Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Sola Scriptura: Revelation


As we begin our discussion of Sola Scriptura this week, lets start by looking at God's revelation to us, and how He speaks to His believers. Revelation, in the dictionary, means, "something that is disclosed, especially a striking disclosure, that is something that has not been relized before." In theology, more specifically, it means, "God's means of disclosing Himself to His creations." Revelation is necessary because we are created beings, and sinful ones, that are separated from God, and confused by sin. Without God's revelation, we would be left with only speculation, guessing who God was and what He desired from us. Because most men do not want God in their lives, men pursue speculation in areas of science, philosophy, spiritualism, social science, etc.

In the Bible, revelation takes two different forms. The first form is general, or natural, revelation. This is revelation that is received by all men and apparent to all men, whether or not it is accepted by all men. General revelation takes three different forms:

1. Creation: The Bible makes it clear that through creation, men may know that He exists, He is powerful, He is intelligent, and that He is beautiful. Passages teach us about the undeniable revelation of God's creations such as Psalm 19:

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.

4 Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

And Romans 1:18-21

18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.


2. Providence: God continues to rule over creation, keeping His world in motion, and providing for His creatures. This is also a form of revelation (and common grace) that all men experience, and can know of God through. Paul spoke of this in Acts, when he said, "Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy."

3. Conscience: God has given everyone an internal witness to His goodness and holiness, through our conscience. All humans have revelation through the conviction of their conscience. . . anyone who hasn’t done something they knew was right, or anyone who has felt bad after doing something they knew was wrong; all have felt the revelation of the conscience. Even those that appeal to a ‘higher moral standard’ know inherently good from bad as God has revealed it to them, revealing in the process His holiness. Romans 2:14-15 says:

14(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)

These are the forms of general revelation that God, in His wisdom, goodness, and grace, has given to man. However, these forms are not enough, because they do not lead us to salvation, no one can look solely at creation, providence, and conscience, and discover the cross, the blood, and salvation that only comes through Christ. For that, we need specific revelation, which not all men have. Specific revelation comes in several forms as well:

1. Supernatural occurrences: These are prophetic visions, dreams (such as Jacob's dream of the ladder, Joseph's dream with the angel, etc), visit's by angels (Joshua before the battle of Jericho, Mary with Gabriel, etc), and miracles. God worked often throughout the Bible in this way, and He still does interact with the world like this.

2. Jesus Christ: Jesus is the ultimate form of revelation: God coming as a man to redeem His fallen world. He is the point of all revelation, and is what God desires for all the world to know. Hebrews 1 discusses this revelation, saying: 1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

3. Scripture: The written, complete, and wholly-inspired Word of God. The purpose of the Bible is to tell us who God is, who man is, and what God has done to redeem man and a fallen world through His Son, Jesus Christ. As 2 Timothy 3 says:

14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Next time, we will examine the revelation of the scriptures more closely, and see how they are the foundation of our faith as believers in Him.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Solas

I've decided to devote the next few blogs that I write to my thoughts on the 5 solas of the Reformation. Now, I'm not a church historian in any way, nor am I much of a scholar on the Reformation. So, I'll be sharing my thoughts with you on each sola, one at a time, sharing MY thoughts on what this sola looks like in my life, and what it should look like in the life of every believer.

For those of you that don't know, the solas are 5 positions that the Reformers taught as clear contradiction of what the Roman Catholic church believed. The solas (which means "alone" or "only") teach us this about Christianity: We believe in the authority of Scripture alone (sola Scriptura) that teaches we are saved by grace alone (Sola gratia) through faith alone (Sola fide) in Christ alone (Solus Christus) for the glory of God alone (Soli Deo gloria).

This week, I'll be writing a few short blogs about the first, and foundational sola: Sola Scriptura. I'd love to hear your thoughts about the Word of God as I write!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Living Soli Deo Gloria

Pastor John Piper posted this blog yesterday by Pastor Eric Redmond. It's part political, part religious, but I was so impressed with his conclusions about living "Soli Deo Gloria" (for the glory of God alone) that I had to pass it on. I'll put some of my thoughts at the end, and I'd love to hear your thoughts about it, too!

Eric Redmond: "Living Soli Deo Gloria Under Obama"

Eric C. Redmond is the author of Where Are All the Brothers? Straight Answers to Men's Questions About the Church (Crossway, 2008). He most recently served as the 2007-2008 Second Vice-President of the Southern Baptist Convention. He has previously posted other thoughts on the election at his blog, A Man from Issachar. He and his wife, Pamela, are adoptive parents who have five children in their home and two children in heaven.
Let us then continue to honor the good appointment of God, which may be easily done, provided we impute to ourselves whatever evil may accompany it. Hence he teaches us here the end for which magistrates are instituted by the Lord; the happy effects of which would always appear, were not so noble and salutary an institution marred through our fault. At the same time, princes do never so far abuse their power, by harassing the good and innocent, that they do not retain in their tyranny some kind of just government: there can then be no tyranny which does not in some respects assist in consolidating the society of men.
John Calvin, commentary on Romans 13:3.
A Note of Thanks

First, allow me to express my thanks to Justin for inviting me to contribute to his blog on the day after what might go down in history as the most significant Presidential election in the United States in our lifetime. I have found Justin to be a kind and discerning brother, for whom I give many thanks. I also am grateful for his passion for demonstrating the mercy of Christ to the unborn and the orphan—a passion we share in experience.

My Post-Obama-Election Dilemma

I am not and never have been a fan of John McCain, his proposed policies, his inconsistent record on many issues, his poor choice for a running mate, his thoughtless economic plan, or of his very negative campaigning against Barak Obama. It was hard for me to bear the thought of voting for him. It was equally hard for me to bear the thought of siding with a campaign for "change" that would passively allow each state to choose whether it would change the definition and legal institution of marriage, and that would not actively seek to change (read "work for the overturning of") Roe. v. Wade. For me, neither candidate represented change or progress for the country, except on the issue of the country's readiness to be led by a candidate of color.
How I wish that the first time there was a probable opportunity for an African American candidate to reach the White House I could have cast my vote for such a candidate without any reservation. However, I am pro-life, and President-Elect Obama is the most anti-life senator to come to power in my lifetime. I also am pro-conservative justices (who limit legislating from the bench). I am pro-marriage— that is, pro-heterosexual marriage. In the end, I could not overlook these issues as I approached Election Day. But the temptation to justify voting for Obama was strong, for I did not want to be against the side of history—of an African American finally making it to the Oval Office.

However, if I have not learned anything else from the recent happenings at my (soon to be former) church, it is these two things: First, it is not virtuous to side with the majority because one does not wish to stand out among friends, or because one is unwilling to examine all information on an issue, or because one wants to dispense dislikes toward current leadership, in spite of righteous reasons to vote against the majority—in fact, under some circumstances, it can be a horrendous evil. Second, even if one is seeking to be consistent in humility and holiness individually, to abstain from voting on any matter is to allow the majority to speak for you. That same majority, with a victory, might make trouble for the greater populous by means of the evil(s) of which you sought to distance yourself by abstaining from voting.

