here's a youtube link to this embeded video:
its got what looks like Portuguese sub titles but audio is in English.
What bugs me most about nooma videos is the imprecision of the language. The statements sort of thrown out there to be 'provocative' instead of informative. Just some examples from my notes after watching this movie. I took the notes fast so I might not have quoted perfectly:
"its my field. why should I let them on to take my stuff? its not fair" this is true its not fair and it shouldn't be extrapolated in how to run a government or your office or some other secular organization. However the church is not the government, nor is my family the government. We should be generous. Not to those who are lazy. The scriptures quoted from Deut. 24:19-22 are very clear that its to be left for widows, orphans, and aliens. These are people who are incapable of providing for themselves. Someone could easily hear what Rob says and think that the government should be providing health care, social security, and other benefits for people who haven't earned them.
"liberation is unfair, freedom is unfair, redemption is unfair, grace is unfair, God isn't fair." This is quite a dangerous statement. To say that God isn't fair means He isn't just. Saying He isn't just is a violation of scripture and the nature of God. He is fair. He punished sin! He also provided mercy through His Son's atoning death on the Cross. Now I don't think He has to be fair in His distribution of Grace its up to Him. But just saying God's not fair without some caviots and clarifications can be horribly confusing to people.
"when you empower others in their oppression, whatever that looks like. we find out out about God's power to us" That's fruit-cake. If you're a Christian you might being doing God's will and therefor feel empowered to further serve. But if you're not then just being nice to someone will make you feel better and that's it. In fact it will damn you worse because you'll think that you're doing good things and assuaging the guilt you've earned for cheating on your wife or taxes. Its a very very dangerous thing to say and do just to be nice.
"ultimately life is about a larger truth to find suffering. do something about it or we'll be miserable. our education time and money will turn on us if we don't give it away" I don't even have the slightest idea what he's trying to say here. "Turn on us" what does that mean? Millions of people are just happy thank you very much to do whatever makes them feel good. Being nice for nice's sake or even other people's sake doesn't mean or do anything if its not done for God. In fact as I said in the one above it hoses you even more because it tricks you into thinking you're doing something of benefit to yourself.
"our lives are either about us, or about a different path. this is why Jesus taught about serving" What??!?! our lives are about us or a different path? Why not tell us what the path is? How does this distinguish Christians from PETA followers? Jesus didn't teach about serving as an end to itself. He took pity on others and taught compassion as a way to reach them for the Gospel. How many times did He use a miracle just to point out to the pharisees that their good work in serving others was totally meaningless b/c they did it for the wrong reasons!
"extend unfairness to others. your overflow to someone else's necessity. find someone who needs what you have, only to discover they have what you needed all along." Huh? I guess in a sense he's talking about capitalism. If I find someone with a need that I can fill, I can sell it to them and get money back which is something I need to procure other goods and services that will help me. Oh wait, that's not the point of this talk I guess... Other Humans have nothing, nothing that I need in an ultimate sense. I sure appreciate nice words occasionally and thanksgiving for shoveling the walk from snow. But JESUS has what I need. He is the one offering salvation and grace and wonder and joy and wisdom and completeness. Serving someone else doesn't offer those things.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
More google reader discussion
Here's some more dialogue on my discussion on google reader. In this installment, the guy I'm talking to presents a very clear understanding of the horribleness of Hell. I frankly don't think many Christians understand how bad Hell is, let alone non-Christ followers.
I pray that my church, and other churches, would preach as clearly as this poor guy does about how terrible Hell really is. That people would recognize their danger and flee to Christ.
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I pray that my church, and other churches, would preach as clearly as this poor guy does about how terrible Hell really is. That people would recognize their danger and flee to Christ.
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| Not-me: |
 | you: | Wow I really appreciate your understanding of the depths and length of the punishment involved in spending eternity in Hell. I don't think most believers, let alone non-Christ followers, grasp what you're saying here. Jesus called Hell Gehenna, which was a burning, filthy trash-pit outside of Jerusalem, that never stopped burning and was the foulest thing His hearers could grasp. I don't think it would be inaccurate at all to say your description/illustration parallels His. In a converse way you're describing how Holy God is by describing how terrible the punishment is. Just to turn around the last part of your argument: God is more Holy and perfect than 10^90 bits of information could describe. His perfection is greater than that even. Its this indescribable 'otherness' that makes sin, even small sin, so reprehensible and foul to Him, and why He must put it away from His presence. Incidentally, this makes His decision to send His Son to earth to die for us, completely mind blowing!!! Why would He do that? Why would He knowingly sacrifice His Son for people that had violated Him so powerfully. This is why I don't just follow some words in the Bible, or go to church on Sundays in order to get some morality in my life, or in order to be 'good' to my fellow man. I worship, and spend my life trying to love and obey Jesus in response to His great, un-comprehensible gift. I can't change your mind by arguing with you, though I do enjoy the challenge of your questions and thoughtful responses. All I can do is ask, no beg, you to look at how much you have sinned. And then use your understanding of Hell to bring you to a desire for rescue from that punishment. The Bible is true, God will not let those who have sinned against him to go un-punished. He is a just judge and must punish lawbreakers. It sounds like you've read the Bible before, so this challenge may sound silly, but read the gospel of John and watch how John portrays Jesus. John's goal in writing is to show that Jesus is/was God. Jesus is harsh with some, but kind and gentle with others. See yourself in Nicodemus in chapter 3, a smart guy who thought He understood, but needed Christ to point out His shortcomings to welcome Nic in. Look at the woman at the well in chapter 4 and see yourself in someone who has sinned greatly and to whom Jesus should not be talking to, but instead He does and shows her Great mercy. In John 5 recognize yourself in the lame man who could do nothing to heal or save himself without Jesus' help. I could go on, but I hope you see what I'm trying to say. The Holy Spirit uses scripture to change and soften hearts to the Gospel. I pray that He would do that for you, as He did for me. |
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Discussion from Google Reader
I've been having a discussion on a google shared item for the last few days. I'm reprinting here for posterity... I've changed the name of the person I'm discussing with, and added the horizontal rules to make the sides of the conversation clear... The not-me starts out next:
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| Not-me: | Haha! Now only if God hadn't written Leviticus... |
| you: | I'm disappointed that the author didn't point out that the atheist's resulting judgment was to be punished by God for all eternity for not repenting and believing before dying. Of course God is loving and merciful, but He's also just, and therefore He must punish law-breakers, just like an earthly judge punishes law breakers no matter what they say or do to try and worm out of it. If they didn't punish they wouldn't be just, and neither would God. |
| not-me: | Don't kid yourself, the Christian god isn't just or merciful. Ask the children of the ruler Sihon: Deut (2:33-34) And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain. |
| you: | fascinating. you're saying God wasn't just in destroying a people who had rejected Him as God? Sounds like good grounds to me. In fact we all have rejected Him since the Garden. Its amazing mercy that He lets any of us live and breathe. Its His air after all, not ours. |
| Not-Me: | That's exactly what I'm saying. God is imaginary, and justifying genocide in his name is a horrendous abuse of power. But, let's assume that god really exists for a second. All of those destroyed people went to hell, yes? How is an ETERNITY of punishment a morally acceptable form of 'justice' to any possible crime here on earth? Pol Pot doesn't deserve eternal punishment for what he did in Cambodia. The argument that the Christian god is just is false prima facie. |
| you: | Ahh, so this is where your understanding is not accurate as to the nature of God. You're right that eternity of punishment for crimes committed here on earth isn't warranted. But those crimes aren't just committed here on earth. They're also committed against the Creator of the Universe. You'd be right that the punishment doesn't seem to fit the crime if the person to whom the crime was committed was an equivalent human agent such as ourselves. But that's just it God isn't equivalent to us. He is infinitely above us and therefore sins committed against Him are infinitely worse than those of ours committed against each other. As a weak illustration, imagine I threatened to kill you, at worst I might get some civil suit with a restraining order or an attempted murder charge which would only put me in prison for a few months or a couple of years. If instead I threatened or was able to kill a United States President, I would be jailed for life, or put in the electric chair. See the punishment changes based on who the offense is committed against, with the more stringent punishment applied to the one offending the greater person. Even the "little sin" of Adam disobeying in the garden was enough to get him and Eve booted out forever. Because it wasn't so much that they did what God told them not to, it was that they choose to be their own gods in their defiance of His will. This is the ultimate blasphemy and a perfect and Holy God must elevate Himself above all others. Therefore their elevation of themselves above Him, deserved death. A death that God delayed until it could be carried out on His Son. In fact this death was foretold twice right in chapter 3 of Genesis. Once when God says "he will strike your heel, but he will crush his head". This is God pointing out that Satan will nip Jesus by contributing to His death, but that Jesus' death and subsequent resurrection was the death blow for Satan. Secondly God kills an animal and makes a skin covering for Adam and Eve to replace the insufficient fig-leave covering they had made for themselves. This was the first death ever. A tremendous thing. God took sin so seriously that He killed the first ever animal as a symbol of the payment necessary that His Son would come to provide for Adam and Eve later. Sin is so serious to God that only blood can pay for it. The most precious substance we have. And the debt we have incurred so great that only the most valuable blood would be acceptable to a perfect God. That blood is the shed blood of the perfect God-man sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God isn't imaginary. The empty tomb proves it, the creation around us proves it, yours and my conscience proves it. But none of those proofs will work for you until you realize that your sin is way worse than you currently think it is. Reflect for a little on how much sin you've committed (the thousands of lies you've told, the repeated blasphemies declaring that God isn't real or just, the disobedience to your parents, the lustful thoughts, the things you've stolen, etc, etc..). The Bible says that God hates sin, and that He will in no-ways leave sins committed un-punished. Please think about how bad your sin is, and then repent and believe that Jesus' death is sufficient to cover your sins. Repenting means recognizing your sin's depths and confessing them to God and then turning away from them, and by God's grace and help stopping them. If you truly repent and believe then you will see your life change as the Holy Spirit begins to drive you to want to be more like Jesus. |
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Cool Bible Resource
Just found this site while looking up a question for a friend. http://www.openbible.info/. I don't know that I would trust a lot of the topics yet since there's a lot of opportunity for skewing. But the part I liked the best was the google-earth kmz files for locations mentioned in the Bible. I don't think they're all exactly right, but they give you a good general idea.
Neat site.
Neat site.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Terrified!
A friend of mine suggested I listen to Todd Friel's Wretched Radio. He's a Christian evangelist that preaches the gospel by giving law to the proud and grace to the humble. His premise is that, this combination worked great for Jesus, so why shouldn't we use it.
The first thing I listened to was Terrified! (only costs $6!!) An MP3 CD with 20 some odd witness encounters all designed to teach how to share the Law with people to get them to realize how desperately they (and I) need Jesus, instead of their (and my) own filthy works. I started listening to the encounters, and after the first couple I was so convicted about how proud I am, and how I always seek to be served by my law keeping instead of falling on the Grace of our Lord. I'm not saying I was re-converted, just reminded that I am desperate for grace too.
Now I can't stop listening to Todd. All the encounters are encouraging and challenging and convicting to get me to witness too. I know all the answers that Todd gives to the questions people ask and I have the big Ace, the Holy Spirit, so its not like I'm not qualified. Its just that I'm scared plain and simple. Where is my courage?
Oh Lord please give me courage to talk of you to others. And not just strangers, but the people I actually care about.
The first thing I listened to was Terrified! (only costs $6!!) An MP3 CD with 20 some odd witness encounters all designed to teach how to share the Law with people to get them to realize how desperately they (and I) need Jesus, instead of their (and my) own filthy works. I started listening to the encounters, and after the first couple I was so convicted about how proud I am, and how I always seek to be served by my law keeping instead of falling on the Grace of our Lord. I'm not saying I was re-converted, just reminded that I am desperate for grace too.
Now I can't stop listening to Todd. All the encounters are encouraging and challenging and convicting to get me to witness too. I know all the answers that Todd gives to the questions people ask and I have the big Ace, the Holy Spirit, so its not like I'm not qualified. Its just that I'm scared plain and simple. Where is my courage?
Oh Lord please give me courage to talk of you to others. And not just strangers, but the people I actually care about.
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Count
So I spent the last few months, July - Oct, reading "The Count of Monte Cristo" (Google books|Project Guttenburg) by Alexandre Dumas. It was an amazing story. I used to think that Tom Clancy had invented the literary style of bringing a lot of different story lines that seem unrelated finally together in a climactic ending, but really Dumas had been doing it 150 years earlier. The plot lines and characters swing out of nowhere and surprise you. Dumas even tries to throw off the reader a few times as you think you know who is doing what.
