Edmund Dantes is Dead

Faithfulness

2011-07-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

Why is one of the hardest things to do trusting God? Recently, something about my future that I assumed was sure to happen, became something that was unlikely to happen at all. I'm being daily forced to trust that God is actually establishing my steps and has a plan for my future.
I have a faulty memory (which is weird to say considering I can recall exact dates of life events and almost every line of The Princess Bride). This memory has holes in it. Despite the preponderance of evidence showing God as good and faithful in every believer's life, I have the darndest time remembering God's faithfulness, everytime a new trial arrises.
I can, and should, look back and see specific and general instances where God has guided, protected, loved, disciplined and cared for me and yet in the face of this new situation I forget and then worry, fear and sadness creep in. It's made even tougher when I dwell on my lack of faithfulness. I run the risk of feeling condemned and unworthy when I see this as a response to my unfaithful actions. Jen Smidt has summed it perfectly when she says, "When my focus is on my faithfulness (or lack thereof), I begin to believe that God must be far off – that I somehow shook him off in my wanderings."
God has promised he will never leave believers. Psalm 139 is full of the promises of a faithful God. "You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me." I cannot escape His love, despite how I feel about my own faithfulness, or lack thereof.

"Embracing God’s faithfulness to himself frees us from the devastating effects of thinking we have anything to do with the way he sees us. God sees his children through the atoning blood of his Son, covering us for every act of treason and rebellion we have committed. He isn’t faithful to us because of anything we have done well or poorly. He wouldn’t be faithful to us if he was looking for us to uphold our end of the bargain."

So here I am: praying that I can daily/hourly/minutely remind myself that God is not a witholding parent who's own faithfulness is based my own. He has brought me through before, and will again and that brings a peace that passes all understanding.

Tears of Sorrow

2011-07-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

I recently was grieved while I watched tears I'd caused roll down the face of my girlfriend. It grieved me to see her hurt, especially when it was my stupid words that caused the hurt. In the midst of this I was convicted; convicted not of my sin towards her but rather of a lack of grieving about the pain I cause God.

While God is not mortal and does not feel human pain, my sin is serious in His eyes. My sin required that He send His only Son to earth to be the perfect sacrifice for me in place of the perfect life I could never live. The SON OF GOD had to die because of me. Why does a momentary pain in the life of my girlfriend cause me more sorrow than pain caused to the Sovereign, Holy, Perfect, Creator of the world?

This is because every human fails in two areas of the law. Matthew 22:36-40 has those areas: loving the Lord your God with all your heart, and loving your neighbor as yourself. Elyse Fitzpatrick writes,

Pure, unadulterated, consistent love for God and pure, unadulterated consistent love for others is the summation of all the law God has given us in both the Old and New Testaments. Of course, the problem is that we never obey these simple commands. We always love ourselves more than we love God or others. We are always building idols in our hearts and worshiping and serving them. We are always more focused on what we want and how we might get it than we are on loving him and laying down our life for others. The law does show us the right way to live, but none of us obeys it. Not for one millisecond.

So when these moments of failure and conviction happen, as they inevitably will, where can we turn. Clearly we can't turn to the law and work harder to earn salvation because this is the same law we are blatantly failing at. Elyse continues,

The law of God also hinders our advance toward righteousness because, in our pride, we think that if we just try hard enough or repent deeply enough, we’ll be able to obey it. We read the promises of life for obedience and think that means that we can do it. The promises of life for obedience are not meant to build our self-confidence. They’re meant to make us long for obedience and then, when we fail again, they’re meant to crush us and drive us to Christ.

Our only option in these moments is to throw ourselves into the loving arms of our Heavenly Father who never runs out of grace for our constant failures.

Is This Me?

2011-02-03T10:48:00.000-08:00

This blog has been full of what I hope are great ideas and encouraging reminders of the gospel. But it isn't me. It's me in the sense that I can talk the talk just fine but this blog has mostly been about preaching to myself. I don't know these concepts in the sense that I don't always live them out. I came to a realization that in some ways, I only sin when I want to. True, there is temptation and lies of the devil in there, but it seems like most of my sins recently have been willfully committed with little regret.

I can point to exactly why I should not be doing what I am, there is no attempt to justify it, but I am continuing in sin. Why is this? My friend Jace told me he believes it is because I am not tasting and satisfying myself in Christ. My sin holds a greater "joy" for me which needs to be less than the joy I find in Him. I need to use the joy of the Lord as my strength.

It also seems that I need to trust in God. My pride has been rising and I have been doubting that God told me not to do certain things out of His love for me, a love that I can trust over anything else in the universe. He has called me to be upright and pure. I am not.

In the past I have taken solace in the fact that so many great members of our faith have stumbled before me. I perpetually return to Genesis where Abraham has heard the literal voice of God, promising him a great nation coming through Sarah and himself. In spite of this, Abraham doubts and tells the King of Egypt and Abimilech that Sarah is his sister, to save his life. He is doubting God, and yet it was counted to him as righteousness because of His FAITH. I can take comfort in the failures of others because I am not alone in my struggles and not the first to fail our perfect and holy God. Jace blew my world when I told him this. He upped the ante. He told me that even if I was the only person who ever had or ever would face this trial/temptation/test I am called to be holy.