So I made two very difficult choices: First, I chose to vote rather than stay home. Second, I voted for lives of the unborn rather than for approval from the vast majority of my own ethnic community. The latter choice took the risk of being reproached for the name of Christ, for I only voted for life because of the fear of my Lord (cf. Ex. 1:15-2:12). I know such a choice risks invoking the ire or dismissal of the overwhelming majority of the African American community. Yet, on a most historic Election Day, I could not allow my personal pro-life stance to crumble under the weight of being perceived as a traitor to the African American cause for victory, for that goes against all godly wisdom:

If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man according to his work?
Prov. 24:10-12, ESV

I cast my vote in the hopes of rescuing those being taken to the slaughter. I could not vote in such a way that I would have ignored the blood flowing from fertility clinics, for I know that the Almighty would repay my cowardice. My hope in his word is that he will remember me and graciously and provide for my life, repaying me with mercy.

In contrast, I do not think a recession can be said to be taking people to death unjustly, especially when many in Maryland voted to throw their lots in with bringing slots to my state; (the correlation of the recession to the slots-vote should be obvious to the righteous). I think our soldiers voluntarily sign up to defend our freedom at the risk of their own lives. Lack of health insurance coverage for all makes life very hard for many, but it does not lead to a denial of all medical care for any one class of people. (N.B. I have two members in my home with medical pre-conditions, and I am about to begin paying health insurance out of pocket because we cannot afford a break in coverage when my current job ends. I understand the value of health insurance and the stress of keeping up with the rising costs of such coverage.) So the economy, the war in Iraq, and universal health insurance became secondary issues for me—albeit very important ones —because righteousness was not at stake. Even so, the righteous should not now overlook these issues while loving their fellow man.

My Duty to Christ and the King

The question for me at this time is this: Can I continue to live Soli Deo Gloria under a President whose moral judgment already is questionable before he takes the oath of office? Yes I can, for I can be obedient to Scripture, praying for the one in authority (I Tim. 2:1-8), honoring the one in authority (1 Pet. 2:13-18), submitting to the one in authority (Rom. 13:1-7; Tit. 3:1), and seeking righteousness for the entire citizenry (Prov. 14:34). These I will seek to do by grace. I will "honor the good appointment of God."

Moreover, I can follow the admonition and example of Calvin, who, in the quote above, preached that believers should impute to themselves the ills of government and recognize the common grace given to mankind through human governing authorities. For example, in our day, it is not the governmental regulation that slaughters the innocent; it is the people who chose to end the lives of their children, and the willing executioners who kill for the sake of the monetary gain afforded by the abortion industry. The government only allows this sin to receive legal permission and protection. Nevertheless, that same government provides many laws that allow me to worship in freedom, preach the Gospel freely, vote in an election, and write blog posts like this one without fear of censorship or death. I readily can recognize the retention of "some kind of just government" under President Obama's rule.

My Dilemma Resolved

My humble proposal of an attempt to be Christocentric rather than Afrocentric will not be received with approval by many African Americans that I know. I hope to live long enough to witness another African American become a candidate for President of the United States of America—a candidate who is pro-life and pro-righteousness. Yet my hope may ring hollow to many other African Americans who are celebrating a Democratic victory that happens to seem pro-African American. To the celebrants, I might be labeled as sore loser seeking to justify his reasons for siding with conservative white America rather than with Black America.
In writing elsewhere about "how I have wrestled through the Christian version of the Uncle Tom epithet" (with respect to my embracing of Reformed Theology), I have penned this thought:
If a person would allow himself to be pigeonholed into becoming a person of a nationalistic or ethno-centric thought out of the fear of being viewed as an Oreo or Uncle Tom, then Reformed Theology is not for that person. But neither is the Gospel, for the Gospel calls each of us to stand against an ethnic-centered philosophy of one's own race, for such a philosophy is naturally conformed to this present world and is in need of redemption. If you cannot stand against your own culture where it does not square with the Scriptures, you are the one who is ashamed of Christ, and such shame has nothing to with philosophical or ontological Blackness; it only has to do with your view of the majesty of the God who calls you to deny yourself in order to follow Christ. ("Sovereign in a Sweet Home, Schooling, and Solace," in Glory Road: Our Journey Into Reformed Christianity, ed. Anthony Carter [Wheaton, IL: Crossway, Wheaton, forthcoming])
I am fairly certain that if J. C. Watts had been the Republican nominee for President, and if he had been running against Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee, the great majority of African Americans would have found reason to vote for the wife of the "first Black President" and her liberal ideals rather than for Watts and his conservative ideals. In doing so, such a vote would indicate that the great majority of African Americans have feelings about the type of African American who would be deemed worthy their votes for the seat at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue—who would be worthy of African Americans' approval as their choice for their representative in the White House. Seemingly, for the Black Nationalist and the liberal, not every African American would qualify to wear an honor for which our ancestors were stolen, enslaved, whipped, lynched, dehumanized, and killed. Likewise, it is my opinion that my ancestors experienced such suffering and injustices so that it would be possible for any African American to reach the Oval Office, but not so that every African American, regardless of qualifications, could reach the Oval Office. Those who fought for civil rights for African Americans were doing so out of a moral impetus to see African Americans treated humanely—as human beings rather than like chattel or as 3/5ths-human. I think the best way to honor their work and lives when the office of Commander in Chief is within reach would be to continue that moral quest. That quest is continued by finding a candidate who seeks to see African Americans, even those in the womb, treated humanely—as people rather than as cattle for our labor and experimentation or as a 3/5th-human fetus.


Nick's Thoughts

1. I love the perspective of this election from an African-American evangelical, and what a crisis of decision it caused for him. I also love his perspective on the struggle between being Afrocentric and Christocentric.

2. I like his separation of the issues: infants dying undeservedly because of abortion vs people suffering deservedly due to recession.

3. His point about living Soli Deo Gloria under Obama is right on. Whether you agree or disagree with Obama, the vital point is that as a believer, his presidency doesn't change anything about our ability to live for the glory of God alone (not Obama, God).

4. I couldn't agree more with his point that, though the government makes sin legal such as abortion and same-sex marriage, it is the individual person that makes the choice to sin by having the abortion or persuing homosexuality.

So, what do you think? I'd love to know! I'd also love to see if people of both political parties can read past the politics and see the Bible in here or not!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Voting As if Not Voting


This is taken with permission from John Piper's Desiring God blog. I think it's a very good reminder for us believers on what's really important:

Let Christians Vote As Though They Were Not Voting


By John Piper October 22, 2008


Voting is like marrying and crying and laughing and buying. We should do it, but only as if we were not doing it. That’s because “the present form of this world is passing away” and, in God’s eyes, “the time has grown very short.” Here’s the way Paul puts it:

The appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. (1 Corinthians 7:29-31)

Let’s take these one at a time and compare them to voting.

1. “Let those who have wives live as though they had none.”

