Mixtape 2009

I figured that it being the last day of the year, it would be appropriate for me to give out my favorite songs of 2009. At least, I'm pretty sure most of them are songs from 2009. Either that or I discovered them in 2009. Which is good enough for me. So, in no particular order, here is my epic mixtape of the very best of my music for the year of our Lord 2009:

Future of Forestry – Hills of Indigo Blue
Matt Papa – No One Else
The Ember Days – Fortress
Gabe Dixon Band – Disappear
Mute Math – Clipping
Switchfoot – Your Love is a Song
Ingrid Michaelson – Maybe
Paramore – All I Wanted
Jars of Clay – Hero
Andy Davis – Hard to Believe
Mae – Night/Day
Owl City – Fireflies
Dave Matthews Band – Funny the Way it Is
Regina Spektor – Eet

Eternal Word, born in the flesh

Here's a side to the Christmas story that isn't often told: Those soft little hands, fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb, were made so that nails might be driven through them. Those baby feet, pink and unable to walk, would one day walk up a dusty hill to be nailed to a cross. That sweet infant's head with sparkling eyes and eager mouth was formed so that someday men might force a crown of thorns onto it. That tender body, warm and soft, wrapped in swaddling clothes, would one day be ripped open by a spear. Jesus was born to die.

John MacArthur, God With Us

Today is Christmas. Along with all the commercialism and consumer-driven celebration, with the watered-down, seeker sensitive messages of Jesus born in a manger with cute animals standing by, reigns the fulfillment of the promise of God in Emmanuel: that God is with us. The Eternal Logos has broken into our world, for the sake of our salvation, to rescue a broken and hopeless people. The power of God is shown in the weakness and innocence of a baby, born the King of kings and Lord of lords. The love of God is shown in the miracle of the Incarnation, that a member of the Holy Trinity subjected Himself to the weakness of human flesh, for the purpose of dying a shameful death. The coming of Jesus Christ into our world means the beginning of our salvation. It means that the Kingdom of God has come here among us. It means that there is hope for the hopeless, light to break into the darkness, and deliverance from our sinful states. It means that God is with us, God is with us, God is with us, forever and ever, and will NEVER leave us or forsake us. This inbreaking of the Divine into our world is the most significant event in the history of creation up to this point. Because it brings the Light of the world to us. Emmanuel, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, JESUS! He is here! "A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices!" REJOICE! Sing glory with the angels, for God was made flesh and made his dwelling among us. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests" (Luke 2:14).

Rejoice on this day, for it celebrates our salvation and freedom and hope and life and the very power of the Gospel that changes lives, and has changed this world forever.

O come let us adore Him!
O come let us adore Him!
O COME LET US ADORE HIM!
CHRIST THE LORD!!

Amen, glory to God forever.

Lord Christ, Master of Death

"If, then, it is by the sign of the cross and by faith in Christ that death is trampled underfoot, it is clear that it is Christ Himself and none other Who is the Arch-victor over death and has robbed it of its power. Death used to be strong and terrible, but now, since the sojourn of the Saviour and the death and resurrection of His body, it is despised; and obviously it is by the very Christ Who mounted on the cross that it has been destroyed and vanquished finally. When the sun rises after the night and the whole world is lit up by it, nobody doubts that it is the sun which has thus shed its light everywhere and driven away the dark. Equally clear is it, since this utter scorning and trampling down of death has ensued upon the Saviour's manifestation in the body and His death on the cross, that it is He Himself Who brought death to nought and daily raises monuments to his victory in His own disciples."

St. Athanasius, On the Incarnation, 5.29

My grandma just died last week, so death has been on my mind a lot recently. At the same time, I've been trying to read through this book by Athanasius as an Advent devotional. There are so many good chunks of this book I could quote here, but I especially like this one, mainly because of that last sentence, in that Christ, the Victor over death, "daily raises monuments to his victory in His own disciples." Athanasius goes on to talk about martyrdom and the men and women of Christ who so despised death that they went to face it head on without fear. Death used to be something to fear, something "strong and terrible," but now through the victory won by Christ's resurrection, it has been subjected to scorn and ridicule and has been made impotent. Instead of feared, it is despised. Death is still the enemy, but no longer an enemy that has power over us. And that power over death is displayed in Christ's disciples as a testament and a living monument to His victory. Our lives can be ruled by fear of death or power over death. Let's choose to live in that power, living in glory, celebrating with all the saints as we sing out the truth, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Cor. 15:55) Praise Jesus!

The Gossip Guard

A New Family

I want to explore the depths of what it means to be a brother in Christ. I want to know the potential for the reality of the relationship between brother and brother, sister and sister, and brother and sister in Christ.

I've been realizing recently just how important these relationships are in the Kingdom of God. In the Old Testament, the blood family was the primary social and spiritual unit. It was through Abraham that his descendants, the people of Israel, received God's blessing. It was this family identity (Israel, tribe, and clan) that was foundational to the religious identity of the people of Israel. In the New Testament, Jesus brings the Kingdom of God to us, and with that a new paradigm of religious identity. Spiritual blessing and identity is no longer through the blood family, but rather by belonging to a new family--the body of Christ. This was exemplified by Jesus when his mother and brothers came to talk to him, but couldn't get near him because of the crowd. When someone told him that his mother and brothers were waiting outside for him, Jesus said, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice" (Luke 8:19-21, also Matthew 12:46-50, and Mark 3:31-35). Jesus no longer defined "family" by blood relation, but by Spirit-relation. Or at the least, one had taken priority over the other. The family of Christ is one that is united by the blood of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, and is bound together by the workings of the Holy Spirit. Jesus showed us that this is a bond that goes much deeper than that of a physical family. We are no longer united by our own blood, but rather by the blood of God Himself.

Why don't we take advantage of this relation? Why do we fail to see its potential? We often feel awkward sharing our lives and passions and pains and struggles and joys to the degree of intimacy that this family allows for, or maybe even expects of us. We are afraid to be vulnerable with each other. Often we look to our brothers and sisters to "keep us accountable" (a term i dislike), and leave it at that. Helping each other to steer from sin and live righteous lives is definitely a part of living in this family, but it's so much more than that! We are brought together in order to share in each others' lives in a real way, to REJOICE together, to PRAISE together, to PRAY together, to LOVE together, to CRY together, to LAUGH together, to MOURN together, to WORSHIP the God of our mutual salvation together and to WORK together for His Kingdom and GLORIFY Him together forever! There is no awkwardness in the Kingdom of God! With the freedom we have in Christ, nothing has the power to keep us from sharing in each others' lives completely.

It's easy for us to pick up on this togethering thing and agree with it on the grand scale, but how does it affect our individual relationships? How can we practice doing life together and honoring God together in our one-on-one's? It starts with just investing in each others' lives, pouring ourselves out for the sake of others, putting their needs above our own, and loving each other in mutual submission. And it starts with prayer. We need to be praying more as a body and family of believers. We need to be praying for, with, and over each other all the time. Prayer unites us, and works to change us. When we submit our relationships first to God, it brings us closer together. Have you ever had the experience of feeling really close to someone after praying for them, even if you didn't know them that well in the first place? Praying together is the process of communing with God by the same Spirit that unites us together as believers.

What's tough for me is the relationship between me as a brother and my sisters. Especially for me, as an intentionally single guy, to try and explore the potential of the Spirit-bond between myself and a single sister can be tricky. I feel like our culture is so dating-relationship focused that attempts at intimacy in the Spirit between a brother and sister can be misinterpreted on either side as something with a more romantic interest. So what's the answer to that? Do we safeguard ourselves and not attempt to be a invest all of ourselves in a brother or sister, holding back in order to protect ourselves? I think, to an extent, at least for me, this can be necessary, but overall, i think we need mutual understanding and minds and hearts that are transformed by the Spirit, desiring to seek God and honor Him above all else, and willing to pour out ourselves into the lives of our brothers and sisters.

But the main point is, we need to take more seriously the responsibility we have as brothers and sisters. We need to take advantage of this relationship, and the incredible potential for communion with others and God. Stronger than any blood bond, stronger than any experiential bond, stronger than any dating bond, is the bond of salvation in which we are washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ and have been brought into His Kingdom to share in this community of faith that glorifies Him forever! We all share this most incredible gift, and not of ourselves, but only by the grace of God. It is by this grace that we have been saved and have been brought into this community of faith--this family of Christ.

This journey is not meant to be traveled alone. The more i learn and grow, the more i'm convinced that community is one of the most important things in all of our faith. Let's put it into action. Let's pray for each other. Let's share what God is doing in our lives. Let's be vulnerable with each other. Let's truly worship together. Let's glorify God through the bond of this new family.

