and how to make application to one’s life as well as others is fantastic. Paul’s humble approach and helpful insights make this a must for any pastor’s reading. Paul is also the author of several book published by Day One. You can see these listed on his blog as well.

Practical Shepherding by Brian Croft – I met Brian briefly at Aubrundale Baptist Church (where he pastors), at the ordination of one of my former students, Josh Hayward. Brian provides rich insights into the life of the pastor as well as how the pastor can effectively shepherd his flock and his own family. Brian also has several books published through Day One that you can access through his blog.

Though this is not the exhaustive list of all I have in either my blogroll or my resources, these are the ones I will be monitoring closely in 2012.

One practical/ technical piece I would suggest on reading and keeping up with blogs, is to use either your browser’s or some other feed reader and Readability‘s browser plugin, which allows you to clean up a blog for easier reading as well as send articles to your Kindle.

What blogs will you keep up with in 2012?

This is how I recall the passage. It is probably a mix of translations from over the years, but I love to think about this. I love to reflect on it this time of year, because it is about an exchange. We love to exchange gifts at this time of year and we who are believers say it is to celebrate the coming of Christ. Indeed our worship should be directed in such ways. In this verse we see the humility of Christ, taking from us a “gift” that non one wants, while He gives us the “gift” that everyman desires, whether he recognizes it or not.

What is it that every man strives for? It is, at the end of the day, some form of righteousness. Some may not want to admit it, but all in all men want to be right with whatever is out there. Some have chosen to suppress this truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18–19), but all men know and will know fully the truth of God’s existence and His right to judge. Therefore men are trying to appease God (or a god) through means that will ultimately render them frustrated and certainly unrighteous before the eyes of God (though some will find self-righteousness good enough in their own minds)(Rom 1:32).

This striving, as has been intimated, is foolishness (Rom 3:10–18). We must recognize that all we can bring to God is our sin. Our feeble attempts at righteousness are worthless and our right standing with God must be founded on that which God can accept. This is none other than Jesus Christ, his blood and righteousness (Rom. 3:21–26).

Here we come to the place that we must recognize that it is Jesus who bore the sins of all who would believe and as our substitute He not only paid for our sins, but has also become our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30). So at this time of year recognize the full weight of Phil. 2:5–8, the humility of Christ and what He did to pursue our justification and the glory of God. Let us honor Him rightly for the great exchange!