This doesn’t mean move out of the house, don’t have sex, and don’t call her Honey. Earlier in this chapter Paul says, “The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights” (1 Corinthians 7:3). He also says to love her the way Christ loved the church, leading and providing and protecting (Ephesians 5:25-30). It means this: Marriage is momentary. It’s over at death, and there is no marriage in the resurrection. Wives and husbands are second priorities, not first. Christ is first. Marriage is for making much of him.

It means: If she is exquisitely desirable, beware of desiring her more than Christ. And if she is deeply disappointing, beware of being hurt too much. This is temporary—only a brief lifetime. Then comes the never-disappointing life which is life indeed.

So it is with voting. We should do it. But only as if we were not doing it. Its outcomes do not give us the greatest joy when they go our way, and they do not demoralize us when they don’t. Political life is for making much of Christ whether the world falls apart or holds together.

2. “Let those who mourn [do so] as though they were not mourning.”

Christians mourn with real, deep, painful mourning, especially over losses—loss of those we love, loss of health, loss of a dream. These losses hurt. We cry when we are hurt. But we cry as though not crying. We mourn knowing we have not lost something so valuable we cannot rejoice in our mourning. Our losses do not incapacitate us. They do not blind us to the possibility of a fruitful future serving Christ. The Lord gives and takes away. But he remains blessed. And we remain hopeful in our mourning.

So it is with voting. There are losses. We mourn. But not as those who have no hope. We vote and we lose, or we vote and we win. In either case, we win or lose as if we were not winning or losing. Our expectations and frustrations are modest. The best this world can offer is short and small. The worst it can offer has been predicted in the book of Revelation. And no vote will hold it back. In the short run, Christians lose (Revelation 13:7). In the long run, we win (Revelation 21:4).

3. “Let those who rejoice [do so] as though they were not rejoicing.”

Christians rejoice in health (James 5:13) and in sickness (James 1:2). There are a thousand good and perfect things that come down from God that call forth the feeling of happiness. Beautiful weather. Good friends who want to spend time with us. Delicious food and someone to share it with. A successful plan. A person helped by our efforts.

But none of these good and beautiful things can satisfy our soul. Even the best cannot replace what we were made for, namely, the full experience of the risen Christ (John 17:24). Even fellowship with him here is not the final and best gift. There is more of him to have after we die (Philippians 1:21-23)—and even more after the resurrection. The best experiences here are foretastes. The best sights of glory are through a mirror dimly. The joy that rises from these previews does not and should not rise to the level of the hope of glory. These pleasures will one day be as though they were not. So we rejoice remembering this joy is a foretaste, and will be replaced by a vastly better joy.

So it is with voting. There are joys. The very act of voting is a joyful statement that we are not under a tyrant. And there may be happy victories. But the best government we get is a foreshadowing. Peace and justice are approximated now. They will be perfect when Christ comes. So our joy is modest. Our triumphs are short-lived—and shot through with imperfection. So we vote as though not voting.

4. “Let those who buy [do so] as though they had no goods.”

Let Christians keep on buying while this age lasts. Christianity is not withdrawal from business. We are involved, but as though not involved. Business simply does not have the weight in our hearts that it has for many. All our getting and all our having in this world is getting and having things that are not ultimately important. Our car, our house, our books, our computers, our heirlooms—we possess them with a loose grip. If they are taken away, we say that in a sense we did not have them. We are not here to possess. We are here to lay up treasures in heaven.

This world matters. But it is not ultimate. It is the stage for living in such a way to show that this world is not our God, but that Christ is our God. It is the stage for using the world to show that Christ is more precious than the world.

So it is with voting. We do not withdraw. We are involved—but as if not involved. Politics does not have ultimate weight for us. It is one more stage for acting out the truth that Christ, and not politics, is supreme.

5. “Let those who deal with the world [do so] as though they had no dealings with it.”

Christians should deal with the world. This world is here to be used. Dealt with. There is no avoiding it. Not to deal with it is to deal with it that way. Not to weed your garden is to cultivate a weedy garden. Not to wear a coat in Minnesota is to freeze—to deal with the cold that way. Not to stop when the light is red is to spend your money on fines or hospital bills and deal with the world that way. We must deal with the world.

But as we deal with it, we don’t give it our fullest attention. We don’t ascribe to the world the greatest status. There are unseen things that are vastly more precious than the world. We use the world without offering it our whole soul. We may work with all our might when dealing with the world, but the full passions of our heart will be attached to something higher—Godward purposes. We use the world, but not as an end in itself. It is a means. We deal with the world in order to make much of Christ.

So it is with voting. We deal with the system. We deal with the news. We deal with the candidates. We deal with the issues. But we deal with it all as if not dealing with it. It does not have our fullest attention. It is not the great thing in our lives. Christ is. And Christ will be ruling over his people with perfect supremacy no matter who is elected and no matter what government stands or falls. So we vote as though not voting.

By all means vote. But remember: “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).

Voting with you, as though not voting,

Pastor John

Thursday, October 16, 2008

The Gospel and Church Leadership

Here's a quote from Dr. David Platt, pastor at Brook Hills Church in Birmingham, AL, from his sermon "The Gospel and Church Leadership." I thought it was pretty strong for all believers, not just the 'church leader':

"Church leadership is designed by God to be a reflection of His glory; the glory of Christ is reflected in the beauty of His bride. Those who lead His bride, then, must be a clear reflection of the glory of Christ. I don't have to go into specific stories and instances in our culture to point out that the glory of Christ before the world has been jeopardized by leaders in the church who aren't reflective of His glory. And the effects are devastating and the effects are eternal in many people's lives. We need to take church leadership seriously; and I say that with great hesitation because Paul says in Corinthians, "Take heed lest you fall." I know that I am just one step away from falling into the same picture that other church leaders have fallen into. And so, that leads to the other part, church leadership is designed by God to display His glory, and to be dependent on His Gospel. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is possible in a church leaders life apart from the grace of Jesus Christ in that church leader. Jesus is the head of the church, HE IS OUR LEADER, and anyone who leads, elder, deacon, pastor, anyone who leads, must align themselves with the authority of Christ. The only way that Godly leadership can be a reality is if Christ is living and working in someone, and they are dependent on His Gospel. "

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Feeling Small, Being Small


Lately, in everything that I've been doing, I've felt small. Weak. Useless. Helpless. It's also been a reoccurring theme in my life, my home, and my ministry for me...I'm just not big enough and not strong enough to do what needs to get done. I get tired. I get frustrated. I get overwhelmed. And when I look to the future, to where I feel like God is leading me and my family, I feel lost. God, I can't handle the task you have in front of me right now, how could I ever take on this? How could you ever lead me there? How could you ever use me like that? Don't you see what a mess I am? Don't you see what a failure I am? Don't you see my sin? Don't you see my struggle?

