Preachin' Blues

When Love Comes to Town

2011-02-23T22:01:00.004-05:00

^{I was there when they crucified my Lord
I held the scabbard when the soldier drew his sword
I threw the dice as they pierced his side
but I've seen love conquer the great divide
Bono
16}For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

Romans 1:16-17

Paul starts the theology of his letter to the Romans by declaring his affirmation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and it's power. In the scope of Paul's letter, verses 16 and 17 serve as his thesis statement. The righteous shall live by faith. In the following verses, Paul will show how the attempts of both Jew and Gentile have failed in reaching salvation, how the law condemns men, and the role of Christ in the salvation of mankind.

First, lets look at verses 16 and 17. Paul defines the gospel as "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." It is important to note this distinguishing feature of Christianity. In every other religion, man has the power to save himself. It is with this declaration the church sets itself apart from other faiths that enslave sinful men in their attempts to please their gods. The gospel in short, has the power to save, because it is from God. This power that Paul speaks of is not the power of God in say, his omnipotence or in his creating. It is the power to overcome the sinfulness of man and bring him to repentance. One of the biggest lies in the church today is the lie that men choose to believe without the power of God intervening in their hearts. It is precisely this power to save that turns hearts of stone into hearts of flesh, that causes men to be born again, that preserves and keeps the saints from falling, and that sanctifies the believer, transforming him into the image of Christ. Many Christians believe a gospel that says man has a free will to choose Christ and all one needs to do is accept Him. If this lie were true, then the gospel would hold no power to save. The salvation of man would lie in his free ability to make a choice. This is a direct contradiction of John 6:44 and many other passages. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day." Jesus says that we cannot come to him, unless the Father draws us. Those that believe the lie of free will would say that the Father draws all men, but that is foolishness. Many are called, but few are chosen. If the Father drew all men, then is He powerless to save, since not all believe? What is his purpose in drawing men if He doesn't also give them the gift of faith and repentance? It is this power that Paul refers to. The power of God, to bring those in the dark into the light. So why is this power necessary, you may ask? Why can't man freely choose to follow Christ? Paul answers that question in Romans 8:7-8. "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." It is this power of the gospel that stands in opposition to the power of man. Man is powerless to save himself. We can't be good enough to stand in front of God's holiness. Left to ourselves, we are hostile to God. Note that Paul says the natural man is incapable of pleasing God. Your works are like menstrual rags to God. This includes "accepting Christ" as your personal savior. The ultimate way to please God is to believe in His Son and we are helpless without God's power.

Paul notes that this power came to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. Many believers exalt Israel and the Jews as God's special children, yet God is not in the business of dividing but unifying His people. True, it was to the Jews that God gave the covenants, the law, the land, the prophets, and the promises. It was from them that Christ came and that salvation came to Judea, Samaria, and all the earth. Here, Paul makes no distinction between the two, for in God's saving power, there is only one way to Him, and that is through the provision of His Son.

It is this power, that Paul marvels, and boasts in. Those that are wolves in sheep's clothing, leading the church astray, are ashamed of the gospel because they refuse to preach the gospel. Not only are they ashamed to preach it, they are ashamed to submit to it, living a lie, preaching a false gospel for worldly gain. The power of the gospel should never elicit a spirit of fear, yet these cowardly preachers are not the only ones that are ashamed. It has become a popular thing to ridicule Christianity and believers live in fear of being viewed as intolerant or uncool. Paul was not worried about being viewed as intolerant or uncool. To be shunned was a badge of honor; persecuted, a crown of gold; martyred, being glorified to the highest. How dare we be ashamed of the power of God to save!

In verse 17, Paul transitions to the details of the power of God to save. It is righteousness from faith. As said earlier, the natural man is incapable of pleasing God. Sin has spiritually killed men, enslaving them to it's powers, making them hostile to God, and condemned in His sight. All are guilty because all have fallen short of the glory of God. In Romans 6:23, Paul says "the wages of sin are death." Our wage for all our work is death. The gospel and its power has saved men by making them alive and then bestowing upon them the power of the Holy Spirit, to believe and repent, and then counting them righteous. This gift of righteousness was secured by Jesus Christ's death and resurrection and is given to all who believe. It is the power of God to predestine sons in the image of the firstborn, Christ, the power of the firstborn to pay the penalty incurred by those God predestined, and the power of the Holy Spirit to turn their hearts of stone to hearts of flesh, and to call them into faith. And it is by this faith, that we are imputed as righteous. By imputation and reputation, Christ is the chief of all sinners because he bore our sin. By imputation, we are counted righteous and are then justified before God because we bear Christ's blood. What man could not do on His own, God did for us and is revealed in the life of the church.

When You Got A Good Friend

2011-02-11T17:17:00.005-05:00

^{When you got a good friend that will stay right by your side.
When you got a good friend that will stay right by your side
Give her all of your spare time love and treat her right
Robert Johnson
11}For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— ¹²that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.¹³I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. ¹⁴ I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

Romans 1:11-15

The passage here show us a few things about what it means to live in Christ within the community of His church. I have often heard people say that the way to Christ does not involve the church. Many have been burned by other christians, myself included, yet that is no excuse to disassociate with the church, for Christ and the church are one. You cannot live a life of faith that is pleasing to God without living among and in fellowship with His holy church. I recently had a friend tell me that he didn't need church. He never told me why he didn't need it, but he did tell me that if he couldn't figure things out on his own, then he considered himself a failure. Oh, how more wrong he could be. He has already failed! In taking that step of faith, he has done it without Christ, for had he made a step of faith with Christ, he would love what Christ loves.1 Paul sees that the gospel is bound by community with Christ's followers which is why his faith is strengthened when he is around God's people.

As a pastor, Paul longs to minister to God's people. Note, he doesn't say he longs to see Rome or anyone else. He longs to see the christians of Rome, and this longing is prompted by love. As Martin Luther states, "The same longing is found in every faithful shepherd who does not seek what the sheep possess, but seeks only the sheep themselves; and this desire is prompted solely by love." By his own example he shows us the motivations of brotherly love in Christ and this should motivate our thinking and desires when we seek fellowship with the body of Christ.

The spiritual gift that Paul speaks of imparting is not a functional gift as we would find in 1 Corinthians 12. Rather, it is the exercising of a functional gift and the benefits received in relation to ministry. We all have gifts that God has given us to strengthen the body of Christ. It is our duty to exercise these gifts in love and not in any form of carnality that would lead to self promotion. One thing that must be stated in regards to spiritual gifts. They were given to strengthen, to sharpen, and to exhort believers. Their use in any other capacity, such as speaking tongues without an interpreter, are a perversion and misuse of the gift. Paul is clear that he seeks to impart this gift to strengthen the believers in Rome. By doing so, he strengthens his own faith, because as the Proverb states, "Iron sharpens iron."2

In verses 13-15, Paul states his intent to come to Rome and the prevention of his coming. We can presume that he was ultimately prevented from going to Rome by God, for we know from Acts and this letter, that Paul felt his ministry leading him to Rome. Often, our ideas of what we want to do and where we want to go are not God's. Instead of being frustrated, Paul exemplifies godly patience, in waiting for the Lord. We are commanded numerous times to 'wait on the Lord.' It is in our nature not to wait, to bite back at God, and demand that He give us what we think we need. Our culture brainwashes us into thinking we are far more important than we really are. We are bombarded with messages that tell us to have it our way and that our desires should be acted on. This impulsiveness did not plague Paul and it should not plague us. Though Paul felt obligated to preach Christ and to reap a harvest among the gentiles, Paul knew his place in God's kingdom and knew that all the works of his hands are frivolous wastes of time without first waiting on direction from the Lord.

Paul's obligation to preach is bound in his debt. He is indebted to Christ to minister to Jew and Gentile alike. We, too, are obliged to preach the gospel to both believer and non-believer alike, for we too are indebted to Christ. This preaching of the gospel refers to so much more than how we use are words. We see in the passage that Paul equates ministering and preaching to imparting of spiritual gifts in order to strengthen. His example not only shows the Romans of his sincerity in coming to them, but serves to show us how we are to serve one another, with humility and love. And with this powerful statement, Paul closes his introduction to the Roman church.

1.Ephesians 5:25-27

2. Proverbs 27:17

As Ugly As I Seem

2011-02-03T16:00:00.007-05:00

^{I am as ugly as I seem
Worse than all your dreams
Could ever make me out to be
And it makes me want to scream
Jack White
8}First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. ⁹ For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you ¹⁰always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.

Romans 1:8-10

The mark of true Christian joy is to first and foremost, praise God for the good that we see in others and to rejoice with them. As Christians, when we receive praise, we should quickly redirect praise to God, for it is from God that all good things flow and from Him we bear fruit that is pleasing. Nowhere in scripture is this more explicit than in John 3:21. "But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." We know that no good comes from ourselves which is why we have no reason to boast. News of the faith of the Roman church had spread throughout the empire and Paul sees the sovereign work of God in bringing His people into the light. Martin Luther states, "Christian love manifests itself in this, that it rejoices at every good thing that it sees in others, especially in their spiritual blessings, and thanks God for them." Oh, how I have envied everything from material possessions to spiritual blessings from both my brothers and sisters in Christ to those that do not believe. Oh, how I have envied attention and praise from mortal men. Father, forgive us all for seeking the glory of men and comparing ourselves to others, for taking our eyes off the goodness You have bestowed to us and desired what others have. May we live like Paul, who though he did not plant the Roman church or disciple its leaders, saw fit to praise You for your glory and rejoice with them. Help me to rejoice in my brother's good news and like Paul, let my rejoicing glorify You and inspire my brother to continue to press on in faith, toward You.

The mark of true Christian witness is a life of prayer and intercession without ceasing. Just as Christ is interceding for us on our behalf, so we must intercede for our brothers and sisters, our natural families, and for the lost. We are to pray for the good of all because of the love of Christ that seeks the good of all. How often does the bulk of our time in prayer focus on ourselves? How often do we pray small minded materialistic prayers? How often do our prayers get lost in the recesses of our mind as we lose focus on the task at hand? Prayer is not something to be taken lightly. Jesus often snuck away to a place of solitude to pray for hours at a time. What keeps us from practicing this? I find myself thinking all sorts of things, from checking off my to do list to wondering what's for dinner, when I pray. Oh, to be like the Apostle Paul, that I would value the art of prayer and intercede for those that most desperately need intercession instead of worrying about myself and my temporal desires! When looking at myself in the mirror of God's holiness, any reason I thought I had to boast is exposed and I see the desperate sinner that I am. I am reminded of the lyric from the Caedmon's Call song, My Calm/Your Storm: "I wanna kill this thief that steals life from me and kill myself, the Pharisee." Let us all look in the mirror and the ugliness that we see, let that draw us all the more fervently to our Redeemed Lord, Jesus Christ, who has saved us from this ugliness and like Paul and the Roman Church, let our faith not only be a light to our brothers and sisters, that we are rejoicing with and interceding for, but also to a lost world that does not have the hope we have in Christ.

I am the Light of this World

2011-01-26T14:09:00.008-05:00

^{I am the light of this world
Prayer is the key of heaven
And faith unlock the door
That's why my God give me the key
And he told me to carry it everywhere I go
Rev. Gary Davis
³concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh ⁴and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, ⁶including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, ⁷To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.}

Romans 1:3-7

The Gospel, which was promised beforehand through the Holy Scriptures and the prophets, concerns God's Son, Jesus Christ. In regards to the humanity of Christ, he descended from the great king David, of whom there is more scripture attributed to, than anyone else, including Jesus. It was with David that God made a covenant that is detailed in 1 Chronicles 17:11-14.

When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.'"

While it was David's son, Solomon who built the temple in Jerusalem, this prophecy cannot be attributed to him alone because it was Solomon's idolatry that caused the Lord to raise Jeroboam to split the kingdom in two after Solomon's death. Solomon's throne in Judah ended in a Babylonian exile. We also see earlier in the text in 1 Chronicles that the Lord promises David to "appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more."1 The entirety of the Jewish people were subjected to two exiles, the first being the Assyrian exile of the Northern Kingdom in 740 B.C. and the Babylonian exile of the Southern Kingdom of Judah in 597 B.C. How does one reconcile God's promises to David in light of these facts? We must deduce that these prophecies are in regards to the Messiah. It is Christ, a descendant of David in the flesh, who reigns now, who after His baptism, the heavens opened and God said, "This is my Son, with whom I am well pleased." The Promised Land, portrayed in the Old Testament as Canaan, is the place of God's blessing. Christ's kingdom is not defined in physical realms and the anthropomorphic language used to describe His kingdom should not be mistaken as the modern day country of Israel. The house that Christ built for the Father is the church, for whom Christ died. It is in this light we see this prophecy being fulfilled by Jesus and can definitively attribute the countless other prophecies to David's eternal throne by the sovereign reign of Christ Jesus, whose kingdom cannot be rivaled nor taken away from Him.

It also of the utmost importance to note that Christ, who was before all things and created all things, emptied Himself, gave Himself a beginning, and became a man from the seed of David. It was through this humiliation that He became like us in every way, to be made a worthy sacrifice for our sins, to be subject to the weakness of flesh, and die a gruesome death on the cross and then ascended to Heaven, to take his rightful place as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. While Christ was always the Son of God, notice Paul doesn't use the same language in detailing His humiliation and glorification. Christ descended from David according to the flesh, but was declared the Son of God by the Spirit of Holiness by His resurrection. It was at the resurrection that Christ was exalted and His ascension marked the way for the coming of the Holy Spirit, who glorifies Christ. It was this very public conquering of death and glorification by the Holy Spirit that declares that Christ is indeed the Son of God.