So for now I am seeking to grow in a fear of God and meditating on 1 John. "If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. " Now, that verse might be discouraging to some, because if you're like me you read that and see all the ways we aren't walking in the light. Thankfully, the books goes on, "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

My buddy Sean described this as the "Rinse and Repeat" verse of 1 John. As you read, if you become discouraged, return to chapter 2 verse 1. "But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." I have an advocate, you have an advocate.

Mercy over Sacrifice

2011-01-14T09:13:00.000-08:00

Despite my previous post on New Year's Resolutions, I started a Bible Reading Plan and for the umpteenth time I started reading Matthew and Genesis, as well as Acts and Ezra. Surprisingly, it's been two weeks and I am still reading. Even though I've read Matthew many times, this time I noticed a phrase that I don't remember being there. It was “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” I didn't really pay attention until it cropped up 3 chapters later.

They are both said by Jesus, quoting Hosea 6:6, and both times it is said in rebuke. It comes at the end of a well known passage in Matthew 9, “But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”” Then in Chapter 12 it says, “And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” Because both are directed at the Pharisees, they clearly had not learned in the time between when the verses were spoken.

So what does it mean? Mercy, in Hosea, is the Hebrew word Hesed which is translated “steadfast love”. Sacrifice in this instance is a reference to religious rituals, or sacrifices. So Jesus is telling the Pharisees, that Jesus and also God, that steadfast love for sinners in more important that mere rituals, or being “religious”. Too many Christians are just going through the motions, thinking that all it means to be a Christian is doing the right things, saying the right things and knowing the words to the right songs. Christianity is more than just a Sunday occurrence and our “good works” and perfect church attendance won't get us to heaven. We need to love, like Jesus loved, those around us.

I cannot remember the last time I shared the gospel with someone. How about you? If I were to cut through all my excuses and backsliding about sharing the gospel, my only excuse/the only reason I can find that I don't do it is because I don't love the sinners around me. If I believe that I know the good news, the only way the people around me are going to be saved from an eternity of suffering apart from God, and I do not not share it with them, isn't that the great lack of love I could show? I am keeping the best most important news they could ever hear from them because of my fear and lack of love.

I need a heart full of love for the lost around me, informed by Christ's love, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, never failing to show love by sharing what Christ has done for me and can do for them.

So, show some steadfast love today.

Why Resolutions Fail

2011-01-07T08:32:00.000-08:00

Source:http://lifehacker.com/5726305/why-your-new-years-resolutions-are-doomed-to-fail

Ray Williams, writing for Psychology Today, points out that setting a resolution is a form of "cultural procrastination" because people fail to set realistic goals and aren't ready to change their habits. This makes a lot of sense when you think about the most common resolutions: reduce debt, lose weight, stop smoking, and so on. All of these goals are fairly broad, and few of us take a step beyond defining what we have resolved to do.
Chances are if you want to quit smoking, you've wanted to quit smoking before the new year. An excuse—in the form of January 1st—isn't going to help you do it. What it will do is give you an entire year to plan to quit smoking with no real set course of action. This makes it very easy to procrastinate. Before the new year you'd simply wanted to quit smoking soon. Now you want to do it this year. The only thing that's actually changed in this scenario is the time frame. While "soon" isn't specific, chances are an entire year is a lot farther off than "soon."
None of this even accounts for how easily you'll forget your resolution if you allow yourself such a lengthy amount of time to solve a fairly simple problem. Instead of making resolutions this year, start making an actionable plan to solve your problems one by one, as they come up. Don't be overly ambitious or you'll run out of energy, but make a concentrated effort to solve problems for the sake of solving your problems and not because the date has changed.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T13:31:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year. The only reason New Years Day gives me cause to celebrate is because it is a testimony to the faithfulness of God to bring me through another year and that January 1st has come again. Really every other reason is arbitrary and resolutions are wasted on me. In my very limited experience, I've found when I get all inspired and fired up for something, like most people are about their resolutions, the experience quickly fades and the day to day takes over, leaving the resolutions forgotten and nothing really all that different. Too many times I've hear a sermon and felt conviction and inspiration to change and too many times I've found myself cursing at the car that cuts me off after church, or falling into lust on Monday morning.

That's why this year I make no resolutions other than to make no resolutions. The Christian life is just that, a life. It isn't about short bursts of “spirituality” but rather a life of committed faithfulness to Christ. The life doesn't require perfection but growth and a true believer will see growth over their life, by God's grace alone. If you live day to day, you may not see a marked difference in your life but you must trust that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion, because the will of God for you life is your sanctification.

So why should we use January first as the date when we start something? We should resolve every day to live for the glory of God, knowing that He is faithful, even when we are not. We will not be perfect, we will not always see the growth but trust is an everyday choice and His mercies are new EVERY morning.

May God Bless 2011

A Quick Thought on Pride

2010-12-29T10:22:00.001-08:00

Pride has been called the root of all sins so I decided to draw attention to, and hopefully lessen the power of, two ways pride has worked in my life. The first way happened before my conversion and the second has happened after.

The first manifestation of pride finds itself in a mentality of works. Before I had a right understanding of the process of conversion and salvation I thought that it was based on human efforts. Like Augustine, I felt I could earn my way to God. This is pride because it elevates whatever good works we might accomplish to the level or being good enough to stand in the presence of a holy and righteous God, who hates the sight of sin. All of our humans efforts do not get us anywhere close to God, it's only through the perfect work of Christ that we can hope to enter the presence of God.