The Count, Edmond Dantes, is wrongly convicted of a crime he didn't commit and basically 'dies' in prison. He eventually escapes 14 years later and spends the great wealth he is gifted with while in prison to carry out justice against those who put him into prison. Despite the justice of his cause, he is conflicted with whether or not he is acting on behalf of Providence.
I had lots of favorite parts, but I wanted to quote this one passage from chapter 84: "The Hand of God" The Count, playing an abbe, is speaking with Caderousse, a thief and a liar, who is dying from a knife wound (not inflicted by the Count) and the two go back and forth discussing the existence of Providence. We'll pick up with Caderousse speaking:
"I do not believe there is a God!" howled Caderousse; "you do not believe it: you lie -- you lie!"
"Silence!" said the abbe; "you will force the last drop of blood from your veins. What! you do not believe in God when he is striking you dead? -- You will not believe in him, who requires but a a prayer, a word, a tear, and He will forgive -- God, who might have directed the assassin's dagger so as to end your career in a moment, has given you this quarter of an hour for repentance. Reflect, then, wretched man, and repent."
"No," said Caderousse, "no; I will not repent. There is no God, there is no Providence -- all comes by chance."
"There is a Providence, there is a God," said Monte Cristo, "of which you are a striking proof, as you lie in utter despair, denying him; while I stand before you, rich, happy, safe, and entreating that God, in whom you endeavor not to believe, while in your heart you still believe in him."
I don't know if he was a Christian or not, but I believe Dumas has it right. Man knows in his heart that God is real. Man may deny it, he may fight it, he may loose himself in great or small debauchery to get away from the knowledge of Providence. But man cannot shake loose His Creator's touch. We all know that we are on this world for more than just living and dying. We are here to 'love God and enjoy Him forever.' But to do that we must repent as the Count says above. God grants mercy continually by allowing us while we're still sinners to continue to live that we might be given opportunity to repent and come to Christ.
If you are denying the existence of God, think about why you don't want Him to exist. Is it because you prefer to go your own way instead of His? Come to His mercy. Repent of your unbelief and submit to Him as Lord. You will be saved. Come today. Don't be lost. The gifts He offers are greater than the things you will give up in response to His Lordship. Please come, your danger is great. His mercy could be at an end even tonight. Don't risk it.
The Count, Edmond Dantes, is wrongly convicted of a crime he didn't commit and basically 'dies' in prison. He eventually escapes 14 years later and spends the great wealth he is gifted with while in prison to carry out justice against those who put him into prison. Despite the justice of his cause, he is conflicted with whether or not he is acting on behalf of Providence.
I had lots of favorite parts, but I wanted to quote this one passage from chapter 84: "The Hand of God" The Count, playing an abbe, is speaking with Caderousse, a thief and a liar, who is dying from a knife wound (not inflicted by the Count) and the two go back and forth discussing the existence of Providence. We'll pick up with Caderousse speaking:
"I do not believe there is a God!" howled Caderousse; "you do not believe it: you lie -- you lie!"
"Silence!" said the abbe; "you will force the last drop of blood from your veins. What! you do not believe in God when he is striking you dead? -- You will not believe in him, who requires but a a prayer, a word, a tear, and He will forgive -- God, who might have directed the assassin's dagger so as to end your career in a moment, has given you this quarter of an hour for repentance. Reflect, then, wretched man, and repent."
"No," said Caderousse, "no; I will not repent. There is no God, there is no Providence -- all comes by chance."
"There is a Providence, there is a God," said Monte Cristo, "of which you are a striking proof, as you lie in utter despair, denying him; while I stand before you, rich, happy, safe, and entreating that God, in whom you endeavor not to believe, while in your heart you still believe in him."
I don't know if he was a Christian or not, but I believe Dumas has it right. Man knows in his heart that God is real. Man may deny it, he may fight it, he may loose himself in great or small debauchery to get away from the knowledge of Providence. But man cannot shake loose His Creator's touch. We all know that we are on this world for more than just living and dying. We are here to 'love God and enjoy Him forever.' But to do that we must repent as the Count says above. God grants mercy continually by allowing us while we're still sinners to continue to live that we might be given opportunity to repent and come to Christ.
If you are denying the existence of God, think about why you don't want Him to exist. Is it because you prefer to go your own way instead of His? Come to His mercy. Repent of your unbelief and submit to Him as Lord. You will be saved. Come today. Don't be lost. The gifts He offers are greater than the things you will give up in response to His Lordship. Please come, your danger is great. His mercy could be at an end even tonight. Don't risk it.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Loved this video
As I said in the last post I had sort of a rough summer. One of the things that God used to snap me out of it was this video. It's a little long (9 min), but it is very very worth your time.
The key point in the video is around 4:24-4:32 where the 'God' character says to the 'me' character "I made you good, so be good."
This is so true. I always want like a 5 step plan to get back to God. Or some special event that I should be doing to get Him to love me again. Really it comes down to repenting and obeying. Again at 4:52-5:05 the 'me' character confesses that he is always letting God down. The 'God' character says, "no its not you holding me. I hold you up. I'm the one that holds this relationship together" Amen.
Its hearing this that makes me want to give over to Him my anxiety and weakness. This is why I want to worship God. This is why I want to give my life to Him. Because He condescends to love and lift me up. I can't understand why He is so great and kind to me. I just want to praise Him in response.
p.s.
Time 3:47 is great too. That's where the Gospel is first laid out. I'm sort of tearing up as I watch the video again so that I can write this post.
The key point in the video is around 4:24-4:32 where the 'God' character says to the 'me' character "I made you good, so be good."
This is so true. I always want like a 5 step plan to get back to God. Or some special event that I should be doing to get Him to love me again. Really it comes down to repenting and obeying. Again at 4:52-5:05 the 'me' character confesses that he is always letting God down. The 'God' character says, "no its not you holding me. I hold you up. I'm the one that holds this relationship together" Amen.
Its hearing this that makes me want to give over to Him my anxiety and weakness. This is why I want to worship God. This is why I want to give my life to Him. Because He condescends to love and lift me up. I can't understand why He is so great and kind to me. I just want to praise Him in response.
p.s.
Time 3:47 is great too. That's where the Gospel is first laid out. I'm sort of tearing up as I watch the video again so that I can write this post.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Blog what blog?
Sorry I've been lazy around here lately. Honestly, my walk with the Lord has been a bit weak throughout the summer, and I was sort of limping along. The Lord has brought me back, as He does so well, and I feel better and closer to Him. I've been studying Luke and I'm up to chapter 3. My plan is to start tracking my Luke study in this blog, so hopefully that comes to be.
I've also started listening to the Matthew sermon series by Tommy Nelson and Denton Bible Church. Its great! Its about a year old now, so you'll have to get it off of their website instead of the podcast. If you're not subscribed to that podcast you're missing out.
I'm excited to be starting Starting Point again this semester. We've got a great group of people who are honest and hungry. I pray that I would be the same as I join them in this journey.
I've also started listening to the Matthew sermon series by Tommy Nelson and Denton Bible Church. Its great! Its about a year old now, so you'll have to get it off of their website instead of the podcast. If you're not subscribed to that podcast you're missing out.
I'm excited to be starting Starting Point again this semester. We've got a great group of people who are honest and hungry. I pray that I would be the same as I join them in this journey.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The Pauline Model for Church Plants
Here's a quick video (9 minutes) from Mark Driscoll, (of Mars Hill). His main points are:
1) A healthy church plant will have a lead man who is well qualified, and really more soldierly than pastoral in the early stages of his church.
2) A healthy church plant will have a mission to turn men into leaders in the church by discipling and training them how to be men of God, who care for their families and lead others to Christ.
3) A healthy church plant is all about the message: sharing about a man, Jesus, who was on a mission, to die for mankind, and redeem them from judgement.
I pray that my church would watch this video change to emulate Driscoll's teaching.
I pray that I could watch this video and change to reflect its truth.
1) A healthy church plant will have a lead man who is well qualified, and really more soldierly than pastoral in the early stages of his church.
2) A healthy church plant will have a mission to turn men into leaders in the church by discipling and training them how to be men of God, who care for their families and lead others to Christ.
3) A healthy church plant is all about the message: sharing about a man, Jesus, who was on a mission, to die for mankind, and redeem them from judgement.
I pray that my church would watch this video change to emulate Driscoll's teaching.
I pray that I could watch this video and change to reflect its truth.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
JQA sets the standard for faithful service
"On the integrity of my Intentions, and on the aid of that Gracious Heaven which never has deserted me, I must rely. I pray for clearness of intellectual vision to see the right path - for the necessary courage to pursue it; and for the Fortitude and the Temperance to bear with equanimity the vicissitudes of its Fortunes, whether adverse or propitious. Grant, O God, that I may do good to my Country and to Mankind! And deal with me, and mine, if it be thy gracious will, in Mercy."
John Quincy Adams 11 July 1809 Quoted from: the MHS beehive blog.
I pray the same for me in my service to my family and my job. I know our early country had a lot of issues to deal with. But hearing the Godly way that the Adams family trusted in the Lord for sustenance and success, makes me long that our current leaders would be able to openly express their trust in He who is able as well.
I look forward to meeting the Adams family and praising the Lord for eternity with them.
John Quincy Adams 11 July 1809 Quoted from: the MHS beehive blog.
I pray the same for me in my service to my family and my job. I know our early country had a lot of issues to deal with. But hearing the Godly way that the Adams family trusted in the Lord for sustenance and success, makes me long that our current leaders would be able to openly express their trust in He who is able as well.
I look forward to meeting the Adams family and praising the Lord for eternity with them.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Overcome People's Assumptions (even my own)
Just finished watching GATTACA again. I've always liked this movie for its portrayal of Vincent and his desire to overcome what everyone in his life thought he was incapable of. It encourages me to work hard, to not give up, to be remembered for the people I've impacted and how they have changed the world, not to be remembered just for myself.
May God fulfill His plans by using me. I want my life to count for something. I want to reflect something greater than myself. In fact, not just some personless thing, but the Person. I know God is the ultimate expression of perfection and glory. I want to hitch my cars to His train. I want to submit to Jesus' leading. To go where He calls, no matter the cost.
Oh Lord, give me the strength to abandon my grip on my life.
Its yours anyway....
May God fulfill His plans by using me. I want my life to count for something. I want to reflect something greater than myself. In fact, not just some personless thing, but the Person. I know God is the ultimate expression of perfection and glory. I want to hitch my cars to His train. I want to submit to Jesus' leading. To go where He calls, no matter the cost.
Oh Lord, give me the strength to abandon my grip on my life.
Its yours anyway....
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Return to Passion
I'll spare you the locational details but this morning in church I heard and was impacted by an amazing sermon. Some may say that preaching has no effect and that we should minimize its place in our services. THEY ARE WRONG!!!
The preacher, was a young man, probably the same age as me (early 30's). He has the same problem that everyone my age has: We're caught between being young enough to be a radical thinker with great ideas, but fearful of delivering them b/c the audience is mostly older than us and probably doesn't believe anything us young punks think or say.
He preached about Acts 8, where the church is dispersed from Jerusalem b/c of the persecution that breaks out after Stephen is stoned. Phillip goes to Samaria and people get saved. (Incidentally, I bet Phil was surprised. These were Samaritans after all... ;). One of those saved is Simon the Great. He's a local magician and these apostles who show up are showing power that blows the doors off his 'tricks'. When the Holy Spirit starts coming to people, as a result of John & Peter's prayers, Simon tries to buy the ability to share the Holy Spirit with others. Peter blasts him for it. But is a little soft in the end, giving Simon a chance to repent. Simon realizes what he's done and asks for them (John and Peter) to pray for him.
The preacher used this story as a launchpad to show us that we are lacking in passion for Christ which drives us to do/say foolish things like Simon did. Simon didn't have brokenness and recognition of personal sin, which led to his foolishness. Like Simon, when we see real power, we realize that we long for more than just weekly Sunday attendance and avoidance of 'big sins'.
I know that's the cry of my heart.
The preacher than said that people in any given church service can be categorized in 4 categories.
1) Unbelief - This is people who are in the service but don't actually believe that they are sinners, and that that sin separates them from a wrathful, righteously judging God, who through His mercy provided His Son as a sacrifice to satisfy his justice and provide a way for us to commune with him. (By the way if this is you, please come to Christ. Suffering God's punishment for eternity is going to suck worse than you know)
2) Belief without heart - People who believe in God but don't follow Jesus with their whole heart. Its funny how most of us who grew up in church, heard over and over that we needed to follow the rules, but really Jesus spends most of His time in the Gospels pursuing people's hearts. The preacher didn't say these people weren't Christians, but I don't know if they really are or not. Remember in James 2, James says that even the demons believe.