Reformation Day

Today, All Hallow's Eve, also doubles as Reformation Day, the 492nd commemoration of the somewhat historical event of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the door of a church at Wittenburg. I'm not sure how i feel about celebrating such a day. The Reformation, for being a movement with the purpose of restoring the Church, ripped it completely apart. Since then, the Church has been split down the middle, and into hundreds of separate denominations and ideologies. I really, really love the Church, feeling it an under-emphasized (or neglected) aspect of Christian teachings and theology, and i feel called to serve her. So, do i commemorate this day? Probably not. But, nonetheless, it is a significant moment in the history of the Church

Jared over at The Gospel-Driven Church, is commemorating Reformation Day by making his own 95 theses for the American Church today. I really like his blog, and recommend checking it out. The 95 theses are split into five parts:

Part One: discipleship
Part Two: community
Part Three: the Church
Part Four: the pastorate
Part Five: purpose

One of my favorite quotes is by none other than St. Augustine, who said "The Church is a whore, but she's my mother." Even though the Church of Jesus Christ is broken and wounded with divided loyalties, we are still called to love and honor and serve her. Amen.

A Theology of Swearing

Words are only symbols for the meaning that we attribute to it, and they only carry the meaning that we give to them. Language is kind of random like that. It's why, in the 90s, teenagers could get away with using the word "bad" to refer to something something good, or "wicked" as something super cool. I can make up any word and give it any meaning i want (this is actually kind of fun, if you get a good word and it catches on with friends).

And we get so worked up over the little things like words someone once defined as "swear words," and don't bother worrying about the meaning (or lack of meaning) we attached to the rest of our vocabulary. Which is a worse sin, if i say the word "fuck," or if i say "Jesus is Lord" without really meaning it? Our words either don't carry any weight at all, or we've given too much weight to the wrong ones.

Stop worrying so much about swearing. It has no meaning except for what you give it, and it has no power unless you choose to submit to it. Worry instead about the words you say, and be deliberate in your speaking. When we lack meaning in our words, we can deceive ourselves and others, and it leads to a life of hypocrisy where we say one thing and do another. Be deliberate in all that you do, but i think a great place to begin this is with the words that we say. Maybe it starts with not saying anything at all.


*Disclaimer: Unless it's funny or circumstantially called for, i think swearing is really stupid as well. In light of 1 Corinthians 10, in which Paul advises that "Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial," and talks about working to not offend brothers even if your conscience is clear, i do not regularly swear, because many Christians do take offense to it and see it as a sin. But what really gets me is when those who do take offense get so worked up about such a tiny sin, and that was the point of this post.

Reclaiming Christians for Christ

There's a fundamental difference between serving the world and your own desires in a Christian manner, and serving Christ in a way that leaves no room for anything else and reaches out to the world from that foundation. This is a distinction that i think many American Christians do not get, nor do they want to get. Because it's a reality that is not easy to swallow. It may be a subtle distinction in our own eyes, but it is one that goes to the very core of who we are.

I'm realizing more and more just how clever we Christians are at deceiving the world and ourselves. We are very capable of looking and acting like we're serving Christ, when in fact we can be submitting to the world's demands on our life, adding in the pursuit of our own desires. We have been so twisted up and turned around that the world's demands become our desires, and we don't realize the difference. It's easy to say that the world is bad, especially when we see on the news reports of disease, war, greedy CEOs, starvation, rape, murder, etc.--you know, the big stuff that is obviously the result of sin in the world. But we miss out on the little things--the more dangerous things--because we don't realize how great an influence the world has on our lives.

I'll give an example, on that has been frustrating to me recently. (By the way, i'm just as guilty as anyone of all this, so i can't point the finger without four pointing back at me (cheesy, but i like that image. It works.)) Last week on our campus, we had a Living Single for the LORD emphasis week. Some monks, with whom i got to go up and live last January, came and talked about this Biblical alternative that is given to us in order to more fully devote ourselves to Christ and the ministry He has given us. Being a typical Christian campus, i think the majority of the students shut it out after the first message, and were frustrated that these guys were telling us that we couldn't get married if we wanted to be good Christians, and saying things along the likes of, "I just don't feel that that calling is for me, and I'm really looking forward to getting married, and GOSH DARN IT, I WANT TO HAVE SEX!"* I would argue that the people who reacted this way, although completely allowed to do so, have completely missed the point. If we are to be followers of Christ, true disciples, we have to be willing to put Him first, ahead of all things, which means that we have to be willing to give up all other things if He were to ask us, including marriage and sex.

That's one example, but this applies in so many areas of life. How we act and what we say are so often determined by an analytical look at what is socially acceptable in the world's eyes, how we pray with each other is done in a way that avoids awkwardness, and how we live in community is done in a way that is comfortable and encouraging for us, but doesn't leave us too vulnerable. All these things make us slaves to the world's standards.

We have become worldly Christians, rather than Christians in this world.

We have been set apart (read: made holy) to have a new identity, separate from the world, and to have a new purpose, a new mission, and a new Master of our lives. This does not mean we withdraw from the world, but we invade it, secure in our identity as the Church of Jesus Christ our Lord and Master, unwilling to yield to any other lord or submit to any other way of life that might tempt us. We are foreigners in this land, and we do not belong to it. We must submit our lives only to the Authority and Lordship of Jesus Christ. Nothing else must have our devotion. Nothing else is worthy of our devotion. This world is passing away, and so we grab on to and commit ourselves to the only Eternal One who will serve as the foundation of all that we are and will be.

Our Enemy is very good at making us like accidental traitors in this war. People that in reality serve the world when they think they are serving Christ. People that claim to be "sold out" for Christ when they have no notion of what that term means. People that proudly do their own thing and call it Christian while ignoring the call that God has placed on their lives. People that serve the world's purposes, disguising them as "Christian."

Looking back at what i've just written, it is harsher than i set out to make it. But i'm not convinced it was unnecessary. I am convinced though that we need more table-tossing and whip-cracking in our Christian communities. Those that fit the profile that i've gone through include my brothers and sisters in Christ, and i the chief among them. I want to see, in myself and in the community i live in, a renewed devotion to our Lord Jesus. I want to see a renewed passion for the Gospel. I want to see purpose and intention in following Jesus. I want to see the Holy Spirit ruling and directing our lives. I want to see Christians reclaimed for Christ.



*Not a real quote.
As a quick aside, we Christians are probably the horniest people on earth. We just repress it to the point where it manifests itself in other ways, like getting married way too young and then adding to the highest divorce rate of any faith group.

Intentionality

I don't know if intentionality is a real word. But i'm using it. Because it fits. And i can.

I am currently called by the Lord my God to live single. I have felt this calling on my life ever since just over a year ago, at the beginning of my junior year of college. You can read more about that decision if you want here and here. It was at a time when i really felt the Lord calling me to a deeper walk of discipleship with Him, to devote my life more fully and completely to His purposes. I read 1 Corinthians 7, the famous passage where Paul talks about living celibate for the sake of Christ. He talks about how if one is called to live single, then they can devote more of themselves to the Lord's service and to ministry, without having their interests divided between a family and ministry, and i thought Yes! This is great! This is what i want to do! Serve God fully! And when i committed myself to not pursuing dating in order to try and discern God's call on my life, it was fantastic. My relationships with female friends grew immensely, and this time with pure motives on my part, and i just had a better outlook on life.

A year later, and i'm struggling. At the end of this past summer, i decided that i needed to renew my commitment for another year, because i had been slacking off. And so far this semester, it has been one large struggle to maintain a pure heart and mind in intentionally being single. My old thoughts and habits have begun to return to me. Doubt crept in. Did i rush into renewing this commitment? Am i just supposed to get married and stop trying so hard, when all i do is fail?

This week is a spiritual emphasis week here on our campus, about Living Single for the Lord. It is being put on by the same monastic community that i visited last J-term, and i learned an immeasurable amount about living single from them. Through having them here, God has reminded me why He called me to this in the first place--for the sake of ministry. I haven't been called to live single for this time in my life just for kicks and giggles. I've been called for a purpose. I have been called out so that my life can be more fully devoted to the Lord's service. This is what i'd forgotten. This is what i'd been missing, and why i'd been struggling. I was missing the intention behind the action.

As Christians, we are all called for the purpose of sharing and spreading the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to the world, investing ourselves in the Kingdom of God and showing the love and light of Christ to all those around us. We can do that whether we're dating, married, widowed, or single. It's just a matter of serving this purpose the best you can in whatever situation you are in. But those who have been specifically set aside for singleness have the purpose of being single-mindedly devoted to this work. I've been missing out on the intentionality and the purpose of what i've been called to. My heart has not been focused and devoted to the Lord throughout this discernment process, which makes the whole process kind of pointless.

We are all called to live with intention. We are all called to one purpose. We are called to live deliberately serving the Kingdom, not just by accident or just when we feel like it. But all the time, on purpose, for a purpose. Some are called in different ways than others. But our purpose remains the same, all glory to God.

My First Philosophical Musing

Going through my philosophy notes in preparation for my midterm tomorrow, i came across something we did the very first day of class. We were asked to distinguish between facts and values. Nothing ever really came of this (i think it was just intended to make us start thinking philosophically), but i rather liked the definition i came up with:

Facts are knowledge about reality.
Values are the reality of our worldview.