So now that I'm a Christian and I know that pride is wrong and sin before God, I should be perfect and not struggle with pride right? Ha. No. This is, in itself, pride. In the past I have read the Bible, seen the standards laid down by God, seen my own sin and fallen into condemnation about my failure to attain the perfection God requires. The purpose of God's law is to show us how utterly imperfect we are, but then it is meant to point us right to Christ, who's perfection does what we never could. When I fail and let myself feel condemned over it, I am elevating my standards above those of God, which is pride. God doesn't require perfection for me because I claim the blood of Christ. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. The condemnation comes when I hold myself to a higher standard than the one God does. When we realize this and repent of it, it leads to a greater freedom in Christ, not to sin as we please but to praise Him for His work and His grace and blood, which cover all of our multitude of sins.

We are all adulterers

2010-12-26T16:55:00.000-08:00

Recently I saw myself as something I had never thought of myself as before, unfaithful. I had,for all intents and purposes, cheated on a girlfriend that I claimed to love and sought to marry. While our paths have since separated, I have seen some of the effects my infidelity has had on her; she was devastated, questioning every single word I had said and I whether I truly cared for her all along. Her self esteem was all but destroyed as she reasoned it was only because I was not attracted to her and sought beauty elsewhere. She was hurt in more ways than I can see all because of my selfish and sinful actions.

But there was another more hurt than her and it was due to my infidelity to Him. God, the sovereign creator of the universe demands my love and praise and honor and when I turn away and sin, I am being unfaithful. The book of Jeremiah is chock full of vivid, descriptive language equating Israel's sins against the Lord to adultery. Through many metaphors and sometimes blunt descriptions, it is shown that sin is, in it's essence, adultery from the true love we have in God. Jesus called the church his bride and we, as his bride, have been whores.

We have turned away each to his own way and there is none perfect, no not one. Just as with my girlfriend God is grieved when we essentially sleep around, but he is not grieved in humans termed. His self esteem is not hurt and he doesn't lose self confidence. He is hurt because of His love. He knows that everything we need for life and Godliness is found in Him and when we turn away, we are turning away from what we really need. If we are truly saved then nothing can separate us from the love of God and when He looks upon us, He sees the righteous of Christ given to us, however sin does create a distance with God.

When we sin, we are not any less saved but the Bible teaches us that we are to confess are sins and that God is faithful to forgive them. This doesn't mean that if we die without confessing every sin then we are going to hell but is to say that we need to humbly come to God in confession to restore the relationship we once enjoyed. Sin affects our ability to pray and our ability to discern and hear God's voice. It is only through that humble confession, when we admit we were unfaithful, that God is faithful and just to forgive those sins.

Going back to my situation with my girlfriend, if I were simply to come to her now with a bouquet of flowers and a diamond necklace asking her to take me back, it would seem disingenuous and would probably be unsuccessful. I cannot buy back the love and trust that I lost through my sin. Neither could I come with many words, promising change without any difference in the way I was acting. In the same way, we attempt to buy or earn God's favor by reading more bible or going to church. Our actions and obedience can never do enough to regain right standing with God because our sin condemns us in His righteous eyes. As the Bible teaches, “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”

Supposing I were to go to my girlfriend and humbly confess my sins, admit that I was wrong and ask for her forgiveness. She would probably respond better than my attempts to buy her love and forgiveness. Because of her real hurts she probably would not be quick to forgive or trust me but she would have the option. God shows His love for us, and sets himself apart from humans, by promising and delivering on that promise to forgive us every time we confess our sins to Him. He is faithful to take us back every time we turn our lustful eyes on other gods that ultimately will never satisfy us. He is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him. Even when we defile the proverbial marriage bed, He still hold out His loving arms.

Why? Why does He does this? Because of His love and because of the work of His Son, Jesus Christ. As I stated, our righteousness is not of our own doing but the work of Christ. We have turned to adultery more than enough times to condemn us to an eternity apart from a righteous God but God so loved the world that He sent his only son to die so that whoever believes in Him as their savor will not perish, but have eternal life.

Don't Read This Blog

2010-12-26T16:50:00.000-08:00

I've realized something, I sound like I know what I'm talking about. The previous post on Psalm 51 was written like I had something to bring to the table, like I have everything figured out. Of course if you actually know me, then you laugh at the ridiculousness of that statement. I do not write this blog for my own honor or prestige or because I know what I'm talking about. I write to figure it all out. Writing stimulates my mind and my studies and forces me to come to grips with and defend what I believe. I write for my own benefit, hopefully to the glory of God, so please don't read this.

Psalm 51

2010-12-22T09:02:00.000-08:00

Psalm 51 is one of the most well-known psalms because it is the response of a broken David following his affair with Bathsheba. It is the heartfelt pleas of a lowly man, humbled by God because of his sin but it can be helpful to study for any believer struggling with any sin, not just adultery. It lays out a helpful pattern for response to sin. To begin with, it is helpful but sobering to realize that David was a “man after God's own heart” who was coming off intense spiritual experiences, with the Living God, when he failed so miserably as to commit murder and adultery because of his selfish lusts. The remaining sin/power of the flesh is so great, even in believers that anyone is susceptible to it's lure, which should lead us to extreme care of our souls.

