Gospel Minded

He has a strong sense of smell (Accad)

2010-03-31T12:44:00.000-05:00

"But to effectively bring your friend into a deep relationship with Christ, you cannot just learn a technique. You have to put yourself in his shoes. Few of us can make that step. He needs to smell the fragrance of Christ on you. He will also be able to smell whether or not you really love him or if you are secretly condemning and criticizing him. He has a strong sense of smell in this respect."

— Fouad Elias Accad, Building Bridges: Christianity and Islam, p. 62

Human vs. Divine Engineering (Ross)

2010-03-23T10:20:00.000-05:00

"Theologically, the space energy density demonstrates that for physical life to be possible at any time or place in the history of the universe the value of the mass density of the universe must be fine-tuned within one part in 10⁶⁰, and the value of the cosmological constant must be fine-tuned to within one part in 10¹²⁰. To put this in perspective, the best example of human engineering design that I am aware of is a gravity wave telescope capable of making measurements to within one part in 10²³. This implies that the Creator at a minimum is ten trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion times more intelligent, knowledgeable, creative, and powerful than we humans."

—Hugh Ross, The Creator and the Cosmos, p. 54

Evangelism and Mission (Quote 3 of 3)

2010-03-20T07:45:00.000-05:00

"Integral mission or holistic transformation is the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel. It is not simply that evangelism and social involvement are to be done alongside each other. Rather, in integral mission our proclamation has social consequences as we call people to love and repentance in all areas of life. And our social involvement has evangelistic consequences as we bear witness to the transforming grace of Jesus Christ. If we ignore the world we betray the word of God which sends us out to serve the world. If we ignore the word of God we have nothing to bring to the world. Justice and justification by faith, worship and political action, the spiritual and the material, personal change and structural change belong together. As in the life of Jesus, being, doing and saying are at the heart of our integral task."

—Micah Declaration on Integral Mission, 2001

Photo info:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pardeshi/ / CC BY 2.0

Tell me, what validates yours? (Buswell)

2010-03-19T23:40:00.002-05:00

"The creationist believes in a personal cause, from supernaturalistic presuppositions, while the evolutionist assumes a purely mechanistic cause, from naturalistic presuppositions.

Each of these premises with its presupposition must be validated. Upon what are they based? The creationists and evolutionists work together on the data of natural processes. When they discuss origins, however, the Creationist says, 'I have data that you don't have.'

'Data? Show me!' demands the Evolutionist.

The Creationist holds up his Bible.

'Oh, that,' Responds the Evolutionist. 'I don't believe that!'

'I know,' replies the Creationist. 'The fact that I have it and you don't is a matter of choice. It's a matter of belief. I believe that this is God's own revelation. It is this which validates my whole system of presuppositions. Tell me, what validates yours?'

Silence. Most honest evolutionists are knowledgeable enough to realize that the sheer data, unaccompanied by some determining presupposition, do not support the genetic continuity back to the origin. The only logic available is, 'Well, here we are. The only alternative explanation is inadmissible.' The evolutionist is stuck with his presuppositions, expressed in 'must-have-been' terms in every attempt at expressing it. There is nothing to validate naturalistic presuppositions except those arguments which already take it for granted.

—James O. Buswell III, Creation and Evolution Process and Origin. In Ralph Winter (ed.) Ancient World: Reader (4th ed.), (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2006), pp. 20-21.

Photo info:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjjohn/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Evangelism and Mission (Quote 2 of 3)