3) Denial - (this is where I float around in a lot) We do stuff like lead Bible study and attend church and think that that makes us passionate for God. Its based on our desire to be in control and safe. It shows up in our lives where we are confident in our 401k plans and our ability to raise our kids or love our wives. We often realize that "gee if I just stopped believing in God, my life would be pretty much the same, since He doesn't make me do anything crazy". ---- This is so me lately. I'm happy and safe in my home and with my wife and kids. All around me people are literally dying and loosing jobs and getting cancer. I tell myself I'll help them until their life gets too 'real' and then I retreat back to my shell. After all, "I don't want to get any on me, then I'd have to feel their pain too." It makes my life so much more boring. It makes my passion for Christ so much less b/c I don't need Him for anything. I don't feel my need of His help with situations that I have no control over, since I don't allow myself to be in those situations.
4) Passion - This is where I want to be. I want to give everything I do to God. I want my work to be not just earning a paycheck or an opportunity to move up the ladder. I want God to be honored with what I spend my time doing from 9 - 5. I want to be someone who cares more about the kingdom of God than shielding myself from pain.
Join me in being Passionate. Respond to the Glorious God who has saved you, with devotion and freedom to worship.
The preacher, was a young man, probably the same age as me (early 30's). He has the same problem that everyone my age has: We're caught between being young enough to be a radical thinker with great ideas, but fearful of delivering them b/c the audience is mostly older than us and probably doesn't believe anything us young punks think or say.
He preached about Acts 8, where the church is dispersed from Jerusalem b/c of the persecution that breaks out after Stephen is stoned. Phillip goes to Samaria and people get saved. (Incidentally, I bet Phil was surprised. These were Samaritans after all... ;). One of those saved is Simon the Great. He's a local magician and these apostles who show up are showing power that blows the doors off his 'tricks'. When the Holy Spirit starts coming to people, as a result of John & Peter's prayers, Simon tries to buy the ability to share the Holy Spirit with others. Peter blasts him for it. But is a little soft in the end, giving Simon a chance to repent. Simon realizes what he's done and asks for them (John and Peter) to pray for him.
The preacher used this story as a launchpad to show us that we are lacking in passion for Christ which drives us to do/say foolish things like Simon did. Simon didn't have brokenness and recognition of personal sin, which led to his foolishness. Like Simon, when we see real power, we realize that we long for more than just weekly Sunday attendance and avoidance of 'big sins'.
I know that's the cry of my heart.
The preacher than said that people in any given church service can be categorized in 4 categories.
1) Unbelief - This is people who are in the service but don't actually believe that they are sinners, and that that sin separates them from a wrathful, righteously judging God, who through His mercy provided His Son as a sacrifice to satisfy his justice and provide a way for us to commune with him. (By the way if this is you, please come to Christ. Suffering God's punishment for eternity is going to suck worse than you know)
2) Belief without heart - People who believe in God but don't follow Jesus with their whole heart. Its funny how most of us who grew up in church, heard over and over that we needed to follow the rules, but really Jesus spends most of His time in the Gospels pursuing people's hearts. The preacher didn't say these people weren't Christians, but I don't know if they really are or not. Remember in James 2, James says that even the demons believe.
3) Denial - (this is where I float around in a lot) We do stuff like lead Bible study and attend church and think that that makes us passionate for God. Its based on our desire to be in control and safe. It shows up in our lives where we are confident in our 401k plans and our ability to raise our kids or love our wives. We often realize that "gee if I just stopped believing in God, my life would be pretty much the same, since He doesn't make me do anything crazy". ---- This is so me lately. I'm happy and safe in my home and with my wife and kids. All around me people are literally dying and loosing jobs and getting cancer. I tell myself I'll help them until their life gets too 'real' and then I retreat back to my shell. After all, "I don't want to get any on me, then I'd have to feel their pain too." It makes my life so much more boring. It makes my passion for Christ so much less b/c I don't need Him for anything. I don't feel my need of His help with situations that I have no control over, since I don't allow myself to be in those situations.
4) Passion - This is where I want to be. I want to give everything I do to God. I want my work to be not just earning a paycheck or an opportunity to move up the ladder. I want God to be honored with what I spend my time doing from 9 - 5. I want to be someone who cares more about the kingdom of God than shielding myself from pain.
Join me in being Passionate. Respond to the Glorious God who has saved you, with devotion and freedom to worship.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Quick Bibliology...
Here's the text of the 'worksheet' I prepared for home group (aka Bible study this week). The idea is that the attenders would read Psalm 19 in addition to answering the open-ended questions at the beginning of the study. I then answered the rest of the questions because I wanted this to be more of a resource than a pure question/answer session.
My list of references is as follows:
What was your exposure to the Bible growing up?
How would you describe your current perspective on the Bible?
What role does the Bible play in your daily life?
Psalm 19 describes Scripture as perfect, trustworthy, right, beautiful, etc.. Are these descriptions overstated? Why or why not?
Why do people struggle so much with believing that the Bible is really the word of God?
How does God communicate with man?
Revelation (Hebrews 1:1-2, Psalm 19) -- Idle speculation about God is foolish. If we wish to know who God is, we must rely on what he says about Himself.
-- General - That which is expressed to all men through creation and internal conscience
-- Specific - That which is expressed in His Scripture or direct immediate 'voice of God'
The Bible contains Paradoxes and Mysteries, but no Contradictions:
-- Paradox -- an apparent contradiction that under closer scrutiny yields resolution.
-- Mystery (Romans 16:25-27) -- something unknown to us now, but which may be resolved in the future.
-- Contradiction (1 Corinthians 14:33) -- a statement that claims something both is and is not in the same time and context. These are not understandable.
If the Bible was written by man, how can it be the Word of God?
-- Its the word of God because, the Bible itself claims to be so. 2 Timothy 3:16 "For all scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."
-- God inspired the authors to write the words of God through their direct human experience. 2 Peter 1:19-20
Who wrote the Bible?
-- Kings, shepherds, outcasts, scholars, laborers.
-- 3 Continents (Africa, Asia, & Europe)
-- 3 Languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, & Greek)
-- 40 different authors
-- Covers more than a thousand years of authorship, yet covers one theme: A loving God working to draw people to Himself via redemption.
How were the books in the Bible decided on as the authentic word of God?
-- Important to note that the church did not decide what books should be included. That would put the church above the Scripture. Instead they recognized the books that were inspired from their inception, and 'received' them from God.
-- The cannon of scripture means the standard of scripture.
-- The Old Testament cannon decided well before Christ by the Jews. A.D. 70 they codify the list to distinguish the Jewish texts from the rising Christian ones.
-- The cannon list published as early as 367 A.D. by Athanasius (church leader of the time) Repeated again at the Synod of Hippo 393 A.D.
-- New Testament books were recognized based on three criteria:
(1) They must have apostolic authorship or endorsement.
(2) They must be received as authoritative by the early church.
(3) They must be in harmony with the books about which there is no doubt.
-- No argument between Catholic and Protestant on NT. Some disagreement on apocryphal books. Those that fell between the Old and New Testament time periods. Most evidence points to a Jewish exclusion of those books in their OT. Also some things in those books contradict things stated in the New Testament. Council of Trent in 1546, the Roman Catholic church officially recognizes apocryphal books as cannon. A bit late if you ask me....
How do we measure the authenticity of any ancient text?
(1) How many copies do we have of the original and how close are they to when we think the original was written?
(2) Are the texts internally consistent and truthful?
(3) Is there external archeological evidence to support claims in the ancient text?
What are some facts and figures to support the authenticity of the document we have today is the same document they had back then?
Old Testament
-- Dead Sea Scrolls found in 1947 & 1956 are dated around 100 B.C.
-- Talmudists (A.D. 100 - 500) Followed a strict 17 rules about copying the OT books, including rules like not copying anything from memory, or only using new skins etc.
-- Massoretics (A.D. 500 - 900) Followed additional word counts and calculations to ensure that nothing was out of place in a copy. For instance they calculated teh middle word and middle letter of each page geographically and made sure that each copy matched the original.
New Testament
-- More than 5,700 copies in Greek; 10,000 in Latin; another 10 - 15,000 copies in other languages and more than 1,000,000 quotations of early patristic writings that cover the entire NT except for eleven verses.
-- Earliest NT fragments are from 100 A.D. that's within decades of when the authors probably wrote. Its well assumed that Book of John was written between 70 and 90 A.D., 1 Revelations, around 95 A.D.
-- Of the supposed translation differences, 90% of them are actually untranslatable as differences in English. E.g. 500 different ways to say Jesus loves Paul in Greek.
-- Less than 1% of variants are both meaningful and viable. They concern no important doctrinal issues. E.g. The number of the beast is either 666 or 616.
How do we interpret the Bible? (2 Peter 1:19-20, 3:14-18; 2 Tim 2:14-15)
-- Scripture always interprets scripture. Meaning that we understand a passage by understanding both its local context, and all of scripture's perspective on a particular topic.
-- Scripture must be interpreted with respect to the original audience and their intended understanding of the words spoken to them.
-- Scripture's genres must be interpreted as those genres would be in non-scripture. I.e. poetry as poetry, history as history, hyperbole as hyperbole etc...
-- The explicit scriptures always interpret the implicit verses.
-- The rules of logic apply to interpreting scripture.
-- A particular passage can only have one correct meaning. It is our responsibility to do our best to seek that singular correct interpretation.
What about those "contradictions" like the seemingly different accounts of Christ's death?
Bottom line:
The Bible is the word of God because the Holy Spirit testifies that it is. When a believer, or even a non-believer sometimes, reads the text he or she can feel the weight and reality of the text. If God is truly the God of the universe and capable of all things, then He's also capable of making sure the words that He wants communicated about Himself are actually communicated in an authentic way.
My list of references is as follows:
- Essential Truths of the Christian Faith by R.C. Sproul
- Now that's a Good Question by R.C. Sproul
- A Ready Defense by Josh McDowell
- Starting Point by North Point Church
- Is what we have now what they had then? By Dr. Dan Wallace.
Proving that the Bible we have today is the authentic word of God.
What was your exposure to the Bible growing up?
How would you describe your current perspective on the Bible?
What role does the Bible play in your daily life?
Psalm 19 describes Scripture as perfect, trustworthy, right, beautiful, etc.. Are these descriptions overstated? Why or why not?
Why do people struggle so much with believing that the Bible is really the word of God?
How does God communicate with man?
Revelation (Hebrews 1:1-2, Psalm 19) -- Idle speculation about God is foolish. If we wish to know who God is, we must rely on what he says about Himself.
-- General - That which is expressed to all men through creation and internal conscience
-- Specific - That which is expressed in His Scripture or direct immediate 'voice of God'
The Bible contains Paradoxes and Mysteries, but no Contradictions:
-- Paradox -- an apparent contradiction that under closer scrutiny yields resolution.
-- Mystery (Romans 16:25-27) -- something unknown to us now, but which may be resolved in the future.
-- Contradiction (1 Corinthians 14:33) -- a statement that claims something both is and is not in the same time and context. These are not understandable.
If the Bible was written by man, how can it be the Word of God?
-- Its the word of God because, the Bible itself claims to be so. 2 Timothy 3:16 "For all scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."
-- God inspired the authors to write the words of God through their direct human experience. 2 Peter 1:19-20
Who wrote the Bible?
-- Kings, shepherds, outcasts, scholars, laborers.
-- 3 Continents (Africa, Asia, & Europe)
-- 3 Languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, & Greek)
-- 40 different authors
-- Covers more than a thousand years of authorship, yet covers one theme: A loving God working to draw people to Himself via redemption.
How were the books in the Bible decided on as the authentic word of God?
-- Important to note that the church did not decide what books should be included. That would put the church above the Scripture. Instead they recognized the books that were inspired from their inception, and 'received' them from God.
-- The cannon of scripture means the standard of scripture.
-- The Old Testament cannon decided well before Christ by the Jews. A.D. 70 they codify the list to distinguish the Jewish texts from the rising Christian ones.
-- The cannon list published as early as 367 A.D. by Athanasius (church leader of the time) Repeated again at the Synod of Hippo 393 A.D.
-- New Testament books were recognized based on three criteria:
(1) They must have apostolic authorship or endorsement.
(2) They must be received as authoritative by the early church.
(3) They must be in harmony with the books about which there is no doubt.
-- No argument between Catholic and Protestant on NT. Some disagreement on apocryphal books. Those that fell between the Old and New Testament time periods. Most evidence points to a Jewish exclusion of those books in their OT. Also some things in those books contradict things stated in the New Testament. Council of Trent in 1546, the Roman Catholic church officially recognizes apocryphal books as cannon. A bit late if you ask me....
How do we measure the authenticity of any ancient text?
(1) How many copies do we have of the original and how close are they to when we think the original was written?
(2) Are the texts internally consistent and truthful?