When we sin, which is inevitable, we can follow the example laid down by David in Psalm 51. Possibly the most important part of the Psalm is the beginning, when David does not try to “get his act together” and then come before God. He comes just as he is, and he appeal for forgiveness is not based on his own merits but the character of God. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. v2” David's worth is not even on his mind, in fact he's well aware of how unworthy he is, “For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. v3”

[6]Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,

and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

[7]Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

[8]Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

[9]Hide your face from my sins,

and blot out all my iniquities.

[10]Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

[11]Cast me not away from your presence,

and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

[12]Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

[13]Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will return to you.

This section is vitally important to understanding our motivations for repentance. The emphasis is placed on the work of God in our lives and our primary motivation for asking God's forgiveness is a renewed and deep relationship with God. As believers our sin no longer condemns us before God because of the imputed righteousness of Christ but the effect of our sin is a change in our personal relationship with God. Paul shows us that we can “grieve the Holy Spirit” (Eph. 4:30) and “the Lord disciplines those that He loves” (Heb. 12). Just as an earthly father still loves his children when they disobey, our heavenly father continues in love and it is because of this love that He does not allow us to persist in our sins.

Therefore our main motivation is God turning His face back towards us and away from our sins but there are secondary motivations as well. In verse 10 David cries out for God to work within him for spiritual change. This same heart that was after God now needs to be made clean, but note that it is not David making it clean by his efforts or personal holiness but rather God's work in us that leads to a “right spirit”. Another attitude to be craved by believers is a credible witness to believers, as shown in verse 13. When God shows his faithfulness to us, we should use this as a way to witness to others and he promises to return sinners to Himself. We should crave the type of life that serves as a witness to non-believers but we can always extol the faithfulness of God.
Our confession of sin is not for self-abasement or flagellation but to return us to the joy that we have in the salvation of God. Verses 8 and 12 both speak of the joy that needs to follow the forgiveness of our sins because we can trust the promises of our faithful God that He will forgive our sins if we confess them. (1 John 1:9). This ties in to the final section of the Psalm:

[14]Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,

O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.

[15]O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

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

you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

[17]The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

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

Our response to this forgiveness should always be the worship of God. We should see God's righteousness and forgiveness and “sing aloud”. The ESV Study Bible says, “The person who has used this psalm to confess his sins and to receive God's assurance of pardon is the one who can genuinely worship the gracious God of the covenant.”

David then again reminds us that God doesn't delight in our “sacrifices” aka our works but rather responds to our humility. He opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. We cannot earn the forgiveness or grace but it is a free gift of God. He will not despise when we come humbly before him, admitting our failure and acknowledging our dependence on Him to grow, asking for His Spirit to change us for His glory and to being sinners to Him.

A Lonely Christmas

2010-12-21T12:38:00.001-08:00

Something about the holidays makes me lonely. Maybe it's all the emphasis placed on togetherness and spending time as a family. Maybe it's just a time that you would make special with a significant other, so conspicuously missing from my life. Maybe I miss my father too much as we spend the holidays with his family. Whatever the reasons, ironically enough, I am not alone in my loneliness. A corporate coffee shop is currently running the slogan, “Holidays are best shared” which adds insult to injury for those who are alone. A friend of mine was just telling me about how she spent last Christmas alone because her family wasn't speaking to her.

It's really no wonder that some people hate Christmas, because it has always held bad memories and feelings of despair and loneliness. Ebeneezer Scrooge was a workaholic but, if the Muppets version is any indication, there was an element of unrequited love that led to his bitterness towards the holiday. Whatever the reason for their pain, there are millions of people hurting and lonely this holiday season and these are the very people that Christmas is for.

Why do we, as Christians celebrate Christmas? It's a commemoration of the birth of Christ. The image of the Invisible God, the Word made flesh. Matthew 1:23, in describing the “first Christmas” says, “ “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).” We are celebrating that God is now with us. We the lonely no longer have a reason to feel lonely because the very Creator of the universe has condescended to appear in human form, lived a perfect life for us that we could not, died the death we deserved so we might live with Him forever, tore curtain and removed the space between God who sits on the throne above with the risen Christ at His right hand interceding for us as a mediator who is able to sympathize with our human weakness. God is with us every minute as the power that raised Christ from the dead, the Holy Spirit, dwells and quickens our mortal bodies.

This is not to say there is no reason to be lonely, the Bible is very clear that it is not good to be alone and our families and relationships are given us by God to comfort and strengthen us, but this is not always the case. What I am saying is that we have reasons to rejoice and can seek comfort in the loving arms of the only Person who will never leave us, forsake us, fail us, hurt us except for our own good, who will grow us, strengthen us, comfort us, and, in the end, glorify us.

We can stand this Christmas and say with the Psalmist, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” celebrating the fact that we will never be alone again because our Immanuel has come, God is with us. If you don't know this love, what better time is there?

More than Conquerors

2010-12-20T14:13:00.001-08:00

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

(Romans 8:31-37 ESV)

I've been considering what it means to be more than a conqueror in my own life. This chapter begins with the awesome truth that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” and this passage is a completion of that thought. When sin comes to rob me of my joy and tell me how horrible and worthless I am, I look to Him who loved(s) me. I can either stop and dwell on my sin and fall into spiritual depression and condemnation, or I can acknowledge the problem of my sin, confess it to God and have it be removed from me, no longer presenting a stumbling block in my relationship with God.