Then, I read verses like the passage we read last night in youth group, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." God spends a lot of time talking about small things in the Bible. In fact, in our Sunday night study of Judges, we decided the sub-theme of the book is "God uses weak and small people so that only He can receive glory." We read about Gideon, who is a man full of fear and doubt and uncertainty, a man who has to take vastly-reduced army into battle, armed only with trumpets and torches. Why use such weakness? Why use a tiny army? Why the unorthodox weapons? So that GOD may be the one that is praised and honored and glorified. "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

That's a powerful verse that reminds us that we were not chosen because of our greatness, but because of God's goodness. As Louie Giglio said, "I don't want to make you feel small. . . . I want to show you that you are small!" God WANTS me to be small! He made me this way! Then, when I recognize my weakness, and my failure, and my insignifigance, He can step in and say, "Let me show you My power." God desires me be small so that He was room to grow within me, and become and do something great. Of course I can't handle anything right now! Of course I can't be enough and do enough. But my God can. He's big. And I can't wait to see how He's going to be big in my life!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Dry Times


It's been a long time since I've written on here, partially because of a lot of busyness going on, but partially because it's been a really dry time for me these past several weeks, and honestly, I just haven't wanted to write about what's been going on in my life. After getting back from Chile, it seems like there's been a lot of struggles and trials going on, most of them ones that I'm not completely sure how to deal with. First, there's just been a lot of struggles and warfare in the youth group. Now, most people, even most Christians, don't like to acknowledge the truth about spiritual warfare, but this is a real problem in our churches and in our lives, and we need to recognize that. Satan is constantly on the attack, and seeks to destroy those who are striving to follow God. In the youth group these past few months, this attack has taken different forms. Some of it is temptation, youth struggling with new issues, or re-battling old issues that they thought they were done with and had grown complacent about. For some youth, the battle has been through relationships, with friends and family hurting them and pulling them down, and depressing the youth to the point of a loss of spiritual focus. And for many of the youth, it's been spiritual apathy, a lack of a desire to daily put on the full armor of God and present themselves as approved and unashamed workmen in the site of God.

This struggle in the youth has been hard on me, because I'm not completely sure how to respond to each of these issues, and often take to blaming myself when these problems arise. Also, there have been other issues keeping me dry myself: broken relationships with people I care deeply about, concerns and uncertainty about the future, God dealing with me harshly in some areas of my life. . . all of these have led to a depressed spirit and a thirsty soul. In my heart, I sometimes question my effectiveness and my usefulness to God; if I can't lead these youth, and this church, then how can God ever use me somewhere else? If the youth are struggling, is that reflection of my leadership? Am I to blame?

Any of you who have read my blogs before know that this is a common question/struggle in my mind, and one that I need to resolve and hand over to God, and quickly. However, in the midst of all these doubts and struggles, there is one thing that I know, and know clearly: if I'm thirsty, then my answer is in the Living water. This blog is named Overflow because that's what I desire for God to do in my life: fill me to the point of overflowing to those around me, reaching others with the love and joy and forgiveness give first to me by God. But, if my cup is half empty, or completely dry, then I need a time for the Lord to fill me up instead. O God, you are my God, and I earnestly seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Lord, give me times of great comfort and fulfillment. Use Your Word to speak to my heart, and Your Spirit to fill me up and guide me. Let me know that You are God even when I feel distant, and thank you for Your presence that never leaves me or forsakes me.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Chile Journal Entry 3

Wednesday, July 17, 2008 - 11PM

Our first full day on the field was a great one! We were all very excited and nervous and anxious to get started wit the actual ministry today and work with the kids. We had several translators working with us today: Karen, who has been in Chile for 20+ years working in Valparaiso on the beach with college students and women as an IMB missionary from Kentucky; Camila, an amazing young lady from Santiago with a great personality and a heart to come to America as an exchange student; Jarrett, an MK who has lived in Chile for a good portion of his life (His father works as the head financial guy in the SAM region office); and Clayton, Cliff an Cinthy's younger son who is starting his senior year this year, and has grown up in Uruguay all his life with the exception of the past year.

Our first Bible club is at Betel Baptist Mission in Nunoa, which is pastored by Ruben and his wife Sandra. Nunoa is a middle class area of Santiago, so the children aren't in extreme poverty, but you can also tell that there are differences between the way they grow up and the way an average American child grows up. Betel Baptist Mission is held in an apartment complex in the community room, so we have one large room to work with, one very small kitchen, and an outdoor soccer court (assuming that our group gets to the court before anyone else does to claim it). Every day we lead music, Bible stories, recreation, and crafts. Our first rotation today was a little rough as we figured out what wasn't going to work, but soon things were moving smoothly. We are basing everything we do off of the wordless book (or the color book, using the colors black (sin), red (Jesus' blood), white (forgiveness and cleanness), gold (heaven and God's promises to us), and green (continual growth in God)); so, in crafts they made evangelism bracelets, talking about the different colors and what they remind us of. It's important in South American cultures to emphasize to them that the bracelets have no power, but they simply remind us of what God has already done for us. . . this is because of all the shrines and talismans that the Catholic Church teaches here, which causes a lot of confusion. In Bible study, we taught about heaven, and what it will be like, and used that to lead into discussing sin and how it separates us from God. They also did a great job of teaching the kids Juan 3:16. They played frisbee in recreation, and in music we sang "Yo tengo un amigo que me ama," and "I'm in the Lord's Army," along with "Hay vida in Jesus" for some of the older kids. It was a blessed time, and so great to see the children having fun and hearing about Jesus.

After lunch at Burger King (they really like avocados on their burgers here and they call it 'Italiano' because the avocado, tomatoes, and onions make red, white, and green, just like the Italian flag. . .weird!), we walked to the church in Nunoa. There we met Cristian, who works with the youth and music at the church, and Carmen Gloria, who is the associate pastor at the church and helped organize the VBS there along with Lorena. We did much of the same things here, helping them with their VBS. Thankfully Cristian was there, because the schedule got messed up, and instead of having 30 minutes with the first rotation, we had 55! We ran out of songs that we had prepared very quickly, but thankfully he was able to step in with Carmen Gloria and help us out so much!

At night, we had a great time with dinner, having empanadas, a common South American dish (though Cliff says they make them larger here in Chile than anywhere else); there were queso empanadas (exactly what you think they are), Nepolitano ones (pizza like, with ham, cheese, and tomato), and Pino (with beef, tons of onions, and hard-boiled eggs. . . interesting to say the least). Then, we prayed and planned for the next day, praising God for our great first full day of ministry!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Chile Journal Entry 2


July 15th - Santiago, Chile

I can't remember another day of such conflicting emotions before. Although I was exhausted, flying into Santiago, seeing the Southern Andes, seeing this beautiful city with its beautiful people for the first time. . . All these things set my soul singing this morning; singing songs like "Indescribable," "God of Wonders," and "Mighty to Save." I was so thrilled to be here, and assured even more about my calling to international missions in South America. My heart was touch by the people, by listening to Cliff tell me how he and Cinthy ended up in Uruguay and then Chile, and seeing their passion and struggle to reach the people of Santiago. All of these things made me so excited!!. . . .