Interesting to think about. Back to studying for me.

Of Foundations and Blessings

Last week was a week of incredible learning for me. It was a week of incredible shame and growth (i hope). It was a week where part of my foundation was revealed, and it was not what i thought it would be. Which was at the same time scary and wonderful.

It started last weekend when i went to go visit my good friend Austin in Columbus. On the way there, just outside of Columbus, i got into a tiny car wreck, in which i rear-ended someone, who rear-ended someone else at a stop light. Everyone was fine, and insurance is taking care of the damage, but as it was my fault, i got a citation for it. Fortunately, the officer there told me he could have held me in custody until i could pay the ticket, since i was an out-of-towner, but he was gracious with me and didn't. Now typically, a $130 traffic citation isn't that big of a deal, you just pay it and you don't have to show up for your court date and all is well. But this happened to come at a time when i was completely broke.

I had about $15 to my name. And my family is just about as broke as i am, with both parents, for all intents and purposes, out of work--so they couldn't help me. And then it happened that money i thought i had coming to me pretty soon, wasn't. I thought i would be getting my scholarship check from the church i interned at this past summer any day now, but when i emailed my pastor, he said that they were having trouble rounding up the money, and they might have to split up the checks, but they would definitely get it all to me by the end of the year, 2009. When i read those words, my heart, and my hope, started to sink. I had no options. Suddenly a small ticket turns into a big deal if you have no way to pay for it, and you know that they will come and arrest you if you don't pay in time.

This all started to come crashing down on me on Tuesday of last week. This is when i started to realize that i had no options, i was broke, and this might end with me getting arrested. I started to panic. I'd never been in a situation like this before. I didn't know what to do. I cried multiple times that day, and was praying about it all day, crying out to God because it felt like i was cornered in the ring and about to go down. Cornered, helpless, and panicking--these weren't feelings i was used to.

And all the time, i was thinking to myself, Why am i getting so worked up about all this? I knew that Christ was my source of hope and life and that i was never helpless with Him on my side. I knew that. I knew that verse that said how beautiful and well taken care of the birds and the flowers are, and since i am so much more important than them, why should i worry? I knew that God was always with me, would never leave me nor forsake me. So why was i acting like this?

It occurred to me then, in the midst of all this stress, that maybe the Lord was trying to show me something about myself. My foundation has not been built solely on Him or the authority of His Word. A big part of my foundation has always been my comfort. My security. I've never been rich or well off or wanted to live with high standards, but i've always had money available to me if i needed it. There is a great security in that. There is a great security in knowing that, even if i don't have much money, still i have enough. I've never been attached to money or been materialistic or greedy, and was always fine with living simply, but just knowing that it was there was enough for me.

This struck me like a bag of bricks. My foundation has been built on something other than Christ.

This is sin. This is idolatry. And i've allowed it to become a foundational part of who i am. This is a big deal. And i think that shook me up more than anything. But at the same time, i was so grateful. Grateful that this was happening now, and that this sin was being revealed now. I posted on my facebook status something to the effect of "sometimes the house has to be shaken in order for the foundation to be revealed." And my friend Brian replied, "I'd rather be shaken sooner than later - to reveal any weakness before things get built too high!" So true. God chose through this extremely stressful occasion to reveal to me the quality and make-up of my foundation at this time in my life, before i continued to build and build on top of it until it would cause irreparable damage. The truth of Matthew 6:24 really hit me here:

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

Since last Tuesday, God has blessed me abundantly. Whether through the generosity of friends or mentors, or from earning money where i didn't expect to, the Lord has provided me with much more than i needed. Last Wednesday, i had lunch with my campus pastor, and told him how stressed i had been because of this situation, and he stopped and pulled out his wallet, handing me $130 right there. I was flabbergasted (always a fun word to use) at this, until he reminded me that, we always seem so astounded when things like this happen, but we forget that this is what the Body of Christ is for--to support each other and be there for each other in need. Last week i was definitely blessed by the Body of Christ, receiving much more than i needed. And just today, i checked my campus mail and in it was my check from Good Shepherd, in full, and it was actually more than i was expecting.

God is so good, and so faithful to provide for His children when they are in need. Sometimes we need to be shaken in order for our weaknesses to be revealed. Sometimes we need to trust in a power beyond our own. And another lesson i've learned from this is that we are only blessed so that we can bless others. Money is only a blessing if you use it for the glory of God. I pray that God has received the glory due to Him through my situation, through the money that i have received, if only so that we can praise Him for His goodness to us. But also, i pray that He is glorified by showing me how i can bless others through what i have received. I submit this story to you, not to prove that God will always provide you with money if you need it, or to say that my life is so much better now that i have money. But i pray that together we can praise God for being a God of provision, being a God of faithfulness, and being a God of hard truths. I give this story for His Kingdom's sake, praying that God will be praised and the Body of Christ will be built up in the Spirit, learning to give and receive with the intentional love and support of Christ. You and i are blessed only in order to bless others.

Claiming our Anointing

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed (Greek crio) me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
-Luke 4:18-19

According to Luke, this prophecy was spoken and claimed by Jesus at the beginning of his ministry. Here, Jesus is claiming to be the one spoken about in the prophecy, the Lord's anointed one. Christ is the Greek word for "Anointed One." Jesus is claiming to be the Christ, to be God himself, and declares his foretold mission on earth. To preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor, to proclaim freedom for prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, and proclaim the Year of Jubilee (the year of the Lord's favor), in which all debts are canceled, land is restored, and slaves are set free. This incredible claim of Jesus is one of my favorite passages in the gospels because of the boldness and radical nature of such a claim.

Even more radical though, is that this anointing continues to be claimed. We, as Christians, bear the name of Christ, the anointed one.

We are the anointed ones.

We have been anointed by God himself to go and preach the Gospel, to bring freedom for prisoners, to heal the blind, and join in with the counter-cultural paradigm of the Kingdom of God that turns the values of the world on their head. We have been given the Spirit of the Lord. We have been given the gift of His anointing. Everything that Jesus did, we are called and empowered to do. You, as an anointed one of the Lord, have been given power to preach the Gospel, which is good news to a world starving for meaning.

Claim this anointing that is upon you. It's not a physical, material anointing, but a spiritual one, one that goes much deeper than the surface, down to our very core and purpose. Claim the power of the Spirit within you. Preach the Gospel. Free those bound by whatever it is that holds them prisoner. Bring sight to those who cannot see. Live radically, in the light of the Kingdom. You Christian, claim that name that you have the privilege of bearing. Claim the anointing of the Spirit, and the power to change the world.

Love through Community

I am going to tell a story, one that happened to me, not to toot my own horn, but to glorify God because of how He works and to demonstrate a larger point.

The other day i was in the midst of my prayer time and randomly a friend of mine popped into my head, and the feeling that i should pray for them. I did, as well as i knew how, but then afterward emailed that friend to see if there was anything that i could be praying for them about. The friend emailed me back the next day and said, yes, actually there was some crap going on in their life, below the surface, that really needed prayer. The friend remarked how incredible God was, because in the past few days, no fewer than 5 people had come to them, saying that the Lord had put them on their heart or asking if they needed prayer.

Now, this isn't an incredible, rock-your-world kind of story, but to me, this was a Kingdom story. This was a story about how God works through the Body of Christ to show His love and His strength in my friend's life. This was a story about how, through several, God gave grace to one. And this just caused me to praise God for His faithfulness and His goodness and His love.

God is glorified when we submit to be used by Him. This is the cycle of glory--all for God's glory, for the sake of His people. One is encouraged or comforted, and the rest praise God for His work in that person's life. The Community of Christ exists for God's glory--to showcase His power and His love in our lives. We are all ministers of God's grace, not only to the world at large, but to each other. If YOU are a member of this community, then your purpose is to be a vessel of God's grace to EVERYONE, for the sake of God's glory and His Kingdom. How can God be working through YOU? WHO is God trying to reach through you?

You have a purpose. You have a mission. You are here to show your brothers and sisters, and to show the world, that God's love is strong, stronger than any chains that might be binding them, stronger than any walls that they may have built up between them and God, stronger than the power of sin and death in their lives. God's love is strong, and YOU have the strength of that love within you, waiting to be unleashed to the world. YOU are a vessel of the LORD Almighty, and of His love. You are a minister of His grace.

And you are a member of this divine community. Take advantage of it. Use it for the glory of God. When you are going through crap in your life, tell your brothers and sisters and ask them to pray for you. And when you witness a Kingdom moment, share it with brothers and sisters so that you can all praise God together. Build each other up, hold each other accountable, worship together--all of this is for the glory of God.

Don't waste time. Don't waste your life. Start fulfilling your purpose NOW. God wants to use you. Yes, you. He wants to show His love through you. Will you submit to Him, or keep giving in to the myth that your purpose is greater than His purpose?