The way I am more than a conqueror in this situation is to take what would have caused me to become depressed and use it for joy. If I can remind myself that this is merely one more thing that I am saved from, and the blood of the Lamb covers even this sin, that God's grace is greater that any sin I could sin, have sinned or will sin, than this is cause for incredible thanksgiving and praise of God. Turning our occasions of sin into worship of God is being more than a conqueror. Obviously, we should not pervert this and sin under the guise of an occasion to worship.

Another way to be more than a conqueror is alluded to in the text. We are going to be buffeted and rocked by the enemy of our souls. We may bask in the sunlight one moment and be shattered upon the rocks the next. Sometimes he will succeed in shaking us, but overall we will be victorious. In those moments of failure we can rejoice because God is redeeming it. He is using it to build us. An anonymous author once wrote the lines “How He hammers [us] and hurts [us], And with mighty blows converts [us], How He bends but never breaks, when [our] good He undertakes.” God can use even the attacks of the devil and our failures to strengthen us. We can be more than conquerors, through Him, in the midst of trials and failures, persecution, famine, or death.

This is by His Grace alone, through His Love alone, by His Spirit alone.

A Green Christian?

2010-12-17T08:16:00.000-08:00

"Is that even possible?” I thought, as I considered the possibility of being environmentally conscious while being a conservative Christian. For my entire life, being a Christian seem irreconcilable with caring a smidge about the earth; granted I hadn't tried very hard and generally scoffed at anyone who used the now trendy “green” tag about anything

Had anyone challenged my beliefs I would have opened up the Bible to the first page and said that God has clearly given us dominion over the earth and given us every plant and tree. I would have said that after the fall we were told to subdue the earth. This might have shut them up but, again, this never happened and I continued to persist in my former thinking, but things began to change during a drive through Scotland.

Having never been to Scotland before I was unprepared for the gorgeous, sweeping countryside. It was breathtaking and almost caused me to drive off the road as I craned my neck to see the high mountains or green rolling hills or majestic vistas. Every few miles there was a parking area and I used quite a few to pull over and just take in the scenery. Then a thought struck me; what would this look like leveled with several high rises on it?

I have a yearly tradition to visit New York City around Christmas and we inevitably end up in Times Square. Times Square is a place to see if you have never been. There are towering electronic screens on almost every building, not to mention people from many nations and states all enamored by the spectacle. A few years ago my visit to Times Square left a peculiar taste in my mouth. None of the tiny colored lights advertising Broadway shows, cars or beer had as much beauty as a single sunset. On a related note, none of Times Squares directed the viewers towards God. It is a testament to man, mostly to our pleasures and vices. I'm sure some people can look at something like Times Square or a city skyline and see the beauty and praise God for giving us our gifts of invention and the ability to create but there is something about enjoying nature that can never compare with man's creation.

God's creation will always trump anything our human minds can think of and create and nature testifies to so many of God's character traits. For starters, creation testifies to the existence of a Creator. The book of Romans states that the knowledge of God is in all men because of the creation around them. The complexities and beauties one finds in nature cannot help but lead one to believe in a loving Creator; the next of God's traits expressed in nature. We have been given an entire planet to enjoy and use for our good and survival. Only a loving Creator would supply our needs so fully.

Why then has the church and environmental movements traditionally clashed in ideals and beliefs? Because environmental movements with God become idolatry. If “saving the earth” is your ultimate goal, then it is your God. However, one can seek to glorify God above all and still be concerned about environmental pursuits. Man has been given so great a gift in our earth, however we have not been given it for us to wantonly waste it. We are still required to be good stewards of the gifts given us, and this includes our natural world.

There are many environmental movements that elevate the rights of animals above that of humans. This is a perversion of God's created order. Man is the pinnacle of God's creation, created in his very image, and given dominion over all the animals. However we must remember as Psalm 50 teaches, “All animals belong to God.” Jesus taught that God cares for every animal even the smallest sparrows. The biodiversity present in the vast spectrum of created life points to God's creativity and glory. Dominion does not mean wasteful destruction. Clearly we are not to abuse or destroy animals as Christians, however this prohibition does extend to hunting or using animals for food.

I have every faith in the sovereignty of God and believe that man cannot “break” the earth unless it is part of the Lord's plan, but that he will work even our wasteful sins for our good. I read somewhere that a portion of the vivid sunsets we enjoy is actually due in part to pollution in the atmosphere refracting the light to make brilliant colors. God will redeem our mistakes but maybe we should think before making more.

God Made Known

2010-12-09T19:40:00.000-08:00

This is a post from a few years ago:

I grew up in a small church. A very small church, that covered a very wide geographical area. As a result I was missing something, without even realizing it. I had inclinations that something was missing in my life when I would visit my cousin's in another state and see the vibrant God-centered friendships they enjoyed. Following every church event there would be times of fellowship and conversation; something I had never known. I hated to leave and every trip down countless people would ask me when I was going to move to the area.

I would return home somewhat depressed and I never knew why. But then I joined a church blessed by a bustling community that excels at fellowship. One day it clicked, I now knew what I had been missing all those years. With my two closest Christian friends living upwards of an hour away, I had never experienced what many refer to as “Biblical Fellowship.” Biblical Fellowship comprises a wide range of activities but for the benefit of this simplicity, I will use it to refer to time spent together discussing theology or sermons, confessing sin and encouraging one another.; Generally setting your minds on the things above.