. . . . But in just one moment, my whole attitude changed! When I went to pay for lunch at the restaurant, I discovered that my passport, credit cards, driver's license, and cash had all been stolen! I was crushed, upset, angry, embarrassed. . . and suddenly less sure about anything than I had been just 5 minutes earlier. Was my faith really so weak that this small act caused me to lose faith and doubt my calling, my future, and this trip? Am I really that shallow, that one lost blessing could cause me to turn an angry fist towards God? In the end, I had lost very little. . . some cash was missing, my passport could be replaced, and all the money on the credit cards was saved. The main thing that was gone was my pride, and my sense of self-reliance. . . . I felt shamed in front of my youth group, and my attitude that I could 'handle' South America was gone. I couldn't even handle a 10 minute bus ride. . . how can I support my family moving here, living here, ministering here?

God, I need you desperately, to guard my heart, and give me a strong dependence on You! Thank you for using trials to slowly remove my pride and self-sufficiency, and make me lean more and more on you each day!

Chile Journal Entry 1


July 14, 2008 - On a plane to Santiago

Well, we're finally out of America and on our way, and so far we've been blessed with great travel, good company, and no airport troubles!

I continue to be amazed at the blessings that God has given to me. I'll never understand why God chose to use me with these students and this church, and I continue to be humbled at His goodness in spite of my sin and inadequacy.

I can't wait to be on the ground, see Cliff and his family, and set eyes on this city I've been praying for for so long! I am excited, but also a little scared and apprehensive, too. God, will you really call me and my family to a place like this? Is it arrogance to think that You'd ever desire to let me serve You as a missionary? I can't even control my own life, so who am I to think that You'd use me to reach those that I cannot even speak to at this point?

God, my desire is to trust you, let you purify my life, and go wherever you send me and my amazing family. I'll just pray that I'll have the strength of faith and character to leave everything behind and follow You when You call me. . .

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Chile Blogs

Well, God is so good, and gave us a great trip to Chile! He led us in so many ways, and I was blown away by watching Him work in the lives of my students and the Chileans that we were so blessed to work with! While I was in Chile, I kept a daily journal of what happened there, and over the next few weeks I'll be putting those journals on here for you to read, along with pictures and links to give you a better idea of what we did and where we were. I'll be placing the first post in the next day or so, so keep checking back, and let me know what you think. God bless!

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Fuge 08


So, I just finished another week of camp, Centrifuge 2008: Kilimanjaro. I look forward to and love camp every year, but this year was pretty different: I wasn't that excited or focused on camp this summer. With our Chile mission trip in just a few weeks, I was so focused on the things that I needed to get done there, that I felt like my heart wasn't completely in the right place for Fuge this year. However, as I left for Fuge, I had to have faith in God. . . faith that He could work even when my heart didn't feel as prepared and focused as usual, and faith that God could continue to prepare and provide for the Chile trip even when I was out of the office (amazing to think that God could possibly work without me, huh?!?). So, I was excited and still hesitant to see what God would do and how He would work.

In the end, God did not disappoint (of course)! Watching God work in the lives of my students was (and always is) one of the most exciting and humbling things I ever get to be a part of. Seeing students set free from struggles and temptations, seeing youth come to know Christ, getting to be a part of students feeling a call to ministry. . . just blew me away. The Centrifuge staff was amazing, and touched me as well as the students (Ed, Josh, John, Mike, Cameron. . .you guys are great, I'll miss you, and thank you for following God's call on your life to bless students that mean so much to me!). I thank God for such an amazing week or rest and focus before this mission trip, and can't wait to see how God is going to work in Chile over the rest of the month. Keep me in your prayers!!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Every New Day

This is one of the most powerful and emotional songs I know. . . I was recently listening to it again, and wanted to share it with you all. . . This is "Every New Day" by Five Iron Frenzy:

When I was young, the smallest trick of light,
Could catch my eye,
Then life was new and every new day,
I thought that I could fly.
I believed in what I hoped for,
And I hoped for things unseen,
I had wings and dreams could soar,
I just don't feel like flying anymore.
When the stars threw down their spears,
Watered Heaven with their tears,
Before words were spoken,
Before eternity.

Dear Father, I need you,
Your strength my heart to mend.
I want to fly higher,
Every new day again.

When I was small, the furthest I could reach,
Was not so high,
Then I thought the world was so much smaller,
Feeling that I could fly.
Through distant deeps and skies,
Behind infinity,
Below the face of Heaven,
He stoops to create me.

Dear Father, I need you,
Your strength my heart to mend.
I want to fly higher,
Every new day again.

Man versus himself.
Man versus machine.
Man versus the world.
Mankind versus me.
The struggles go on,
The wisdom I lack,
The burdens keep pilling
Up on my back.
So hard to breathe,
To take the next step.
The mountain is high,
I wait in the depths.
Yearning for grace,
And hoping for peace.
Dear God...
Increase.

Healing hands of God have mercy on our unclean souls once again.
Jesus Christ, light of the world burning bright within our hearts forever.
Freedom means love without condition, without a beginning or an end.
Here's my heart, let it be forever Yours,
Only You can make every new day seem so new!

I have lately felt like the bridge of this song: the struggles go on, the wisdom I lack, and these burdens keep piling up on my back. Between camps, mission trips, financial issues, family trips, having another child, being a Godly father and husband, failing at being a Godly father and husband, worries and questions about the future. . . in all these things I feel completely inadequate. And the reason is because I am, completely inadequate! Nothing I can do is good enough because Biblically, nothing I can do is good. I am a sinful man, and even in my attempts to do good, I sin. I am desperately hopeless, completely confused, eternally lost. . . Until God increases. He is the Good and Pure and Holy One, He is the lover of my soul, and the one who can purify me of all this dross and refine in me the heart and life I need to have. Without Him I am lost and selfish and stressed and worried and completely without hope, as we all are, every one of us. But, with Him I am redeemed, loved, full of joy and peace and hope. Lord, every new day I need more of You in my life, in all of my life. Please, dear God, increase!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Tamed and Hypocrisy

So, we are currently discussing "Taming the Tongue" in youth group. . .4 different weeks, 4 subjects: Encouragement, Quarreling, Profanity, and Praising. This past week, I was gone (the only Sunday I can remember missing for a non-youth ministry related event. While I was gone, I had my friend and former student Jacob teach the lesson on quarreling. . . and talk about how we often miss the point about God simply because we are too busy arguing the things that don't really matter. So, lo and behold, while I'm out of town, I have several opportunities to discuss religion with some members of my wife's family: Catholic wedding, a cousin discusses their Episcopal church, talking about pastors I've been listening to online and books I've been reading. . . great discussions and conversations. But, at the end of the weekend, I realize that I haven't discussed one single thing of eternal importance all weekend! I've argued theology, discussed ideas, and stood up for the 'right things,' but never once talked about God's love, Christ's atonement, my depravity, or God's great grace and salvation. What a horrible moment to realize that I've missed the point completely, and haven't learned even from the lessons that I've prepared the importance of my every word being seasoned with salt and being prepared to give an answer for this hope that I have!! Forgive me, Lord, for these and all other times that I've missed the chances You've given me simply because I couldn't stop my tongue and use the Spirit instead!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Addict

I recently decided to sit down and read Donald Miller's 'Blue Like Jazz.' There were pros and cons to the book, but there were definitely several passages that stuck out to me and convicted me on different levels. One of the greatest messages I got out of the book is just another reminder of the depth of my own selfishness.