(3) Is there external archeological evidence to support claims in the ancient text?
What are some facts and figures to support the authenticity of the document we have today is the same document they had back then?
Old Testament
-- Dead Sea Scrolls found in 1947 & 1956 are dated around 100 B.C.
-- Talmudists (A.D. 100 - 500) Followed a strict 17 rules about copying the OT books, including rules like not copying anything from memory, or only using new skins etc.
-- Massoretics (A.D. 500 - 900) Followed additional word counts and calculations to ensure that nothing was out of place in a copy. For instance they calculated teh middle word and middle letter of each page geographically and made sure that each copy matched the original.
New Testament
-- More than 5,700 copies in Greek; 10,000 in Latin; another 10 - 15,000 copies in other languages and more than 1,000,000 quotations of early patristic writings that cover the entire NT except for eleven verses.
-- Earliest NT fragments are from 100 A.D. that's within decades of when the authors probably wrote. Its well assumed that Book of John was written between 70 and 90 A.D., 1 Revelations, around 95 A.D.
-- Of the supposed translation differences, 90% of them are actually untranslatable as differences in English. E.g. 500 different ways to say Jesus loves Paul in Greek.
-- Less than 1% of variants are both meaningful and viable. They concern no important doctrinal issues. E.g. The number of the beast is either 666 or 616.
How do we interpret the Bible? (2 Peter 1:19-20, 3:14-18; 2 Tim 2:14-15)
-- Scripture always interprets scripture. Meaning that we understand a passage by understanding both its local context, and all of scripture's perspective on a particular topic.
-- Scripture must be interpreted with respect to the original audience and their intended understanding of the words spoken to them.
-- Scripture's genres must be interpreted as those genres would be in non-scripture. I.e. poetry as poetry, history as history, hyperbole as hyperbole etc...
-- The explicit scriptures always interpret the implicit verses.
-- The rules of logic apply to interpreting scripture.
-- A particular passage can only have one correct meaning. It is our responsibility to do our best to seek that singular correct interpretation.
What about those "contradictions" like the seemingly different accounts of Christ's death?
- Matt. 27:46,50: "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, eli, lama sabachthani?" that is to say, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" ...Jesus, when he cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost."
- Luke 23:46: "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, "Father, unto thy hands I commend my spirit:" and having said thus, he breathed his last."
- John 19:30: "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished:" and he bowed his head, and gave up His spirit."
At first glance these may appear to be contradictions, but they actually represent different degrees of emphasis. And even more so they lend credibility to different eye-witnesses remembering their encounters with the actual experience. If all of the accounts were in lock-step it would lend less credibility b/c it would seem as if only one person saw things and the others merely parroted him.
Bottom line:
The Bible is the word of God because the Holy Spirit testifies that it is. When a believer, or even a non-believer sometimes, reads the text he or she can feel the weight and reality of the text. If God is truly the God of the universe and capable of all things, then He's also capable of making sure the words that He wants communicated about Himself are actually communicated in an authentic way.
Devotion for Vacation
I'm heading out for vacation this next week and I'll be accompanied by a portion of my home group. I'm excited to get to know each other better and to worship the Lord together. It won't be exactly a 'retreat' but there's no reason why we can't be united in the Lord during our time.
To that end I've been searching for a passage to study that would talk of God's mercy from the Old Testament as well as be an encouragement for getting through our busy lives, while trying to submit to the Lord. I think I've settled on Psalm 25. Here's verses 6 & 7 talking about God's mercy to us, not for our sake, but for His. What an amazing God He is.
6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your asteadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!
To that end I've been searching for a passage to study that would talk of God's mercy from the Old Testament as well as be an encouragement for getting through our busy lives, while trying to submit to the Lord. I think I've settled on Psalm 25. Here's verses 6 & 7 talking about God's mercy to us, not for our sake, but for His. What an amazing God He is.
6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your asteadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
God actually does help when I ask for it
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 5:6-7
Been a pretty anxious last couple of weeks. I had some absolutely huge presentations to give.
The first was a chance to bring some organizations at work together to achieve something they couldn't have gotten to work without working together. Someone a few layers above should have had this meeting, but he didn't. Myself and another guy at the office knew they were headed for certain defeat so we put together a brief to convince them all to work together. I was quite nervous b/c I wasn't quite sure that the high level guy really hadn't coordinated the different efforts, and I could be stepping out on a limb. I prayed like crazy and God answered my prayers. The presentation went great and the offices agreed to work together.
The second was a brief to the president of my company. I've been working on a research project with 16 other people at work for the last 3 months and this was our chance to sell the most important audience in the company that what we had discovered was worth continuing. I was nervous, but didn't know what to do. I prayed to God for help and He led me to practice the presentation from 2200 - 2400 the night before. As a result of the practice, He was able to keep me calm and deliver a knock out presentation.
The third was the most important. I've been struggling for 18 months with my church leadership. I come from a very high view of preaching. Meaning that I believe it is the spoken word of the Gospel that calls men's hearts to saving faith. I felt that our leadership wasn't properly warning their hearers that they were in danger without saving faith. I struggled for a long time and finally wrote a letter to one of the leaders. I then prayed to God for weeks seeking patience and humility waiting for his response. I finally had a chance to speak with the leader today and my fears were much relieved. Praise be to God. The leader was equally concerned. He heard my thoughts and revealed that the Lord had been nudging him similarly to point to Jesus more in the various opportunities the church has to speak to an audience.
I was so worried in each one of these situations, that my spoken word wouldn't be enough to convince my hearers of issues or concerns that I felt were important. Praying to Jesus really has brought me peace in each of those circumstances. I really give Him the credit for the successes not me. Now the tricky part will be trusting in Christ when God chooses to lead me to Him through 'negative' experiences. I pray that I can remember this day as a testimony to His faithfulness in those possible dark days to come.
Been a pretty anxious last couple of weeks. I had some absolutely huge presentations to give.
The first was a chance to bring some organizations at work together to achieve something they couldn't have gotten to work without working together. Someone a few layers above should have had this meeting, but he didn't. Myself and another guy at the office knew they were headed for certain defeat so we put together a brief to convince them all to work together. I was quite nervous b/c I wasn't quite sure that the high level guy really hadn't coordinated the different efforts, and I could be stepping out on a limb. I prayed like crazy and God answered my prayers. The presentation went great and the offices agreed to work together.
The second was a brief to the president of my company. I've been working on a research project with 16 other people at work for the last 3 months and this was our chance to sell the most important audience in the company that what we had discovered was worth continuing. I was nervous, but didn't know what to do. I prayed to God for help and He led me to practice the presentation from 2200 - 2400 the night before. As a result of the practice, He was able to keep me calm and deliver a knock out presentation.
The third was the most important. I've been struggling for 18 months with my church leadership. I come from a very high view of preaching. Meaning that I believe it is the spoken word of the Gospel that calls men's hearts to saving faith. I felt that our leadership wasn't properly warning their hearers that they were in danger without saving faith. I struggled for a long time and finally wrote a letter to one of the leaders. I then prayed to God for weeks seeking patience and humility waiting for his response. I finally had a chance to speak with the leader today and my fears were much relieved. Praise be to God. The leader was equally concerned. He heard my thoughts and revealed that the Lord had been nudging him similarly to point to Jesus more in the various opportunities the church has to speak to an audience.
I was so worried in each one of these situations, that my spoken word wouldn't be enough to convince my hearers of issues or concerns that I felt were important. Praying to Jesus really has brought me peace in each of those circumstances. I really give Him the credit for the successes not me. Now the tricky part will be trusting in Christ when God chooses to lead me to Him through 'negative' experiences. I pray that I can remember this day as a testimony to His faithfulness in those possible dark days to come.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Confronting for the Gospel
How do you convince someone in your church leadership the importance of sharing the Gospel at every available opportunity? I'm not saying that we have to end every paragraph with the Gospel, but no matter the environment the Gospel should be paramount.: Sunday sermon, Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, Service projects, Mission trips, Youth lock-ins, etc. Each provides an opportunity to point to the Glory of Christ and His amazing sacrifice. Its not an afterthought to those activities, its the entire reason for the activities.
The Gospel is the foundational, bedrock, in fact the entire point of being a Christian and being with other Christians. The Gospel is even in our name: Christian -> Christ -> Messiah -> One who was to be slain that others might be restored to God.
God loved us so much, but retained his full justice and therefore there had to be payment for sin. God understands how horrible hell is. He knows that we're going to be so much more miserable than we think we will be. So He provided His Son to pay our penalty, that if we believe in the effectiveness in that payment, we'll be with Him in Eternity, enjoying the total bliss and amazement of finally understanding how truly great and awesome He really is.
So if we have even the slightest inkling of the Gospel, wouldn't we want our church leaders to lead us to Christ and the Gospel at all times and in all venues? The Gospel beautifully applies to the saved and the unsaved. It points us to worship and recognize our own lack of self worth. I don't know how to convince the leader I'm talking with tomorrow of the desperate need I have for the Gospel, let alone the unbeliever. I'm praying that the Spirit will intercede for me.
Please join me as I pray for my church leaders, you pray for yours, that they would remember the Gospel and its centrality to everything a church should be involved in. Please honor and confront your church leaders with love and humility and call them to the Gospel. Remind them that their attendees are perishing without the Gospel.
The Gospel is the foundational, bedrock, in fact the entire point of being a Christian and being with other Christians. The Gospel is even in our name: Christian -> Christ -> Messiah -> One who was to be slain that others might be restored to God.
God loved us so much, but retained his full justice and therefore there had to be payment for sin. God understands how horrible hell is. He knows that we're going to be so much more miserable than we think we will be. So He provided His Son to pay our penalty, that if we believe in the effectiveness in that payment, we'll be with Him in Eternity, enjoying the total bliss and amazement of finally understanding how truly great and awesome He really is.
So if we have even the slightest inkling of the Gospel, wouldn't we want our church leaders to lead us to Christ and the Gospel at all times and in all venues? The Gospel beautifully applies to the saved and the unsaved. It points us to worship and recognize our own lack of self worth. I don't know how to convince the leader I'm talking with tomorrow of the desperate need I have for the Gospel, let alone the unbeliever. I'm praying that the Spirit will intercede for me.
Please join me as I pray for my church leaders, you pray for yours, that they would remember the Gospel and its centrality to everything a church should be involved in. Please honor and confront your church leaders with love and humility and call them to the Gospel. Remind them that their attendees are perishing without the Gospel.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Got a chance to share the Gospel this weekend
I was at a family get together in north-Philadelphia. It was cold and rainy, but there was some excellent Belgian wheat beer and the discussion got really interesting. It's all my wife's family so I'm not related to any of them, but they're great people and mostly catholic, since they're of Polish decent from Long Island. We were talking about interpreting the constitution, and I mentioned that I'm an originalist because I view the Bible in the same terms.
Basically I believe that the Bible should be interpreted based on what the original authors intent was in communicating to their original audience. Then the challenge left to us is understanding how that intent applies to 21st century people. This of course led us to a discussion of textual-criticism. I summarized the key points of the discussion to: (1) A real God who was really powerful would ensure that the words He wanted to communicate, would be. (2) We have so many copies that are so close to when the original manuscripts were written, that to say we don't have accurate translations today is ridiculous.
Then my wife's 15 year-old 2nd cousin pointed out that 'all religions are really the same thing' as he's learning in his world history class that recently covered Islam, & Hinduism. I mentioned in response that those other world religions may appear in the externals to be similar, but on the internals are radically different. I then asked him to describe the 'heaven entry requirements' for those faiths and Christianity. When he got to Christianity, he said following the 10 commandments was how you got in.
I then got to share that, actually the Bible teaches that all men, including us, had sinned against God and that He was righteously angry as a result, and that the only way His wrath could be averted was via the sacrifice of His Son on the cross to pay for our sins. Our response is merely faith in that effective salvation and not a list of works. This is what separates a relationship with Christ from all other 'faiths.' We do nothing to come to God, He graciously does it all. In all other systems, the human has to do all the work.
Sadly we weren't able to get to any other conclusions during the evening as the hour was so late. But I thank God that He used me to share His amazing truth, and I pray that the seed planted in the hearers would grow to full-blown faith.
To Him be the Glory!
Basically I believe that the Bible should be interpreted based on what the original authors intent was in communicating to their original audience. Then the challenge left to us is understanding how that intent applies to 21st century people. This of course led us to a discussion of textual-criticism. I summarized the key points of the discussion to: (1) A real God who was really powerful would ensure that the words He wanted to communicate, would be. (2) We have so many copies that are so close to when the original manuscripts were written, that to say we don't have accurate translations today is ridiculous.