There are many obvious benefits to joining together with believers and engaging in fellowship. The first way we benefit from truly Biblical Fellowship is the aforementioned encouragement that comes from fellow believers and the feeling that comes from encouraging others yourself. While we should not seek the approval of men, there is a clear command in Scripture to encourage one another. I heard a friend say something simple but particularly convicting to me. She said “When I'm feeling down, I like to encourage someone. It always cheers me up.” It's true and encouragement is contagious.

If you're like me then encouragement does not necessarily come easily to you. In order to encourage someone, you need to know what to look for. A pastor once advised listeners to study the fruits of the spirit and the attributes of love in order to be able to better point out evidences of God's hand moving in another believer's life. A side benefit of encouragement is that, if done right, the glory does not belong to the one being encouraged, but with God who is working in the person's life.

Another reason fellowship is vital in any believer's life is the way it spurs us on toward Christ. There is a widely know verse in Proverbs that says “Bad company corrupts good morals” but the reverse is also true. There is something contagious about a person's zeal. Whatever someone is passionate about shows through in their speech and actions, and piques the interest of those around them. We, as sons and daughters of God, should be excited about His words and seeing others excited likewise can influence us to become more so. If you have several coals from a fire, they will quickly burn out if removed from the fire, but gather the coals together and they will burn bright.

Coupled with the passion that can be gained through fellowship is also wisdom. Again, Proverbs teaches that one will surround themselves with wise people if they wish to be wise, and that in a multitude of counselors there is wisdom. Coupled with the study of Scripture and prayer, seeking advice from your friends and pastors should be your decision making process. As John Donne once wrote, “No man is an island” and this must be particularly true of believers.

A final benefit of fellowship is the opportunity for the confession of sin. Confession is something that should be done with care and in the right environment. There are obviously certain sins that shouldn't be confessed to members of the opposite sex and not every gathering of believer's is the right venue for confession. Due to the unfortunate habit some people have of gossiping, you should pick your confidants well. That being said, confessing our sins to each other is mandated by scripture, and rightly so. A confessed sin, greatly loses its power and having others keeping us accountable is a great strategy for fighting any sin.

This accountability require humility as well as honesty. In the book of John it says, “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God ; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known”. Christ came not only to die for our sins, but also to make the Father known. Christ's life was, in essence, Himself revealing the father to all creation. In the same way, as “imitators of Christ” we are called to make ourselves known in our times of fellowship. This is not to say we pridefully talk about ourselves, but rather with humility we are called to confess our sins to one another. Don't fear what the other people think, because they are sinners just like you.

While these are just a few of the benefits of Biblical Fellowship, you can already see the ways true fellowship is healthy for any believer's life. I recently returned to visit my cousins and this time the visit was different. Very noticeably only one person asked me when I was gonna move closer. When I asked one of my cousins about this he had what I believe to be a very discerning answer, “You have a peace about you now. They can tell you've found your home.”

The Opinion That Matters

2010-12-07T09:54:00.000-08:00

I have a confession, I crave the approval of man. I have been known to elevate it above that of the approval of God. As I write these words, I am aware of my heart and pray that what I do I do for the glory of God and not my own glory. My life needs to be for His glory alone and when it is, I will be most satisfied in Him and when I am, He will be most glorified. To fight these sinful cravings I have to constantly remind myself of the following:

What people think of me does not matter. This comes with a caveat. God often uses the people in our lives to instruct, correct, and grow us into His likeness. Not caring what people think does not mean that I am to live in wanton disregard to what anyone tells me but to rather apply their observations and care to the Word and test the truth. If someone thinks I am a fool for following Christ I do not care. If someone tells me I am sinning, I should respond “Your opinion of me does not matter”. At least not at a first...
Only God's opinion matters. When God looks at the believer He sees the righteousness of Christ and one of his beloved Children. Even a believer who sins is still legally right before God as I explored in the last post. God will discipline the one that He loves, like a father loving His children but his opinion of us remains the same. He loves us enough to have sent His only Son to live the perfect life and die the death we should have, to bring us to Him.
The WORST thing anyone can know about you is already known. Anyone claiming to be a Christian is claiming that their sins were great enough and bad enough that it required the sacrifice of God's son to pay our debts. We are saying that we were so in need of a savior that God sent his Son. Anything else, any sins, any lies that anyone can say pales in comparison to the weight of that statement.

We needn't worry about what anyone may say to us or about us because we know the gospel, it frees us from craving the approval of man and pushes us into the loving arms of God, who's approval we could never have won but we have received anyway through the death of His Son.

Edmund Dantes is Dead?

2010-12-06T13:55:00.001-08:00

Edmund Dantes is dead. I am dead? What does this mean?

As a believer, I have been crucified with Christ and raised with Him on the third day. This is taught but what does it really mean? Clearly I am not physically dead so it must mean something else. Primarily this death is in regards to sin. We are dead to sin as believers, and yet we still sin.

Sin is part of this world. Psalm 14:3 shows that there “is none that does good, no, not one”. The verse that starts so many gospel presentations, Romans 3:23, backs this up, “all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.” In some ways I have always been dead; prior to my conversion I was “dead through [my] trespasses and sins” Ephesians 2:1. I believe that when I prayed to accept Christ as my Savior, God imputed the perfect life and righteousness of Christ into my “account” so now when he looks at me, God see's what I could never give Him: a perfect life spent in service to Him and for His glory.