It was from Christ, the Son of God, that Paul receives grace and his role as apostle. Paul does not write to the Romans bearing his own name or his own ideas, but bearing the name of Christ. It is the name of Christ that should garner the trust of the readers not the name of Paul. It is the name of Christ that is to be exalted. It is the obedience of faith that Paul is seeking to strengthen. This obedience of faith serves two purposes for the church. The first is the glorification of God. The second is the justification of the believer. The latter we will deal with at a later time. It is the obedience of faith that glorifies God because the church bears His name and all our good works in the light can be seen to be wrought by God for His own glory. The most important thing to God is His glory. It is far more important to Him than any man. It is the church, the house that Christ built, that bears the name of God. God is glorified when the church lives out its purpose to be obedient to God's commands. It is the city on a hill, that shines it's lights for all men, that glorifies God. As the church bears the name of God, we see similarities in the Jewish temple. At the dedication of the first temple, Solomon says that it was built for the Lord's name. It was the temple that was purposed to be house of prayer for all people and a light to the gentile nations, a beacon of hope in a dark world. Words cannot be written to describe the glory the Lord receives when the objects that bear His holy name serve their holy purposes.

The next question is who are those that bear Christ's name and how does one come to do so? It is those that were first loved by God. Paul is explicit in placing God's love before calling because it is God's love that leads to the calling. Of calling, Jesus says "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out."2 It is those called that the Father gave to Christ and all that were given, will come. The impetus here is on the God, who saves, and is due all the glory for those that are saved. It is to those that have the right to be called saints and receive grace and peace from the risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

1. 1 Chronicles 17:9

2. John 6:37

Message of Love

2011-01-21T01:40:00.006-05:00

Well I travel at the speed of a reborn man. I got a lot of love to give, from the mirrors of my hand. I sent a message of love

Jimi Hendrix

¹Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, ²which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures

Romans 1:1-2

An Introduction

If there is one book of the Bible that is to be considered essential,(for the sake of argument, all books are inspired by the Holy Spirit and are of equal importance to the preaching of the Gospels and the sanctification of the church), that book would be Paul's letter to the Romans. It was the book of Romans that sparked the fire in Martin Luther's life and ignited the flames of the Protestant Reformation. Romans has one central theme. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone.

I have read Romans many times throughout my journey with the Lord. Every time I seem to find something that I did not quite see before. Much like Luther, it was the Book of Romans which changed and shaped my own theology. As a christian, I have been all over the proverbial map of theology. Never being discipled and essentially left to figure God out on my own, I live in a world where the Gospel is under attack from the church itself, and it is through this book that God has grounded me in truth. This is a poor attempt to lead others on a similar journey. To see through the shallowness of a gospel that is preached by wolves in sheep's clothing, a gospel that says being happy is a state of mind, that steers clear of the dangers of sin and the vital need of repentance, that tells us we are co-saviors with Christ of our own souls and that God just wants us all to prosper...... materially speaking. A gospel that ignores the root and only deals with the symptoms, leaving many still enslaved to sin and living defeated lives. This is not the Gospel Paul preached!

Concerning Paul's letter to the Romans

In verse 1, we learn quite a few things about the Apostle Paul. First, is his humility. When Paul wrote this letter to the Roman church, he was already esteemed within the church. He was on par with Peter, John, and James. The Roman church was aware of the prestige he carried, yet unlike most of the self serving celebrity pastors of today, he esteems himself as a "servant." The word used in the Greek literally means "slave" or "bondservant". Paul is a slave to Christ, he is writing to promote his master's objective. Martin Luther makes the point that "if it is already disastrous to deny the servants of an emperor honor and respect, what will happen to those who do not receive with due honor the servants of God!"

Not only is Paul a "servant of Christ Jesus" he also an apostle. He mentions his calling and that he was set apart by God. Paul's entire identity is wrapped in Christ. An "apostle" was one who had seen Christ. Today, clergy who consider themselves apostles are ignorant of the office of apostle and may be held in contempt for taking the office of apostle so lightly. It is for this reason, the power that is carried in the office of apostleship, that Paul always starts his letters, testifying to his apostleship as a calling by God. And it is this title that he uses to validate his ministry which was under attack from the Jews and from false teachers that accused Paul of preaching antinomianism, which is "the doctrine or belief that the Gospel frees Christians from required obedience to any law, whether scriptural, civil, or moral, and that salvation is attained solely through faith and the gift of divine grace". In short, it is the belief that because it is faith that saves, we have a license to sin. As to being "set apart", it is important to look at how Paul met Christ recorded in the Book of Acts, chapter 9. It was on the road to Damascus when Christ revealed himself to Paul. Verses 3-6, "Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." Notice there is no negotiation. There is no hoping on Christ's part that Paul will believe and follow. Our testimonies aren't too different. When Christ calls, His people respond. The story of Paul's conversion shows Christ how He really is, a King, who has ransomed and reconciled His people, that He has loved from before the foundation of the world, and who he calls each, individually, to faith. In Jesus' own words from John 10, "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice." Jesus says that His sheep listen to His voice. He came to save those that the Father had given Him, and He will not lose one. This Jesus is far different from the Jesus that is preached in churches today. A Jesus that is powerless to save without your permission. This is not the Jesus that Paul was a servant to. Jesus' own words about Paul are recorded in Acts 9:15-16."Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." From that statement alone, does it appear that Paul had any choice in the matter of being a minister and apostle? When it comes to our lives, we have been set apart and called, yet we cling to our own desires and wants. Paul is a picture of true obedience. Let us all exemplify the same devotion to our Master.

This Christ Jesus that we follow was "promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures". When I was young, I didn't see how the Old Testament and the New Testament fit together. In one book, you had history, rules, poetry, and prophecy and in the other you had Jesus and teaching. One book called for the eradication of entire people groups and the other told me to love my enemy. The "Holy Scriptures" Paul is referring to is what we now know as the Old Testament. The entire point of the OT is to show Christ. There is Christ in the history, Christ in the Law, Christ in the poetry and the prophecy. According to Luther, "the most convincing and persuasive proof of the Gospel is that is was witnessed by the Law and the prophets." Because of this, Paul can say with full confidence that the Gospel he preaches is not man made or from human wisdom. Amos 3:7 states, "The Lord God will do nothing, but he reveals his secrets to His servants the prophets." It is a beautiful thing that God has given us His written Word. Because of this great grace on God's part, we can rest in knowing that Christianity "owes it's existence neither to blind chance or to fate, but to the divine predetermined counsel and foreordained purpose" of God.

Killing Floor

2011-01-07T16:33:00.006-05:00

Lord knows, I should'a been gone

Then I wouldn't be down here on this killin' floor

Howlin' Wolf

For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:10-11

I have often heard the atheist say that there is no God because "what kind of a God would allow bad things to happen?" The foolishness of the non-Christian places the impetus of "bad" things at God's doorstep while they indulge in the gross sins against a holy God. I've heard the atheist say that if God were a loving God, He wouldn't allow suffering. Once again, they ignore the sins that brought condemnation into the world and blame God for not making us all millionaires. What they fail to realize is that prosperity does not equal happiness. If such were the case, the suicide rate among the rich would be zero instead of being among the highest in the world.1 To the fool, the question to the elect would be, "If God be so merciful, then why do we suffer?" This question is really of insignificance. Because of sin, we live in a broken world among broken people. It is our nature to devour one another. But this is not the reason I write this.

A troubling trend within churches is that we should escape from suffering. While they concede that God uses suffering, their prayers are for escape from affliction. In the American church, affliction is an inconvenience. We pray selfish prayers for healing, deliverance, and an end to the affliction. How often, when afflicted, do we pray for the revelation of the lessons being taught during affliction? Do we really know why God causes His people to suffer? I think if we did, we wouldn't be so quick to pray for it's end. Here are 7 reasons why suffering is God's method of growing his people.

1. God uses suffering for our profit and advantage. To the world, this seems foolish. The fact is that we cannot grow close to the Lord if we live in sin. Afflictions are God's tool to purge and clean us. In John 15, Christ says that the Father prunes the branches that bear fruit. This pruning is God's way of cleansing the saints from their sins so that we may bear more fruit. We should rejoice in this instance. The great Puritan writer Thomas Brooks says, "afflictions serve to revive and recover decayed graces."2 It is these afflictions that soften our hearts and our remembrance of them draws us closer to our Lord.

2. Our afflictions may kill our bodies, but they will not kill our souls. It is this type of kingdom thinking that is lacking with the American church. 1 Peter 3:13 says, "Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled." If we believe we have eternal life, then let not the fear of bodily harm keep us from straying off the path. Socrates said, "O Crito, if it thus pleases the gods, thus let it be. Anytus and Melitus may kill me indeed, but hurt me they cannot."3 Afflictions may kill us, but they will not hurt us. As the stones rained down on Stephen, he saw Christ, and his soul rejoiced. How much more should we rejoice when we get the flu?

3. Our afflictions are short and last only a little while. In the realm of this world, our life on earth is but a mist, but eternity is forever. It was King David who wrote, "For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime."4 A lifetime for us is but a day for the Lord.

4. Our afflictions and sufferings come from God's dearest love. "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent."5 It would be a scary proposition to be left by God with no discipline as Paul describes in Romans 1. To be left to a debased mind. To have no help to conquer sin. To have sin multiply in your heart daily. I am thankful to my parents for disciplining me as a youth. I would shudder to think where I would be now had they tried to be my friends instead of being my parents. Their discipline helped shaped who I am. God's discipline transforms my heart and mind so that I am no longer conforming to the ways of this world.

5. It is our duty to not measure the affliction by the means, but by the ends. Consider Job. He went through more than any of us could have ever imagined. He remained faithful and came out more glorious than we could ever imagine. Consider Joseph. Sold into slavery by his brothers. Falsely imprisoned by Potiphar. Yet, in the end, he was the ruler of Egypt. I recently lost my job. I consider it pure joy. This consideration has helped me to not harbor ill will and bitterness and has given me excitement at the possibilities that will come my way in the future. It isn't easy to be in a place of financial insecurity, yet I do not wrestle with God over His provision. My prayers are not for a high paying job or an easy job or even a comfortable job. My prayers are for God to prepare the hearts of those that I will meet in the workplace and to prepare my heart to be a bold witness. It is an exciting thing to rejoice in the Lord and wait on Him. In my past experiences, I would always lose my patience with the Lord's timing and flee from Him. This is allowing Satan to have victory. This is the epitome of foolishness.

6. Our afflictions are not to wrong us or ruin us, but to try us. If we were prosperous always, why would we need to rely on God? "And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not."6 It is through afflictions and the testing of us, that God sanctifies us.

7. Our afflictions are nothing compared to the afflictions of the reprobate. The reprobate have no peace, no joy, no comfort in times of suffering. Their suffering is not water that is meant to grow them but judgment meant to punish them and condemn them.

In closing, remember that suffering and afflictions are blessings from God. Thomas Brooks wrote, "God had one Son without corruption, and no son without correction."2 When trials come our way, do not flee them. As the early church prayed for steadfastness when the Jews persecuted them, remember the words of the Apostle James. "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."7

1. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,843096-2,00.html

2. Precious Remedies Against Satan Devices 1652

3. Crito and Apology' by Plato

4. Psalm 30:5

5. Revelation 3:19

6. Deuteronomy 8:2

7. James 1:2-4

The Soul of a Man

2010-10-07T13:44:00.006-04:00

Won't somebody tell me, answer if you can!
Want somebody tell me, what is the soul of a man
I'm going to ask the question, answer if you can
If anybody here can tell me, what is the soul of a man?
I've traveled in different countries, I've traveled foreign lands
I've found nobody to tell me, what is the soul of a man
I saw a crowd stand talking, I came up right on time
Were hearing the doctor and the lawyer, say a man ain't nothing but his mind
I read the bible often, I tries to read it right
As far as I can understand, a man is more than his mind
When Christ stood in the temple, the people stood amazed
Was showing the doctors and the lawyers, how to raise a body from the grave

Blind Willie Johnson

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me

Galatians 1:15,16

God has often used the words of Oswald Chambers to soothe my soul in times of spiritual crises. His daily devotions have helped me get through many work days as I've read them before going into work. But recently, I was asked my thoughts on Chamber's devotion from October 6, entitled, The Bent of Regeneration. Here is what Chambers wrote based off the verse in Galatians 1:15,16.

"The New Testament teaching about regeneration is that when a man is struck by a sense of need, God will put the Holy Spirit into his spirit, and his personal spirit will be energized by the Spirit of the Son of God, "until Christ be formed in you." The moral miracle of Redemption is that God can put into me a new disposition whereby I can live a totally new life. When I reach the frontier of need and know my limitations, Jesus says - "Blessed are you." But I have to get there. God cannot put into me, a responsible moral being, the disposition that was in Jesus Christ unless I am conscious I need it."

Chambers has made a grave error in asserting that "man must be struck by a sense of need" before God will impart His Spirit to effectively save. Paul tell us in Romans that "none seek God" and in Ephesians that we were dead in sin and made alive in Christ. Lets look at Paul's letter to the Colossians. 1:21,22 "And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death." Paul says we were once alienated and hostile in our minds. If our minds our hostile to God, then when not only see no need for Him, we despise Him! This is true of all of us, for at one time, we were all hostile in our minds toward God. In the second chapter, Paul follows up with the state of man before salvation. "And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands." Not only were our minds hostile and we were alienated toward God, but we were dead in our sins and uncircumcised in our hearts. There was nothing good in us. The uncircumcised heart does not seek God. It may sense the need that something is missing, but it does not seek God. Chambers also says that man is a "responsible, moral being." Scripture does not testify to man being "moral" for there are none good. When the rich young ruler approaches Christ, he calls him good. Christ rebukes him by asking, "Why do you call me good? There is none good but God."