Attacking the Church from Within

"Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."
--Galatians 5:3-6

I feel like this passage still rings true today for many of us in the Church. But instead of the Law, or circumcision, the way many seek righteousness and salvation is through right doctrine. There are many who are beyond certain that their set of doctrines and beliefs is THE only way, the perfect way, and the only doctrines/denominations/type of preaching that Jesus would approve of. They point the finger at everyone else, crying "HERETIC!" or "FALSE TEACHER!" because the spreading of proper and true doctrine is the most important thing. These people decry teachers like Rob Bell, Richard Foster, Brian McClaren, and those "post-modern liberals", and the "egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church aka Emergent Church--morphing into Emergence Christianity (EC)" (<--quote taken from Apprising Ministries website: www.apprising.org), all because they see these people as tarnishing Christianity and teaching false doctrines and perverting Scripture. I feel like these people have completely missed the point of faith. They are the new Judaizers of Christianity, who try to push their righteous agenda on those who are encouraged by the writings of the New Testament to cling to such things as faith, hope, and love. I mean, the phrase "egregiously ecumenical" doesn't even make sense to me. When did ecumenism become a bad thing? I think the ecumenical movement is one of the best things to happen to the Church in recent history. Many of these reformed believers think that the Reformation was the greatest thing to happen to the Church since Pentecost. IT WASN'T. Indeed, reforming definitely needed to take place within the Church at that time, but the Reformation RIPPED GOD'S HOLY CHURCH IN HALF!

I realize the irony in my rantings, that i am pointing the finger at them for being wrong for pointing their fingers. But i have felt for the past several years that one specific focus of my calling from God is toward Christian unity. I feel so strongly within me that Christ died for His Church and desires to see His Church working together and worshiping Him in unity (see John 17). So when i see these blatant attacks against the Church, sowing seeds of division and hatred, rather than peace and love--it hurts. I love the Church. I love working for Her, i love serving Her, and i want so badly for Her to be united. St. Augustine said, "The Church is a whore, but she's my mother." How can a broken Church serve a broken world?

I'll be honest, most of my frustrations stem from one guy that i'm facebook friends with (but don't really know that well in real life), who all the time posts articles and YouTube videos with attacks like these. I have never responded to one of these linkings, even though i'm always tempted to, because i know that what i respond with won't be nice. But sometimes with all the crap that's posted, i'm at a loss for how to respond. If i'm formulating a response in my mind, i'll come across some other article that answers my point with some close-minded attack. I've seen articles that denounce certain Christians for exalting "love" and "unity" over preaching right doctrine. I just read an article on apprising.org entitled "Turning God's Grace into an Idol," with the tagline saying "Grace Does Not Relieve The Christian From Their Duty To Contend For Proper Doctrine." This is disgusting to me. I am at a loss for how to respond to this. Or should i even bother? Any of these believers is obviously not going to really hear anything i, a blatant heretic and false teacher, would have to say. I do believe that these people are still my brothers and sisters, and that i should love them as such. But that is not going to be an easy task. But no one ever said that love would be easy.

Endurance

I preached this weekend at Good Shepherd. Four services total: Saturday evening's and 3 on Sunday morning. Phew. It went really well i think, and i think that the Lord definitely was able to speak through me, which is what counts, right? That being said, i am pooped. Doing four services like that is draining. I don't know how pastors do it every week. I came home and immediately took a 2 1/2 hour nap, which was wonderful.

In addition to being physically exhausting, it was also spiritually exhausting. I come off big things like this and just feel like i've got little juice left in me to be strong in faith. Right away, as i let my spiritual guard down, i am hit with temptations and just a general lack of motivation to do what i need to do to continue being an active servant of the Lord.

And it's then that i'm reminded of exactly what i preached on this morning. Faith, following Christ, being a Christian, etc., has to go deeper than just when we feel like it. What's required is a commitment, a commitment that stands the test of trials, temptations, exhaustions, and apathy. To really follow and serve and know and love the Lord is to continue to follow and serve and know and love Him when you don't feel like it. The easy times are just that--easy. They don't really do much for our growth. Romans 5:3-5 says, "...we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Not to say that i've experienced suffering though this--i haven't. But i'm beginning to see the value of real endurance in faith. This race we run is not a sprint. It's a marathon. And this Hope, this Love planted in me is the blood that pumps through my veins and the oxygen that goes to my muscles to keep them going. It is my means and my end. Jesus--He is my means and my end. It all comes back to Him, every time, doesn't it? I guess He's pretty important.

So "let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Heb. 12:1-3). Amen.




P.S. - Pray for your pastors, they need it!

P.P.S. - If you want to check out the sermon i preached, a rough draft of it can be found here, and you can listen to the recording here.

Of Silly Arguments

I get so tired of Christians fighting among themselves. Whether from the right or left, evangelical or catholic, emergent or fundamental--it's just frustrating. Everyone thinks they have the ONLY correct slant on the Gospel, and it is their God-given mission to convince everyone to think exactly like them. Everyone can quote abundantly from Scripture to support their agendas, and everyone can point the finger and call an opposing group heretical or sinful. And we don't get anywhere. Is this what Jesus wanted from us? No, of course not. One of my favorite chunks of Scripture is in John 17, where Jesus prayed in the garden before He was arrested. The largest focus of His prayer was for unity among all believers. Jesus desired "complete unity" among all who would believe in Him. Certainly there are going to be things we all disagree on, but how much time do we waste on debating doctrine and arguing over interpretations that we could be spending actually doing what Jesus told us to do?

That's why i loved this article. You should really check it out. It's well worth the read. Plus, watch the video it links to. I love Jon Stewart, i think he's brilliant.

I could go on and on, but what's the point? Unity is good. Disunity is bad. Let's go for it.

Ministers of Grace

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."

1 Peter 4:10-11

I read this the other day and it really struck me. WE are ministers of God's grace. Grace is a gift that is given primarily through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice. But i think i'm continually learning that grace is something that keeps on giving. It is in its very nature and definition for grace to be a continual outpouring of love. Isn't it incredible that God continues to give out His grace, and to give it out through us!! Think about this: if you speak to someone about the love of Jesus Christ, then you are administering God's grace. If you are speaking, the Gospel, then you ARE speaking the very words of God! It is the word that he continues to speak to humanity, and will continue to speak until that day when every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD to the glory of God the Father! When we serve others, we are literally being Christ to them, showing His love, and administering His grace! When God works through us, there is power, and there is strength. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be administers of God's grace. This is not something we should take lightly. We have an incredible responsibility, but it's also exciting, isn't it? Even the fact that God uses us is incredible.

I'm heading to Nashville next week for a missions trip, so i'm excited to try and live this out there. Not that i need to go outside my own town in order to do that. For those of you reading, whether you're in ministry right now or not, know this: God is working through YOU! His grace is being poured out, THROUGH YOU! When you speak, speak as one speaking the very words of God. When you serve, know that you are a vessel of God's grace, and depend on the strength He has provided through the Holy Spirit within you. Grace can take a lot of various forms. How is God working through you?

Religulous, and Doubt

I just watched the Bill Maher documentary Religulous. I know, two anti-religious documentaries in one week. But have no fear, they haven't converted me. I just find them really interesting. Religulous was a lot better than the other one--much more well done, funnier, and it just made more sense. Rather than trying to prove that religion was all false, Maher just went off the basis of his perspective, that it was false already, and just set out to show how ridiculous (and dangerous) it all is. In the end, he basically concluded that all religions are dangerous and are going to bring about the end of the world all their prophecies looked forward to themselves, rather than God bringing them about in His wrath and judgment. Of course, Maher interviewed all the real crazies of the religions. Many of the Christians he interviewed I found myself disagreeing with. It made me wish that Bill Maher would have interviewed me, so I could tell him how it REALLY is. Hah. It did make me wonder though, because I'm sure he did have some interviews with really rationally-thinking Christians that made sense, but that wouldn't fit into the theme of their documentary, so obviously they couldn't make the cut.

One thing that I did like was that in the end, Maher said that the best "religion" that he had found was that of doubt. There's no way any of us can know everything for certain or have a certain claim on the truth, so why bother. It's a much more humbling standpoint than all that religious rhetoric. While I do think that we do possess a unique angle on the truth because of God's special revelation to us through Scripture, I'm in favor of this attitude. Why do we NEED to know exactly how things are going to play out when Jesus comes back? Why do we NEED to know exactly what happened in Genesis? These are the things that we argue over the most (and make us look the dumbest to the world when we do), yet these things are not essential to our faith.

After the Reformation, the Church was split apart into literally hundreds of different denominations/sects/claims to truth. People were arguing over so many minute details of theology and Scripture interpretation and religious practices that it was pure chaos. So a bunch of important guys got together and came up with a new concept. It was called adiaphora, a Greek word that literally means "non-essential." This was the category that they put everything that they argued about that was not essential to the Christian faith. It made room for disagreement, doubt, and unity within the Church. It made it so that it's OKAY to not know everything for certain. And it has to be that way if the Church is ever going to achieve any kind of unity.