But this does not mean that I am off the hook. When I sin, legally my relationship with God has not changed. I am as justified (only by His grace) as I ever have been or ever will be. Salvation is not based on my perfection but is the free gift of God. I am still an adopted son of God but there are consequences in terms of our relationship with God and until we confess we will remain at a distance from Christ. Wayne Grudem writes, “When we sin as Christians, it is not only our personal relationship with God that is disrupted. Our Christian life and fruitfulness in ministry are also damaged. Jesus warns us, 'As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me” (John 15:4). When we stray from fellowship from Christ because of sin in our lives, we diminish the degree to which we are abiding in Christ.”

So going back to the original question, what does it mean to be dead? I took this phrase from Romans 6:11 which reads, “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (ESV). The also is sometimes translated “in the same way” but to what does it refer. Romans 6:10 says, “For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.” So we are called to be like Christ and are dead to sin.

This means sin holds no power over us. We are not under the curse of the law any more but under the grace and freedom that comes from trusting in Christ as our savior. Christ has lived the life we could not for us, and as such we are freed from having to fulfill the laws demands. If salvation was based on our works, then Christ died for no purpose. He died to bring us into communion with God and rends the curtain as it were. We therefore are called to live lives of holiness, growing into the image of Christ, not because it earns us anything but out of thankfulness to our Saving God.

Practically we must acknowledge 2 things in our fight with sin. First and foremost, sin holds no power and we don't need to give into temptation. Sin holds no power. Second, we must never admit defeat; sin has no dominion and we can never say "I will never change." We must hold fast the promise that God will complete the work that he has began in us. We will never be free from sin but sin cannot beat us. It's going down, but it's going down swinging.

Another way we were slaves to sin is in our death. When one dies in rebellion to God, forsaking His love and statutes, they are condemned to an eternity apart from God. When a believer dies, we leave our corrupted mortal bodies and join Christ in glory, in bodies that will never perish as we worship and commune with God forever. All eternity! We will never be free from sin in this life, despite the extent of our growth in Godliness, but when we die sanctification is complete. Death no longer holds the sting it once did, for we know that those believers who die are, for the first time, at peace and we will join them when our time in the “shadowlands” is done.

I am not a sinner! I am a Child of God, in Christ, who still sins. I am dead to sin.

Love

2008-04-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

By Rachel Thompson.

The church of God is to be rooted and grounded in love. Love is the root that feeds us. Love is the solid ground beneath our feet. Jesus' one commandment to His disciples was, "Love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12). As we obey, we will be overwhelmed by the love of God for us.

To the Philippians, Paul wrote, "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment" (Phil. 1:9).

This love isn't idealistic or sappy. It is full of knowledge and discernment. Such love runs counter to our modern ideas, even to much of our experience. Knowledge and judgment tend to diminish our feelings of ardor, not cause them to abound! When I know someone well, I can see all his faults. When my judgment — call it "discernment" — is sharp, I'll recognize my brother's immaturities and even perhaps his sins.

But that's how it should be! Paul prayed that our love might be based on truth. We're not to love illusions of each other, but realities. Love based on falsehood is stunted and weak. We are to love one another in truth, to embrace one another's weaknesses and warts, because our true and holy God has loved us. Knowledge will cause infatuation to die and illusion to fade. But where there is true love, knowledge will cause it to abound.

Paul's words send me to my knees with an awareness of how poor my love has been. I'm willing to love the church until it hurts, offends, or annoys me. I'm willing to love it until I decide it's gone too far. But Paul's words send me back to the cross. They remind me that Jesus loves me despite my weaknesses, my failures, and my most disgusting sins. My entire life should be rooted and grounded in that love. Love makes us holy. God wants to see it in us, and so I will ask God for it — not for myself only, but for all the church.

Sin and Temptation

2008-04-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

Hebrews 4:15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

This verse reveals a very important fact about Jesus and ourselves. The fact that Jesus was tempted in every way we were reveals that temptation is itself not sin because Jesus was without sin. The fact that Jesus was without sin also reveals that he has been tempted more than anyone else due to the fact that he did not give into temptation. As John Piper writes "If a person gives in to temptation, it never reaches its fullest and longest assault." Jesus never cracked under temptation so he knew temptation's fullest force.

So in our temptation we must turn to the next verse in Hebrews.
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

When we are tempted we must draw near to Jesus who sympathizes with our struggles which should make us eager to come into his presence.

The Heroes of the Bible?

2008-04-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

I read an interesting article this week by Glenn Packiam in which he points out an interesting perspective on every traditional Bible "hero": they're human. While the God-inspired Bible could have been lacking in mention of your typical Sunday School story hero's sins, it isn't. Every one has a flaw.

David is not a ruddy kid with a fuzzy Jewish afro who killed the giant and ruled the nation with wisdom and strength. He is a man wrestling between a desire for vindication against King Saul and a conviction that God's authority must be respected. He is a man who lies to a priest and feigns allegiance to a wicked king. Both actions cost hundreds of innocent lives. And who can forget his scandalous affair and botched cover-up that led to murder?
The more you turn the pages of Scripture, the faster the flannel board heroes tumble. Moses, in his passion for God's people kills a man. That same impatience later leads to a disastrous disobedience that prevents him for entering the Promise Land. Noah, after saving his family from the destruction of the world, got so drunk his sons had to walk in backward to avoid seeing his naked, shameful condition. Rahab, the woman who saved Joshua and Caleb's life, allowing them to enter and eventually possess the Promise Land, was a prostitute. Peter cuts off the ear of the high priest's servant—which in today's world, might be like shooting Billy Graham's assistant in the leg! And let's not even get into his wholesale denial of the Messiah. Paul, the great apostle, had a temper that led to a few severed partnerships.