2010-03-19T09:23:00.000-05:00

"We affirm that God is both the Creator and the Judge of all people. We therefore should share his concern for justice and reconciliation throughout human society and for the liberation of men and women from every kind of oppression. Because men and women are made in the image of God, every person, regardless of race, religion, colour, culture, class, sex or age, has an intrinsic dignity because of which he or she should be respected and served, not exploited. Here too we express penitence both for our neglect and for having sometimes regarded evangelism and social concern as mutually exclusive. Although reconciliation with other people is not reconciliation with God, nor is social action evangelism, nor is political liberation salvation, nevertheless we affirm that evangelism and socio-political involvement are both part of our Christian duty. For both are necessary expressions of our doctrines of God and man, our love for our neighbour and our obedience to Jesus Christ. The message of salvation implies also a message of judgment upon every form of alienation, oppression and discrimination, and we should not be afraid to denounce evil and injustice wherever they exist. When people receive Christ they are born again into his kingdom and must seek not only to exhibit but also to spread its righteousness in the midst of an unrighteous world. The salvation we claim should be transforming us in the totality of our personal and social responsibilities. Faith without works is dead.
(Acts 17:26,31; Gen. 18:25; Isa. 1:17; Psa. 45:7; Gen. 1:26,27; Jas. 3:9; Lev. 19:18; Luke 6:27,35; Jas. 2:14-26; Joh. 3:3,5; Matt. 5:20; 6:33; II Cor. 3:18; Jas. 2:20)"

—The Lausanne Covenant, Section 5 - Christian Social Responsibility, 1974

Photo info:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pardeshi/ / CC BY 2.0

Evangelism and Mission (Quote 1 of 3)

2010-03-18T12:13:00.001-05:00

"The command to witness to Christ is given to every member of his church. It is a commission given to the whole church to take the whole gospel to the whole world. When the church recognizes that it exists for the world, there arises a passionate concern that the blessings of the gospel of Christ should be brought to every land and to every man and woman. These blessings include the alleviation of poverty, disease, and hunger, and the creating of a true fellowship that relieves the loneliness of modern mass society. Christian evangelism, therefore, is a joyful priveledge, being sustained by the knowledge that all the world is the object of God's love and is even now under the lordship of Christ."

—Willem Adolf Visser't Hooft, World Council of Churches, 1961

Photo info:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pardeshi/ / CC BY 2.0

He offers rest. (Buchanan)

2009-10-04T22:04:00.001-05:00

"A typical response to threat and burden is to want to flee it. It's evacuation as the cure for trouble. If only I could get away is our mantra. Then I would be safe. Then I could enjoy my life. But what we find is that flight becomes captivity: once we begin to flee the things that threaten and burden us, there is no end to fleeing.
God's solution is surprising. He offers rest. But it's a unique form of rest. It's rest in him in the midst of our threats and our burdens. It's discovering, as David did in seasons of distress, that God is our rock and refuge right in the thick of our situation.
God, in other words, offers something better than our fantasy: he offers himself. 'Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest' (Matt. 11:28 NASB)."

—Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2006), pp. 17-18.

Photo info:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/diebmx/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

Concrete Expression to Deepest Convictions (Buchanan)

2009-10-02T17:15:00.001-05:00

"I was converted within a Low Church tradition, where the building's walls are stark, the music simple, the prayers clumsy and direct, made up as you pray them. I have only ever belonged to that tradition. And so early on I picked up the tradition's historic suspicion of High Church, where God is approached through a sometimes elaborate system of symbol and ritual--robes and candles and prayer books and lectionaries--and almost everything is scripted.
That scripting is liturgy.
Yet over time I began to realize that the Low Church is just as bound by liturgy as any church, and maybe more so because we think we're not. The Low Church enshrines--makes a liturgy of--austerity, spontaneity, informality. And we have our unwritten but nonetheless rigorously observed codes and protocols. We love our traditions, even our rigmarole, every bit as much as the next guy, only ours is more earthy, rustic, folksy.
So I changed my mind about liturgy. It certainly can become dull and rote, but so can anything--water polo, rose gardening, kite flying, even lovemaking. Even fly-fishing. Just as often, though, maybe more so, liturgy can enrich these things. At its best, liturgy comprises the gestures by which we honor transcendent reality. It helps us give concrete expression to deepest convictions. It gives us choreography for things unseen and allows us to brush heaven among the shades of earth."

—Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2006), p. 8.