One of my favorite things that my dear friend Joel Reichenbach ever said to me, when we were talking about teaching, was, "I don't want everyone to agree with me, I don't want everyone to agree with one certain denomination, I just want everyone to be as confused as I am!" Confusion is okay. We don't have to have the answers to everything, or know exactly how everything is supposed to be. Bill Maher is right, saying "I don't know" is a very humbling thing. Maybe we need a bit more of that. Maybe the world would take us more seriously if we started being more real with ourselves and with our beliefs.

The God Who Wasn't There, and Moderation

I just finished watching the documentary The God Who Wasn't There, a film intended to disprove that Jesus really existed and to basically say that modern Christianity is silly. I didn't think that the film did a very good job of actually disproving Jesus' existence. In fact, it spent much more time examining modern Christianity than its historical foundations. Most of the project seemed like a vendetta of the director, a former fundamentalist, against the silliness of the religion that had oppressed him for so long. Nearly every time Scripture was quoted, it was taken out of context or quoted from a bad translation. I didn't think it was very intellectually honest with itself, or objective. The guy who did this went out with a mission to make Christianity look stupid. And i'm sure lots of people will believe him.

The film also took great advantage of interviews with Sam Harris, the champion of atheist antagonism. Harris has written two books, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation, both best-sellers. Harris is very intolerant against all religion, particualarly Christianity and Islam, which he sees as the two most dangerous paradigms for modern society. I haven't read his books, but i've read excerpts, and although i think Harris is more intellectually honest than this film was, he still seems to have a predetermined antagonism in his work that hinders historical and religious objectivity.

Aside from that, there were actually some good points made in the film. One of the best ones (i thought) was that moderate Christianity makes no sense. This came up while they were on the issue of Christians and homosexuality. Because the Bible says (somewhere in Leviticus) that homosexuals should be put to death, these extremist Christians were actually right in hating homosexuals. According to the film, moderate Christians know about what the Bible tells them, but decide that that's too radical for them. So moderate Christianity makes no sense, because it says that it believes the Bible is the infallible Word of God, but then doesn't obey it. I'm actually in complete agreement with this, but from a different perspective. Moderate Christianity makes no sense. It says one thing and believes something different. It is in conflict with itself, a house divided, and it will eventually fall. From a New Covenant standpoint, in which the message of the love and forgiveness and the Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus is central, it is understood that Jesus is the only one with the right to judgment. I believe that, as Christians, our place is not to judge but to show love to our neighbors AND enemies, even those who are labeled as "sinners." If we are following the example of Jesus, at least, this should be our aim. But the issue of homosexuality is not the main point. When Christians read the words of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, whose teachings and actions are the foundations of our faith, and we ignore them, THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE! When we do that, we are contradicting ourselves.

When we read, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matt. 5:44), but continue to throw stones and protest funerals, we are contradicting ourselves!

When we read that Jesus judges our eternal salvation partly on how well we clothe the naked, feed the hungry, care for the sick, visit those in prison (Matt. 25: 31-46), and we continue to rest in our own comfortableness, we are contradicting ourselves!!

When we read Jesus' words saying, ""If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26), and we by-pass that verse because it makes us uncomfortable to think about it, then we are contradicting ourselves!

I could go on. But the point is, for us to be true disciples, we must embrace the whole truth of the Gospel, truly seek the Kingdom of God with all our heart, and learn to love the people that God has called us to. If we do not do this, whether out of fear or complacency or discomfort, then we contradict our own talk, and we will fail. Moderate Christianity makes no sense. If we do not act on what we believe, then do we really believe it?

Hunger

The U.N. just reported that the number of people suffering from hunger in the world surpassed 1 billion this year. Most are in Africa or Asia, but no country is unaffected. That is absolutely shocking to me. That's 1 in 6 people throughout the entire world!

I just read that in the paper while i was eating my yogurt, shortly after having consumed three hot dogs. Not that i should be guilted in to feeling bad about how well i eat (well, with three hot dogs, maybe i should), but it just makes me think that, as the Church, what are we doing? If we are to carry out and continue Jesus' mission in the world, the mission that He stated in Luke 4, where He came to preach good news to the poor, to bring freedom to prisoners, and release the oppressed, then we should be doing the same! If Jesus called us to feed the hungry, as He did in Matthew 25, why do we not take that seriously? It's obvious in reading the Old and New Testaments that God has a heart for the poor and the oppressed. If we do not have the same kind of heart, what kind of followers are we?

What are we doing, Church?

For Sarah

Since Ms. Newkirk complained that i don't blog regularly enough, here is a new post.

Actually, her complaint got me thinking. Why do i blog? Because in all reality, i know that not many people read this, and blogging is definitely not the best form of ministry i could be practicing on a regular basis. Blogging is a really popular thing right now, and i think it's a place where a lot of talking is done, but nothing actually gets done. We can discuss and argue and debate over issues, but what is that doing to accomplish the work of the Kingdom of God in the world? I think it definitely can have its good effects, but seriously? Is blogging just an outlet for my own narcissism, in order for people to read my stuff and know how wise and spiritual i am? maybe sometimes. that's why i'm so hesitant about Twitter. I'm tempted to join sometimes, but part of it just feels like pure narcissism wrapped up in less than 140 characters.

but in all honesty, i really do think my main motives are for good, and for good outside myself. i want to bless others with what God has blessed me. I want to teach people. I think the Lord has called me to be a teacher of His Word in some form, and since i don't really have an outlet for teaching at the moment, this is a good place. Even if one person is blessed by it, then it's worth it, isn't it? Ironically, i blogged about this a long time ago, back when i first started this blog. Jesus has called me to proclaim that which He is teaching me, and i want to be obedient to that, whatever form it may take.

So maybe i'll keep trying for now. Not just for Sarah (not that i'm not annoyed by your complaining!), not for me, but for the sake of God's people and being faithful to the calling that the Lord has placed on my life.

Sex and Humanity

Sex is (for obvious reasons) a very interesting topic. It's so interesting to me to observe the attitudes about sex in our popular culture, and especially within Christianity. We have moved from the Victorian-era taboo attitude towards sex, where talking about it is socially forbidden, to the post-sexual revolution, where sex is very casual and not really a big deal to most people anymore. Many Christians in this generation have turned sex into a big deal again, but in a good way. We are led by the Mark Driscoll's, who's favorite book in the Bible is Song of Solomon, and preach more about sex than most other topics relevant to Christianity. Christians have begun to embrace sex as something God-given and awesome, and propagate it as the highest form of physical intimacy that borders on the spiritual experience.

I think sex is definitely a God-given thing for us to experience pleasure, but I think the pendulum of sexual attitudes has swung all the way to the other extreme of exalting sex too much. This has been a topic talked about in several blogs that I read recently. One great point that was made was that, if we Christians look to Jesus as the archetype of all that it means to be human, then sexuality can tell us nothing about what it truly means to be human, because Jesus was never married or had sex. Sexuality can't be the ultimate human experience, because Christ, the ultimate human, never experienced it. I think that's part of the reason why so many Christians have the attitude towards marriage as bringing completeness in someone's life. Marriage and sex have been so over-theologized that if someone is still single past the expected time when they should be married, then they have not experienced fulfillment as a human being and are somehow not following God's will. Because of course, it is God's will that everyone should be married and have 3 kids and a white picket fence.

I can know the full reality of being human without ever having sex. Because Christ, my ultimate example in EVERYTHING, is the full reality of being human. Frankly, sex and marriage are not necessary to being human. This is not to discount that they are, in fact, gifts from God. There's no doubt in my mind that they are good within their God-given context, but we've just over-glorified and over-spiritualized them.

Humanity has tried making sex taboo, and we've tried glorifying sex, and neither really works. Can't sex just be something ordinary? Why does it have to be something that we haggle over whether it is good or bad, or appropriate to talk about in Church? We just need to get back to the focus of making Christ our ultimate goal, and let everything else fall into place after that.

Awkward Questions.

This is one of my greatest fears about going into ministry...

A Great Discussion

Just finished up a great conversation with my wonderful friend Steve via Facebook messaging. Steve and i have a history of arguments that can get a tad nasty, but i think we've learned that we really are good to keep each other in check when we both try to act like we know what we're talking about. I really enjoy the discussions we have when we both seek to find the Truth in what the Lord is teaching us both, and it's great because we rarely agree fully.

This most recent discussion stemmed from a letter by C.S. Lewis that discussed just war from a Christian standpoint. Our discussion then dives into issues of just war, pacifism, authority, and the relationship of the Church and the State. You can view our discussion in its entirety here. I would recommend taking a look at it. I like it, anyways. I love talking about this stuff, it can get me all riled up, so feel free to add to the discussion!