Coming to Christ is not about sensing a need and knowing my limitations and deciding to let God help me. Coming to Christ is something done solely by the Triune God. In John 3, Nicodemus asks Jesus what man must do to enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus says that man must be born of the Spirit. What does this mean? Does this imply the freedom of man's will plays a role in this birth? The answer is a resounding No! For a dead man cannot choose to be reborn. Slaves cannot choose their masters. Prisoners cannot choose to be justified. Blind men cannot choose to see. It is a dangerous error to assume that man plays such a great role in the saving of His soul. Martin Luther said, "If any man doth ascribe of salvation, even the very least, to the free will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright." John Calvin said. "Indeed the Word of God is like the sun, shining upon all those to whom it is proclaimed, but with no effect among the blind. Now, all of us are blind by nature in this respect... Accordingly, it cannot penetrate into our minds unless the Spirit, as the inner teacher, through his illumination makes entry for it."

So, if this is true of our fallen state, how is anyone saved? God answers this in the book of Jeremiah. "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Regeneration is God changing the heart of those that he has foreknown and loved before the foundation of the world. The Westminster Confession of Faith beautifully sums up the doctrine of regeneration.

"I. All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only, He is pleased, in His appointed time, effectually to call, by His Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death, in which they are by nature to grace and salvation, by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God, taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them an heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and, by His almighty power, determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ: yet so, as they come most freely, being made willing by His grace.

II. This effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not from anything at all foreseen in man, who is altogether passive therein, until, being quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he is thereby enabled to answer this call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it."

Chambers is right that regeneration is a work of the spirit and He changes our disposition, though the Holy Spirit does so much more in us than that. But, according to scripture, he is absolutely wrong in attributing this regeneration by man's sense of need and his morality. He says that God will not change our disposition against our will. But I know that in my life I was not seeking God until He effectually called me and neither was Saul on his way to Damascus. The beauty of the gospel is that God saves sinners in spite of their sinfulness. Praise God that He saved me otherwise I would have never came to Him.

Burn in Hell

2010-10-04T12:35:00.003-04:00

"Well, fell on knee

Take to drink

Pray this prayer

And pray no more

I don't doubt, Lord

Don't let go

Don't let go"

Junior Kimbrough

He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23:3b

What does it mean to follow Jesus? Does it mean that I try my best to love Him and my neighbors, spend time with Him, pray, and repent when I sin? I think that it includes all these things, but as a sinful man I find myself waging war with these activities and seeking my own comfort and needs. And subtly, I find myself measuring my spiritual growth by how often I am successful at performing these acts. What a wretched man, I am!

I have noticed that I tend to look back at where God brought me and I like to look forward to the fulfillment of God's work, but it is very hard to look at the here and now and how to get from point A to point B. In this very real world, where I fight a very real enemy, how do I allow myself to be lead down paths of righteousness for His name's sake? I often find myself saying, "If I just had a better job with a nice boss and weekends off, life would be so much better." Or, "once my car is paid for, my mind will be at ease on regards to finances." What a hollow and shallow view of life I have!

Recently, I have been experiencing some problems at work. I have let these problems at work define who I am. I have let this boss have control over me by allowing a bitter root to spring up and trip me up in feeble pursuit of Christ. The good news of the Gospel is that I am already victorious, that I am Christ's possession and that He has given me everything I need in this life to live holy and blameless, content in all things, and resting in His joy. Without knowing, I have often reduced my Redeemer to my therapist. I only allow Christ to meet the needs that I have defined as opposed to allowing Him to define my true needs. So many people are unemployed, yet in my sinfulness, I would rather quit my job than love my boss. The need perceived is not really a need but a selfish desire that is seeking to allow sin to continue to have a root in my heart instead of submitting to Christ and allowing Him to change me into His image. How can I become more than a conqueror, for His name's sake, if I run from every uncomfortable and difficult situation? It is these little details of life that we must focus on in this war against sin. Christ will lead me through all sorts of uncomfortable and very challenging circumstances. If I view him as anything less than my victorious Redeemer King, then I will always seek to turn to the right or left when the going gets tough.

I am reminded of the words of Isaiah the prophet. "In repentance and rest you will be saved. In quietness and trust is your strength."1 My prayer is that I would fervently cling to the cross.

1. Isaiah 30:15

It's My Soul

2010-08-15T22:20:00.002-04:00

Why do I sit and cry
Without a reason
I don't know why
It's my soul
Oh, it's my soul
I don't know why, people
Wooo, it's my soul

Johnny Winter

The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Matthew 25:40

I have spent many nights wondering what Christ means when he tells us to "lose ourselves" and to "serve one another." Practically speaking, what does this look like? Do we sell our possessions and walk the earth? Do we go on a mission trip? Is it staying late after work to give a co-worker a lift? I think it encompasses all of these things but more importantly, I think it's an attitude, a mindset. It is part of transforming our minds to the mind of Christ. When we renew our minds, we seek opportunities to serve others, to give, to love, and to glorify Christ.

One way to glorify Christ is go to the facebook page for Project 25:40 and become a fan. It doesn't sound like much, but if they get to 5,000 fans by the end of August, then their ministry partners will donate 50 ducks, 20 goats, and dig a water well overseas. So it's quite a simple task. Just go to their facebook page and become a fan and people in need will receive help in the name of the Lord. They could also use our prayer, which is our most effective weapon.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Project-2540/32604073500?ref=ts

300 M.P.H Torrential Outpour Blues

2010-07-20T16:33:00.004-04:00

I'm bringing back ghosts
That are no longer there
I'm gettin' hard on myself
Sittin' in my easy chair
Well, there's three people in the mirror
And I'm wonderin' which one of them I should choose
Well, I can't keep from laughin'
Spittin' out these 300 mile per hour outpour blues

Jack White

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. Psalm 23:2-3a

The good news of the Gospel is that by His death and resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ, has secured salvation, redemption, adoption, and sanctification for His people. Jesus says in the Gospel of John, "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture....I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."1 I believe this. I know this. Yet in my mind, there is a war waging. The crucified flesh, the old man, rises up and causes unrest in my soul.

Often times we misunderstand what it means to walk with the Lord. We go to church, we read our bibles, we pray before each meal, but we live defeated lives, waiting for the Lord to come and rescue us. Waiting for the Lord to "show up" while we drown in a puddle. This is not the life intended for us. Surely, the battle with sin, though it be dethroned, is still a hard battle. The trials of life can be tedious and knock us off the path intended, but we must always remember two things. The Lord has secured the victory and the Lord is present with us. It is in this victory that we can approach the throne of God with confidence that our prayers will be heard and our needs met and it is with this confidence that we can assert that not only is the Lord presently with us, but carrying our burdens. It is a hard thing to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, but this walk we must do if we expect to reap the benefits of being one of God's children.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Phillipian church, giving them this command based on an eternal promise. "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."2 The command is to work out our salvation. To seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, to be holy and blameless, to walk in a manner worthy and so on and so forth. The promise is that God will work in us, to will us to seek Him and to work through us, producing much fruit, quieting our souls, and destroying indwelling sin, conforming us to His image.

So let us not fret. Let us not be overcome by our defeated flesh. Let us KNOW and LIVE like the sons and daughters of God. If you feel stuck in a rut, do not wait for a miracle. Do not wait for the thrill or the "God goosebumps" or any other emotional experience to shake you out of your doldrums. Do not be like one of five thousand fed by five loaves and two fish, and yet still demand a sign or a miracle. Live in the reality that Christ is present, working in you, for his own good pleasure. He will make us lie down in green pastures and restore our souls. He is with us and working in us. Let that be all we will ever need.

Spoonful

2010-07-19T02:11:00.005-04:00

It could be a spoonful of diamonds
Could be a spoonful of gold
Just a little spoon of your precious love
Satisfies my soul

Howlin' Wolf

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want

Psalm 23:1

How often do we preoccupy our minds with the trivial things of this world? Often times when I go to bed, my mind rambles with injustices done to me that I want to make right, or with my plans for the next day, the next week, or the next month. I set up confrontations in my mind and then formulate a conversation or action where I come out as the victor, and my enemy is left feeling shamed. I plan out what I am going to do or how I am going to respond to certain situations that I think are unfair. Or I make grandiose plans and hope they come to fruition. Worry about tomorrow not only keeps me awake all night, but is blatant sin against my Holy Father, who has provided a way and a path, and has set all things in motion to work for my good. David realized this when he wrote this Psalm.

When we think of "want" it is often associated with some sort of material possession. I can't think of one "material thing" that I want. But I can think of thousands of "wants" that keep my mind rambling all the day. I want to be right. I want to show them who's boss. I want to make them pay. I want to be liked. I want to be thought of as smart. I want to be respected. I want my revenge and I want to use sinful means to accomplish it. I want to do nothing when I should do something and I don't want to do the things I ought. My wants ensnare my mind and make it hard to take captive my thoughts and make them obedient to Christ.

I want, better yet, I yearn for the Lord to be sufficient and to want nothing but to know him. Christ spoke about the emptiness of our worries and wants in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6:25-34.

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. My prayer is that seeking His Kingdom and His righteousness will be my only want, my only desire. Then I will truly know what it is to trust the Good Shepherd and to not want.

Commit A Crime

2010-05-12T15:41:00.005-04:00

I'm gonna leave you woman, before I commit a crime.
I'm gonna leave you woman, before I commit a crime.
You tried so hard to kill me, woman it just was not my time.
You put poison in my coffee, instead of milk or cream.
Howlin' Wolf

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

I have been in many relationships that I like to refer as relationshits. I've spent many hours crying, praying, hoping, and yearning for these relationships to work, but one thing that I never did was place God at the head of my relationships. It was not until I started a relationship with my fiancee, Marrissa, that I went into the relationship with the goal of not only making God the priority over the relationship, but the supreme authority over all things pertaining to my life. It was not until I did this, that the Apostle Paul's verses rang indelibly true and a foundation for the relationship was built on the immovability of God's grace and love. In other words, being in a healthy relationship for the first time in my life is quite awesome.

I write these words not for my own edification, as most of these postings are written for my own sanity and accountability. Lately, I have been put in the middle of one of the most one sided and destructive relationships that I've ever witnessed. It is quite the contrast to hear both sides rant and rail against each other while my bride to be and I are in the midst of pre-marriage counseling and reading through a book entitled, When Sinners Say I Do.

The principles that Paul lays out in 1 Corinthians 13 are principles that I have tried to emulate in my relationship. These principles are noticeably ignored and not practiced in the relationship between my two friends, whom we shall call "Jack" and "Meg".

It is clear in their relationship that the only communication between the two is full of malice and anger and resentment. There is no trust, there is nothing that resembles affection for each other. Why are they even together? I do not know. I suppose that in both of their minds, it is better to be miserable with someone than alone. Based on that premise and the fact that neither will listen to my pleadings to break up and move apart, I now feel the responsibility to lay a groundwork of a healthy relationship, if not for their benefit, then for the benefit of anyone currently seeking to turn their relationshit into a healthy relationship.

Love is patient. Love does not seek to have its own way. One of the most destructive and frustrating things I have ever experienced was an argument through text messaging. I have been on both sides, both instigating and defending in this matter, and it is something that I never want to go through again. Love does not seek to have an answer right away. In it's patience, it can wait out the storms, keep the emotions in check, and will wait for its turn to either make it's complaint or defend it's actions. Patience will take someone by the hand and walk with them, no matter how long or arduous the road is. Patience does not demand a verdict.

Love is kind. Love does not seek to hurt another person. Love seeks to serve without the motivation of getting anything in return. The kindness of love is satisfied in and of itself.

Love does not envy. Love is content with itself. Love only wants the best for others and never for oneself. I am far more happier if Marrissa has a good day despite my bad day. My love rejoices in her blessings.

Love does not boast. In a healthy relationship, there is never any need to remind the other person how much you contribute to the relationship. Love does not hold the sins of the other over their heads. As a wretched sinner, I can only boast in the cross. Boasting in the fact that I make more money or that I do the bulk of the traveling is irrelevant and counter-productive and causes a rift in the relationship.

Love is not arrogant. True love, as laid out by Christ in the Gospels, seeks to exalt the other above one's self. Marrissa's well being is far more important than mine. In this humility, we are able to serve one another and meet each other's needs. Love does not seek to change another person. "Meg" asked me one time how she could change "Jack". This was supremely arrogant. First, "Jack" needs to change on his own. How do you change him? You love him! You serve him! You seek after his well being! The biggest folly that women continually repeat is this notion that bitching and complaining will change a man. Love is about compromise, not behavior modification. The man may modify his behavior, but it is usually to shut the woman up. No change in his heart has taken place and therefore, when he has had enough of the one-sidedness of the compromise, he will inevitably revert to his way.

Love is not rude. Love does not seek to injure the other with their words or their actions. "Jack" one time told "Meg" to go play in traffic. I did not doubt his seriousness. As far as I know, he never took it back. One thing "Jack" needs to realize is that he lives in "Meg's" house. Would she be justified to change the locks and throw his stuff in the yard? Taking someone's kindness for granted is one the rudest and evilest things that people do. I've certainly done it before, so who am I to judge? Yet, if it were me in "Meg's" shoes, he would be homeless. This is why I thank God everyday for a girl that has never once been rude to me or by her actions, inspired me to be rude to her. And if we were rude to each other, we have built a foundation of respect and forgiveness.

Love does not insist on it's own way. As mentioned earlier, love seeks the well being of others before it's own needs. "Meg" once asked me when I quoted this verse to her, "should he then be able to get away with whatever he wants?" Well, quite frankly, if you believe the relationship is salvageable, then yes. What he is getting away with was never defined, but we have the choice. Stick it out or leave. If you feel the relationship is worth sticking it out, then you must not insist on your own way. Compromise is key and that involves both parties applying these principles to their lives first, the relationship second.