"Life was a story about me because I was in every scene. In fact, I was the only one in every scene. I was everywhere I went. If somebody walked into my scene, it would frustrate me because they were disrupting the general theme of the play, namely my comfort or glory. Other people were flat characters in my movie, lifeless characters. Sometimes I would have scenes with them, dialogue, and they would speak their lines, and I would speak mine. But the movie, the grand movie stretching from Adam to the Antichrist, was about me. I wouldn't have told you that at the time, but that is the way I lived.

The most difficult lie I have ever contended with is this: Life is a story about me. I hear of addicts talk about the shakes and panic attacks and the highs and lows of resisting their habit, and to some degree I understand them because I have had habits of my own, but no drug is as powerful as the drug of self. No rut in the mind is so deep as the one that says I am the world, the world belongs to me, all people are characters in my play. There is no addiction so powerful as self-addiction."

Those of you that have known me for any length of time, you know that I have a deep addiction to self as well. In high school, my pride was one of my defining characteristics. . .people joked about it, a girl that I liked charged me a dime every time I said something proud, and I even ended up having a shirt made that said "Tenor God" to brag about my singing abilities (I still have the shirt if you're interested in seeing it sometime.) In college, God did a great work to break me of my pride. . .but I'm still a self addicted person.

I've joked with people before that when I married Sara, I discovered how selfish I still was. I wanted my own time, I wanted to watch my own shows, I wanted to talk on my schedule, not hers. Over time, I worked through those things. . .but when Zoe came into my world, I again discovered that I was still selfish, just in completely different ways. In every area and aspect of my life, there is selfishness, manifesting itself in different ways, but always there. . . .

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Prodigal

Recently, one of the youth that I love and care about deeply had a rift with family, which caused this person to move out suddenly. Of course, this action cause a lot of feelings of hurt, anger, betrayal, and other expected emotions from the family and loved ones. This struck deep at my heart for two reasons: first, God has been increasingly softening my heart towards my youth lately, allowing more sorrow and weeping over sin and less anger, and my heart breaks with love for the pain of this child and the family. Second, however, I just finished listening to a sermon about covenant by Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church in Seattle. His quote about covenant got me thinking heavily on this issue:

"Who has absolutely betrayed you? And how did you respond? What did you feel? What did you say? What did you do? I want you to go there with me emotionally, because we often absolutely neglect to look at life from God's position. You see, we have betrayed Him! You know the story of Genesis, you've heard it many times, how God created the heavens and the earth, how God carefully prepared the earth for you and I to live on, that God created our first parents in His image and likeness, that God blessed them, that God spoke to them, that God honored them, that He gave them tremendous freedom, that He cultivated a Garden for them, and said they could eat from any tree except one, they were naked without shame, he brought them together and gave them marriage that they could have intimacy and relations and love and joy, and then our parents and every single one of us since absolutely, completely and utterly betrayed God! We disrespected Him, we disregarded Him, we disobeyed Him, we dishonored Him, and we all do. The betrayal that God has endured is worse that any betrayal that anyone else will ever endure. Put yourself in the position of God: if you had done all this good, and then were betrayed, sinned against, how would you respond? What is amazing is how God responds. Most of the time with you and I it's either fight or flight: we're gonna get revenge if we've been betrayed, or we're gonna distance ourselves so that we can't get hurt again. God instead draws near to deal with sin, and He offers us relationship, and the word the Bible uses to describe how God responds to our sin is covenant."

What a beautiful thought about how God responds to the sin of His children. Even in the story of the prodigal son, when the father has been so deeply hurt and betrayed by his son, when the son comes home, how does the father respond? Not with anger. Not with demands. Not with frustration. With running and love and open arms. He tells the servants, "Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." What a great image of our Father God, not sitting and waiting for us to come near, but running quickly, arms open, robes flapping, anxious to be reunited with His child. Martin Luther said that this is the defining characteristic of the love of God: compassion. Let us thank God for His love, and dwell in His compassion this week!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Those who teach with authority . . .

Last week was probably one of the harder weeks I've had since I've been in the ministry. I have several youth, either former youth that have graduated and moved on, or current youth, who are making bad decisions for their lives, and last week God completely broke my heart over their sin and struggles. Drinking, partying, sex, drugs, school problems, relationship problems, family problems, all seem prevalent in their lives, and is ruining them and their walk with God. I've seen a lot of these problems before, in them and in other youth, and my typical response was frustration with them: "What's wrong with them?? Why don't they do what they know they should? Don't they love God??" Last week, though, God would no longer allow me to respond with frustration; instead, He broke my heart. God showed me MY sin, and the mistakes and the errors I make still, even as a servant of God. He showed me how broken He is over my sin, and how broken He is over the sin of my students as well. And after seeing that, my natural response was to weep. To cry over the devastation of sin in the lives of my students, over the shame and pain and despair that it is causing them, over the separation with God that it is bringing them. My heart broke, and it still hasn't healed yet.

However, not only did my heart break, but I also went to the other extreme from frustration: self-blame. I've spent a lot of time in the past few weeks wondering what I could have done, what I should have done, to keep these students from falling so badly. I felt like a REAL youth pastor wouldn't have his students falling like this. If only I made my Bible studies clearer, my sermon illustrations more compelling, if I spent more time with each student, and would have spent more time with each student's family. If I was a better Christian, a stronger follower, a more humble servant, then no one who came into contact with me would fall away, but ALL would be encouraged to follow more closely. The tears of bitterness over feeling like more could be done are even more painful than tears of brokenness. While I know in my heart that these feelings are crazy, and that people will fall away because they do not follow God like they should, and we all have free will, and use that to turn from God (sorry to anyone who's a hyper-Calvinist and doesn't believe that), it's still have to handle as a leader, and hard to put out of my mind. I do believe that there is something to my self-pity, however. The Bible teaches that those who teach and lead will be held in higher judgment that those who do not. The Word tells us, "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly," and again, "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account." Because of this, the burden on me is strong right now, as I feel the need to give an account to my Lord for those who are under my care who fall away. O Lord, forgive me in my failings as a leader! Show those under me the Truth of You, and the desire You have for holiness in Your children. Lead me as well, to lead as You have called me to, and to be upright and righteous in Your sight! And calm my grieving heart, and replace it with a joy and peace that comes from You, through Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Imitation of the Divine


The other day, as I had the rare opportunity to lay on the couch, watching TV, my daughter Zoe came up, and wanted to be with daddy. Though she is awful squirmy, and doesn't make watching TV very easy, I let her up. . .Instead of laying on my lap, or next to me, like she usually does, she headed to the other end of the couch. Once there, she proceeded to lay down too, in perfect imitation of me: hands behind her head, legs crossed, big smile on her face, and eyes on me. Every time I moved, so did she. It was so flattering and beautiful, that it almost made me cry (anyone else notice that having a daughter makes you more of a cry-baby? or am I the only one?). We laid there like that for a few minutes, her matching my every move, enjoying the company of one another.