Eyes on the Prize

“Man was created to this end: that he should praise God, Our Lord, and reverence and serve Him, and by doing these things, should save his soul. And all the other things on the face of the earth were created for man, to help him in attaining the end for which he was created. Whence it follows that man must use these things only in so far as they help him towards his end, and must withdraw himself from them in so far as they are obstacles to his attaining his end…Wherefore it is necessary that we make ourselves indifferent to all created things, in so far as it is permitted to our free will…in such a way that, as far as we are concerned, we should not desire health rather than sickness, riches rather than poverty, honor rather than ignominy, a long life rather than a short life, and so on, desiring and choosing only these things which more efficaciously lead us to the end for which we were created.”
--Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain, p. 269


I think i'm beginning to gain greater perspective on just how much the reality of God must infect everything that i am and do. My life must be so focused on my end goal--the Kingdom of God in Christ--that i understand that everything else in the world can only serve to help me attain this goal or distract me from it. Anything that doesn't affect that end must be met simply with indifference, because it does not matter. Our Lord says to us, rather than worry about what we will eat or wear or do, we should seek first the Kingdom of God and righteousness, and then all else that we need will be given to us (Matt. 6:33). Seek the end goal. All the rest can only be the means to the end or nothing at all. That quote above blew my mind. Sickness, health, poverty, wealth, honor, shame--they mean nothing in themselves unless they are serving as a means to the end of gaining Christ (Phil. 3:8). If sickness will help you gain Christ or draw more into His Kingdom, desire sickness. If your shame brings honor to the Kingdom of God, desire shame. The desire for the end goal must be so powerfully present within us that the importance of everything else is only measured by how much it helps or detracts from achieving it. Therefore, all hardships, all circumstances, all the crappy things that life throws our way--they don't matter. We must keep pushing through them, or use them to attain our goal. "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:13-14). God is blowing my mind with this, and i'm having trouble expressing it in words. I hope that He will rock you as i have been rocked with this, regardless of my limitations.

My New Hero

This is Lionel Tiger. DR. Lionel Tiger. Go ahead, say his name out loud. And say it again. Do you feel the awesomeness pumping through your veins yet? Did you feel a shiver down your spine at the mere mention of it? He has, hands-down, the coolest name i have ever heard of in my entire life. He is all that is man. And beast. He is a cultural anthropologist, and he is the originator of the term "male bonding." Anyone who does research into male bonding HAS to be the manliest man of all time. I want to be Lionel Tiger when i grow up. Or at least name any kids i might have after him.

Merton on Wars and God's Mercy

People seem to think that it is in some way a proof that no merciful God exists, if we have so many wars. On the contrary, consider how in spite of centuries of sin and greed and lust and cruelty and hatred and avarice and oppression and injustice, spawned and bred by the free wills of men, the human race can still recover, each time, and can still produce men and women who overcome evil with good, hatred with love, greed with charity, lust and cruelty with sanctity. How could all this be possible without the merciful love of God, pouring out His grace upon us?

Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain, p. 128

What a Terrible Idea...

The American Patriot's Bible is a new hot product right now. This bible (in NKJV) claims that it "shows how the history of the United States connects the people and events of the Bible to our lives in a modern world." The Patriot's Bible comes with accompanying articles that show how the Bible supports the American (religious right) cause and gives a call to action for true American Christians to stand up for their beloved country that is so very blessed by God. In it, George Washington (debated whether or not he was a Deist) is hailed as the "American Moses," and many of its points are taken far out of context. It is a bible for people who love America AND God. I feel like you'd have to love them in that order if this bible is appealing to you. Here's a promo video for the Patriot's Bible, which claims that its readers will "experience spiritual growth, and an enhanced sense of American patriotism."

This is idolatry. This is the religious right combining their worship of America with worship of God. God did not tolerate this kind of religious syncretism with Israel, and I doubt He'll tolerate it now. Here and here are critiques (a softened term for it--he rips it apart) by theologian-pastor Greg Boyd, the author of The Myth of a Christian Nation. The truth is, America is NOT a Christian nation. Many of the founding fathers were Deists, which is pretty much an anti-Christian psuedo-religion borne out of the Enlightenment. I feel like the religious right in America is beginning to try too hard, because they see their downfall coming soon, and in desperation, they've transitioned to idolatry. Sadly, i think many people will be quite taken by this. Any other thoughts?

A Leader of Leaders

This is why i love reading Perry Noble. His blog is probably my favorite one to read, and i read a lot of them. He's a pastor in North Carolina, and he's got a ton of passion to go along with a strong biblical foundation and good common sense. He is a leader's leader, and i appreciate his stuff a lot. You should go check out the link on why and how leaders need to have "humble confidence."

The Early Church vs. The American Church: A New Perspective.

Here's a great post from Larry Osborne on the future of the Church in America. In it, he uses a really awesomely unique perspective from the book of Acts. This post really convicted me. I think i (and many others in my generation) tend to be very critical of the Church in America, and i love to point out problems, but never offer any solutions. Sometimes i tend to hold up the early Church in the New Testament as what we should aim for and the model we should pursue. But, as Larry points out, the early Church was far from perfect, too. They had just as many flaws as we do in the Church today, just not in the same ways most of the time. So go read that. It'll be well worth your time.

Some Individualistic, Narcissitic Thoughts

No, this is not a "25 Things" blog. Please no. I still refuse to do one of those.

But i think i've been learning a lot of things about myself recently, and they have come to my attention, so i figured i'd write them down.

I prefer to listen rather than talk most of the time. When i'm talking and trying to make a point, i much prefer succinctness over talking for a long time. I have friends that are very good talkers, and they can go on and on about a point, elaborating and elaborating more. Not that that's bad, but it's not my style. I'll try to say it short and say it well. I've especially been noticing this in prayer. Sometimes it almost bothers me when people are praying and they're just going on and on about nothing, and a lot of times it feels like they've said this stuff a thousand times over and they're just saying it to say it. I just like to say what needs to be said and be done with it. That turned into a hyper-critical rant, and i'm sorry about that. Am i disproving my own point? Hmm....

I don't like to form an opinion unless i'm forced to. I find that it works best for me to keep an open mind about most situations when they don't directly apply to me. So that leaves me ambivalent about most things, and I'm okay with that. This applies politically, theologically, philosophically, and relationally. I'll often try to look at the options as objectively as i can and not pick sides until there's comes a point when i have to. I'm not sure yet if this is a good quality or not, but i kind of like it. It makes life and relationships and discussions easier.

My life and my relationship with the LORD improve dramatically when i am doing well at being disciplined, whether it's physically, spiritually, mentally, whatever. But still i don't do well with discipline, regardless of how it affects me. That's dumb.

Sometimes i just like to rebel against the status quo and against popular opinion for the fun of it.

Regardless of that last statement, i've found myself gravitating more and more this past semester back toward the traditional Church practices. There is so much richness and value in those, and it makes me wonder how much other churches are missing out on when they refuse to do traditional stuff.

I like my introverted-ness, but sometimes i wish i was better at conversations with people.

I thought i had more than that, but i guess not. Maybe if i think of more, i'll edit later.

Goodnight!

Wow.

Go read this awesomely titled blog post by Halden on the pathetic nature of Christian love.

Quotable Merton

From Thomas Merton's spiritual autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, which i'm reading for my History of Christianity class:

There is not a flower that opens, not a seed that falls into the ground, and not an ear of wheat that nods on the end of its stalk in the wind that does not preach and proclaim the greatness and the mercy of God to the whole world.

There is not an act of kindness or generosity, not an act of sacrifice done, or a word of peace and gentleness spoken, not a child's prayer uttered, that does not sing hymns to God before His throne, and in the eyes of men, and before their faces.

How does it happen that in the thousands of generations of murderers since Cain, our dark bloodthirsty ancestor, that some of us can still be saints? The quietness and hiddenness and placidity of the truly good people in the world all proclaim the glory of God.

Random, i know. But i really liked it.

A New Intercession

Just now the Lord really put on my heart a new prayer and a new softness in my heart for those who have no one to pray for them. I'm starting to really realize in my life the power and importance of intercessory prayer, and something that just occurred to me was, what about those who don't have anyone in their life who will pray for them? What about those who don't have any believers in their lives who love them enough and are willing to intercede for them to the Lord? Then i realize that this is probably a huge portion of the population, and that sucks.

When a friend of mine is going through a tough time or is having spiritual struggles, i will gladly pray for them. But non-believers certainly have spiritual struggles, even apart from an awareness of the reality of Christ. Who will pray for their souls in these times? When they go through a dark night of the soul, but don't even have the hope of the daylight of Christ--these people need prayer too. I want to pray for them, but i'm almost intimidated to do so. It's kind of a daunting task. If a non-believer knew someone was praying for them, would they be offended? Would they be touched at the thought that someone was thinking and caring about them, even if they thought it was naive and foolish to pray in the first place? I guess then it's a good thing that intercessory prayer is not for their sake, in the sense that they don't have to know that it's happening in order for it to be effective.

That was a ramble, and i'm sorry for that. I don't know where i was going with it. But yeah, the Lord just put that on my heart. Try it--pray for those who have no one in to pray for them. Those who are without hope and life and love and the security of faith.