Then my wife's 15 year-old 2nd cousin pointed out that 'all religions are really the same thing' as he's learning in his world history class that recently covered Islam, & Hinduism. I mentioned in response that those other world religions may appear in the externals to be similar, but on the internals are radically different. I then asked him to describe the 'heaven entry requirements' for those faiths and Christianity. When he got to Christianity, he said following the 10 commandments was how you got in.
I then got to share that, actually the Bible teaches that all men, including us, had sinned against God and that He was righteously angry as a result, and that the only way His wrath could be averted was via the sacrifice of His Son on the cross to pay for our sins. Our response is merely faith in that effective salvation and not a list of works. This is what separates a relationship with Christ from all other 'faiths.' We do nothing to come to God, He graciously does it all. In all other systems, the human has to do all the work.
Sadly we weren't able to get to any other conclusions during the evening as the hour was so late. But I thank God that He used me to share His amazing truth, and I pray that the seed planted in the hearers would grow to full-blown faith.
To Him be the Glory!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Caught my bad Exegesis
Tonight in Bible study we were looking at Isaiah 5:1-4. The fourth verse in NKJV reads:
4 Without Me they shall bow down among the prisoners, And they shall fall among the slain.
For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.
My gut reaction to anything in the Bible that says 'But' is to assume that God is being merciful to someone, even me (Rom. 5:8; 1 Cor 2:10, 10:13; Gal. 3:18; Eph. 2:4, Phil. 2:27, etc..). I assumed the verse was saying that God was holding back His full hand of wrath. So the group talked for a few minutes about God's mercy to sinners even though they deserve worse. And that is very true doctrine.
But in the middle of Bible study, I felt the Spirit nudge me and say "that isn't right read it again." Reading vs 4 again and looking at some of the cross-references, its clear that the verse is not about mercy but is actually a warning: Unrighteous - wealthy people, who think they've gotten away with oppressing the poor and wasting money, are still under God's righteous wrath. They think they've escaped 'But' God's hand is still raised above them and is about to fall, like smashing a fly on the table.
We all scurried through our cross-references together and read the verse in a couple different translations that people had, and came to the proper interpretation. It was a cool moment in the study to teach how to properly interpret a scripture. God was gracious to turn my mistake into something positive. Isn't He cool?
Here's the verse rendered this time by the ESV. Its a little clearer:
4 Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain.
For all this His anger has not turned away, and His hand is stretched out still.
Just a reminder to myself and to the other journy-men exegetes out there. When you're interpreting the Word, don't be afraid to fix your mistakes mid-teaching. Especially if you're prompted to by the Spirit.
4 Without Me they shall bow down among the prisoners, And they shall fall among the slain.
For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.
My gut reaction to anything in the Bible that says 'But' is to assume that God is being merciful to someone, even me (Rom. 5:8; 1 Cor 2:10, 10:13; Gal. 3:18; Eph. 2:4, Phil. 2:27, etc..). I assumed the verse was saying that God was holding back His full hand of wrath. So the group talked for a few minutes about God's mercy to sinners even though they deserve worse. And that is very true doctrine.
But in the middle of Bible study, I felt the Spirit nudge me and say "that isn't right read it again." Reading vs 4 again and looking at some of the cross-references, its clear that the verse is not about mercy but is actually a warning: Unrighteous - wealthy people, who think they've gotten away with oppressing the poor and wasting money, are still under God's righteous wrath. They think they've escaped 'But' God's hand is still raised above them and is about to fall, like smashing a fly on the table.
We all scurried through our cross-references together and read the verse in a couple different translations that people had, and came to the proper interpretation. It was a cool moment in the study to teach how to properly interpret a scripture. God was gracious to turn my mistake into something positive. Isn't He cool?
Here's the verse rendered this time by the ESV. Its a little clearer:
4 Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain.
For all this His anger has not turned away, and His hand is stretched out still.
Just a reminder to myself and to the other journy-men exegetes out there. When you're interpreting the Word, don't be afraid to fix your mistakes mid-teaching. Especially if you're prompted to by the Spirit.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Fasting changes attitudes
I'm struggling with how to deal with someone lately. I dearly want to communicate my concern with this person and I have a tendency to get bitter about their lack of response to my concerns. I decided to fast today to help clarify my next steps in pursuing a resolution.
At the beginning of the day my prayers mostly sounded like: "God, how can I change this person's mind?" By about mid-day the Spirit had moved my prayers more towards: "God, help this brother in his vocation to glorify you."
Its amazing how the Spirit can slowly change my heart. Its one of the things that 'proves' to me that I have authentic faith when I'm doubting it. Praise to the Lord for His great mercies.
At the beginning of the day my prayers mostly sounded like: "God, how can I change this person's mind?" By about mid-day the Spirit had moved my prayers more towards: "God, help this brother in his vocation to glorify you."
Its amazing how the Spirit can slowly change my heart. Its one of the things that 'proves' to me that I have authentic faith when I'm doubting it. Praise to the Lord for His great mercies.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Proud or Broken?
Got this from a sermon by Phil Smuland I think he says that he got this from someplace else.
Which do you identify with? I started bold-ing the ones that I feel most guilty of and realized I'd bolded three-fourths of the list. If you don't have time to read the whole list read the first 4 pairs and the last 4 pairs.
Praise the Lord He is able to sanctify me and move me closer to the broken. I know I'm not capable to move myself....
proud - focus on the failures of others
broken - overwhelmed by their own spiritual need
proud - self righteous they have critical spirit. look at own faults with telescope, others' faults with microscope
broken - forgiving spirit. they look for good in others.
proud - look down on others
broken - esteem all others above themselves
proud - independent. self sufficient
broken - dependent. recognize and seek needs of others.
proud - seek to maintain control, must have agenda their own way
broken - surrender control
proud - prove they are right, need to be right
broken - willing to yield the right to be right.
proud - claim their rights.
broken - yield their rights
proud - demanding spirit
broken - giving spirit.
proud - self protective of time, rights, reputation
broken - self denied
proud - desire to be served
broken - motivated to serve others.
proud - long to be successful
broken - desire to be faithful, to make others a success
proud - desire self-advancement
broken - long to promote others
proud - driven to be recognized and appreciated.
broken - sense of unworthiness, thrilled to be used at all.
proud - wounded when others are promoted and they are overlooked
broken - rejoice when others are lifted up.
proud - think the ministry is privileged to have them.
broken - think they don't deserve to serve in this ministry
proud - think what they can do for God
broken - know they have nothing to give to God
proud - confident in how much they know
broken - humble at how much they have to learn
proud - self-conscience
broken - no concern for self view
proud - keep others at arms length
broken - risk getting close to others. willing to take risk to know others.
proud - quick to blame.
broken - accept personal responsibility
proud - unapproachable
broken - easily approached
proud - defensive when criticized
broken - receive criticism with humble, open heart
proud - concerned with being respectable.
broken - concerned with being real
proud - concerned with what others think.
broken - know that all that matters is what God thinks.
proud - work to maintain an image and protect their reputation
broken - die to their own reputation
proud - find it difficult to share their own spiritual needs.
broken - willing to be transparent
proud - want to be sure no one finds out about their sin
broken - willing to be exposed, and realize after confession have nothing to loose
proud - hard to say "I was wrong, will you forgive me"
broken - quick to admit their faults and seek forgiveness
proud - concerned about consequences of sin.
broken - grieved over the root of their sin
proud - remorseful for being caught
broken - repent over sin
proud - wait for other party to come to resolve a conflict
broken - take initiative to be reconciled. They get their first and apologize
proud - compare with others and feel they deserve honor.
broken - compare with Holy God and feel desperate for mercy
proud - blind to true condition
broken - walk in the light.
proud - don't think they have anything to repent of
broken - never stop repenting the deeds of the flesh
proud - think they don't need revival, though they think everyone else does
broken - continually sense their need for a fresh encounter with God
Which do you identify with? I started bold-ing the ones that I feel most guilty of and realized I'd bolded three-fourths of the list. If you don't have time to read the whole list read the first 4 pairs and the last 4 pairs.
Praise the Lord He is able to sanctify me and move me closer to the broken. I know I'm not capable to move myself....
proud - focus on the failures of others
broken - overwhelmed by their own spiritual need
proud - self righteous they have critical spirit. look at own faults with telescope, others' faults with microscope
broken - forgiving spirit. they look for good in others.
proud - look down on others
broken - esteem all others above themselves
proud - independent. self sufficient
broken - dependent. recognize and seek needs of others.
proud - seek to maintain control, must have agenda their own way
broken - surrender control
proud - prove they are right, need to be right
broken - willing to yield the right to be right.
proud - claim their rights.
broken - yield their rights
proud - demanding spirit
broken - giving spirit.
proud - self protective of time, rights, reputation
broken - self denied
proud - desire to be served
broken - motivated to serve others.
proud - long to be successful
broken - desire to be faithful, to make others a success
proud - desire self-advancement
broken - long to promote others
proud - driven to be recognized and appreciated.
broken - sense of unworthiness, thrilled to be used at all.
proud - wounded when others are promoted and they are overlooked
broken - rejoice when others are lifted up.
proud - think the ministry is privileged to have them.
broken - think they don't deserve to serve in this ministry
proud - think what they can do for God
broken - know they have nothing to give to God
proud - confident in how much they know
broken - humble at how much they have to learn
proud - self-conscience
broken - no concern for self view
proud - keep others at arms length
broken - risk getting close to others. willing to take risk to know others.
proud - quick to blame.
broken - accept personal responsibility
proud - unapproachable
broken - easily approached
proud - defensive when criticized
broken - receive criticism with humble, open heart
proud - concerned with being respectable.
broken - concerned with being real
proud - concerned with what others think.
broken - know that all that matters is what God thinks.
proud - work to maintain an image and protect their reputation
broken - die to their own reputation
proud - find it difficult to share their own spiritual needs.
broken - willing to be transparent
proud - want to be sure no one finds out about their sin
broken - willing to be exposed, and realize after confession have nothing to loose
proud - hard to say "I was wrong, will you forgive me"
broken - quick to admit their faults and seek forgiveness
proud - concerned about consequences of sin.
broken - grieved over the root of their sin
proud - remorseful for being caught
broken - repent over sin
proud - wait for other party to come to resolve a conflict
broken - take initiative to be reconciled. They get their first and apologize
proud - compare with others and feel they deserve honor.
broken - compare with Holy God and feel desperate for mercy
proud - blind to true condition
broken - walk in the light.
proud - don't think they have anything to repent of
broken - never stop repenting the deeds of the flesh
proud - think they don't need revival, though they think everyone else does
broken - continually sense their need for a fresh encounter with God
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Life is short, Come to Christ
Another friend of mine has died.
I'm sad. I'm sad for my friend's wife. He wasn't a believer. Or at least I don't think he was. He didn't claim to be. In fact he claimed the opposite. My friend's wife is a baby Christian. I'm praying that this tragedy drives her to the Lord, to rely on His strength, and not on her own. I hope I can respond to the Spirit's prompting and help her in any way I can.
I visited my friend in the hospital a couple of times. The last time, I shared the Gospel with him. I tried to call him to believe in Christ and not in his own efforts. I am sad that I did not try harder to convince him that he needed Jesus now, because he might not make it through the next series of surgeries. Instead I joined him in his assumption that he would return from surgery and have more opportunity to study Christianity and make a decision later.
We were both wrong, and now he's gone.
Since I found out about his passing I've been pleading with the Lord in hopes that He saved my friend before he died. But thus far I have no expectation of an 11th hour reprieve. I'm not God so I don't know for sure though.
Please, if you're reading this post, come to Christ. Don't depend on your good works to earn your way into heaven. Its not what you do that pays your debt. It's the blood of Jesus who died for our sins that is the only acceptable currency to God. Of course true faith will result in "..Good works that God has prepared for us." But these works testify to your love of Jesus. They don't make Him love you.
Please, don't wait. Time is slipping away every moment. This night of sleep could be your last. Don't risk your eternity.
I'm sad. I'm sad for my friend's wife. He wasn't a believer. Or at least I don't think he was. He didn't claim to be. In fact he claimed the opposite. My friend's wife is a baby Christian. I'm praying that this tragedy drives her to the Lord, to rely on His strength, and not on her own. I hope I can respond to the Spirit's prompting and help her in any way I can.
I visited my friend in the hospital a couple of times. The last time, I shared the Gospel with him. I tried to call him to believe in Christ and not in his own efforts. I am sad that I did not try harder to convince him that he needed Jesus now, because he might not make it through the next series of surgeries. Instead I joined him in his assumption that he would return from surgery and have more opportunity to study Christianity and make a decision later.
We were both wrong, and now he's gone.
Since I found out about his passing I've been pleading with the Lord in hopes that He saved my friend before he died. But thus far I have no expectation of an 11th hour reprieve. I'm not God so I don't know for sure though.