It was a beautiful picture of what our walk with Christ is supposed to be like: Us, coming to our Father, wanting to move in time with Him, to be in perfect imitation of that which we hold in so much love and awe. We should desire to move when He does, rest when He does, speak when He does, love when He does, all because it is modeled for us perfectly from our Abba Father above. No wonder Jesus said, "Unless you come to me like a little child, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." When we come to Him as adults, we come asking questions, wanting our own way, with issues about trust and loyalty and fidelity. . .but when we come as a child, we come in innocence, with complete trust and love and devotion. We come with a desire to imitate our Daddy in every way, because He's the best. We come wanting to make our Daddy proud, cause we're so proud of Him. We come wanting to love Him with all that we are and all that we have, because He loved us first. What a beautiful picture of Christ my daughter gave me! What a wonderful Father we have!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

The Big Top

I was listening to the old Christian band Johnny Q Public today, and heard this song entitled "The Big Top":

Painted expressions filling the stands
Are the best at twisting animal balloons
And it's so funny watching the magician
Pulling big green rabbits out of
little leather pouches
Under the Big Top there's a tickle in my ear
It's creepy, crawly, scary
I don't feel fear

Under the Big Top
You've got a home
If they can fill the seats
And pay the loan

There went a donkey and an elephant
Telling everyone about what is to come
And when the birdies sing, I am reminded
Not everyone who cries "Lord,
Lord" will enter the Kingdom
Under the Big Top there's a tickle in my ear
It's creepy, crawly, scary
I don't feel fear

Under the Big Top there's a tickle in my ear
It's creepy, crawly, scary
I don't feel fear

Blank expressions filling the pews
Are the best at twisted animal views
And it's so funny to watch the minister
Pulling big green rabbits out of
little leather purses

The thought struck me: is this what church is for many of us? Is church a place where we expect to either be entertained, or swindled? Let's take these thoughts one at a time.

There are many, many people today who are looking for a church home, or are dissatisfied with the church they're currently attending. One big reason for this is entertainment. If you ask people about what they look for in a church, or why they left their last church, you'll often hear "It wasn't my type of music" or "I needed more children's activities" or "The preaching didn't keep my attention." The church isn't SUPPOSED to pander to your every entertainment desire!!! Church is supposed to be more about God, and less about you! While there is nothing wrong with finding a church that will work with your kids, or your family, or that has the type of church culture that is comfortable to you (I'll just be honest, I wouldn't be comfortable in a Hispanic church, cause they're music is different, and I don't speak the language), there also needs to be far more said about our involvement in the church. To re-quote Kennedy, "Ask not what your church can do for you, but what you can do for your church." Most people who are most dissatisfied with their church for entertainment and connection issues are also least involved. They fill a pew every Sunday, but do nothing to contribute to the body of God, then wonder why they don't fit it. Forbid it, Lord, that we should take the joy of Your body, and make it about us and our own sinful amusement! This also applies to how we view change in the church. A thought I've been struggling with for a while is this: What is more important in a church, a type of music and preaching that the Christians in the pews want, or the type of worship and preaching that the lost outside the church want to hear? Are we so worried about our own preferences that we would let them get in the way of others hearing the Gospel? Lord, never allow us to stand in the way of Your Word doing the work that needs to be done!

The second issue raised in this song is about the money in a church. Money in religion tends to take on two forms in our mind. First, there's all those prosperity-gospel preachers that work and connive to swindle you from your money, using the Gospel of Christ as the tool to beat you with as they take your money. These men are despicable and I believe are heretics at best and led by Satan at worst! One of these men, the "Reverend" (I hope you can hear the sarcasm when I say that) Creflo Dollar tells his people that true believers are rich, always, and say that despite what the Bible says, Jesus was actually a wealthy man (His basis for this claim is the fact that Judas was the man who held the money for Jesus, so He must have had a lot). He makes this claim, ignoring that Jesus said that "the Son of Man (Jesus) has no place to lay His head." This, by the way, is the same Creflo Dollar that also gave an entire sermon at his 'church' about how Jesus did not come as God, but only as a man, contrary to every Christian belief since the beginning of the Church. There are men out there that are turning money into the new God, and ignoring the Gospel of Christ, to the detriment of the church. Lord, protect us from these false prophets who lead Your church astray and attempt to destroy Your truth! May they cover their faces and be silent because they have no answer before You!

However, there are also believers at the other end of the scale when it comes to money, who treat the church wrong simply because they think the pastor is 'out to get their money.' They are so worried about holding on to 'their' cash that they can't even look at church in the proper light. What they are forgetting is that nothing is yours! Everything belongs to God, and should be given freely back to Him. The Bible teaches that we owe God a tenth of what we have (the Hebrew word for 'tenth' is 'tithe'). I would maintain that a tenth is the least you owe God! In the Old Testament a tenth was given. . .in the New Testament, Jesus tells the rich young ruler "Sell everything you have and come follow me." We are not our own, and what we HAVE is not our own, and belongs to Him. Lord, don't let our own selfish view of money keep us from You, and divide us from Your church, but show us the Truth, and allow us to be the cheerful givers that You desire us to be!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Draft


Today, I was actually able to have a nice, slow day at home with my wife and daughter. It was a great day, with some house work (getting Zoe's room more ready for another baby. . .yes, I that it's 4 months early, but you try arguing with a pregnant woman!), spending time with my family, and, in between it all, watching some of the NFL draft! (It's been a long time since I've been able to watch any of that). As I was watching team after team select their next player, I listened to all the commentary by the announcers at ESPN: "Great player, tremendous upside" . . . "Lots of potential in this play". . . "This is a very strong, quick linebacker" . . . "A very smart player" . . . "I don't know why you'd select this player here with other much better players still available". . . .

It all got me thinking. . .are you amazed and blessed that our God and Father didn't select us like this? 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 tells us:

26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

Praise the Lord that He does not judge as man does; man looks at the outward appearance, but our God looks at the heart. In his draft (I know this gets a little Calvinism vs. Armenianism, but stick with me!) God did not chose us because of any great ability or potential; indeed, the scriptures tell us that God demonstrates His love for us in that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." And, again, "how great is the love the Father has lavished upon us, that we might become the children of God." Let us praise our great, glorious, loving, and merciful God, for He has loved and chosen us first, so that we may love Him and choose Him in return!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

The Humanity of Christ


From "Vintage Jesus" by Mark Driscoll and Gary Breshears:

The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is fully God who became a man and is "Immanuel," which means, "God with us." It is important to note that this is the opposite of many religions that teach that men and women can become God or at least gods. This was Satan's first lie! Conversely, our God Jesus Christ humbled Himself and entered into human history as a man to identify with us as our humble servant. As both God and man, Jesus alone can reconcile us to God as the only perfect God-man mediator. As theologian Donald Bloesch says, "Jesus therefore differs from other human beings in kind, not simply in degree."