Missional in the Bible Belt

2009-10-02T09:51:00.000-05:00

Here: http://gospeldrivenchurch.blogspot.com/2009/09/missional-in-bible-belt.html

Little Room for Community (Donovan)

2009-07-13T08:00:00.001-05:00

A missionary facing an alien pagan culture, to be an efficient instrument of the gospel, has to have the courage to cast off the idols of the tribe, of the tribe he came from. There are many idols, but two which, I believe, particularly mesmerize the Western church, are individualism on the one hand, and love of organization on the other.
We tend to interpret Christianity either from the individual or organizational viewpoint. The love of organization and power structures has led to our ideas of lord bishops and pontiff popes and national associations of the right and of the left and ... a plethora of meetings and chapters and synods and councils and committees. Individualism has its obsessions also: individual responsibility, individual morality, individual vocation to the priesthood, self-fulfillment, individual holiness and salvation. Individualism on one side, and organization on the other, with little room for community in between.

—Vincent J. Donovan, Christianity Rediscovered, (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1978), p. 68.

John Wesley on the Impact of Reading

2009-06-30T11:21:00.002-05:00

“What has exceedingly hurt you in time past, nay, and I fear, to this day, is want of reading. I scarce ever knew a preacher who read so little. And perhaps, by neglecting it, you have lost the taste for it. Hence your talent in preaching does not increase. It is just the same as it was seven years ago. It is lively, but not deep; there is little variety; there is no compass of thought. Reading only can supply this, with meditation and daily prayer. You wrong yourself greatly by omitting this. You can never be a deep preacher without it, any more than a thorough Christian. Oh begin! Fix some part of every day for private exercises. You may acquire the taste which you have not; what is tedious at first will afterwards be pleasant. Whether you like it or no, read and pray daily. It is for your life; there is no other way; else you will be a trifler all your days, and a pretty, superficial preacher. Do justice to your own soul; give it time and means to grow. Do not starve yourself any longer. Take up your cross and be a Christian altogether. Then will all the children of God rejoice (not grieve) over you; and in particular yours.”

John Wesley, writing to a young preacher, quoted in D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge, Letters Along The Way, page 169

God is the Majestic One! or Astronomy Responses: Man-Centered vs. God-Centered

2009-05-02T20:00:00.006-05:00

A Man-Centered Response to Astronomy

"I want you to know that the universe is very big but that it is described by a small set of rules and that we humans have found a way to figure out the rules—a method called science. Do not be humble. Astronomy tells us that the universe is vast and powerful, but it also tells us that we are astonishing creatures. We humans are the parts of the universe that think. You are a small creature, but remember that it is your human brain that is capable of understanding the depth and beauty of the cosmos." —Michael A. Seeds, Foundations of Astronomy, Tenth Edition, Canada: Thompson Brooks/Cole (2008), p. xi.

My response

Seeds' comments remind me of the description of us in Romans 1 when we ignore the obvious pointers to the Creator in the creation. "For [God's] invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images..." (vv. 20-23).

The response Michael Seeds wants me to have is precisely the response I should not have. I should not be amazed by what I learn through astronomy and then look to man and say, "Man is great!" That, according to Romans 1, is a foolish and dark-hearted response. Instead, I should be thankful for science—that God would allow even people who hate Him to think and work and build in such a way that would allow us to see and understand the universe to the extent that we do—and praise God for it. And since "the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1), I should praise Him for the vast and powerful universe and, yes, be humble before Him. Worship and humility are the only appropriate responses to such an awesome and gracious God.

A God-Centered Response to Astronomy

"O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens. [...]
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; [...]
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!" —Psalm 8

Who Am I? (Bonhoeffer)

2009-04-16T12:51:00.007-05:00

Who am I? They often tell me
I stepped from my cell’s confinement
Calmly, cheerfully, firmly,
Like a Squire from his country house.

Who am I? They often tell me
I used to speak to my warders
Freely and friendly and clearly,
As though it were mine to command.

Who am I? They also tell me
I bore the days of misfortune
Equably, smilingly, proudly,
like one accustomed to win.

Am I then really that which other men tell of?
Or am I only what I myself know of myself?
Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
Struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat,
Yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,
Thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,
Tossing in expectations of great events,
Powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,
Weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
Faint, and ready to say farewell to it all.

Who am I? This or the Other?
Am I one person today and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
And before myself a contemptible woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army
Fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?

Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am thine!