Please, if you're reading this post, come to Christ. Don't depend on your good works to earn your way into heaven. Its not what you do that pays your debt. It's the blood of Jesus who died for our sins that is the only acceptable currency to God. Of course true faith will result in "..Good works that God has prepared for us." But these works testify to your love of Jesus. They don't make Him love you.
Please, don't wait. Time is slipping away every moment. This night of sleep could be your last. Don't risk your eternity.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Re-Energized
Sometimes I feel like I'm not attending the right church. And maybe just that sentence is enough to point out the problem. Church isn't just some building I show up at on Sunday mornings. Church should be something I live out every day through fellowship with believers in my community. Church should be sharing Jesus' love through serving others that can't return my service. Church should be about discipling others. Church should be loving and caring for my family.
Its so easy for me to be critical of the Sunday service. I feel like its in my gift to point out where people can improve. (Of course I rarely point that gift at myself ;). I've been feeling pretty negative about the sermons in particular for the last year or so, and I've realized that I'm even getting bitter about them. I know Jesus is not interested in me being bitter towards my brothers who are working hard to preach.
God kicked me in the pants this week when an old friend of mine preached at my church. He spoke about Matthew 28:19,20, aka "The Great Commission." He said we should be studying Jesus' life and learning how He discipled His followers with stories, miracles, and formal doctrinal instruction. I need to be intentional to share stories of my life that witness to God's Grace. I want to serve others who can't repay my service as a demonstration of the miracle of the Spirit's leading and prompting in my life. I want to teach others the amazing depth and glory of the Theology of God.
I feel excited to get back in the game and disciple people, and to give up being bitter. God has called me where I am, and I will serve Him.
Its so easy for me to be critical of the Sunday service. I feel like its in my gift to point out where people can improve. (Of course I rarely point that gift at myself ;). I've been feeling pretty negative about the sermons in particular for the last year or so, and I've realized that I'm even getting bitter about them. I know Jesus is not interested in me being bitter towards my brothers who are working hard to preach.
God kicked me in the pants this week when an old friend of mine preached at my church. He spoke about Matthew 28:19,20, aka "The Great Commission." He said we should be studying Jesus' life and learning how He discipled His followers with stories, miracles, and formal doctrinal instruction. I need to be intentional to share stories of my life that witness to God's Grace. I want to serve others who can't repay my service as a demonstration of the miracle of the Spirit's leading and prompting in my life. I want to teach others the amazing depth and glory of the Theology of God.
I feel excited to get back in the game and disciple people, and to give up being bitter. God has called me where I am, and I will serve Him.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Spurgeon: Morning and Evening April 28
"Remember the word unto Thy servant, upon which Thou hast caused me to hope."—Psalm 119:49.
HATEVER your especial need may be, you may readily find some promise in the Bible suited to it. Are you faint and feeble because your way is rough and you are weary? Here is the promise—"He giveth power to the faint." When you read such a promise, take it back to the great Promiser, and ask Him to fulfil His own word. Are you seeking after Christ, and thirsting for closer communion with Him? This promise shines like a star upon you—"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." Take that promise to the throne continually; do not plead anything else, but go to God over and over again with this—"Lord, Thou hast said it, do as Thou hast said." Are you distressed because of sin, and burdened with the heavy load of your iniquities? Listen to these words—"I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions, and will no more remember thy sins." You have no merit of your own to plead why He should pardon you, but plead His written engagements and He will perform them. Are you afraid lest you should not be able to hold on to the end, lest, after having thought yourself a child of God, you should prove a castaway? If that is your state, take this word of grace to the throne and plead it: "The mountains may depart, and the hills may be removed, but the covenant of My love shall not depart from thee." If you have lost the sweet sense of the Saviour's presence, and are seeking Him with a sorrowful heart, remember the promises: "Return unto Me, and I will return unto you;" "For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee." Banquet your faith upon God's own word, and whatever your fears or wants, repair to the Bank of Faith with your Father's note of hand, saying, "Remember the word unto Thy servant, upon which Thou hast caused me to hope."
Taken lock, stock, and barrel from: A Daily Dose of Spurgeon. Which is just a reprint from Spurgeon's daily devotional "Morning and Evening" I love the illustrations and practical advice Spurgeon always gives. The last one picturing me coming to the Father's bank with a note of exchange that is the Father's catches my heart.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Pursue Kindness Instead of Honor
Proverbs 21:21
"Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor."
In the business world, this verse seems backwards. It would appear that if I pursue strength of position, knowledge of my craft, and wisdom of how to move up the ladder, that I will move up well. Instead this verse clearly says to pursue righteousness and kindness, and life and honor will be supplied.
How can I pursue righteousness and kindness at work? If I can deliver what I say I will deliver, when I say I'll do it, that will be righteous. If I make extra sure that I'm not defrauding the company by wasting time, that will be righteous. If I can take extra time with people who frustrate me, that will be kind. If I sacrifice for others that will be kind.
I want life and honor. I will be righteous and kind to get them.
"Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor."
In the business world, this verse seems backwards. It would appear that if I pursue strength of position, knowledge of my craft, and wisdom of how to move up the ladder, that I will move up well. Instead this verse clearly says to pursue righteousness and kindness, and life and honor will be supplied.
How can I pursue righteousness and kindness at work? If I can deliver what I say I will deliver, when I say I'll do it, that will be righteous. If I make extra sure that I'm not defrauding the company by wasting time, that will be righteous. If I can take extra time with people who frustrate me, that will be kind. If I sacrifice for others that will be kind.
I want life and honor. I will be righteous and kind to get them.
Finding the Right Spouse is Tricky
Proverbs 21:9,19
9It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
19It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.
I remember reading these verses before I was married and thinking they were just funny. After seven years of marriage, I realize they are essential! Looking back on my decision process for selecting my wife, I never would have considered all the attributes that she brings to the table. Don't get me wrong, the attributes of a great spouse (kindness, wisdom, forgiveness, gentleness, financial strength, parenting love, etc...) were in her at the time, I just didn't know to look for them. Despite my poor calculations, the Grace of God led us together in marriage.
In particular, these 2 verses warn of a quarrelsome spouse. Sharing your life with someone, includes daily sharing physical things, parenting schemes, and emotional burdens. Quarreling about those topics would make life unlivable. As unlivable as if you lived on a tiny corner of your roof exposed to the hot summer sun, and freezing winter rains. Or if you lived in a miserable dry-land with no water to feed your crops or your parched throat.
If your perspective spouse is always trying to stir up quarrels or induce more stress through stubbornness, then run fleeing for the hills and seek the Lord for someone else.
Praise the Lord my wife is humble and Christ-minded. She is a model of Godliness that my children and I can follow as we pursue Jesus together.
9It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
19It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.
I remember reading these verses before I was married and thinking they were just funny. After seven years of marriage, I realize they are essential! Looking back on my decision process for selecting my wife, I never would have considered all the attributes that she brings to the table. Don't get me wrong, the attributes of a great spouse (kindness, wisdom, forgiveness, gentleness, financial strength, parenting love, etc...) were in her at the time, I just didn't know to look for them. Despite my poor calculations, the Grace of God led us together in marriage.
In particular, these 2 verses warn of a quarrelsome spouse. Sharing your life with someone, includes daily sharing physical things, parenting schemes, and emotional burdens. Quarreling about those topics would make life unlivable. As unlivable as if you lived on a tiny corner of your roof exposed to the hot summer sun, and freezing winter rains. Or if you lived in a miserable dry-land with no water to feed your crops or your parched throat.
If your perspective spouse is always trying to stir up quarrels or induce more stress through stubbornness, then run fleeing for the hills and seek the Lord for someone else.
Praise the Lord my wife is humble and Christ-minded. She is a model of Godliness that my children and I can follow as we pursue Jesus together.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Don't always believe what you read in Newsweek...
If you haven't seen this Newsweek article yet, it might be of interest to you. What is not surprising though is the mis-characterization of the central tenants of the Christian Faith. Here is a paragraph from the article:
"Roughly put, the Christian narrative is the story of humankind as chronicled in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament—the drama of creation, fall and redemption. The orthodox tend to try to live their lives in accordance with the general behavioral principles of the Bible (or at least the principles they find there of which they approve) and anticipate the ultimate judgment of God—a judgment that could well determine whether they spend eternity in heaven or in hell."
Lets take a look at this paragraph phrase by phrase:
I pray that this Easter finds you secure in the knowledge of your salvation if you know the Lord, and if you don't that you would seek Him while He may yet be found.
"Roughly put, the Christian narrative is the story of humankind as chronicled in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament—the drama of creation, fall and redemption. The orthodox tend to try to live their lives in accordance with the general behavioral principles of the Bible (or at least the principles they find there of which they approve) and anticipate the ultimate judgment of God—a judgment that could well determine whether they spend eternity in heaven or in hell."
Lets take a look at this paragraph phrase by phrase:
- "Christian narrative is the story of humankind as chronicled in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament" Actually the Bible is much more about God and his reaching out to us, then it is about human experience itself. It just so happens that the best way to show the glory and grace of our Lord is to set it in contrast to the misery and selfishness that humans manifest, and that Jesus ultimately rescues us from.
- "the drama of creation, fall and redemption" I actually do agree with this statement. The traversal of humanity across this chain is truly dramatic. Not just flippantly dramatic. It is a story that we can all identify with. In fact that drama is one of the reasons why I love the Bible show much. It clearly shows me who I am.
- "The orthodox tend to try to live their lives in accordance with the general behavioral principles of the Bible" This sentence makes me chuckle, and then feel really sorry for the author. He has it exactly backwards. It turns out that the truly orthodox are actually living their lives in worship of God the Father for His great mercy, God the Son for His sacrifice, and God the Spirit for His comfort and support. It just so happens that in response to our worship of the Lord we desire to love Him by obeying His commandments. The former drives the latter, not the other way around.
- "(or at least the principles they find there of which they approve)" Again this saddens me, that the author would betray his own understanding of orthodoxy as that which the people get to decide on, instead of that which is ultimately, and objectively true. The Bible is the truth, and when read in context, there is only one proper interpretation of any given scripture. The interpretation that God and the original author intended. Scripture doesn't depend on my ability to understand or interpret. It is for me to seek the truth held within, not to place my opinions on top of.
- "and anticipate the ultimate judgment of God" This is a strange way to think of things. I'm not saying that God doesn't Judge. He does. I'm glad that He does. I want their to be justice for wrongs done on this Earth. But I don't sit around waiting for His Judgment. I actively work, to prepare for His second Coming!
- "a judgment that could well determine whether they spend eternity in heaven or in hell." The truly orthodox, have no fear of judgment. They know exactly where they are going. If they trust in Jesus' propitiating sacrifice on the cross, then God has demonstrated His willingness to accept that sacrifice through His rising of Christ's from the Dead. That's why Easter is such a big deal. It proves that God accepted the sacrifice. It secures for us that same resurrected body that Jesus displayed to the disciples and now has at the right hand of the Father.
I pray that this Easter finds you secure in the knowledge of your salvation if you know the Lord, and if you don't that you would seek Him while He may yet be found.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
God Tests Abraham
We're studying James in my home group right now. The author's main point is to point out what real faith is as opposed to fake faith. James, as the brother of Jesus is uniquely able to teach on this topic, since he lived and watched Jesus for 30 years or so before finally believing in his big brother's message. In James 2, James points out that real faith is demonstrated by actions. He points to Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Isaac in Gen. 22. Here's just a couple thoughts on this amazing display of God caring about His child Abraham.
Gen 22:2 "...your son, your only son, whom you love..." God knew that Abe had put his faith almost in his son instead of in God. That for God to take the one thing/person that was the total joy and center of Abe's life would be such a personal test of faith for Abraham. God is such a personal God who is so interested in us and our personal development
Gen 22:6,9: Isaac carries the wood, and allows himself to be tied down. Isaac is no idiot, he knows whats going on, yet he submits to his father and to the Lord. We don't hear anything about Isaac's faith in this episode but it must have been super strong too. Can you imagine being Isaac and hearing for your whole life that you're the child of promise? Talk about pressure and expectations...
Gen 22:11,12 The Angel of the Lord stops Abraham. The Angel of the Lord is a Christophany, a glimpse of the pre-incarnate Christ. It's so Jesus to intercede directly in the Human experience and make sure that Abraham is cared for. Not that God the Father doesn't love us, but I just feel closer to Jesus, and I love to see Him acting in His intercessory, caring role. It makes my view of Him feel so consistent.
The whole story is a picture of the Gospel, with the father sacrificing the son, who willingly goes to his death, with the expectation of being raised from the dead. Praise God that He loves us enough to send His Son, who willingly came to die for our sins, and then to intercede for us before God.
