Speaking the Word

Joshua 1:1-9, 16-18

¹After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying, ²‘My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites. ³Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. ⁴From the wilderness and the Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the Great Sea in the west shall be your territory. ⁵No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. ⁶Be strong and courageous; for you shall put this people in possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them. ⁷Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go. ⁸This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful. ⁹I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’

¹⁶ They [the people] answered Joshua: ‘All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. ¹⁷Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! ¹⁸Whoever rebels against your orders and disobeys your words, whatever you command, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.’

After God repeats this command (“Be strong and courageous”) to Joshua multiple times, Joshua even hears it from the people of Israel that he is leading. As their newly established leader, they commit to following him as they did Moses, and giving him their blessing. They speak the very same words that the LORD spoke to Joshua—“Only be strong and courageous.” Joshua’s community, Israel, affirms the Word of the LORD in Joshua’s life.

Within our communities, we need to be always speaking the Word of God into each others’ lives, and affirming the call of God that we see in each other. Our lives are to be the proclamation of the Word made flesh not only to the world around us, but to each other. With the authority of the Holy Spirit, the Author of the Word, within us, speak the truth of God into the lives of those around you. Encourage, affirm, rebuke, challenge, and build each other up, “so that your words may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29).

“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)

The World Can't Cope

"We could cope—the world could cope—with a Jesus who ultimately remains a wonderful idea inside his disciples' minds and hearts. The world cannot cope with a Jesus who comes out of the tomb, who inaugurates God's new creation right in the middle of the old one."
— N.T. Wright (Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church)

The Wonderful Cross

These lyrics really impacted me at this evening's Good Friday service. This is good news.




When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Writing

So far I'm really enjoying my Creative Non-Fiction class this semester. Writing is always something that I've always wanted to do and felt that I'm decent at, but never had the patience to sit down and do in a quality manner. The class so far has really stretched me, showing me that the quality of writing mostly lies within hard work in revisions. And it's nice to have an outlet for creativity, which sometimes I don't realize I have.

Our first writing project was a personal memoir. After all the revisions and reworkings, the professor actually chose my work as the top in the class, which is pretty cool for a newbie! If you would like, you can read that work here. The second one we wrote was a biography and/or character sketch, which I wrote on my grandpa. This one I felt rushed to turn in and didn't do the greatest quality effort on, so I'm not as proud of. But we'll see what the revisions can make of it. I'm hopeful that when I graduate I'll have more time to just do some writing on my own and see where that takes me.

If this guy qualifies, then I definitely do...

A Prayer

This is a prayer I wrote last week on our Spring break road trip. We were on the way to California and I all of the sudden just felt like writing this down. It's long and kind of scattered in places, but I really like it. 


LORD God, King of all Your Creation, Lord of all land and see, all trees and grass, all deserts and rainforests, all bird and beast--all these cry out to You giving You all the glory and honor and praise as You are worthy of. For all of Your creation is a reflection and messenger of Your glory, crying out in a language unknown by any ear but understood by all hearts, and telling of Your majesty and Your eternal reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Glory to You, O Master of all, and holy, holy, holy are you Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! The powerful angels surround You and submit to You, singing Your praises without ceasing forever and ever. All kings and rulers of the earth are humbled before You, laying down their crowns - their power and authority - before You, Triune God. For on that Day when all things are revealed, no one will be able to stand before You, let alone boast in our own power or claim any control for themselves. Your Power and Authority will bring the claimed powers and authorities of this world to nothing. Because You, O God, are the Source and the Sustainer of all things. In You all things live and move and have their being, and to You goes all the glory for our mere existence.

Glory be to You, Holy Father, who sits upon the Throne of Heaven. You are the Creator and Sustainer of all things and over all things You are exalted as Lord. You are the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End of all things. All things that exist exist for the purpose of glorifying You. You are holy, and You reign forever.

Glory be to You, Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the Father. You, as the eternal Logos, were present at the very beginning of creation, and all things were created through You. In Your incredible grace, You were united to man, becoming like us in order to pay the debt of our sins and redeem us from the inevitable power of death. In Your death, You took the weight of our sins, and in Your Resurrection, You proved Yourself to be Master over Death, bringing us into new life and inaugurating Your Kingdom among us, to slowly but surely take over this world. You are holy, and You reign forever.