One of the most astonishing things about Jesus is that as God He actually chose to come into our fallen, sick, twisted, unjust, evil, cruel, painful world and be with us to suffer like us and for us. Meanwhile, we spend most of our time trying to figure out how to avoid the pain and evil of this world while reading dumb books about the rapture just hoping to get out. Jesus truly lived a painful life that was fully human:
  • Jesus was tempted to sin by the Devil himself
  • Jesus had money troubles that included being poor, getting riped off, struggling to pay His taxes, and being homeless
  • People attacked Jesus by spreading vicious rumors, physically abusing Him, and mocking and spitting on Him
  • Jesus was continually jacked with by religious neatniks
  • Jesus had some bummer days marked by lonliness, deep sorrow, exhaustion, and weeping
  • Jesus' friends were a joke and no help in times of crisis; they even betrayed Him and turned their backs on Him
  • Jesus' family thought He was a nut job
  • Jesus bled
  • Jesus died
  • Jesus used His final breaths to forgive those who destroyed Him
For those who are sick, abused, burned out, tired, bedridden, flat broke, tempted, weary, hated, lonely, and dying, the humanity of Jesus on His darkest days is encouraging. Without these insights into Jesus' life, it would be difficult for us to run to Him in our time of need because we would be unaware of the similar experiences He had during His life on earth. Those experiences make Him a compassionate friend. Therefore, the humanity of Jesus is as important for our love of Christ as His divinity.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Doxa

This is from a message that Tim Smith, the worship pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, gave at a worship conference there. Tim was speaking about the Contextualization of Worship. . .while discussing this, he had this to say about worship:

"God existed before the foundation of the world; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe that He existed in that Trinitarian relationship, and in the past I've called that relationship 'worship', and I'm not completely sure that's the best word. . . the Bible calls it 'doxa,' glory. . . In John 17 Jesus is praying in the garden, and He says "Father, glorify me with the glory (doxa) I had with You before the world began." And I believe that God existed, Father, Son, and Spirit, before the foundation of the world in a mysterious, unbroken community of 'doxa.' It's more that worship. . .worship to us tends to imply the finite (us) reaching out to the infinite (God), and we believe that the Trinity is equality in being. . . there is still in a sense worship that goes on there, glory and mutual glorification between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, before the world began.

Out of that, creation overflows with that community of worship. And so He creates all the things through the different days of creation, and as the crowning work of His creative endeavors He creates man, and man is the only thing created in His image. And I believe that as man is the only thing created in His image, He has created us to be one who ceaselessly worships Him in the same way that God continuously pours Himself out in glorifying Himself, as it has been said "God is the only thing that can focus on its own glory on itself without it being pride and without it being sin."

So man was created in the image of God, and is created to be a ceaseless worshiper. And before sin entered into the garden, that worship was perfectly and endlessly focused towards God. But, as we know, worship did not stay that way, because sin entered into the world through man, who, I believe, was wanting and desiring the glory that only God Himself deserved. The King James translation expresses the lie that the serpent told to Eve as "If you eat of this, you will be like a god." I believe at the core of sin is a pride issue; we want God's glory for ourselves! And so sin broke that perfect community of worship between man and God. But, it did not change man's image, man still retains the image of God and still remains therefore a ceaseless worshiper, but now his worship is inverted, is misdirected, and now instead of pouring Himself out ceaselessly towards God in glory, he instead glorifies created things, and glorifies the ultimate idol, which is self.

But, thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ, we are not bound to that ceaseless, endless idolatry. Without Jesus Christ, the default mode of the human heart is idolatry. Idolatry is sin and sin is idolatry, they're one in the same thing. But, through Jesus Christ that right relationship can be restored; Jesus, who came as the ultimate worshiper and lived a life of perfect worship, ceaselessly glorifying His Father and proving that there was no defect in God's original work of Adam and Eve. And He took our sin upon Himself, He sacrificed Himself for us, so that we could be reoriented and we could know God again, and now He is the mediator and through Jesus we can now rightly give glory to God and that praise relationship can be restored in all of us.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Worship Like Mary


A beautiful thought on worship from Tim Hughes in his book for worship leaders, Here I Am To Worship:

'As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and said "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'" Luke 10:38-42

It's not every day that the Savior of the world pops in for tea. Mary and Martha must have been very excited. Straightaway Martha swang into action and exerted herself in all the preparations at hand. While she was rushing around doing all the work, her sister, Mary, just sat at Jesus' feet, hanging on His every word. Surely Mary was in the wrong here! Wasn't she being selfish and lazy? Eventually Martha lost her cool and turned to Jesus for help. Her question was brilliantly crafted and deserving of all sympathy and respect in the world: "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?"

The answer Martha received must have taken her by surprise. Jesus tenderly pointed out that she missed the point. The keyword in this passage is "distracted": "But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made." Martha thought she was doing the right and honorable thing. There was work to be done, and she was going to do it. By working hard, she would demonstrate to Jesus how much she loved Him.

However Jesus did not desire this from her. He desired Martha's intimacy--her company. In this short story, it was Mary who chose the right thing--the one thing that was needed most. She sat at Jesus' feet and enjoyed spending time with Him, learning from Him and discovering more about Him. Jesus was delighted by this response. Mary chose to watch and fix her gaze on Jesus before she chose to work.

As worshippers, we must take note of this lesson. We are very good at doing things--organizing events, planning services and attending prayer meetings. These tasks and events are important and worthy, bu they must never come at the expense of knowing God. . .
Before we play our songs and commit to serving Jesus, we need to adore and cherish Him. Sometimes amid the pressure to succeed we lose this focus. A passage of Scripture that expresses beautifully the heart of a radical worshipper is found in Psalm 27:4:

"One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and seek him in his temple."

Friday, April 11, 2008

Praise Habit: Child-like Praise

This past year, God has done more to work in my heart and mind on the topic of worship than at any other time in my life, and I can tell that He's still not done there. A while back, I was reading Praise Habit by David Crowder, and one main section in that book jumped out at me:

"We naturally understand praise. As kids, we talk about our favorite toys; later we praise pizza and foot ball players. Kids just know how to enjoy things. They give themselves fully to whatever has a hold on them. Remember as children how we would fearlessly hold up our favorite toy and petition anyone who was in close proximity to behold it?

'Look, Mom, look!'

We instinctively knew what it was to praise something. It's always been in us. We were created for it. It's a part of who we are. As kids, we were fabulous at it. But as adults we become self-conscious and awkward. Something gets lost. i think we do it to each other. At some point, I hold the toy up exultantly and you comment that it looks ridiculous to hold the toy up in such a way. It's not a cool toy like I believed it to be. It is worn and tired, you point out. And we slowly chip away at each other's protective coatings of innocence until one day we wake up and notice we are naked and people are pointing. . .

Think back. Try hard to recall what praise in its undiluted purity felt like. When you would dance with your arms fully extended rather than elbows bent, folded closely to your person in such a guarded fashion. Remember how effortlessly we sang the praises of things we enjoyed? It was so easy and fluid and natural. What if this kind of praise freely leaked from us in delightful response to God? What if life were like that all the time. What if we were so moved by who God is, what He's done, what He will do, that praise, adoration, worship, whatever, continuously careened in our heads and pounded in our souls? What if praise were on the tip of our tongues like a loaded weapon in the hands of a trigger-happy meth addict and every moment might just set us off? What makes us think our time on earth should be any different? What keeps it from being so?"
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