Gen 22:2 "...your son, your only son, whom you love..." God knew that Abe had put his faith almost in his son instead of in God. That for God to take the one thing/person that was the total joy and center of Abe's life would be such a personal test of faith for Abraham. God is such a personal God who is so interested in us and our personal development
Gen 22:6,9: Isaac carries the wood, and allows himself to be tied down. Isaac is no idiot, he knows whats going on, yet he submits to his father and to the Lord. We don't hear anything about Isaac's faith in this episode but it must have been super strong too. Can you imagine being Isaac and hearing for your whole life that you're the child of promise? Talk about pressure and expectations...
Gen 22:11,12 The Angel of the Lord stops Abraham. The Angel of the Lord is a Christophany, a glimpse of the pre-incarnate Christ. It's so Jesus to intercede directly in the Human experience and make sure that Abraham is cared for. Not that God the Father doesn't love us, but I just feel closer to Jesus, and I love to see Him acting in His intercessory, caring role. It makes my view of Him feel so consistent.
The whole story is a picture of the Gospel, with the father sacrificing the son, who willingly goes to his death, with the expectation of being raised from the dead. Praise God that He loves us enough to send His Son, who willingly came to die for our sins, and then to intercede for us before God.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Brothers in Adversity (Proverbs 17:17)
17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Have you ever known someone that you could go to anything with, that they would tell you the right and wrong of it, and still be there to stand by you. Had friends that were closer than your family? Known fellowship in a way that allowed your mates to drop by unannounced at any time day or night. Trusted somebody that would hold you up in your darkest times to come, because you and they'd been there before. Isn't it freeing to be in relationships like that?
I have had the privilege of such closeness when I was in college, and since then in my marriage. I long for relationships like that again. I feel like it was a glimpse of what Heaven will be like where we can fellowship with our Lord and each other forever.
I pray that I would seek to know Christ as that loving friend and brother in adversity. I pray that I can be Christ to others in this way.
Have you ever known someone that you could go to anything with, that they would tell you the right and wrong of it, and still be there to stand by you. Had friends that were closer than your family? Known fellowship in a way that allowed your mates to drop by unannounced at any time day or night. Trusted somebody that would hold you up in your darkest times to come, because you and they'd been there before. Isn't it freeing to be in relationships like that?
I have had the privilege of such closeness when I was in college, and since then in my marriage. I long for relationships like that again. I feel like it was a glimpse of what Heaven will be like where we can fellowship with our Lord and each other forever.
I pray that I would seek to know Christ as that loving friend and brother in adversity. I pray that I can be Christ to others in this way.
Proverbs 17: 14 Breaching the Dam
14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
Do you remember that scene in the first Superman movie when the earthquake causes the damn to burst and the water rushes out on the town below? Or in Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers when the Ents break down the dam that Saruman had constructed and the rush of water destroys all of Isengard?
How many times have I started a small argument just to enjoy the debate and instead opened up a flood that I couldn't stop. Or when I'm a little tired or hungry I'm short with my wife or a friend and realize that I've just smashed the toothpaste out of the tube and can't put it back. I need to be wary of the destruction that a quarrel can cause and seek to smooth over the peccadilloes to save energy for the calm, well-reasoned debates that are worth having.
I must protect my marriage and my growing relationship with my children to ensure that they are not swept away in a torrent of angry, useless words.
Do you remember that scene in the first Superman movie when the earthquake causes the damn to burst and the water rushes out on the town below? Or in Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers when the Ents break down the dam that Saruman had constructed and the rush of water destroys all of Isengard?
How many times have I started a small argument just to enjoy the debate and instead opened up a flood that I couldn't stop. Or when I'm a little tired or hungry I'm short with my wife or a friend and realize that I've just smashed the toothpaste out of the tube and can't put it back. I need to be wary of the destruction that a quarrel can cause and seek to smooth over the peccadilloes to save energy for the calm, well-reasoned debates that are worth having.
I must protect my marriage and my growing relationship with my children to ensure that they are not swept away in a torrent of angry, useless words.
Proverbs 16:33 No Such thing as Chance
33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
Its amazing how many people believe in chance. Even I catch myself saying things like "good luck". R.C. Sproul explains an exchange he had once where he asks his debate opponent if chance is a thing. His opponent says of course not, its not a thing. Not a thing said faster is nothing. So why do we put so much faith in a concept that is nothing? This verse really silences the argument, and shows that God is totally sovereign, even over things that seem like random chance. Imagine His limitless power to adjust the air-currents, the resistance of the edges of the dice, even the density of the air to cause a seemingly random thing like a dice roll to happen exactly according to His plan.
This verse and its implications bring me great comfort that my life and everything involved in it (good or bad), is ordained in advance from the Lord who is powerful enough to control everything, even 'chance'.
Its amazing how many people believe in chance. Even I catch myself saying things like "good luck". R.C. Sproul explains an exchange he had once where he asks his debate opponent if chance is a thing. His opponent says of course not, its not a thing. Not a thing said faster is nothing. So why do we put so much faith in a concept that is nothing? This verse really silences the argument, and shows that God is totally sovereign, even over things that seem like random chance. Imagine His limitless power to adjust the air-currents, the resistance of the edges of the dice, even the density of the air to cause a seemingly random thing like a dice roll to happen exactly according to His plan.
This verse and its implications bring me great comfort that my life and everything involved in it (good or bad), is ordained in advance from the Lord who is powerful enough to control everything, even 'chance'.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Proverbs 15:6 - A Loving Kindness Atones
6By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.
With unimaginable kindness, mercy, and perfect truth, God accepted Christ's atonement for our sin. To be fair, God should have destroyed Adam in the garden. Yet God showed mercy on Adam, and all of us, by providing a solution, even from the very beginning, to fulfill His justice and still provide mercy. The word lovingkindness is an older word, but I love the way it sort of personifies kindness and presents it as actively loving. How like the Father who is actively loving. He is a God continually involved in the lives of His creation.
As a result of fearing God's power to judge and execute, the saved one departs from evil. Evil here can be construed to be the ultimate evil of eternal death. But I see hope for myself to avoid practicing evil on earth by remembering the righteous wrath of God.
With unimaginable kindness, mercy, and perfect truth, God accepted Christ's atonement for our sin. To be fair, God should have destroyed Adam in the garden. Yet God showed mercy on Adam, and all of us, by providing a solution, even from the very beginning, to fulfill His justice and still provide mercy. The word lovingkindness is an older word, but I love the way it sort of personifies kindness and presents it as actively loving. How like the Father who is actively loving. He is a God continually involved in the lives of His creation.
As a result of fearing God's power to judge and execute, the saved one departs from evil. Evil here can be construed to be the ultimate evil of eternal death. But I see hope for myself to avoid practicing evil on earth by remembering the righteous wrath of God.
Proverbs 16:5 - The punishment of the Proud
5Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.
I know whenever someone rejects my kindness I get grossly offended. I'm not saying I'm God of course, just trying to connect with why He would feel this way. I know I don't ever want to be intensely averse to or loathed and detested by God. Especially since people in that category are sure to be punished according to this verse. I feel quite sad for those who's pride gets the better of them, and pray that they would be turned around.
This verse tells me to get humble about my sin problem quick, and come to the One who has solved the problem, instead of trying to solve it myself over and over. I also see this as a warning to those in the 'intellectual elite' that make it their business to arrogantly assume there is no God. Praise to Him that I, who struggles with arrogance constantly, have been saved despite myself.
I know whenever someone rejects my kindness I get grossly offended. I'm not saying I'm God of course, just trying to connect with why He would feel this way. I know I don't ever want to be intensely averse to or loathed and detested by God. Especially since people in that category are sure to be punished according to this verse. I feel quite sad for those who's pride gets the better of them, and pray that they would be turned around.
This verse tells me to get humble about my sin problem quick, and come to the One who has solved the problem, instead of trying to solve it myself over and over. I also see this as a warning to those in the 'intellectual elite' that make it their business to arrogantly assume there is no God. Praise to Him that I, who struggles with arrogance constantly, have been saved despite myself.
Proverbs 15
33The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.
How do you learn wisdom? Fear the Lord. Being wise means being able to discern which of the multitude of options available, is the right one to pick to achieve the best outcome. In the narrow sense of salvation, discerning the option of Christ as the way to achieve the best outcome of actually surviving judgment and enjoying eternity, comes from knowing that God is worthy of fear. Within that context being humble before God and knowing that He is doing the saving, not me will lead me to honor with Him in glory.
Aside from the salvation aspects that this verse conjures up, I also see my desire for honor professionally and ecclesiastically. This verse is pointing out that I need to pursue humility before I can expect to receive honor. Instead of longing for honor, which I spend a lot of time doing, I should be longing for humility.
How do you learn wisdom? Fear the Lord. Being wise means being able to discern which of the multitude of options available, is the right one to pick to achieve the best outcome. In the narrow sense of salvation, discerning the option of Christ as the way to achieve the best outcome of actually surviving judgment and enjoying eternity, comes from knowing that God is worthy of fear. Within that context being humble before God and knowing that He is doing the saving, not me will lead me to honor with Him in glory.
Aside from the salvation aspects that this verse conjures up, I also see my desire for honor professionally and ecclesiastically. This verse is pointing out that I need to pursue humility before I can expect to receive honor. Instead of longing for honor, which I spend a lot of time doing, I should be longing for humility.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Proverbs 14
4Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.
Sometimes its a bit messy to include the help you need to be successful. I love the word picture this creates. I once had to muck out a horse-barn that hadn't been mucked all summer. It was a back-breaking, stinky, stifling, messy job. But we couldn't have enjoyed the summer to that point without the horses to carry us through the mountain trails. Same goes for my efforts now. Its hard work to involve other people in Ministry. I have to spend time with them, pray, and care for them. Be involved in their lives when they suffer trial and temptation. Yet the benefit is obvious: more people called to Christ through multiplying the hands that serve. Working with people can get messy. Heck even when I'm the source of the mess ;). But the gain to be had is worth it.
20The poor is hated even by his neighbor, But those who love the rich are many. 21He who despises his neighbor sins, But happy is he who is gracious to the poor.
Alright be honest, haven't you looked down a little on those less fortunate than you. I know I have. I know these verses are clearly discussing monetary wealth, but I can't help thinking of spiritual poverty in this context too. I know I often want to be with the spiritually mature instead of the immature. Its less work, and more interesting. I can feed off them and be lifted up, or at least that's what I try to convince myself of. Instead by withholding Christ from my spiritually impoverished neighbor, I show my hate of him. Look at Jesus, He came to Earth and surrounded Himself with the spiritually poor. He even lowered Himself to talk to wretched me. How can I expect to be happy/fulfilled without reaching out to those who don't know Him.
26In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge. 27The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death.
It is good to have a fear of the Lord. The God of the Bible is a God of Justice. He will come again to punish those who rejected Him, and reward those who followed Him. Having a healthy fear of God, knowing what He is capable of, should drive us to avoiding His wrath. Death is a snare trying to trip up and capture us. Instead we can have strong confidence in knowing God and knowing what He is going to do. We can be confident that just as He will judge sinners, He will also forever protect His children.
If you doubt at all that God has brought you into His protection, through the atoning sacrifice of His Son, please I beg of you, recognize that your Sin is real. You are at War with God by pursuing your way through life. Call on Christ to be the perfect peace offering between you and God, and commit yourself to following Him.
Sometimes its a bit messy to include the help you need to be successful. I love the word picture this creates. I once had to muck out a horse-barn that hadn't been mucked all summer. It was a back-breaking, stinky, stifling, messy job. But we couldn't have enjoyed the summer to that point without the horses to carry us through the mountain trails. Same goes for my efforts now. Its hard work to involve other people in Ministry. I have to spend time with them, pray, and care for them. Be involved in their lives when they suffer trial and temptation. Yet the benefit is obvious: more people called to Christ through multiplying the hands that serve. Working with people can get messy. Heck even when I'm the source of the mess ;). But the gain to be had is worth it.
20The poor is hated even by his neighbor, But those who love the rich are many. 21He who despises his neighbor sins, But happy is he who is gracious to the poor.
Alright be honest, haven't you looked down a little on those less fortunate than you. I know I have. I know these verses are clearly discussing monetary wealth, but I can't help thinking of spiritual poverty in this context too. I know I often want to be with the spiritually mature instead of the immature. Its less work, and more interesting. I can feed off them and be lifted up, or at least that's what I try to convince myself of. Instead by withholding Christ from my spiritually impoverished neighbor, I show my hate of him. Look at Jesus, He came to Earth and surrounded Himself with the spiritually poor. He even lowered Himself to talk to wretched me. How can I expect to be happy/fulfilled without reaching out to those who don't know Him.