Glory be to You, Holy Spirit, the Giver of life. You are the very Breath that was placed in all the creation to bring about the miracle of life, and You are the very Breath that brings new life into the creation that has been called according to Your purposes, day by day renewing the face of the earth and empowering Your people to do good works. You are the Bringer of Truth, our Advocate and Counselor who is the very presence of God with us, Your people. You are holy, and You reign forever.

Holy Trinity, we are Your servants, and we submit ourselves fully to You for Your purposes. We are Your ambassadors to this world and the messengers of Your Gospel, by which You are making Your Kingdom come here on earth and redeeming all Your creation.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. You are holy, and You reign forever.

Amen.

Come, O LORD, and Breathe Life into Us

Ezekiel 37:1-14

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out 
by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; 
it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very 
many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, 
“Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: 
O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to 
these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 
I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you,
 and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; 
and you shall know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I had been 
commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, 
and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were 
sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered 
them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy 
to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the 
Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these 
slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the 
breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast 
multitude. Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house 
of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are 
cut off completely.’Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the 
Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your 
graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 
And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and 
bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within 
you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then 
you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord.

Taxing a Political Church

I came across a really interesting article from the Indianapolis Examiner calling for a revoking of the tax-exempt status of churches, because of the large amount of political influence they wield and preach. While some would argue that preachers have every right to preach whatever they want from the pulpit (I would disagree though--the Bible makes it pretty clear what we should be preaching), this article points out "when [churches] use their tax-free money and the pulpit to influence policy, they are no better than a lobbyist." Because of this, the article argues, churches should have their tax-exempt status removed, if they want to play such a role in the politics of our country. 


You should go read the article rather than just reading my summary of it, but I found myself agreeing with it. If we use the church to be a political instrument, then it should be taxed as such. And, from the biblical perspective, I think the Church has a much larger agenda than trying to influence the policies of a single government. We, the global Church, are called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be working for the coming of the Kingdom of God to this earth. We preach a message of love, not one of politics. We the Church need to start asking ourselves some serious questions:

•  Are our actions serving our purpose of preaching the Gospel and bringing about the Kingdom of God?
• Are we being faithful stewards of the resources God has given us?
• As a part of the universal Church, what is our relation to the politics of one nation?

What are your thoughts? Have churches forfeited the privilege of tax-exempt status? Are we really being faithful to our divine calling? Please share. 

Truth: Subjective and Absolute

I always used to think that the reality of Truth had to be objective. If it wasn't objective, or objectively realized, then it's not really Truth. If there is Absolute Truth, which as a Christian, I believe is God, then that Truth must be able to be reached objectively, and that's what we must strive for. I've always been taught in this paradigm of modern thinking.

But as I've learned and grown more, and have been reading up on postmodernism, I have come to understand t that Absolute Truth and objective truth are not the same thing. Absolute truth refers to the fullness of reality, which, I think we can safely say, we humans are far too dumb to grasp. Objective and subjective distinctions refer to our perceptions of truth--objective meaning that our search and knowledge is unaffected by our own opinions or biases, and subjective meaning that our knowledge is affected by those things.

The question that has recently come to my mind is, Can we really know any truth objectively? Everyone sees reality from a different angle. This means that all of our perceptions of the world are subjective to our perspective. If I am looking at a cup in front of me, I only see that cup from one angle. Actually, we must go further in this act of observation. My eyes see the cup, the image is sent to my brain which then interprets the image. My interpretation of that image is affected by many things: my education, my experience, my background. And even though this all happens within a split second, it is still an interpretation. Anyways, onward. I can't know the full reality of the cup that I see in front of me. I can't, by myself, grasp the fullness of the truth of that cup. My interpretation, combined with my experience with previous cups and general knowledge about cups, leads me to think that I've got this cup all figured out. But in that moment of observing, I am forced to subjectively interpret what I'm seeing.

As a quick aside, I think this illustrates one of the great importances of community (and diversity within community!): because we all see things from different angles and perceptions, we must try to help each other to know the different angles of the reality of something in order to grasp as much of the fullness of reality that we can.

If we as Christians believe our Lord when he said "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6), we must acknowledge (which I don't think any of us will have a problem doing) that Jesus, the eternal Logos, is the embodiment of the reality of Truth. He is the Absolute, in terms of what we might know as the reality of Truth. There is no reality apart from, or greater than, Him. If we believe that Jesus alone is the fullness of Truth, then we have to say that someone can't know the fullness of Truth apart from knowing (or having a relationship with) Jesus. If this Truth is something that you can only come to know through a personal experience, then that is subjective. Therefore, Truth, as we know (think intimately knowing here) it, is subjective based on our own perspectives and relationships with that Truth.