Love is not irritable or resentful. Love does not hold the sins of the other over their heads. As Christ said, "remove the plank from your own eye." In my relationship, I am the biggest problem. It is the fundamental truth of relationships. "Meg" would like to think that if "Jack" would be this way, all would be good. And vice versa. What they both need to realize is that they, themselves, are the biggest problem in the relationship. When we look in the mirror and see ourselves for what we really are, we no longer puff ourselves up and blame the other person. We see that we are the cause of our own problems. We are our own worst enemies. In that context, how dare I hold her crankiness over her head or resent her for it? What am I doing to make her less cranky or ease her crankiness should be my question to myself. I should love her more when she is cranky because she NEEDS my love more! Anything else is throwing gasoline onto the fire.

Love does not rejoice at wrong doing, but rejoices with truth. As I said earlier, I've been a part of many destructive relationships, but one so destructive as the time I was the "other guy" for a married woman. Currently, I tread very carefully in my conversations with any ex's or other women. I merely do not trust myself and respect Marrissa too much to even plant the tiniest of thoughts in her head, that my eyes may be wandering. With that being said, I am completely transparent. She has access to my Facebook account. My cell phone is never locked and always on the counter. The beautiful truth of our union is this. Because I am transparent, she has no desire to snoop and does not snoop. When my ex's would hack my accounts and go through my phones, I was furious. Why? Because I was hiding something. Innocent people have no need for the games that people play in relationships. They do not rejoice in them and I personally find the back and forth quite nauseating. It is liberating to be loved and trusted!!

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love is the greatest gift that God has given to man. Man in his sinfulness has perverted love and tainted it's goodness. It is this kind of love that changed me, that brought me to my knees, that puts Marrissa before my own interests, that seeks to serve her and edify her. I can say that we have probably had 3 or 4 arguments in our time together. We will have many more. But never has a voice been raised or a hurtful word been said. Never has resentment been allowed to manifest itself nor sins of the past been used to injure. Never have we let the sun go down on any issue that offended one of us and never have we refused to communicate. This love has helped to bring sanity into my life, given me a clearer vision of God's own love for me, and helped to restore my faith. My prayer is that we both stay faithful to Christ and to each other, for it is by His grace, does such a love exist between us.

Most Things Haven't Worked Out

2010-05-06T00:18:00.004-04:00

O LORD, you have deceived me,
and I was deceived;
you are stronger than I,
and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all the day;
everyone mocks me.
For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I shout, "Violence and destruction!"
For the word of the LORD has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.

Jeremiah 20:7-8

I was recently speaking to a pastor/friend about an accountability group he attended with three other local pastors from different denominations. The pastors talked about their struggles within their ministries and relationships. The theme of their conversation seemed to be surrender. This idea that if I can fully surrender to God, then things will work out. My friend described this surrender as elusive to them, for some of the pastors were quite older than him, yet they still haven't figured it out how to fully surrender. I asked him a two part question. First, what does this elusive total surrender to Christ look like? Second, what expectations do these guys have when they finally reach full surrender? I think those questions have different answers based on one's theology, and depending on how far off one's doctrine of God is, can have dire consequences for one's faith.

So many christians base their spiritual growth on how well behaved they are or on how well they can play church. But this is not what the christian life is all about. Sanctification, or being made holy, is not about achieving some moral victory. The truth is, we will never be good enough for God. So why would we judge growth based on a checklist of good deeds when we were saved by grace to begin with? What does full surrender look like and is it maintainable? I honestly don't know what full surrender looks like and I am certain that it is not maintainable. This is why the cross is so important. We are poor dejected sinners striving to be holy, but we will always fail. As the great puritan theologian Thomas Watson said, "To deny [we]sin is to devalue grace."

Men from all ages have often sought their own plans by their own will instead of seeking after God. I don't doubt the hearts of these three pastors my friend met with by any means, but they relayed a feeling that total surrender would equal good things in their life and their ministry. One of the greatest lies the Devil has infiltrated into the church is the idea that if I'm good, God will bless me. And if I'm bad, I will be punished. Let us look at the lives of two of God's greatest prophets from the Old Testament. In 1 Kings 18, we find the prophet Elijah, challenging the prophets of Baal to a contest to see whose god will show up. In verse 36-40, we see Elijah victorious.

And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back." Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, "The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God." And Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape." And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.

In the next chapter, we find Elijah's life being threatened by Jezebel. Israel has seen Elijah's miracles, yet they did not repent, and now Elijah decides to flee for his life. Elijah meets God on the mountain and wants to give up his ministry. Surely, Elijah must have thought by God's miraculous display that Israel would repent, that Ahab and Jezebel would be overthrown, that the peace of the Lord would fill the land and that the people would return to him. Instead, the exact opposite occurs. How does our faith stand the test when we fully surrender and the unexpected happens?

The prophet Jeremiah lived a life of full surrender, prophesying the destruction of Judah and the exile of the children of Israel. These were not the words he wanted to say but the words of the Lord burning inside of him. He was beaten and scorned. Shouldn't God's prophet be prosperous he must have thought. Jeremiah went as far as to say that the Lord deceived him. That curses should be laid on the man that congratulated his father when he was born and curses his own birth. What if we fully surrender and lose our ministry? This is why theology is important. Because we do not always get what we want and most things don't work out the way we want them.

One summer I went to Romania on a missions trip. God provided the money to go but when I returned I barely had enough to pay rent. Needless to say, my faith struggled. I openly argued to God, "I went overseas to serve you. I gave up my summer for you! How can you not at least provide a job so that I can make enough money to pay rent!?!" How foolish I was then. My roommate helped bring me back down to humility when he asked me, "If God were to take everything, and you became homeless, would you still follow Him? Furthermore, would he be any less loving or just?" He was right. In my full surrender to God's will, he taught me something that summer that I did not expect to learn. God owes me nothing. In my absolute worst, when I ran from God as fast as I could, I've had jobs where I prospered. And in my surrender, in the same job, I was not prosperous. Living in full surrender to God's will is not a recipe for an easy life with a great ministry. If Christ was persecuted, if Paul was shipwrecked and chained, if Peter was crucified upside down, then where in the hell did this idea that full surrender equals prosperity come from? God's blessings are not dependent on my morality. And I'm thankful for that because I am a miserable sinner, waging a war against my flesh that I cannot win on my own. Praise be to God for His grace and mercy!

So let us seek to fully surrender our lives to God, but not to prosper our ministry, or make more money, or feel good about our faith. Let us fully surrender because God is good and he is worthy of our surrender. He has saved us from the pit, numbered the hairs on our heads and knows us by name. And when times get tough, cling to the cross and know that God works all things for the good of those whom he loves and has called by name.

Freedom

2010-04-26T12:27:00.007-04:00

You got my heart
speak electric water
You got my soul
screamin' and howlin'
You know you hook my girlfriend
You know the drugstore man
But I don't need it now
I was trying to slap it out of her head

Jimi Hendrix

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Corinthians 2:14

I was recently directed to the blog of New York Times Bestselling author Donald Miller. Donald Miller has written bestsellers titled Blue Like Jazz and Searching For God Knows What. The latter which I have read at the request of my girlfriend who is a big Donald Miller fan. After reading the book, I found Miller's writing style engaging, but the content held as much theological truths as The Purpose Driven Life. Miller likes to take a simpleton's view of spirituality and attempt to make it culturally relevant. The blog that Miller wrote that I want to address is titles "Are People Basically Good?" and can be found at this link.

http://donmilleris.com/2010/04/22/ar...asically-good/

Before I address the content of this blog, I want to give a little background on the theology of Donald Miller. He is part of the Emerging Church, which derives a lot of its theology from the Postmodern hermeneutic of Deconstructionism.Deconstruction generally tries to demonstrate that any text is not a discrete whole but contains several irreconcilable and contradictory meanings; that any text therefore has more than one interpretation; that the text itself links these interpretations inextricably; that the incompatibility of these interpretations is irreducible; and thus that an interpretative reading cannot go beyond a certain point.1 The Emergent Church has denied vital doctrines such as penal substitutionary atonement, hell and eternal punishment, and places more importance on living like Jesus than being led by Jesus. According to monergism.com, "Emerging Churches usually define themselves as those who like to take the life of Jesus as a model way to live, welcome those who are outside, share generously, participate, create, lead without control and function together in spiritual activities or communities who practice the way of Jesus within postmodern cultures. While all of these activities may be good, please notice that all of the above emerging principles are not about what Christ has done for us, but what we do for him. So the the very central core of Christianity is left out. The true gospel, rather, is news about what Christ has already done for us as a Savior, rather than instruction and advice about what we are to do for God. The primacy of His accomplishment, not ours, is the essence of our faith. The gospel of Christ above all brings news, rather than instruction."2

Now whether or not Miller ascribes to all of these beliefs is debatable. His writings convey the message of a relational dynamic with Christ and its importance over above believing certain doctrines. He rarely quotes scripture and takes an 'Aw shucks, I don't know about theology but I know that Jesus ate with sinners, and that seems pretty important.' While eating with sinners and living as Jesus lived is important, the salvation of a fallen man is not dependent on those things. Christianity without a cross ceases to be Christianity.

Onto Miller's blog, Are People Basically Good? Miller opens the blog with this line. I’ve always wondered why people who believe in total depravity say things to their kids like “good job” when they catch a baseball. Shouldn’t they say something like you caught the ball, but you still deserve to go to hell?

Miller quickly shows his severe lack of intelligence in regards to theology. As someone who holds dear to the doctrine of total depravity, his conclusion is quite offensive and it shows not only how ignorant Donald Miller is, but also how lazy he is. Even those who deny the doctrine of total depravity don't even take it to the conclusion that a man would tell his son, "Nice catch but you still deserve hell." He continues displaying his ignorance with this gem of a statement.

I’ve never really trusted people who believed we were totally depraved, for obvious reasons. How can their view of the world be trusted? They are totally depraved, after all.

Quite Frankly, Mr. Miller, I've never trusted Christians that believed they were good enough to earn salvation or that by just living a good moral life, Christ would be pleased. The worldview of a christian that holds on to total depravity is a cross centered worldview. There is none righteous, no not one. Knowing the evil that lives inside of me and its POWER, my only recourse is to cling to the cross. Miller continues....

A pastor friend told me recently, though, that the term total depravity doesn’t mean you aren’t a good person, or aren’t capable of doing good, but that you aren’t capable of redeeming yourself. You are totally depraved, he said,at being able to access God.

This pastor was correct, but it shows the lack of respect that Miller has for doctrine. As a writer and one who has influence, Miller never says he went to scripture to then research this idea or sought to read what the reformers had to say. I guess I should at least be thankful that Donald Miller clearly knows a pastor that could talk some sense into him. He continues...

That made more sense to me, to be honest. And besides, I’ve met plenty of people who don’t even know God who are good people. And I mean really, really good. I mean they love and care about people, they are moral, they are charitable, so the whole idea there is nothing good in them doesn’t seem to jive with reality.

This is where Miller's postmodern view of scripture shows itself. Who is he comparing these people to? Himself? Clearly, he is not comparing them to Christ. He takes great care to mention that they are "really, really good." and they "love and care" for people. Mr. Miller, loving and caring for people is not enough. While it is good and noble, it does not save. And when you start to look at yourself in comparison with Christ and not your friends, you will see that there is no good in you. Your buddy and life model, Jesus Christ said himself in John 15:4-6 "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned." So according to Jesus, no man can do any good unless he abides in Him. Those that do not abide in Him or know Him, are like branches that are thrown away and burned. So I ask Miller, what good are these non-believers doing? Do you believe the good they do saves them? Makes them righteous? Are their works not like filthy rags? Furthermore, the account of the rich young man in Mark 10:17-18, Jesus has some interesting words about what is good. "And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone." Miller concludes his blog with this:

Sometimes I wonder if God has an enemy and that enemy is trying to get us to not like people, because if we don’t like them, they won’t listen to anything we say. And sometimes I wonder if the idea of total depravity has been skewed to get us to not like people. Ever thought about this? And do you think people can be good? I don't know what type of christian Miller has dealt with, but I have never in my life met someone who used total depravity to not like people. The reason the church has lost its relevance is because it has forsaken sound doctrine and traded it for a snake oil salesmen. The emerging church and seeker sensitive churches think they have figured out the church's cultural crisis by fleeing from sound doctrine, watering down the Gospel, removing it's offensiveness and preaching a Gospel of acceptance and making Jesus as cool as possible. The truth is, this gospel does not save anyone. It does not change anyone. Donald Miller writes about a weak Jesus that doesn't care what we believe about him, he just wants us to hold hands and sing around the campfire. This is not a freeing gospel. The Gospel teaches us that we cannot attain righteousness on our own. We cannot do good in God's sight. We cannot love like God. We are under the power of sin and God has sent his son to free us. Ultimate freedom is found in service to the Cross. It is found by being led by the spirit. How can the church be led by the spirit if the wolves in sheep's clothing like Donald Miller tell us that we are good and scripture isn't that important to knowing Christ. We just need to follow His example. It is no wonder his simpleton writing is so popular in an age where the offensive doctrine of the Cross is replaced by the buddy Jesus. So let us seek the truths and mysteries of Christ and be led by His spirit. Let us seek to know more of Him so that the fruit we bear, we bear by being led by His Spirit. I will close with a quote from the great Puritan theologian John Owen. "Without absolutes revealed from without by God Himself, we are left rudderless in a sea of conflicting ideas about manners, justice and right and wrong, issuing from a multitude of self-opinionated thinkers."

1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconstructionism 2.http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/qna/emerging.html

Trouble Will Soon Be Over

2010-04-13T23:10:00.004-04:00

Oh, trouble’ll soon be over, sorrow will have an end
Oh, trouble’ll soon be over, sorrow will have an end

Well, Christ is my foot and fellow, He’s my only friend
Till the end of my sorrow and tells me to lean on Him

Blind Willie Johnson

The Gospel of Mark

Chapter 1 verses 1-13

A commentary

v. 1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ...

The beginning of the good news was not necessarily the virgin birth. Mark begins with John the Baptist preparing the way as does the Gospel of John. The most important news of the coming of the Messiah is not the birth of Christ but the start of his ministry as prophesied by the Old Testament prophets and the aforementioned John the Baptist.

v. 1 ...the Son of God.