— Dietrich Bonhoeffer Who Am I?
HT: Surprised by Joy

Religion vs. The Gospel

2009-03-25T11:28:00.019-05:00

Religion	Gospel
“I obey-therefore I’m accepted.”	“I’m accepted-therefore I obey.”
Motivation is based on fear and insecurity.	Motivation is based on grateful joy.
I obey God in order to get things from God	I obey God to get to God-to delight and resemble Him.
When circumstances in my life go wrong, I am angry at God or my self, since I believe, like Job’s friends that anyone who is good deserves a comfortable life.	When circumstances in my life go wrong, I struggle but I know all my punishment fell on Jesus and that while he may allow this for my training, he will exercise his Fatherly love within my trial.
When I am criticized I am furious or devastated because it is critical that I think of myself as a ‘good person’. Threats to that self-image must be destroyed at all costs.	When I am criticized I struggle, but it is not critical for me to think of myself as a ‘good person.’ My identity is not built on my record or my performance but on God’s love for me in Christ. I can take criticism. That’s how I became a Christian.
My prayer life consists largely of petition and it only heats up when I am in a time of need. My main purpose in prayer is control of the environment.	My prayer life consists of generous stretches of praise and adoration. My main purpose is fellowship with Him.
My self-view swings between two poles. If and when I am living up to my standards, I feel confident, but then I am prone to be proud and unsympathetic to failing people. If and when I am not living up to standards, I feel humble, but not confident-I feel like a failure.	My self-view is not based on a view of my self as a moral achiever. In Christ I am simul iustus et peccator—simultaneously sinful and lost yet accepted in Christ. I am so bad he had to die for me and I am so loved he was glad to die for me. This leads me to deeper and deeper humility and confidence at the same time. Neither swaggering nor sniveling.
My identity and self-worth are based mainly on how hard I work. Or how moral I am, and so I must look down on those I perceive as lazy or immoral. I disdain and feel superior to ‘the other.’	My identity and self-worth are centered on the one who died for His enemies, who was excluded from the city for me. I am saved by sheer grace. So I can’t look down on those who believe or practice something different from me. Only by grace I am what I am. I’ve no inner need to win arguments.
Since I look to my own pedigree or performance for my spiritual acceptability, my heart manufactures idols. It may be my talents, my moral record, my personal discipline, my social status, etc. I absolutely have to have them so they serve as my main hope, meaning, happiness, security, and significance, whatever I may say I believe about God.	I have many good things in my life—family, work, spiritual disciplines, etc. But none of these good things are ultimate things to me. None of them are things I absolutely have to have, so there is a limit to how much anxiety, bitterness, and despondency they can inflict on me when they are threatened and lost.
Adapted from Tim Keller

-The Journey, http://www.journeyon.net/media/religion-and-the-gospel.pdf

Importance of Words

2009-03-05T10:17:00.003-06:00

"The words you choose to convey ideas are as important as the ideas you’re trying to communicate."

- from my Public Speaking course at Thinkwell.com

Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul

2009-03-03T21:43:00.009-06:00

©1998, Kevin Twit Music. (i.e., not me; I have just been blessed by it and share it in hope that you will too. Find this and other great, God-glorifying songs at Indelible Grace Music.)

Dear refuge of my weary soul,
On Thee, when sorrows rise
On Thee, when waves of trouble roll,
My fainting hope relies
To Thee I tell each rising grief,
For Thou alone canst heal
Thy Word can bring a sweet relief,
For every pain I feel

But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail,
I fear to call Thee mine
The springs of comfort seem to fail,
And all my hopes decline
Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?
Thou art my only trust
And still my soul would cleave to Thee
Though prostrate in the dust

Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face,
And shall I seek in vain?
And can the ear of sovereign grace,
Be deaf when I complain?
No still the ear of sovereign grace,
Attends the mourner's prayer
Oh may I ever find access,
To breathe my sorrows there

Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet,
Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet

Contextualization Fail, or the Parable of the Janitor and the Coat

2009-02-10T17:42:00.007-06:00

I understand contextualization of the gospel as the ongoing process of communicating and displaying the truth of Christ to a particular person or culture in ways which are clear and intelligible to them and based on real knowledge of them. When I think about how to do it, though, it feels like a very hard and foreign thing to me. But I had an experience today that makes me think contextualization may not be as difficult or unnatural as I have believed and reminded me how easy it is to neglect.