26In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge. 27The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death.
It is good to have a fear of the Lord. The God of the Bible is a God of Justice. He will come again to punish those who rejected Him, and reward those who followed Him. Having a healthy fear of God, knowing what He is capable of, should drive us to avoiding His wrath. Death is a snare trying to trip up and capture us. Instead we can have strong confidence in knowing God and knowing what He is going to do. We can be confident that just as He will judge sinners, He will also forever protect His children.
If you doubt at all that God has brought you into His protection, through the atoning sacrifice of His Son, please I beg of you, recognize that your Sin is real. You are at War with God by pursuing your way through life. Call on Christ to be the perfect peace offering between you and God, and commit yourself to following Him.
Proverbs 13
4The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,But the soul of the diligent is made fat.
I frequently see myself in the first part of this couplet, and only by God's grace do I occasionally find myself in the latter. My life is always moving in cycles. I'm currently at an upswing in productivity, this blog is a result, but just a few weeks ago I lazily craved more involvement with my mind, faith, and family and yet those desires didn't produce action. It wasn't until I was diligent that I got what I wanted. Its such a cultural lie that we all buy into, that kicking back to go the easy route is the way to gain. Look how many game shows and lotteries we have. I pray that I would stay on the second half of this verse and not cycle back to the first half.
13The one who despises the word will be in debt to it, But the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded. 14The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn aside from the snares of death.
It seems so plain that if I would come to the wise word I would have the abundance that I seek. I would have a fountain that constantly replenishes itself rewarding me for obediently listening. I would avoid pain, even death if I would consult the teaching of the wise. To do these things I have to find where the wise is. I must read the Scriptures since they are glimpse of God's wisdom. I should pursue books, both contemporary and ancient, that describe the human condition and Christ's role of redemption. I must heed the warnings to break out of the cycle of laziness.
20He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.
My mother would often warn me that the company I kept would be a reflection of who I am. I know there were times in my life, even my dating life, where I thought I could bring change to someone just by hanging around with them and talking with them. That change rarely if ever happened. Usually because I was too busy trying to be liked by them to represent something different and worth emulating. Eventually their lifestyle and thoughts would rub off on me like those old ditto papers did in elementary school. Instead I need to obey this word and find wise company, from Godly men and women, both living and dead. I should listen to their ways and words to emulate them, as they emulate Christ.
I frequently see myself in the first part of this couplet, and only by God's grace do I occasionally find myself in the latter. My life is always moving in cycles. I'm currently at an upswing in productivity, this blog is a result, but just a few weeks ago I lazily craved more involvement with my mind, faith, and family and yet those desires didn't produce action. It wasn't until I was diligent that I got what I wanted. Its such a cultural lie that we all buy into, that kicking back to go the easy route is the way to gain. Look how many game shows and lotteries we have. I pray that I would stay on the second half of this verse and not cycle back to the first half.
13The one who despises the word will be in debt to it, But the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded. 14The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn aside from the snares of death.
It seems so plain that if I would come to the wise word I would have the abundance that I seek. I would have a fountain that constantly replenishes itself rewarding me for obediently listening. I would avoid pain, even death if I would consult the teaching of the wise. To do these things I have to find where the wise is. I must read the Scriptures since they are glimpse of God's wisdom. I should pursue books, both contemporary and ancient, that describe the human condition and Christ's role of redemption. I must heed the warnings to break out of the cycle of laziness.
20He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.
My mother would often warn me that the company I kept would be a reflection of who I am. I know there were times in my life, even my dating life, where I thought I could bring change to someone just by hanging around with them and talking with them. That change rarely if ever happened. Usually because I was too busy trying to be liked by them to represent something different and worth emulating. Eventually their lifestyle and thoughts would rub off on me like those old ditto papers did in elementary school. Instead I need to obey this word and find wise company, from Godly men and women, both living and dead. I should listen to their ways and words to emulate them, as they emulate Christ.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
A friend of mine died last week
I found out about it two days ago, and I've been pretty sad. I was sad partly because I dearly love my friend's parents. He was a cool guy, but I was and am much closer to them. They are strong believers and set an example for my wife and I of what a Godly marriage and family should look like.
I was sad because I didn't know whether my friend was a believer or not. How horrible it is to be a parent, who loves the Lord, and has worked hard for years to love and teach your children the Truth, and yet loose your child without knowing his eternal state. We went to the funeral today thinking that my friends parents were suffering under this despicable burden. I was even questioning God's goodness. Trying to understand why He would take such faithful people through this gutter of pain.
Praise God that their son was a believer, and they are confident in his eternal destination. My friend had been struggling for a while with depression and though its very sad to loose him, He's with his Maker now who has delivered him from this often painful earthly existence. I'm also thankful that I'm studying James 1 right now. I was crying out for wisdom to understand this trial, and the Lord provided it. The trial still hurts. My friend is gone, and I can't help feel a little responsible, maybe if I'd reached out a little more... But God has proven yet again that His word is trustworthy. He will provide wisdom to help us get through the trials.
One of the songs that was sang at the service was: "All my Tears" by Julie Miller. Its a mournful song, but the lyrics are hopeful. Once hearing the good news about my friend, I felt like the song communicated how I felt, and how I hope people will feel when I leave this current world.
I was sad because I didn't know whether my friend was a believer or not. How horrible it is to be a parent, who loves the Lord, and has worked hard for years to love and teach your children the Truth, and yet loose your child without knowing his eternal state. We went to the funeral today thinking that my friends parents were suffering under this despicable burden. I was even questioning God's goodness. Trying to understand why He would take such faithful people through this gutter of pain.
Praise God that their son was a believer, and they are confident in his eternal destination. My friend had been struggling for a while with depression and though its very sad to loose him, He's with his Maker now who has delivered him from this often painful earthly existence. I'm also thankful that I'm studying James 1 right now. I was crying out for wisdom to understand this trial, and the Lord provided it. The trial still hurts. My friend is gone, and I can't help feel a little responsible, maybe if I'd reached out a little more... But God has proven yet again that His word is trustworthy. He will provide wisdom to help us get through the trials.
One of the songs that was sang at the service was: "All my Tears" by Julie Miller. Its a mournful song, but the lyrics are hopeful. Once hearing the good news about my friend, I felt like the song communicated how I felt, and how I hope people will feel when I leave this current world.
When I go don't cry for me
In my fathers arms I'll be
The wounds this world left on my soul
Will all be healed and I'll be whole
Sun and moon will be replaced
With the light of Jesus' face
And I will not be ashamed
For my savior knows my name
It don't matter where you bury me
I'll be home and I'll be free
It don't matter where I lay
All my tears be washed away
Gold and silver blind the eye
Temporary riches lie
Come and eat from heaven's store
Come and drink and thirst no more
So weep not for me my friend
When my time below does end
For my life belongs to him
Who will raise the dead again
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
What is the Wicket Gate?
The Wicket Gate is the entrance to the straight and narrow path that Christian follows on his way to the Celestial City in Bunyan's classic Pilgrim's Progress.
Christian knows he has a heavy burden of Sin and he doesn't exactly know how to get rid of it. He initially tries to come to Christ by way of Mt. Sinai and the Law. He also tries to climb the wall separating the City of Destruction from the land of the King, but its not until he passes through the Wicket Gate with the help of Good Will (aka Jesus) that he finds release from his heavy sin burden.
I hope this blog is a place where I can come to Jesus by His means and not by my own. That I may stay on the straight and narrow and eventually hear "...well done, my good and faithful servant..." from my Master and Lord.
Christian knows he has a heavy burden of Sin and he doesn't exactly know how to get rid of it. He initially tries to come to Christ by way of Mt. Sinai and the Law. He also tries to climb the wall separating the City of Destruction from the land of the King, but its not until he passes through the Wicket Gate with the help of Good Will (aka Jesus) that he finds release from his heavy sin burden.
I hope this blog is a place where I can come to Jesus by His means and not by my own. That I may stay on the straight and narrow and eventually hear "...well done, my good and faithful servant..." from my Master and Lord.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Proverbs 12
Some really great verses in this chapter. I mean I know the whole Bible is great verses. But this week these few really jumped out at me.
4 A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.
It is so key to get the right wife. the imagery is so true too. The right woman you want to display so everyone can see her. A crown has different jewels, different facets that you want to show off. I want to show people the different things about my wife that are so great. A crown is the last thing you put on. It is the completing feature. The right woman completes a man. The wrong one rots you from within. She breaks down your infrastructure as she leads you astray, sapping the strength and stability that your bones should be providing.
15 The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.
This verse really shouts at me, especially this week its calling to me to consider and follow. I know when I'm in a rut either spiritually, at work, or at home, that I'm convinced that I'm right. The wise man listens to advice. He first of all is in a position to hear it. I'm usually not. My ears are stuffed up with my own voice instead of someone else's. Or what about when I'm about to commit a sin, and I get that little reminder that it would be better not to do that thing. That's the Spirit providing wise advice. I should listen and avoid the trouble.
28 In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.
In righteousness is life. Not death. This makes me think of Christ. His perfect righteousness eliminated death. Think of it. The very thing we mortals fear most. Destroyed eliminated by someone else's righteousness. Oh how this verse could condemn me if it was my righteousness. Praise God for His Son, that its He who earned it perfectly instead of me working myself to the bone to possibly have enough, and never attaining...
4 A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.
It is so key to get the right wife. the imagery is so true too. The right woman you want to display so everyone can see her. A crown has different jewels, different facets that you want to show off. I want to show people the different things about my wife that are so great. A crown is the last thing you put on. It is the completing feature. The right woman completes a man. The wrong one rots you from within. She breaks down your infrastructure as she leads you astray, sapping the strength and stability that your bones should be providing.
15 The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.
This verse really shouts at me, especially this week its calling to me to consider and follow. I know when I'm in a rut either spiritually, at work, or at home, that I'm convinced that I'm right. The wise man listens to advice. He first of all is in a position to hear it. I'm usually not. My ears are stuffed up with my own voice instead of someone else's. Or what about when I'm about to commit a sin, and I get that little reminder that it would be better not to do that thing. That's the Spirit providing wise advice. I should listen and avoid the trouble.
28 In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.
In righteousness is life. Not death. This makes me think of Christ. His perfect righteousness eliminated death. Think of it. The very thing we mortals fear most. Destroyed eliminated by someone else's righteousness. Oh how this verse could condemn me if it was my righteousness. Praise God for His Son, that its He who earned it perfectly instead of me working myself to the bone to possibly have enough, and never attaining...
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In 100 years, civilization will be nearly unrecognisable to the likes of you and me. If you were punished for this many years, compared to being punished for an infinite number of years, your punishment would not have even considered begun.
After 100 periods of 100 years (10^4 y.), civilization WILL be completely unrecognisable to us. If you were punished for this many years, compared to being punished for an infinite number of years, your punishment would not even be considered as having started.
After 100 periods of 10,000 years (10^6 y.), humanity itself will be unrecognisable to us. If you were punished for this many years, compared to being punished for an infinite number of years, your punishment would not even be considered as having started.
After 100 periods of 1,000,000 years (10^8 y.), the world itself will not look like what our maps display. If you were punished for this many years, compared to being punished for an infinite number of years, your punishment would not even be considered as having started.
After 100 periods of 100,000,000 years (10^10 y.), the world will be gone, swallowed by a sun turned red-giant and then diminished into a hard white dwarf. If you were punished for this many years, compared to being punished for an infinite number of years, your punishment would not even be considered as having started.
After 100 periods of 10,000,000,000 years (10^12 y), our galaxy, having merged with Andromeda 98,000,000,000 years ago will have finally settled down into a peaceful eliptical galaxy, unrecognizable from the beautiful barred spiral it is today. If you were punished for this many years, compared to being punished for an infinite number of years, your punishment would not even be considered as having started.
After 10^100 years, our universe will have come up against heat death. All but the very very very largest supermassive blackholes will have evaporated into random radiation; the protons and neutrons that make up all matter will have long since decayed into weak photons; there is nothing left but a thin gruel of electrons and neutrinos. If you were punished for this many years, compared to being punished for an infinite number of years, your punishment would not even be considered as having started.
As a matter of fact, if you take 10^100 years, and turn up the punishment so that each year turns into 10^100 years (10^^100 years; or take 10, raise it to the power of a Googol, then take EACH '0' in the power and turn each and every one into 100 '0's) that's 10 raised to the power of a 1-with-ten-thousand-zeros-behind-it, That's a number so large as to be literally unimaginable. There are only 10^90 particles in the entire universe! If you were punished for this many years, compared to being punished for an infinite number of years, your punishment would not even be considered as having started.
An infinity in hell is unconcionable, no matter what the sin is. No matter what. Ever.