Mark opens his gospel not only claiming that Jesus was the promised Christ but also the Son of God. Because he refers him as the Son of God, he deviates from the Gospel of Matthew, who referred to Jesus as the Son of David and Abraham, showing the kingship of Christ as heir to the Davidic throne. Mark writes his gospel to a primarily gentile audience which is probably why he left out the the heirship of the Davidic throne, which would be appealing to a Jewish audience, as Matthew's Gospel was written to.

v. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

Matthew quotes not only Isaiah 40:3 but also Malachi 3:1, using passages from the Septuagint, to not only exalt John as a prophet but to exalt the one that John preaches about as the promised Savior. The Old Testament is the Gospel's beginning and source and Jesus is the final inspired interpretation.

v. 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness...

The ministry of John in the wilderness to remind Israel of her covenant with God. It is through the wilderness that He led them to the promised land and through the wilderness, John will lead the people of God to Christ, the promised Messiah.

and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

This baptism was a symbolic ritual cleaning and a proclamation to repent and seek God. This baptism did not forgive sins but was a sign of a new covenant that was to come.

v. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

Clearly, not every Israelite came to him, but many did. Enough to attract Herod's attention. This renewal, that occurred throughout the region, was the preparation of hearts and minds to receive the Messiah. God was drawing his covenant people to Himself to give them His son.

v. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.

Why was it important for Mark to tell us what John wore and what he ate? 2 Kings 1:8 describes what the prophet Elijah wore. Mark wanted to draw a connection between Elijah and John. John is the new Elijah, preparing the way for the Lord. The rise of the prophets in Jewish history started with Elijah. The last great prophet to come was John, nearly 400 years after the last book of the Old testament was written.

v. 7 And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.

John recognized his role as an emerging prophet whose role was to prepare the way for the Messiah. v. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

Jesus is coming not to wash the outside, but to purify the hearts and mind of God's people. This new covenant will renew the people through Himself and through the Spirit.

v.9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee...

Galilee was not a place held in high regard. It was a place of mixed race and the law was not zealously observed. Nazareth was a small village. No mention of Nazareth exists in the Old Testament. It is befitting of the Savior to come from a place of insignificance that the Pharisees would have disdain for. See John 7:52.

and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

Matthew 3:15 says that Jesus was baptized to "fulfill all righteousness." Jesus' baptism was part of His process of bearing the sins of the world. For the christian, we are baptized into His death and resurrection. The baptism instituted by Christ is more than just a symbolic representation. It is a powerful command from Christ that identifies one as part of the new covenant.

v. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

Just as in christian baptism, all three persons of the trinity are involved. The initiative of the Father, the work of the Son, and the enabling power of the Spirit are present. In Jesus' baptism, the Spirit descends as a sign that the Christ is indeed the Messiah and that the preaching of John was validated, thus validating the Old Testament prophecies concerning John.

v. 11 And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

The Father validates the coming ministry of Jesus. Because in Jesus, all things were created, the Father knows Jesus on a personal level and has sent Jesus to fulfill His initiative of a new covenant.

v. 12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.

The importance of the wilderness in the Old Testament cannot be understated. It was in the wilderness that Elijah fled from Jezebel and hid. It was in the wilderness that Israelites wandered for forty years. While those instances occurred, God used the wilderness to refine and purify and make Himself known. Christ, the embodiment of all perfection, did not need to be refined. It was in the wilderness where God made a covenant with the Israelites and where Christ reminds them of where they came from and how He will intercede to the Father for their sake.

v. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days,

The number 40 in the scriptures is a symbol for new beginnings. 40 years in the wilderness, 40 days of rain, and Christ, fasting and being tempted for 40 days. God was going to start a new covenant with His people.

being tempted by Satan.

God does not tempt us, James 1:13 says, "Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil and He, Himself does not tempt anyone. Though Jesus was God incarnate, he was still fully man. This temptation was a temptation of his humanity. In Luke's Gospel, Satan uses Jesus' hunger to tempt him to turn stones into bread. Jesus' responses to Satan's temptations were quotations from scripture. If this is how our Lord would respond to temptation, how much more should we?

And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

In comparison to the Exodus, we see God providing for the Israelites during the journey. Just as manna fell from heaven to feed starving bellies and angels ministered to our Lord, we can be confident that God will provide for us when we are tempted and tested. This is why James extols us to consider our trials pure joy. For in the midst of trials we can see God's hand at work.

Hold Me In Your Arms

2010-03-30T15:44:00.004-04:00

Well now heal me, heal me with your touch
Your touch keeps me hangin’ on

The Black Keys

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 5:24

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Hebrews 10:14

There is a perverse doctrine that permeates the church today, especially prevalent in charismatic circles where the church teaches that man is capable of coming to Christ on his own and that Christ's death has really only made men saveable. While this teaching is unbiblical, taking the next step of soteriology within this doctrine is downright frightening. It is the belief that a redeemed sinner can lose his salvation. Certainly, in order to lose something one must have had to earn it first. Yet we know that it is by grace alone that we have been saved. So how we can we lose what we never earned? The Bible is clear that God has set apart a people to be his own possession. Reading through the prophets of the Old testament, we can see a pattern laid out. The rebellious Israelites had turned from Yahweh and through His prophets, He threatens exile, terrors, famines, and other acts of judgments. But Yahweh always leaves a provision for His people. Because of His eternal covenant, He promises to bring them back, purify them, and place a love for His law in their hearts. The prophet Jeremiah says of the exiled Israelites, "I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me."1

To believe that you can lose your salvation is such a frightening prospect. Scripture says that our good deeds are like filthy rags. So much like filthy rags that our works have no merit on our salvation. If we are saved by grace, apart from our filthy rags, then it is illogical to think that our filthy rags would then disqualify from our salvation.

The beautiful truth of our Lord Jesus Christ is that in Him we were chosen before the foundation of the world, set apart to be a royal priesthood and a holy possession, saved completely by His death on a cross, justified in the eyes of God and adopted to be His children. This is the gospel. God came to save sinners. And in doing so, His grace will sustain them throughout this life. Jesus says that those who believe in Him, have eternal life. He does not say that those who believe in Him and then lead a good christian life have eternal life. Paul says that we have no condemnation if we are in Christ. According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of condemned is to be pronounced guilty; to declare to be reprehensible, wrong, or evil usually after weighing evidence and without reservation.2 If there is no condemnation for those in Christ, how can we lose our salvation? The Westminster Confession of Faith says that "they, whom God has accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved."3

So rejoice in a Savior who saves completely, who loves completely, and who has made those that He is sanctifying, perfect in the sight of the Almighty! Do not live in the fear that you can be too sinful for God. If you could not be good enough to earn His love and salvation then what makes you think you can be bad enough to lose His love and salvation.

1. Jeremiah 32:40

2.http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/condemned

3. chapter xvii section 1

Heavy Soul

2010-03-16T15:30:00.005-04:00

Hear her callin' hurry home
Been so long since I been gone
I wont get tired wont go astray
I hear her callin' call my name
Hey now darling
Heavy soul darling

The Black Keys

But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:11

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Romans 8:14

Previously, I discussed the idea of man being spiritually dead and unable to come to faith in Christ, unless drawn by the Spirit. This idea is found throughout scripture but never so clearly as in John 6:44, where Jesus says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day." In practical terms, what does this mean? It means, that despite man's desire for freedom and control in his life, God does all the work in salvation. Man brings absolutely nothing to the table. Many Christians will look at such an idea with contempt. But why? Why do we feel the need to spit in the face of Christ and claim part of the victory for ourselves? Why is an idea that gives God the glory, 100%, such a divisive idea? I don't know the answers to these questions. What I do know is this: Dead men do not seek God. Fallen men are slaves to sin and cannot and will not seek righteousness. Praise God that He saves His people from a dead life, full of sin, and creates in them a new heart, leading them by His voice and His word, into a justified life, being made holy, not by our own deeds, but through the work of His spirit.

So let us unpack this principle. Each member of the trinity plays a specific role in the salvation of man. It is the Father, who loved His people before the foundation of the world and set them apart to be His holy possession. At the appointed time, He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to be a sacrifice for their sin, and secure their redemption in His blood and life in His resurrection. But despite being chosen and set apart for this sacrifice and new life, man is still spiritually dead and an enemy to God. The role of the Holy Spirit is to apply this salvation to God's chosen. Simply put, every person that the Spirit intends to save, will be saved. The Spirit breathes life into the elect.

We have all, at one time or another, been an enemy of God and heard the gospel message to repent and follow Christ. This gospel call is extended to everyone. We also know many people who have heard this call and have refused it. This general call does not bring sinners to Christ because men are spiritually dead. The gospel is foolishness to them. There is no amount of threats, bribes, reasoning, or promises that will bring a spiritually blind, deaf, and dead sinner to Christ. Therefore, the Holy Spirit extends a special internal call to those God foreknew and loved. Within this call, the Holy Spirit extends grace to the chosen, changes their hearts, renews their minds, and removes the scales from their eyes. He gives them not only ears that can hear but a spiritual mind to discern the righteousness of Christ and places in their heart a desire to freely and willingly seek Christ. I mentioned in a previous post about my own salvation. Growing up in the church, believing the work of Christ was the same as knowing that the sky is blue. But I loved my sin and had little inclination to be a man of God. I had read parts of the bible before, but it never really meant anything to me. One night, I had a strange desire to read the gospels. As I read them, my life was thrown upside down. Did I come to freely to Christ of my own volition? Yes. Would I have come freely to Christ had the spirit not changed my heart and disposition first? Emphatically, I say, No!

This special inward call given to the elect, never fails. While the general call of the Gospel is often rejected, this inward call is irresistible. This is what it means to be a new creation or born again. What man can recreate himself? What man can re-enter the womb and choose his spiritual birth? The beauty of the Gospel is that the Spirit is in no way dependent on us to bring about this new birth. The Westminster Confession of Faith sums up this doctrine as such.

"All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only, He is pleased, in His appointed time, effectually to call, by His Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death, in which they are by nature to grace and salvation, by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God, taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them an heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and, by His almighty power, determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ: yet so, as they come most freely, being made willing by His grace."1

Once again, I encourage you to rejoice in such a mighty and merciful God, that loves His people so much that he has made every provision, independent of our own desires, and has set forth His almighty will to work out all things for our good.

1. Chapter X section 1

Oceans and Streams

2010-03-07T22:52:00.004-05:00

With guilt that no man should carry
Heavy enough for me to get buried
I feel death on the road tonight
It's got me to where I wanna run and hide

The Black Keys

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Ephesians 5:25-27

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

John 10:11

even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Matthew 20:28

Without the death and resurrection of Jesus, our faith is worthless. So we believe in the hope of that which was prophesied at the fall of man and preached by unlearned fishermen, a tax collector, and a murderer, who sought to destroy the hope that now saves us 2000 years later. This faith, which was given to His children, whom He foreknew before the foundation of the world, is the faith in His son, who died on a cross, took upon the guilt of the world, securing a place at the table for all God's children, and ultimately rose again on the third day. It is this death that gives us life. But who did Christ die for and what exactly did His death accomplish?

Jesus says that he gave his life as a ransom for many and that He dies for His sheep. His sheep, the church, is who Paul says He died for. What are the implications of making such a statement? For Christ to have died for every single human being means that His death did not effectively secure for them any inheritance or mercy from God. If Christ died for every single person that ever lived, then what did His death accomplish? We all know people that do not believe. So if Christ died for the unbeliever, was his death not powerful enough to atone for their sins, since they remain in disbelief? And since they continue in disbelief and disobedience, Christ's death did nothing for them in the way of saving their souls. If you say that Christ's death made men savable, then you have effectively limited the power of Christ's death and put the onus of salvation on the individual. Salvation becomes a matter of choice, left to men who are dead in their sins and incapable of their own rebirth. I have even heard some people say that Christ's death regenerates all men. But if this were the case, then it would strip God of His sovereign power and once again leave salvation up to the will of sinful men. Why then pray to God for the salvation of the lost if it is our choice to believe and be saved? This is a stark contradiction of what is portrayed in scripture. It has already been established scripturally that men are spiritually dead, their will in bondage to sin. In addition, God has set apart His people from before the foundation of the world and called them according to His purpose. It is for these people, the church, that Christ has died.

In giving His life as a ransom for His sheep, Christ effectively secures their regeneration, justification, and sanctification. From the beginning to the end, it is the full work of Christ that saves His people, lest any man should boast. Christ's death has reconciled us with God. Our sins deserved death. But God loved His people so much, that He sent His son, to reconcile us to Him through Christ's blood. Paul says in Romans 5:10, "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." This death paid our debts. But it also has done so much more. It has also justified us with God. When God looks at you, he doesn't see a sinner failing miserably at being a "good" Christian. He sees His son. In Romans 5:8-9, Paul says, "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God." Christ's death also secures our sanctification. Sanctification is the process of being made holy. While we do play a role in our own sanctification by praying, studying the word, partaking the sacraments, serving others, and so on and so forth. But this sanctification would not be possible without first being regenerated by the Holy Spirit removing the scales from our eyes and calling us to Christ's voice and then through the gift of faith, justifying us and crediting us as righteous before God. In John 3, Christ tells Nicodemus that the good works of those that walk in the light are shown to be from God. It is the mercy and love of God, through Christ's death, that produces our good works and bears in us good fruit. In doing all of these things for His people, Jesus fulfills an eternal covenant with the Father, as evidence in John 6:35-40.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

So rejoice in the work that Christ has done in your life, from beginning to end, accomplishing all you will ever need. He breathed life into your dead soul, called you to Himself, by His blood, reconciled you to God and justified you in His sight. He works out everything in your life for the good. It is in Him, you find rest, love, grace, peace, and hope to carry on. It is in His death that you have life. So live this life for Him.