Guilt

I couldn't really celebrate Easter yesterday. My sin and temptation have been kicking me in the balls lately, and it sucks, because i feel like it's so much a part of who i am, but i know that it's not what i'm supposed to be. And so often, i don't feel guilty for the sin committed, but i feel guilty because i don't feel guilty. I don't know what else to do. I know the story of Good Friday and Easter, but i've been questioning myself all weekend, "What does this really mean for me?" I couldn't focus on finding an answer, and my sin raged on. I could not enjoy the life of the Resurrection when i was still caught in the death of sin.

I'm reading John Bunyan's Grace Abounding right now for class, and ironically, in the section i'm reading, he's going through much of the same as myself. At one point, God's Spirit struck him one day with a word. He says, "...as I was walking under a hedge, full of sorrow and guilt God knows, and bemoaning myself for this hard hap...suddenly this sentence bolted in upon me, The blood of Christ remits all guilt; at this I made a stand in my spirit" (paragraph 144). I realize that the blood of Christ has freed me from this sin, but why do i still feel so trapped by it? If the blood of Christ remits all guilt, why do i still feel guilty?

But i also realize that "guilt" here is not referring to a feeling, but rather, a state. It's like in a courtroom, and Jesus is my advocate, defending my case before the Father, and by His grace, i am found not guilty. I am guilty of the crime committed, but somehow, through the blood of Christ, i am found not guilty. My state has been changed. Christ did not die for my feelings. He died for my eternal state. So even if i still feel guilty, I can find at least some rest in the knowledge that I am not guilty. I thank God that i am saved, even when i don't feel like it. Thank God that my salvation is not dependent on my feelings, but rather, on His grace that is somehow big enough to cover all of me.

Stories

Tonight at chapel, the speaker Tony Kriz said that he was taking a risk. He asked all of us there to get into a position where we could see most of the people in the auditorium. And he read off a list of statements, ranging from "I love cartoons" to "I have been the victim of abuse" and had each person who could say that about themselves stand up. Everyone could see everyone. If you were brave enough to stand up at one of the statements, there was no hiding. You were out in the open. Everyone knew your secret, your pain, your regret. You were vulnerable. And it sucked. But at the same time it was so good, and so powerful. I had tears welling up in my eyes as i looked around the room and saw people i know, even friends of mine, admit some of their greatest pains in front of everyone. The statements kept rattling off, usually followed by a deafening silence at the sheer weight of it, followed up by the creaking of some chairs as the brave ones took a stand for being vulnerable. It takes a lot of bravery to admit you're a coward, and it takes a lot of strength to admit that you're weak. The power of these few moments in Zurcher auditorium was almost tangible.

"People would be surprised to know that I'm lonely."
"I hate the way God made me."
"I hate what I see when I look in the mirror."
"I have struggled with an eating disorder."
"I don't believe in God."

And on, and on, etc. The whole point of this was not to make us all feel like crap, but to share our story and have others share their story with us. It was so moving because, in those moments, we realized that we are not alone in our weaknesses and our struggles. We all have a story. We all have pains. We are all human. And in those moments, i think we were united in our humanity. Maybe we started to see each other as God sees us--as people that have lost their way so many times and just need to be loved.

I don't want to forget those moments. I don't want to forget the story of humanity. Because the funny thing was, in those moments where there seemed to be so much pain being shared, i felt even more love being shared. I wanted to go up to so many people and give them a big, meaning-filled hug, because i knew that i shared a part in their story, and they in mine. And filled with the knowledge that we all are wrapped up in the pain-filled and redemptive story of Christ, i feel hope.

The Imitation of Christ

My orders from Amazon.com arrived yesterday, and fortunately, i was able to meet up with my mom tonight to pick them up. I got Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross and The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis. Both books, with shipping prices, were under $11!! It was an impulse buy, and probably not a great one since i'm low on money, but i couldn't pass up that deal.

Anyways, i opened up The Imitation of Christ tonight, and i only got through about 3 pages when i realized that i'd underlined most of the text up to that point and i needed to stop and process what i'd just read. It's incredible. Let me give you a small sampling of some great quotes from the first 4 pages:

"What good does it to speak learnedly about the Trinity if, lacking humility, you displease the Trinity? Indeed it is not learning that makes a man holy and just, but a virtuous life makes him pleasing to God. I would rather feel contrition that know how to define it. For what would it profit us to know the whole Bible by heart and the principles of all the philosophers if we live without grace and the love of God? Vanity of vanities and all if vanity, except to love God and serve Him alone."

"The more you know and the better you understand, the more severely you will be judged, unless your life is also the more holy. Do not be proud, therefore, because of your learning or skill. Rather, fear because of the talent given you." (This reminds me of James 3:1, which scares the poo out of me!!)

"On the day of judgment, surely, we shall not be asked what we have read but what we have done; not how well we have spoken but how well we have lived."

"He is truly great who has great charity. He is truly great who is little in his own eyes and makes nothing of the highest honor. He is truly wise who looks upon all earthly things as folly that he may gain Christ. He who does God's will and renounces his own is truly very learned."


Obviously, there's quite a bit about the potential pride that knowledge can bring, which is something that i tend to struggle with. So, needless to say, i'm excited about this book. Hopefully i'll actually find time to read it inbetween all the other academic learning stuff i have to do. *Sigh* I want to read so much this summer, stuff that i won't be tested on. Until then...

Thoughts on Evangelism

I've been thinking the past day or so about evangelism. Mostly about how terrible i am at it. And by terrible, i don't mean that i'm bad at it, i mean that i don't actually do it. I like to make excuses for myself all the time, like that this isn't the gifting or the call that God has given me, but when it comes down to it, i know that i'm not carrying out my God-given mission as a Christian. And that thought stings.

I think the model and practice of "relational evangelism", while most often completely valid, is used as one of the greatest cop-outs in all of Christianity. Most often we use it to "witness" to our non-Christian friends, hoping that maybe they'll notice something different about the way we live, while we are freed from ever having to grow a pair and actually talk about God with them. St. Francis of Assisi is famous for the quote-able axiom, "Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words." While this is completely true as far as how we should live as children of light, i don't see any instance of evangelism in the Scriptures where someone came to the LORD without a believer telling them about the gospel. Most often in the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit was leading the believers to preach and witness and die for the gospel of Christ. I think of Phillip, who was led by the Spirit to go and witness to the Ethiopian eunuch. The Spirit had already planted the seeds in his heart through the Scriptures, and left it up to Phillip to explain the Scriptures in the new light of the death and resurrection of Christ. He didn't take time to get to know the guy or become his close friend before he felt comfortable enough to share the gospel with him.

And what about 2 Corinthians 6:14, which tells us not to be yoked with unbelievers? What fellowship can light have with darkness? How do we deal with this when we're trying to evangelize? That's kind of scary to think about. Is relational ministry even biblically valid? I think that depends on how you define it. Most of the time, when i've convinced myself that i'm just practicing relational ministry, it's a cop-out in order for me to continue comfortably not sharing the gospel. I can't speak for others though. Maybe most people are better Christians than i am.

Now i haven't taken the classes on evangelism, or ever actually done it, but i feel like we (i) make it much harder than it needs to be. How much does the Gospel mean to us? How convinced are we that, unless we do not share, these people very well might end up in eternal damnation? How convinced are we that the Gospel of Christ is for every man, woman and child on this planet? How confident are we of the Holy Spirit working in us to proclaim this?

Just some thoughts. Take them or leave them or comment on them.

A New Fad

Off the top of my head, I can think of 10 couples (!) that are friends of mine or that I have some decent connection to that are engaged, including one that just happened last night at the Jr/Sr Formal. Now, call me heartless here, but living on a Christian college campus where you're almost expected to be engaged by the time you get out of here, engagements seem like a dime-a-dozen, and they don't even seem that special anymore. Oh, yep, figured that one was going to happen soon. Congrats. Woop-de-doo. I'm very glad for all of them, but if it's what's expected of us, and everyone's doing it, then it almost seems to me (at least, from my outside POV) to not be that big of a deal. Being engaged just isn't that cool anymore. It's just what happens when you get to this age. Which leads me to only one logical conclusion:

Single is the new engaged.

Tell your friends. We're bringing it back.




(Sorry if this offends any of my engaged friend. I love you all, and I'm very happy for you.)

A Question on Prayer

Do you ever pray in public, like before a big meal with a bunch of people, and after you're done it hits you that you weren't really praying, you were just speaking words? That you were so focused on your words and how it would sound to people and maybe that they would move someone to make a small grunt of affirmation, that you forgot to actually be communicating with the LORD? And then it makes you wonder how often you actually do pray, and how often it's just words for your or someone else's benefit? And then you worry about the state of your relationship with the LORD, and if you even really know Him enough to know how to communicate with Him?

Yeah, that sucks.