But even Christians, who we can say know more fully the Truth through knowing Jesus, can't know the fullness of Truth, because, frankly, it is far beyond us. God is a mystery that cannot be subjected to our rationally thinking minds. And, as we're always perceiving reality through our subjective lenses, we will never know the fullness of Truth until we come into God's Kingdom. "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12).

When I brought this topic up in conversation with a friend, they said to me, "So, you don't believe in absolute Truth then?" No, that's not what this means at all. I believe in absolute Truth, which is the fullness of reality. But our perceptions and perspectives of the world do not equate to the fullness of reality, because we are so limited. We can only know reality through our interpretations. And those of us blessed to know the salvation of God through Jesus are blessed to know Truth itself in our Lord.

This postmodernism stuff is really resonating with me, and at the same time challenging me to rethink what I know. I would encourage all of you to do the same.

Peace.

Ash Wednesday and Lent reflections

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you

In thought, word, and deed,

By what we have done,

And by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart;

We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves.

We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,

Have mercy on us and forgive us;

That we may delight in your will,

And walk in your ways,

To the glory of your Name.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,

Amen. 

(BCP)

Whatever thing I have denied my selfish desires, Christ denied more to condescend in human likeness and perfect humility.

Whatever temptation I have had to overcome, Christ overcame more on my behalf that he might present a perfect substitute for me before God.

Whatever pain I have endured—whether physical or emotional—in denying the longings of my body and mind, Christ endured more under the just wrath of God on the cross in my place.

Whatever loneliness I feel (imagine: the pathetic loneliness of one who is a temple of the Holy Spirit and a child of God), Christ felt more when the Father turned his back on him because of my sin.

Christ has made a way. He has given me his Spirit. Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe.

So grow up. Be a man. After all, "you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin" (Heb. 12:4).                                         

via

The season of Lent has begun to mean a lot more to me in the past several years. I grew up in a tradition that practiced it, but never really taught me about what it was really for. I just knew that you were supposed to give something up for 40 days before Easter. But now I realize the real significance behind dying to myself in this way. In denying myself certain things, in fasting, in dwelling on the awareness of my own sin, I prepare my heart for the new life of the Resurrection that I live through again at Easter. Lent, as well as the other seasons of the liturgical year, is Christians around the world living through the story of salvation once again. Not that we don't live out our salvation every day. But this is the time for us to set aside especially to focus on the salvation story in our lives and the Lord's work in this world for redemption. Lent is a time for acknowledging our own weaknesses and sins, in light of the knowledge of a God Who is far too holy to allow sin in His presence. It is a time of repentance, for us to turn away from our own desires and from the world's temptations in order to turn back to God. 

This year for Lent I'm giving up Facebook once again. Though not something bad in itself, I spend way too much time on it on any given day, time that could be much better spend in the Word and in prayer. So I would encourage you to take some action as well. Give up something. It doesn't have to be like trying to kick a bad habit, but our fasting from these things is a reminder that it is not our desires that matter--it is about what God is calling us to, which is His new life. 

Embarking on a New Study

This semester I'm doing an independent study for the last of my Religious Studies credits. It's called "The Church in Postmodernity," and the goal is to explore exactly what postmodernity is, what the Church is, and how the two can interact and (maybe) even thrive together. Some have said that postmodernity is here to stay, and some think it's a passing fad. So how do we as a Church react and respond to that, or do we even do anything? I'm really hoping to explore the question of the depth of interaction between the Church and the culture. Should the Church even respond to culture? Should it change up its practices and attitudes in order to reach those immersed in the culture? Or should the Church be removed and set apart from the culture, as a manifestation of the Kingdom of God here that is far more eternal than the come-and-go cultural paradigms that surround us? These are questions I'm really looking forward to digging into this semester with this class.

The first book I'm reading is called Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?: Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church by James K.A. Smith, which explores postmodernism as a philosophy from three different angles and appropriates it for the Church. I've only just started the book, but I really enjoy it so far and resonate with what Smith has to say. In the first chapter, he pretty much laid out what his end goal was and how he would get there, and I found myself agreeing with most everything he had to say about the Church and its relationship  with the culture. Which has me a little bit wary, because I want to be able to go into this study with an open mind, rather than just reinforcing what I already think but haven't been able to articulate to this point.

Hopefully I'll be blogging more in the near future about my explorations into these questions, so be on the lookout for that. And hopefully these posts will spark more discussion so that we can all learn together.

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