You're the One

2010-03-03T17:55:00.007-05:00

When I was 13
My mom said
"Son, you're the
one I adore"

The Black Keys

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:4-6

And he said,"I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

Exodus 33:19

I don't really think that the Bible is a confusing book. And while I realize the will of God is mysterious and on occasion man's feeble mind cannot comprehend it, I do not believe that God is the author of confusion. God is a good and just and merciful. He has given us His Son, His Holy Spirit, and His Word to lead us through the trials and temptations of life. His Word provides comfort for those that hope in Him and terror for those that mock Him. So I don't think God's Word is confusing. I think He has made it very very clear on who does what in the role of salvation. One of the things that God's word is clear on is man's complete and utter inability to be righteous on his own. The Word is clear that man is steeped in sin and because of this sin is spiritually dead and an enemy to God. That is a pretty grim view of mankind. So how does a dead man, an enemy to the Almighty come to salvation? Are we not all doomed?

The good news is that Christ came to save those that the Father had chosen and given to Him. Matthew 11:27 says, "No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone the Son chooses to reveal Him." Jesus is saying that it is not up to you! When confronted by the Pharisees, Jesus says that they do not understand because they are not His sheep. He tells them that His sheep hear His voice and know Him as the good shepherd. When Nicodemus asks Jesus what one must do to be saved, Jesus tells him that he must be born again. The words that the writers use in the scriptures are not intended to be vague. Paul says we were dead. Christ says we must be born again. Has any man imposed his free will on his own natural death or natural birth? The answer is a resounding no. Christians throughout the world have no problem whatsoever believing that the Israelites were chosen by God. Yet, the overwhelming majority of churches in America will preach that man must choose God to be saved. This is a direct contradiction to the words of Christ posted above and the words of Paul throughout all of his epistles and most notably in Ephesians 1:4-5. All who follow Christ are the sons of Abraham and heirs to the promises. This sovereign election, as Paul says, occurred before the foundation of the world and is compromised of both Jew and gentile.

Now it is worth noting, and of the utmost importance, to say that God's election is completely undeserved and is based only on His sovereign grace. No man is worthy of God's love, yet He loves unconditionally. Nobody is worthy to be spared God's justice, for all have sinned and fallen short, yet God has spared some. It brings me great comfort to know that I did nothing in the salvation of my soul. That God loved me so much, he knew me before the foundation of the world, is so overwhelmingly humbling that words cant express my gratitude.

Some might argue that this seems unfair. This is based on a presuppositional view of scripture that men are able to play a role in their own salvation, but what man can raise Himself from the dead? The only man to do so, Christ, did so, to save sinners. And just as He called out to Lazarus, He calls out to His people and raises them from spiritual death and quickens their hearts, so that they may know and serve Him. It is those that can accept the gift of faith, which leads to justification before God. The great puritan theologian John Owen states,"To suppose that whatever God requireth of us that we have power of ourselves to do, is to make the cross and grace of Jesus Christ of none effect." The grace of God is null and void if there is no election. If man had the ability to come to Christ apart from election, then man would be a co-savior and would be entitled to receive glory, since he chose to be saved with no help from God. This is a damnable heresy. Yet it's stench permeates the church today. Martin Luther said,"If any man doth ascribe of salvation, even the very least, to the free will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright."

So does election equal salvation? The answer is no. Election precedes salvation. For those that are in Christ's flock, we all remember coming to God. We remember the tugs on our heart strings. We remember being led to Christ and being called by Him. For me, I grew up in church. My grandfather was a pastor. Believing that Christ died for my sins was as normal and natural as believing the sky was blue. But this belief was not a saving belief. It wasn't until my junior year of college, that God had placed me around believers that were living sold out lives for Him, while I was living a life of whiskey, women, and debauchery. See, I knew about God. I knew that I wasn't living the way He probably wanted me to, but I didn't KNOW God. A few months before my 21st birthday, I felt a desire to attend Campus Crusade for Christ. I can't explain why it interested me. I had plenty of friends there, but that wasn't the sole reason I was going. Then in February of 2001, I was given my own Bible. I decided to read it since the giver spent money on it. The words I was reading, which I had read before, were now the sweetest words I had read. What was just words in a sacred book before, were now words of life and hope and love. This was God calling me to repentance. The great Jonathan Edwards says this of the time when a dead sinner hears God calling him. "...the first effect of the power of God in the heart in regeneration is to give the heart a Divine taste or sense; to cause it to have a relish of the loveliness and sweetness of the supreme excellency of the Divine nature."

So be humbled that God loved you so much He chose you before the foundation of the word, and works all things for your good, according to His sovereign purpose!

'Cause we're all stillborn and dead in our transgressions
We're shackled up to the sin we hold so dear
So what part can I play in the work of redemption
I can't refuse, I cannot add a thing

'Cause I am just like Lazarus and I can hear your voice
I stand and rub my eyes and walk to You.1

1. From the song Thankful by Caedmon's Call

Psychotic Girl

2010-03-01T22:42:00.005-05:00

I heard you threw your man around
picked him up just to let him down
it's a shame baby but i always knew
it's just the way your gonna do

The Black Keys

the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live

Ecclesiastes 9:3

Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
There is not one.

Job 4:14

The older I get, the more aware I become of the world around me. The more I watch the news, the more cynical I become. The closer I examine myself and my own sins, the more I realize that humanity is completely and utterly hopeless. And then I look at God's word in relation to the world I've come to know. And God's word only confirms my sneaking suspicions that man is completely helpless without the divine intervention of the Almighty. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:14, "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." Before the intervening grace of God, we were all "the natural person", incapable to understand the things of God. The prophet Isaiah says that our "righteous" deeds are like filthy rags to God. No man can please God apart from faith. Paul says that we are dead in our sins. What does it mean to be dead in our sins?

Scripture is abundantly and perfectly clear that our sin has separated us from our Creator, that our hearts are inclined toward evil, and that we are incapable of keeping God's law. I would like to think that I am a good guy. I have friends that are "good" people. But good is a relative term. Compared to Osama bin Laden, I'm a pretty good guy. Aren't we all? Compared to Mother Theresa, I'm still a decent guy, I think. I know a lot of people that give up their lives to serve others. I've spent considerable time on the mission field. Compared to Jesus Christ......Is there anything that I do that is good compared to Jesus? My sin is only magnified next to the life of Christ.

If I were to give you a glass of water, you could drink it and say that it was good. Christ often referred to himself and his salvation as water that would quench thirst. If I were to give you a glass of water with a drop of urine in it, would you still drink it? Certainly, the water could dilute the urine, right? Or has the one drop of urine completely and totally ruined the glass of water? Sin has done the same thing to us. One sin separated mankind from God and lead to the whole race being ruined. Spiritual death. Can the glass of water remove the drop of urine and make itself clean again? Not according to scripture. Jeremiah says that a leopard cannot change his spots. Job says that nothing unclean can produce something clean. This is a sobering thought when we look at ourselves and our relation to an almighty and perfect God. We cannot change ourselves, our righteous deeds are like filthy rags, we cannot even seek after God for His help. Dead men tell no tales.

The good news is this. Christ came for the sick. Christ came to raise the spiritually dead. Because of our complete inability to come to God on our own, Christ came and drew His people to Himself. In John 6:44, Jesus says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day." And for those that have been called and drawn to Christ, the Apostle Paul gives us this powerful message of hope in Romans 8:28-30.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."

To God be all the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning

2010-02-23T15:23:00.005-05:00

Well, don't you worry
Well, don't you worry
See what the Lord have done

Oh, keep a-yo' lamp

trimmed and burnin'
Oh, keep a-yo' lamp

trimmed and a burnin'
See what the Lord have done

Traditional

Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, 'Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' But he answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Matthew 25:1-10

Christ spoke this parable shortly before his death. There are a few things that we should take away from this parable that are applicable to our walk with Christ. They are attentiveness and preparation.

The first point of this parable is that Christians are to be attentive to the will of Christ. John 10:3 says. "The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." Those that Christ has called, know and hear His voice. In practical thinking, what does this mean? From the parable, the lamp is God's word and the oil is His spirit. Those that do not belong to Christ, can have his word. It has no effect on them without the illuminating effect of the Spirit, for we know that the Gospel is foolishness to the non-believer. John 1:1-5 says,

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

The Word of God is life. It is of the upmost importance for the Christian to consume themselves with the Word of God.

The second point of the parable is that the Christian should be prepared for God's call. Even the foolish virgins heard the cry of the arrival of the groom. Because they were unprepared, they were left out of the marriage feast, effectively, left out of the kingdom. To be prepared for God's call, the Christian must spend much time in not only the word, but also prayer. Where the lamp is the word of God that illuminates in the darkness, it is the oil, or the spirit of God, that transforms the sinner into saint. Jesus says to Nicodemus in John 3, in order to enter the Kingdom of God, one must be born of the spirit. Verses 19-21 of chapter 3 are powerful reminders of the importance of keeping our lamps trimmed and burning.

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

It is the spirit of God through the Word that exposes darkness and overcomes the evil in our hearts and allows us to do good. Our good works are "wrought" by God.

So it is important for us to read the Word and diligently focus on prayer in order that when we hear God call, we are prepared to act. In doing so, we live as the freed sons and daughters of God, being able to love and live out the love of Christ. Our hearts will remained softened to the will of God and more apt to resist sin and temptation.

One of the main themes of all of Christ's parables is the separation of his true church from the world. In the case of this parable, the foolish virgins, who had the word and heard the cry, were nominal Christians. There is no place in the kingdom for the nominal Sunday morning Christian. Christ's true church is called to be transformed by His saving grace through His word. It just simply is not good enough to pray a prayer and claim the name of Jesus and show up to church. We must strive to be like Christ. We must be transformed into His image. So in the words of the apostle Peter, we should all strive every day to make our calling and election sure.

Yer Blues

2010-02-20T00:19:00.003-05:00

In the morning, wanna die

In the evening, wanna die

If I ain't dead already

Ooh girl you know the reason why

John Lennon & Paul McCartney

Behold, they say to me,
"Where is the word of the LORD?
Let it come!"
I have not run away from being your shepherd,
nor have I desired the day of sickness.
You know what came out of my lips;
it was before your face.
Be not a terror to me;
you are my refuge in the day of disaster.

Jeremiah 17:15-17

In my life, I have often felt despair and helplessness when I felt like I failed my Lord. So many times, we compartmentalize our faith and establish our own set of rules by which to measure our faith and spiritual growth. The truth is, we will never do anything that will cause God to love us more. Likewise, we can't sin enough to cause God to not love us and cut us off. To those He has called, He has given faith and perseveres them into a greater knowledge of His love, mercy, and grace.

Now don't get me wrong. While God is sovereign over our salvation and enables us to not only come to Him but to repent and perform good deeds, we still have a responsibility to progress our own sanctification and pursue his holiness. Paul says we are to submit our bodies to him. But what happens when we fail? How should we react to our own sinfulness as we stand before God clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ?

One thing we should not do, is despair. We will sin. We will sin a lot. We will never live up to the example that Christ has set. When I first became a Christian, I often felt that I had let God down with my sin. Sometimes I would despair and feel sorry for myself. Despair is the devil's tool to lead the Christian towards apathy and then into apostasy. He wants you to give up. He is trying to convince you that you aren't good enough or worthy enough of God's love. When we fall, we must not give up on the race. We must not allow the devil to use this despair to lead us into a spirit of self loathing and fear. While despair is a very human experience, we should take our despair captive and make it obedient to the will of Christ. We conquer the spirit of despair when allow God to use the experience to grow us and lead us closer to Him.

The Bourgeois Blues

2010-01-18T18:44:00.003-05:00

Home of the brave, land of the free
I don't wanna be mistreated by no bourgeoisie
Lord, in a bourgeois town
Uhm, the bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all around

Well, me and my wife we were standing upstairs
We heard the white man say "I don't want no niggers up there"
Lord, in a bourgeois town
Uhm, bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all around

Well, them white folks in Washington they know how
To call a colored man a nigger just to see him bow
Lord, it's a bourgeois town
Uhm, the bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all around

I tell all the colored folks to listen to me
Don't try to find you no home in Washington, DC
`Cause it's a bourgeois town
Uhm, the bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all around

Leadbelly

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 5:43-48

Whipping Post

2010-01-17T03:04:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel,
Like I been tied to the whipping post,
Tied to the whipping post,
Tied to the whipping post,
Good lord, I feel like I’m dyin’.
Greg Allman

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
James 1:5-7

Is it wrong to doubt? Is it wrong to question? What leads believers to doubt the providence of God, to doubt the goodness of God, to even doubt his existence? Is it our sinful hearts lashing out against the Spirit that is working within us to transform us into the image of Christ? Is it our emotions and feelings pleading for validation? Christ often encountered doubt. He often encountered people seeking a miracle. Even after performing miracles, people still left him and doubted his authority. How much more so, in the western church, do we doubt when we have never seen Christ and few of us have witnessed a miracle the magnitude of those performed by Christ and the apostles? How much more do we doubt because we don't get what we want?

But is it wrong to doubt? When we base our faith and our spiritual growth on our feelings, then doubt can be dangerous. Our feelings are like the waves in the ocean. James says that person is driven by the wind. The ebbs and flows of the christian life can lead to inconsistencies and strongholds that keep the believer from living the life that God called them to live. However, for the believer whose faith is grounded, not on emotions, but in the fact that Christ died for their sin and has purchased them with his own blood, doubt can be a tool that God uses to mature their faith. When the storms of life come, their faith is built on the undeniable truth of the supremacy of Christ, which will use moments of doubt to only strengthen their resolve.