Cars, dumb smiles, and Clint Eastwood

I saw the movie Gran Torino today. It was really good, exceeding any expectations i had for it. But one point that was made in the movie (not important at all to the plot) was when the girl Sue was introducing Walt to her family and their culture, she commented that the Hmong people tend to avoid eye contact and they smile or grin when they feel embarrassed or insecure. WOAH! I do that all the time!!! I thought that was weird. When i'm feeling uncomfortable or insecure as i'm in conversation or in any situation really, i tend to get this really dumb-looking grin on my face. It confuses people sometimes, and it really bothers me a lot of the time. It's dumb. But now i've found some solace in knowing that in certain cultures on the other side of the world, this is acceptable.

Not of this world

The LORD's been teaching me more and more recently just how counter-cultural Christianity should be. Christianity is not just supposed to be a sub-culture of the American Dream, which i think it has been made into in mainstream Christianity. No, we are truly to be "not of this world" (John 17:14-18). We are supposed to be counter-cultural. Christians may say that they are being counter-cultural when they stand up for things like pro-life over abortion, creation over evolution, banning homosexuality, etc., but these are only issues on the surface of our culture (not to mention just political agendas). Our counter-cultural-ness needs to go so much deeper than that. Because we so often don't even realize how deeply our culture affects our Christianity. So often the ways that we pray, worship, sing, talk about the LORD, and all the other ways in which we "do" Christianity are in ways that are culturally acceptable. And call me radical or unpatriotic or whatever here, but despite how much our culture has affected our Christianity, i don't think it's necessarily our job to make our Christianity affect our culture in areas such as politics, etc.

Have we become to comfortable being "of" this world? What are ways in which we need to be more counter-cultural? I don't really know, i'm still figuring this out. This is just my rambling on some thoughts. Any other thoughts?

Obamicon me!

For History of Christianity, Dr. Webb started talking one day about the Obamicon meme that's spreading across the internets. He brought one in of himself, and basically told us that we should turn one of our own in with our mid-term exam. So i did one, and had some good fun with it.



So i get to turn this in tomorrow. Man, i hope i get a good grade for it. At least some extra credit, maybe.

How Come Mom never let me watch The Simpsons?

Biblical parallels anyone?



In case you don't care to watch the entire episode (even though it's a good one), it is about how Homer and his family squander away home equity loans year after year to pay for their wild Mardi Gras parties. So their home gets foreclosed and goes up for auction. Their nerdy but lovable Christian neighbor Ned Flanders buys the house at the auction and rents it back to them. But the Simpson family is annoyed by his helpfulness and generosity and finds reasons to hate him and runs a smear campaign against him, calling him "evil", etc. In anger, Ned evicts the family and throws them out on the street. Eventually Ned remembers how much he loves the Simpson family and brings them back and everyone is happy again.

I'm not sure if this was on purpose, but personally, I see very strong parallels to the relationship between the LORD and the Israelites in the Old Testament. The LORD redeems them from the mess they've made for themselves, and after being grateful for a while, they go back to their old ways and resent the very God who saved them. So the LORD casts them into exile, so they realize what they have been taking for granted. But the LORD is always faithful, even when we are not. Praise God for that! And praise Him that we can see His Truth even in an episode of The Simpsons, of all things.

Edit: Sorry the embed doesn't quite fit. That's disappointing. If you really want to watch the episode well, you can view it at the original page on Hulu.

Words of Isaiah

A passage that the LORD put on my heart today as I'm struggling with stress and all different sorts of things.


"And now the Sovereign LORD and his Spirit have sent me with this message. This is what the LORD says--your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

'I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths that you should follow. Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sands along the seashore--too many to count! There would have been no need for your destruction, or for cutting off your family name.

Yet even now, be free from your captivity! Leave Babylon and the Babylonians. Sing out this message! Shout it to the ends of the earth! The LORD has redeemed his servants, the people of Israel. They were not thirsty when he led them through the desert. He divided the rock, and water gushed out for them to drink. Bu there is no peace for the wicked,' says the LORD."

Isaiah 48:16b-22

I'm Excited...

The new Terminator:Salvation trailer came out today. It looks sweet! This one seems to reveal more plot details than the previous ones.




There's lots of good movies coming out this spring that i'm very excited for, and this is only one of them. Watchmen next week! Look out!

Lent

This Lent i really want to make it purposeful. I want to know why we do things as Christians, and i want to put meaning behind everything that i do for it. I want to see what the LORD can do in me during this season that is celebrated by most of the Church throughout the world. I've never done this before. It should be interesting.

Last night a friend and i were talking about why we give stuff up for Lent and what we should give up. It occurred to me then that I've never really given anything up for Lent for the purpose that it is intended for. If Lent is about dying to myself in preparation for the new life that Christ has for me in the Resurrection, then the fasting/giving stuff up for Lent is a way for me to cut out part of my old life that i'm supposed to be dying to. I suggested this to my friend, and suggested to him that we should probably give up whatever it was in our lives that, even though not inherently bad, keeps us from giving ourselves fully to the LORD.

So last night i decided that i'm going to be giving up Facebook for Lent. It's something that, although not inherently evil, i waste far too much time on--time that could be better spent devoted to the LORD or being productive for classes or something. Since i'm kind of a Facebook addict, this is going to be tough, but i think i can do it alright. So we'll see. I just want to make this Lent season count for what it's supposed to. All to the glory of God.

Joel Olsteen bothers me

That is an unfair title. Joel Olsteen is my brother in Christ, there's no doubt about that, and i do think that he is working for God's Kingdom, but there are numerous things that he preaches that i strongly disagree with. But these are mainly problems within the larger popular American Christianity that i am opposed to, so currently Joel Olsteen is a face to the problems that i can single out. So yes, unfair. But i'm sticking to it. Because i can.

Tonight i was passing by our lounge and some guys were watching Joel Olsteen on TV. Just for kicks and giggles, i'm assuming. But in the 30 seconds or so that i stopped for a listen, i heard Joel preaching passionately and with a big smile on his face about how the LORD is gonna come through for all those people in the dark times of singleness, and He is going to bring them the perfect person just for them. AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! WHY, JOEL, WHY?!?!? People act like singleness is such an affliction, a disease that is a result of the fall, and the only cure for it and the only hope for completeness as a human is marriage--as God intended, of course. People can't be completely fulfilled if they are single. People haven't "arrived" if they are still single. I think that this is legitimately the opinion, if only is less harsh terms, of the majority of Christians in America.

This drives me nuts. How is this preaching furthering the Kingdom of God? How is this teaching building disciples of Christ? How is this view supported by Scripture? IT'S NOT!! In fact, Scripture will give us the very opposite perspective! According to Scripture, the very Word of God, singleness is a GIFT! Singleness is something that some people are called to and blessed with in order to completely devote their lives to the LORD and to working for His Kingdom. 1 Corinthians 7 is the main chapter that talks about singleness as a call for some.

32But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; 33but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, 34and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband.35This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.
1 Corinthians 7:32-35

Those who are single have a greater freedom to work for the LORD. Their concerns are undivided, and they can devote all their time to serving the LORD, rather than worrying about a family.

Jesus had things to say about this too.

9"And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery." 10The disciples said to Him, "If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry." 11But He said to them, "Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. 12For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it."
Matthew 19:9-12

Jesus said that this is for some, not for everyone. Singleness is a specific call from the LORD to live and to serve utterly devoted only to Him. It is not for everyone; it is not for most people.

The thing that drives me bonkers about Joel Olsteen and cohorts is that marriage is the ultimate expression of God's will for us. But that goes completely counter to what Jesus, our LORD, says to us! When the Sadducees try to trap Jesus with a question about the resurrection concerning marriage, Jesus doesn't give them any answer they expect, and responds with "At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven" (Matt. 22:30). Marriage is something TEMPORARY and INCOMPARABLE to the glory that we will receive at the resurrection at the last day!! So, if someone is called to live single for the LORD, it is prophetic sign to the world of the future glory that is to come. It is a way that God is telling the world that marriage is not the most important thing in this world--God is. In the new heaven and new earth, marriage will not exist--living single for the LORD will be THE reality. Shouldn't part of our job as Christians, as ambassadors to the world on the LORD's behalf, be bringing the reality of heaven down to earth?

In no way am i saying that marriage is a bad thing. It is a wonderful gift from the LORD, that i am sure of. But i think Christians need to consider the alternative, singleness, also as a wonderful gift from the LORD. The LORD will call some of His people to live this prophetic lifestyle completely devoted to Him. Most are not called to this. It is only one particular kind of radical discipleship. So as Christians trying to live as disciples, shouldn't we at least look into this as a possible option that the LORD might call us to? At least know that marriage is not the epitome of our existence. The LORD should be our end goal, and to serve Him fully. We can do that if we are married, but we can do that better if we are single. It just depends on what the LORD has called us to, and how serious we are about following.

Joel Olsteen and the Christian culture that is obsessed with marriage shows me a Christianity that doesn't take following Jesus Christ seriously. It shows me a culture that doesn't grasp the reality and the depth of our commitment to Jesus Christ. It shows me that the Church has a lot of work to do in getting back to Scripture as a whole being the authoritative Word of God. It shows me that i need to be out there working for the Kingdom within the Kingdom.