While we shouldn't be complacent or accepting of our sin, it is a real encourager to know that even those Bible greats, through whom God accomplished great things, were just like everyone else and had their own sins. But God's aim is not just to encourage us in our failures, instead the utter humanity of our heroes leads to something else.

Due to the humbling of our heroes we need a new hero; someone who we can relate to, a human like ourselves. We need someone who faced all the temptations, trials and heartaches that we faced only did it perfectly. We need someone who not only took on our humanity and temptations but also became our savior; dying for the sins of the world. We need Jesus.

"In some sense, all the other Bible stories go out of their way to detail the flaws of their main character so as to anticipate the flawlessness of Christ...Humans, not heroes, are the stuff of earth. The humanity of all other Biblical characters is intentional. In them, we see ourselves, and an example of how to surrender our brokenness to Christ; in Christ, we see our hope. In the end, this business of looking for a hero must only lead to Christ, the Savior of the world."

My Religious Affiliation

2008-03-31T20:45:00.000-07:00

So the other night a girl asked me what religion I was. I thought for a few moments and couldn't rightly respond. The only church I've ever been to with a denominational title was the Mennonite church that I attended as a child. The next church was essentially non-denominational and for a while was pretty much without members as well. My current church, while still non-denominational, is nothing like the previous one. So naturally, I had a hard time explaining to the girl, a Catholic, what "religion" I was.
I'm a self-proclaimed Christian but that word seems too ambiguous. Dictionary.com defines it as "of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ: Spain is a Christian country." That covers what I believe but is still very general. A Roman Catholic is considered a Christian by that definition and I definitely do not believe what Roman Catholics do. So what do I believe?
I Believe:

in a triune God with three persons, distinct in their function but equal in essence and nature.
that God is righteous and just.
that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"
that therefore I am a sinner and a righteous and just God would not accept a sinner into heaven.
that Jesus became man, lived a perfect life, died as the sacrificial lamb for my sins and rose again to show not even death can stop God.
that accepting Jesus Christ as your savior is the only way to the Father and Heaven.
that nothing I can ever do, except accepting Jesus as savior, can ever contribute to my salvation because Jesus paid it all on the cross. In other words, I am never anymore justified to be in Heaven then when I first accept Christ as my savior.
in unconditional election, or that God chooses to save only by His grace and mercy, and not because of merit or worth.
in limited atonement, or that Jesus' substitutionary death was enough for everyone's salvation but was not meant for everyone but rather only for God's "elect"
that God does everything in a manner that give God the most glory.
that when God purposes to save someone, his Holy Spirit will not be defeated so God can save anyone but chooses to endure "vessels of wrath" because it gives Himself the most glory.
that He who began a good work in us is faithful to complete it so if you have accepted Jesus into your heart you have, a sort of, "eternal security"
that the gifts of the Holy Spirit (speaking in tongues, prophecy etc.) are present in the church today.
that the Bible is the breathed out word of God and is completely infallible and completely true.

So what does that make me? It makes me a man desperately in need of a savior who God has chosen to save out of his love, and who is called to live a life as a suitable representation of the God he serves but fails. Amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.

So why Blog?

2008-03-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

If anyone is wondering why I am now blogging, I take a page from C.J. Maheney's playbook and point to what other people have said on the subject. Bob Kauflin in an article on Boundless writes,

"blogs have enabled us to communicate what's in our hearts and minds to anyone in the world who wants to listen. And you can do all of this sitting at home in front of your computer.

If you're reading this, there's a good possibility that you read blogs, comment on blogs, or write one of your own. If you never go near blogs, I wouldn't be too concerned. But for the rest of us, here are some things to keep in mind as we inhabit the blogosphere.

Christians might blog on a variety of topics and for a number of reasons, but they share one common goal:
"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31)"

That being said, this is for God's glory. It is not for my fame or a chance to show off how wise I am, but rather to bring a not-so-new perspective on the issues of our world and especially our faith.

Tim Challies also has some thoughts on blogging which I happen to share:

If you write frequently, you’ll soon exhaust all that you know. After all, you have a limited number of stories to tell, a limited store of knowledge to share. So if you want to blog, make sure you are continually challenging yourself in the area you write about. As a Christian, this means that I dedicate myself to the Christian disciplines to ensure that I am continually growing in my knowledge of God as revealed in His Word. It also means that I constantly read good books (and some not-so-good books). These two disciplines provide me with the food for thought that keeps me writing and, most of the time, provides me with topics to write about. I’ve said it often, but I’ll say it again: if I stopped reading the Bible and stopped reading good books, I’d have nothing to say. I’d have to pack it up and move on.

Also:

First, there is good reason that writing and journaling have long been considered important spiritual disciplines. I have found often that I do not really know what I believe about something until I have written about it. Only in writing down my thoughts am I able to press to the furthest extent to learn what I really believe. Writing has become a critical discipline for me and one that tells me much about myself and the state of my heart (Emphasis mine).

Lastly, this blog will be characterized by a love for the lost but not for the world they live in. To quote Justin Taylor, "Jesus said they will know us by our fruit and by our love, and a lot of blogs are failing in that."