When life ties me to the whipping post and beats me down, I admit that it can be hard to trust Christ. I think to myself, "Is it really worth it? What if all this is some big joke?" Those thoughts are quickly vanquished when I look at the life of the Apostle Paul. Paul was a Jew of such high esteem that he may have been in line to become the Chief Priest in Jerusalem. He was a prominent Roman citizen. His influence was key in the persecution of the early church. By all accounts, he was a young man that had the whole world in his hand. But all that was gone in the blink of an eye on the road to Damascus. He gave up everything for the sake of Christ. He suffered mightily for it. Paul says of his struggles,
I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 1

What would posses a man that had it all to give up everything? What would posses a man to give up his prosperous life to endure starvation and nakedness. Secular history attests to Paul's testimony. Logically, from the world's point of view, Paul gained nothing by converting. He lost everything. But we know that he considered all his previous accomplishments rubbish for the sake of knowing Christ Jesus. And in fact, by losing his life, he gained everything. Two thousand years later, his life and his words are bearing such immeasurable fruit. This is such a powerful testimony, that when I think of Paul's life, I am immediately humbled and brought back to the cross. This is when my doubt is made submissive to the cross of Christ. This is when my doubt works for me, instead of against me.

I encourage anybody that reads that suffers with the occasional doubts to rest in God's grace. He is indeed big enough to handle your doubt, and if you let him, He will use it to make you more than a conqueror.

I am praying for you.

1. 2 Corinthians 11:26-28

Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground

2010-01-12T20:16:00.005-05:00

For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Romans 3:23-26

Has anyone ever given you a gift or showed you unwarranted kindness? What sort of feelings did it inspire? When my girlfriend goes out of her way to make me coffee to help keep me awake for a long drive or cooks me dinner and cooks enough to give me the leftovers for lunch the next day, those acts of love and kindness inspire me to love her and be more fully devoted to her. Such gracious acts invoke a response of gratitude and love. Yet, the ultimate gift given by the creator of the universe invokes in me, a much more tempered response. While I want to love God and grow in His love daily, I find a constant war within me to rebel. This war is not present in me in regards to relationships with others, yet is there in regards to Christ. Why would I continue to take advantage of His grace when such love and devotion has been given to me?

Praise God for this grace! For without it, we would be hopeless wanderers, guilty of sin against an almighty God. Words cannot express the love of Christ towards His own. It pleased God to sacrifice his Son for our sin. I've often wondered why God chose to atone for our sins in this way. What greater amount of love could be shown towards men that God, in his veracity for justice, would send his beloved to pay the debts for our sin! The atonement contains the fullness of God's love for us and the fullness of His hatred for sin.

So let us always remember the sacrifice of Christ and the ultimate love shown toward us, while we were still yet sinners. Let us be holy as Christ is holy. Let us keep his commands, not out of fear or duty, but out of love.

Preachin' Blues

2010-01-07T00:35:00.004-05:00

Oh, I went in my room, I bowed down to pray
Oh, I went in my room, I bowed down to pray
Till the blues come along, and they blowed my spirit away

Son House

And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.

Matthew 14:23-25

The Christian walk is not an easy walk. Christ calls it the narrow road. He calls his people to carry their cross, to sell their possessions, to eat his flesh and to drink his blood. He commands us to pray and then gives us a simple five second example as a prayer, yet when we look at his life, we see a life devoted to service and prayer.

In the verse posted above, the fourth watch is considered to have occurred between 3 and 6 am. Christ, after the feeding of the five thousand, dismisses the crowd around dusk. The Word says he immediately goes into the mountain to pray. From the text, we can deduce that he prayed approximately 6-9 hours! I often look at my life and wonder what it could be like if I devoted half of that time per WEEK in prayer. Paul commands us to pray without ceasing, and I suppose that as I go about my daily activities, that I could make my thoughts obedient to Christ, but to devote 6-9 hours a DAY, on my face, in prayer seems far outside the capabilities of this feeble human mind. What type of fruit would be born from that type of obedience? Would my flesh have the same power over me as it currently does? At what rate would my faith grow in Christ?

These questions cannot be answered with any sort of formulaic or quantitative response, however, one should only look at the lives of those who have counted the cost for the sake of the gospel and see that prayer is firmly rooted in their lifestyle. I am not one for resolutions but I would very much desire to pray as Jesus prayed. This is the first step in the pursuit of holiness. So my desire is that everyday I would pray and seek holiness just a little more than the day before. That through time, I could develop the mind of Christ, that I would be transformed to his image. Let 2010 be the year of broken hearts and calloused knees

Big Night Blues

2009-11-18T21:10:00.004-05:00

My feets is so sore, can't hardly wear ma shoes
My feets is so sore, can't hardly wear ma shoes
Out last night with wild women and it left me with those big night blues

Blind Lemon Jefferson

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written,"'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Matthew 4:1-4

Temptation greets us like a naughty friend. It is important to know one thing in regards to temptation. Temptations do not come from God yet God will use trials and temptations to sharpen our faith. Paul compares the growing of our faith to an athlete in training. Many times I have given into temptation under the guise of free grace. This is such a dangerous practice to keep. It is always easier to sin the second and third times around and thus give Satan a permanent foothold in your heart. Our faith and our sanctification are our priority. We must work hard to kill sin that is dwelling within us. Giving into temptation only feeds our lusts and distempers that wage war within us.

So how do we overcome temptations, mortify sin, and overcome personal addictions that hound our souls? Christ gives us a most excellent and perfect way. Satan tempts him 3 times. Each time, Christ responds with scripture. Their is power in the word and we can see from the Gospels that power in action. Another thing that we notice from the story of Christ's temptation in Matthew 4 is that he was fasting. Fasting has become a lost art in the modern church. Through fasting, we can come to a more intimate knowledge of God. Christ often modeled these behaviors, along with solitude and prayer. How often have we wondered why we cannot overcome temptation when we give God a 15 minute quiet time? The christian life is not an easy life. John Calvin says of the christian life,

Whomever the Lord has adopted and deemed worthy of his fellowship ought to prepare themselves for a hard, toilsome, and unquiet life, crammed with very many and various kinds of evil. It is the Heavenly Father's will thus to exercise them so as to put his own children to a definite test. Beginning with Christ, his first-born, he follows this plan with all his children. 1

So let us seek the Lord, our God, and worship Him the way Christ did. Let us not seek our own comforts and desires and give all of our hearts and possessions to Christ. Maybe then when trials and temptations come our way, we can rejoice and consider them pure joy, as the Apostles did.

1. Institutes of Christian Religion

Tell Me

2009-10-29T01:56:00.006-04:00

Tell me, what in the world can be wrong
Tell me, what in the world can be wrong
Woke up this morning
Trouble knocking on my door
I wonder what the trouble
Big trouble at my door
I wonder what the trouble
Real troubles at my door

Howlin' Wolf

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Matthew 26:41

One thing that I rarely hear preached in churches is the seriousness of sin. The fact is that we are all sinners and that our flesh is still weak. The gospel I see preached by the American church is a gospel of acceptance. The world has convinced us, somehow, that it is OK to be who we are and that Jesus will forgive us. Live a good life and have a little faith, and you'll be alright. This ideology, which permeates the evangelical scene is a stench in God's nostrils. Sin and a sinful lifestyle is not OK. It is not acceptable. And while you may be indeed be forgiven, one would have to question the faith of a person that is comfortable living in their own sin. When conviction is gone and the hardening of the heart has ensued, the believer treads a dangerous line. Many have fallen by the wayside, never to recover what little faith they appeared to have. God's justice and holiness serve to enhance his love for his people, for while we were still yet sinners, Christ died for us. How wretched we are to provoke God with our continuance to sin. So we must keep watch over our bodies. The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:27, "But I discipline my body, and keep it under control."

We must keep a watchful eye for sin. It is our duty to do so. We are to consider our ways. We absolutely have to consider what company, what circumstances, what business, what conditions, and what opportunities give way to sin, and we must, at full force, make a stand against those. The great reformer John Owen wrote in his book The Mortification of Sin, "Know that he who dares to dally with occasions of sin, will dare to sin. He that will venture upon temptations to wickedness, will venture upon wickedness." I used to "toe the line" of sin. So many times, I fell into sin and provoked my savior to his face. The grace of God has set me free, why do I flirt with bondage?

So let us keep watch over ourselves, for our nature is at war within us, and Satan is seeking to overthrow us, at every instance. Let us take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. Let us discipline our bodies for they are the temple of the Holy Spirit. And let us abhor our sin the way that Christ abhors it. "And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell."1

1.mark 9:47

Downhearted Blues

2009-10-27T18:18:00.004-04:00

You know, I go into my room, I sat down and cried,
I didn't have no blues, but I wasn't satisfied
Yes, I went in my room, and I said, and I sat down and I cried,
Yes, I didn't have no blues, but I just wasn't satisfied

Son House

I have no peace, no quietness;
I have no rest, but only turmoil

Job 3:26

The Christian life is not an easy life. Loving people is not easy. I struggle with this on a daily basis. How do we love people that mistreat or abuse us? How do we maintain a spirit of love for strangers when those very strangers seem to go out of their way to test us? Certainly, working in a retail customer service environment is not an environment conducive to producing large sums of love that overflow to all the people one must deal with on a daily basis. And so the dealings of work make it easier to refuse love to others outside of the work place. So I am left with two options: Change the environment or change my perspective. However, I often wonder that if I were to switch jobs, would loving people the way Christ loved be easier? I have come to the conclusion that it would not. I need a change of heart. I need Jesus to change my perspective. I need him to show me people through His eyes. I need His grace and I need it more when I am at work. This is the Christian life. A daily reminder that sinful human beings cannot even keep the simple commandments to love. My sin at the workplace torments me.

The good news though is this: There is no condemnation for those in Christ. As I seek to be sanctified and made holy, the constant reminder that it is grace alone through faith alone, that will purify me. My sinful nature is waging war against the Spirit inside of me. And while I seem to make progress, I find it very difficult to crucify my flesh on a daily basis. And so I run back to the arms of grace to see me through. I'm reminded of the words of John Calvin,

"As all mankind are, in the sight of God, lost sinners, we hold that Christ is their only righteousness, since by his obedience, he has wiped off our transgressions; by his sacrifice, appeased the divine anger; by his blood washed away our stains; by his cross borne our curse; and by his death, made satisfaction for us."

These beautiful words mean one thing to me. That we were saved to be free. So don't let the failures of today affect the growth of tomorrow. We are freedmen. We are sons and daughters of the Most High. Let us rejoice in our great sin because of our great Savior, who daily sanctifies us.

Outlaw Blues

2009-10-18T21:02:00.008-04:00

Ain't it hard to
stumble

and land in some funny lagoon?

Ain't it hard to stumble

and land in some muddy lagoon?

Especially when it's nine below zero

and three o'clock in the afternoon.

Ain't gonna hang no picture,

Ain't gonna hang no picture frame.

Ain't gonna hang no picture,

Ain't gonna hang no picture frame.

Well, I might look like Robert Ford

But I feel just like a Jesse James.

Bob Dylan

I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.

Psalm 40:1-3

Have you ever looked in the mirror and wondered who was looking back at you? Have you felt so far from God that you wondered how you would ever be able to return to him? Have you ever been so far that you started to doubt and give up? I have. On many occasions. And every time, I attempt to try and win God back. I think that maybe I'll try to quit sinning and God will like me and maybe I will feel loved again. Or I decide that I'll start reading the bible and hoping that by doing so, I will feel forgiven and maybe grow in Him. So often I pretend that God is like my girlfriend in the respect that when I mess up, I have to send her flowers or tell her how sorry I am a thousand times or go to her house and play her favorite cheesy love song on a boom box, hoping she'll come to the window and take me back. Thats how I think about God sometimes. Maybe God will take me back if I go to his window and play "How Great Thou Art" on my boom box. But that is not the God that is in the scriptures.

What does David in Psalm 40 say when he is in despair? He simply waits patiently for the Lord. Boy, that is tough sometimes. David never measured his spiritual growth by what he did for the Lord. So why do we? Faith is not a checklist. Our deeds will not earn us any more merit with God just as it will not remove us from His hand. In the following verses, we see David's deliverance and in each instance it is God doing all the work. God heard his cry, God drew him from the pit, God set his feet upon the rock, God made his steps secure, and God put a new song of praise on his lips! And this is the pattern throughout the bible. It is a continuous theme of a Father pursuing his children, saving them, loving them, providing for them, and making them holy. So let us rest in that grace. In times of despair, let us cry out to the Lord and wait patiently for Him. He is good and He is faithful and He will come to usl.

Will There Be Enough Water?

2009-10-06T21:57:00.004-04:00

"Will there be enough water,

when my ship comes in?

Will there be enough water,

when my ship comes in?

Dean Fertita & Jack White

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

John 4:13,14

We are wired to desire fellowship and to be loved and validated. We want to be accepted and liked and we will often find ourselves liking people who like us and/or validate us. We are relational beings, yet sin has severed our ability to have healthy relationships. Christ came to earth and He did not preach adherence to rules or any of the other religious jargon that seems to burden us so. He came and loved. He was friends with sinners. He hung out with poor people and tax collectors. I have always been convinced that if Jesus were here in the flesh, that He and I would go to a bar and have a few beers and hang out. Thats what Jesus did. He would probably invite my gay friends to come along. The elitists hated Him for it. But the point remains and is affirmed by His lifestyle. Jesus loves us and He has made every provision for us.

Just as Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well and just as he told Peter and the disciples, and Paul along the road to Damascus, His grace is sufficient for us. How often do we trade in the sufficiency of His grace for say, approval from a friend or validation at work? How many times do we receive praise from men and feel exceedingly proud of ourselves and happy while we read God's word and just feel kind of "blah"? I often trade in living water from Christ for the dirty water of men. When I go to work, I know in my mind that I am going to worship Christ by being submissive to my bosses and serving my co-workers. How quickly my attitude changes when I feel I am wronged and then seek validation from others in conjunction with my "rightness". If Christ is sufficient for me, then it isn't a matter of being right or wrong or treated fairly or unfairly or any other notions that distract us from our one sole purpose: To love.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1

I pray not only that I can love like Christ but that I will allow myself to be loved by Christ and find my sufficiency in His love. With Christ, I have the ultimate fellowship. The fellowship and love that God intended for man before sin came along and ruined us all. Let us love Christ and let His living water be the only validation, acceptance, and approval that we would ever want. With His water, we shall never thirst again. With His water we have EVERYTHING we could ever want or need. Let's drink!

1: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Keep It Hid

2009-10-04T20:26:00.003-04:00

If they ask you, darlin’, oh about what I did
Baby you gotta keep it hid

Dan Auerbach

No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.

Luke 8:16

Christians love to hide. We hide our sins. We hide who we really are. We hide Christ. What is it about our human nature that makes us want to hide? Is it shame? Do we want to fit in? Is it a matter of trust? I've hidden things before. When I was overseas, I knew that if the Mission Board was privy to some of my sin, they would have sent me home early. I didn't trust anyone enough to confess my sins and seek accountability because I knew that God could still work through me. And while God did work through me, my hiding place became my own prison. And I struggled mightily. This is not the way to live. Of course, lording someone's sin over their heads and fostering an environment of behavior modification is not a way to live either. The essence of christian faith, as Joel Osteen says, is morality. Joel Osteen could not be more wrong. Yet, I feel this belief has permeated the church and has birthed a spirit of fear among believers. Fear that we might get caught and people would know us as we truly are. Fear that we would let people down. Fear of actually coming to grips with ourselves. There is no fear in Christ. The essence of christian faith is Jesus Christ, who has born your guilt in your place.

We have no reason to hide. Let us take off our masks and be real with each other. Come to my hiding place, so that we may help each other repent of our sins and be made holy. Jesus already knows our sins and He still loves us! Why then would we fear the opinions of man? On Derek Webb's House Show LP, he says that he wishes that his sin were exposed on the 6 o'clock news, so that he would not be able to hide anymore. What a powerful and humbling concept.

The light of Christ will shine through our lives once we boldly walk in His grace. Not only should we not hide our sins from one another, but we should seek to live a life in which we boldly preach his Name. Why does the church think that it is ok to just let the lost world know that we are christians? Just because my non-believing friends know I'm a christian doesn't really do anything for them, unless I speak truth into their lives, unless I love them and seek to serve them. Being the christian guy or gal that abstains from the activities or conversations of your non-believing friends and co-workers is not enough. Preach the Gospel. Do not hide the light that Christ has given you. I'm reminded of Peter, who denied Christ three times, and then once filled with the Holy Spirit, boldly proclaimed Christ at Pentecost and then the rest of his life. That same Holy Spirit indwells and works in the lives of every believer, so let us all take a lesson from Peter.

Black Snake Moan

2009-09-28T13:50:00.005-04:00

Mmm, black snake crawlin' in my room

And some pretty mama had better come

and get this black snake soon

Blind Lemon Jefferson

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 8:13

What does it mean to live? What are the promises of God according to this life we are to live? By living in the spirit, does it mean that we will be prosperous? Happy every day of our lives? Does it mean our lives will be easy? In John 17, before Jesus' arrest and crucifixion, He prays for the believers that have been given to Him by the Father. He does not pray for our successes in life nor our happiness. He prays that we are kept from the evil one and made holy in his word. He does not pray that we will be kept from suffering, but that we will be free from the temptation and the grip of sin.

So to live by the flesh, we die. But through the Spirit, we put to death our sin, we shall live. We must mortify or kill our sin, not through behavior modification, but through the Spirit. I know that in my life my sin drags me through the mud, makes me weak, clouds my judgment, seperates me from Christ, and turns me into a miserable person. For such a long time, sin was allowed to reign in my heart. I eventually got to a point where godly things seemed foreign to me and my memories of a past christian life seemed like a blur. This is not the life we are intended to live. It's a sad state of affairs that the American church would rather make a political statement or preach on what is pleasing to our ears instead of preaching the seriousness of sin. The great theologian John Owen said of the believer who does not daily crucify and kill his sin, that their "heart is like the sluggard's field, so overgrown with weeds that you scarce see the good corn." Jesus says in John 15 that the Father will prune those that he loves, which means he will cut away the junk, so the fruit can multiply.

Many of us have measured our spiritual growth by how little we sin, but sin is far more than an outwardly action. The root of sin starts in the heart. Left unchecked, we water it and feed it and allow it to grow. So while the outward may be pleasing to our eye, the inward is bitter and rotten and love of sin has replaced the love of Christ. A man cannot serve two masters and our master paid a great price to purchase us and free us from the bondage of sin!

Daily, let us abide in the word. Let the word of God make us holy. Be sanctified in truth and love. Take captive all thoughts and make them obedient to Christ. When the black snake crawls into our rooms, do not feed him. Do not entertain him. Resist him and he will flee. Abide in God's word and through the Spirit seek to kill all the sin that is indwelling in your heart. This is the only way we can live. We were not meant to live as slaves. So let us live free!

In The Light

2009-09-23T00:12:00.004-04:00

Though the winds of change may blow around you,

but that will always be so
When love is pain it can devour you, if you are never alone
I would share your load. I would share your load

Led Zeppelin

And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

Acts 2:44:45

The Gospel is about two things. The first is loving God with all our hearts, minds, and souls. The second is loving our neighbors as ourselves. I can't begin to attempt to count about how many people I've met that have been burned by church. How can this be so? I have certainly been burned by two churches, campus ministry, and a multi-billion dollar mission sending agency. While I was partly to blame with the mission sending agency, the punishment never came remotely close to fitting the crime. The other 3 instances, I'm not sure what I could have done differently. My point though, is that this happens to millions of people on a regular basis. Are we so self-absorbed that we assume as long as we show up to church and read our devotion book during the week that we really don't have to get our hands dirty? I've been in very few churches, maybe one or two, that were interested in doing the dirty work that Jesus requires of His church. By dirty work, I simply mean loving and serving others. It sounds easy. In principle it should be very easy. But it is not. I've come to realize that the average American church goer could really care less about the people in the next pew. And this is one of the reasons that the church is losing it's relevance every day. Instead of getting her hands dirty, she would rather water down her message, serve coffee, hire a rock band to lead the worship, all in a vain attempt to make herself less intimidating. I am a firm believer that people ( at least the majority) do not go to church to be entertained. I think people are simply looking for love. This world is so overbearing, oppressive, and lonely. Most people just want an ear to listen. I know I do. So where has the love gone? How easily the second greatest commandment gets trampled underfoot.

It is easy to love God, but it is hard to love others, even other believers. Loving people takes time. It takes effort. It takes patience. It takes sacrifice. It takes faith. All of these things are the fruit of the Spirit. So let us love one another as Christ has loved us. Let us help our neighbor move his furniture. Let us spend time listening to those that have nobody to talk to. Let us give our time to meeting the needs of the less fortunate. Let us lend a helping hand to our lost co-workers. Let us give of our time and money with joy and humility. Let our ears be willing to listen and our hearts willing to pray for one another. This is my prayer. To love as Christ has loved. Loving like Christ will transform a lonely and broken world.

Lean On Me is probably my favorite song at the moment. It was written by Bill Withers. I could not find any info on his religious affiliation. This song has recently become my life anthem.

Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on

Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill those of your needs
That you don't let show

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on

If there is a load you have to bear
That you can't carry
I'm right up the road
I'll share your load
If you just call me

So just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'd understand
We all need somebody to lean on

The Thrill Is Gone

2009-09-18T16:43:00.004-04:00

The thrill is gone
It's gone away from me
The thrill is gone baby
The thrill is gone away from me
Although I'll still live on
But so lonely I'll be

Rick Darnell & Roy Hawkins

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:33

I've heard a phrase said many times in my life. Sometimes I have said it. Sometimes I have pontificated on it's meaning. Other times, I yearned for it. I now repent of this phrase and letting it define my spiritual growth in Christ. The phrase in question......."I want to be on fire for Christ!" When I first came to faith, my passion yearned to know God. After a period, I didn't feel that sort of passion anymore. The thrill was gone. I was even told this was normal. I remember going to church and singing at the top of my lungs and doing all the things that good little pentecostals do at church during the exceedingly long "praise" time. I got the "God goosebumps". I attributed that feeling as some sort of divine closeness with Christ. To me it meant I was growing. And millions of christians base their spiritual growth according to what they feel or worse, how well they have modified their behavior. I always wondered if Paul or Peter or John felt this way. Their words certainly didn't show it. Here are the cold hard facts about the Gospel. If you're sin is not real, then your Savior is not real. If you're sin isn't huge, then your Savior isn't huge. During all those times where I felt nothing, I played a cultural hiding game, hiding the big sins from others and confessing the little sins in public. If I can't live in the freedom that Christ died to provide, how in the world could I possibly get close to Him? Now I am not advocating sinning by any means. I am merely stating the obvious. That we all are dreadful sinners in dire need of a huge Savior, that not only has purchased us freedom on the cross but gives us a renewing grace every day. There is no condemnation for those in Christ! Furthermore, in regards to worship, I had it all wrong. David says it best in psalm 5:16, 17

For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

A right sacrifice to God is a broken and contrite heart! If I am playing a cultural hiding game with my sin, how can expect to have a broken heart over it? If I am judging my spiritual growth on how little I sin, then I've reduced Jesus to a behavior modelist. And If I am judging Christ's proximity to me in regards to how I feel at the moment, then I'm never going to be free and I am never going to live the life Christ intended for me! He loves us and He knows our sins. He has forgiven us. Why would we allow Satan to tempt us into believing anything else?

Here is what I know. God didn't redeem his people to live in bondage to either sin or their feelings. His faithfulness and mercy are continually poured out on His people. Faith is not and should not be about emotions! It should be based in the fact that your very real Savior, the lover of your soul, has already forgiven you for your sin and is with you at all times. Do not base your spiritual growth on fleeting emotions but on the fact of God's redeeming love. We are the bride of Christ. He hasn't gone anywhere and He will not leave us. What he has done though, is laid out his expectations of us. Our first priority in life is service to God. Seek ye first His kingdom! That means more than throwing up a quick "Thank ya, J for this day. Be with me" prayer in the morning and reading a 15 minute devotion! If we loved Him as much as we ought to or want to, then why wouldn't we make every thing we do centered around him? You would certainly spend more time with your spouse than that. Seek ye first, His Kingdom! Then and only then will you see true spiritual growth in your life. The thrill will not be gone. And so lonely you will not be!

Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.'But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

Luke 18:10-14

Goodbye Babylon

2009-09-14T14:19:00.003-04:00

Well I came to see,

and what I found was not alright with me
Their desperation, some vocation,

and it'd been the same thing all along
Goodbye Babylon

The Black Keys

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

1 Peter 2:12

It is so easy for me to get caught up on the worldly issues and lose momentary sight of the Gospel of Christ and my purpose and calling. This happens most often at work, where I admit, that I hate my job. Over the past few years, I have openly rebelled against the leadership at my job, which is probably why I am still in the same position with really no hope of moving up anytime soon. As I have sought to rectify my mistakes and rebuild the bridge that I once burned down, I can't help but sometimes feel that things will never get better. Basically, while I am at work, I do not believe the Gospel. The utter despair and frustration that creeps into my mind while I'm at work, invariably leads to me inserting my foot into my mouth. I just can't seem to help myself. And while over the last month, my attitude has gotten remarkably better, I still have a very long ways to go.

So I have to remind myself that I have been put where I work for a reason. It is not to make money, be the top person in sales, or try to get promoted. I have been put in this job for 2 reasons. And I feel the same applies for everyone working in a secular vocation.

The first is to glorify God and to make his name known among my co-workers. This is done in a variety of ways. Submitting to authority in all things that are not in direct violation of God's law, loving my co-workers, praying for them, being a servant to their needs, and being a light in an otherwise dreary workplace. My job is my mission field. Why do I go there in such a bad mood all the time? If my sole reason for showing up is to glorify God first, I will obtain all my professional goals. I will make money because I work harder than everyone else. I will be in line for a promotion because of my work ethic, my calm manner, and the leadership abilities that God bestows on those who follow him. Now don't get me wrong, I am in no way preaching a prosperity gospel. I am merely relaying the fact that by putting God first in the workplace and viewing work through the eyes of the mission field, that through Godly work ethic and love for my co-workers, that all the rewards that come by working in a secular environment will be a blessing from God and secondary to the reason why I am there. People that are trust worthy, humble, and gracious are valued by their company and viewed as an asset. And if those things do not come, then that is fine, because I will be content with all that has already been given me.

The second reason is a daily lesson that God teaches those He loves. Submission. If I cannot submit to a boss that pays me wages and contributes to food being put onto my table and my rent being paid on the time, how then can I fully submit to God? My boss has been placed above me by God, Himself. Daniel is the perfect example of how the christian is to work in the secular workplace. Daniel was an exile, who served God faithfully, and through his service and work ethic, was promoted to a high place under the service of pagan kings. The result of Daniel's faith was the conversion of both King Nebuchadnazzer and King Darius. Because of Daniel's light, Darius issued this decree to be sent to every corner of his kingdom.

"I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.
       "For he is the living God
       and he endures forever;
       his kingdom will not be destroyed,
       his dominion will never end.

   He rescues and he saves;
       he performs signs and wonders
       in the heavens and on the earth.
       He has rescued Daniel
       from the power of the lions." 1

Because of Daniel's faith, people were changed. Because of his submission, God's light was shown to the pagan world.

My prayer for you, and I hope this is your prayer for me, that we take our faith to the workplace, in full submission to the authority that God has placed over us, and we show all the light of God working in us. When we open our mouths, we let the holy spirit speak. That we stay focused on the race that we're running and not on the circumstances of the temporal life. Let us delight in hard work and boldly proclaim the love of Christ to those that God has put in our paths.

1. Daniel 6:26-27