We had a plumbing issue in my office today. It happens often and is due to someone in the women's restroom flushing paper towels down the toilet (I don't get it either). When this happens, spillage ensues in the men's restroom. Today, a guy dropped his coat in the nasty mess and decided it wasn't worth keeping and left it on the floor. However, not wanting anyone to mistake it for a freebie and yet still leave it on the floor, he made a sign out of an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper which read, "BASURA." This was enough to make me chuckle, but it did not seem too odd at first glance. Writing basura on items outside of the trash bin which are intended to be thrown away is a commonly accepted practice in the corporate world of Texas. There are many non-English-speaking Mexicans who perform janitorial services here.

Ready for the fail? Our janitor is Asian and speaks English! Think about it. Not only did the mysterious bathroom guy lose his coat, he acted on assumptions rather than knowledge. It was easy to do the accepted practice, assuming that his sign was the best way to communicate his message in our culture. He thought the contextual work was already done. He implemented a received model of communication and assumed it would be the best way to go rather than thinking through his actual context. See how easy it is to neglect the work of contextualization? At the same time, it may not be so difficult to do. Listen. How do I know our janitor is Asian? I have seen him work. I have paid attention to who cleans our coffee pots and refills our paper towels and toilet paper. I have even seen him clean our urinals. And how do I know he speaks English? I have actually acknowledged his presence and talked to him. And I have heard him converse with others.

That is what we need to do--watch, listen, learn, and love--then bring God's unchanging truth to bear on what we know in order to proclaim and live the gospel winsomely and boldly.

"Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed..." (Acts 17:22-23).

Restraint or mortification?

2009-02-10T10:47:00.002-06:00

"Count not the restraining of sin from coming into action to be a real mortifying of sin. Restraining grace is not mortifying grace. In Genesis 20:6 God said to Abimelech, 'I withheld thee from sinning against Me; therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.' He had sin restrained, but not mortified. A lion confined within the grates is a lion still, though he cannot go about to devour his prey; similarly, though men are restrained from acting out those sins to which they are inclined, yet the restraint of sin is not to be taken for the mortifying of sin. A man may for a time lay a curb and restraint upon his lusts, so that they do not come forth into action, even without the powers of mortifying grace. A man may bridle a lust for many years, and yet the lust remains unmortified. Therefore, I say, do not count the restraining of a sin to be the mortifying of a sin."

— Christopher Love, The Mortification of Sin

Caricature rather than engagement

2009-01-28T21:25:00.003-06:00

"As the history of Christian theology more generally makes plain, far too much theologizing has in fact been a response to a caricature rather than engagement with an issue."

—Mark D. Thompson, A Clear and Present Word, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2006), p. 20.

Humiliation

2009-01-15T22:16:00.005-06:00

Sovereign LORD,
When clouds of darkness, atheism, and unbelief come to me,
     I see thy purpose of love
          in withdrawing the Spirit that I might prize him more.
          in chastening me for my confidence in past successes,
          that my wound of secret godlessness might be cured.
Help me to humble myself before thee
          by seeing the vanity of honour as a conceit of men's minds,
            as standing between me and thee;
          by seeing that thy will must alone be done,
            as much in denying as in giving spiritual enjoyments;
          by seeing that my heart is nothing but evil,
            mind, mouth, life void of thee;
          by seeing that sin and Satan are allowed power in me
            that I might know my sin, be humbled,
            and gain strength thereby;
          by seeing that unbelief shuts thee from me,
            so that I sense not thy majesty, power, mercy, or love.
Then possess me, for thou only art good and worthy.

Thou dost not play in convincing me of sin,
Satan did not play in tempting me to it,
I do not play when I sink deep in mire,
     for sin is no game, no toy, no bauble;
Let me never forget that the heinousness of sin
     lies not so much in the nature of the sin committed,
          as in the greatness of the person sinned against.
When I am afraid of evils to come, comfort me, by showing me
     that in myself I am a dying, condemned wretch,
       but that in Christ I am reconciled, made alive, and satisfied;
     that I am feeble and unable to do any good,
       but that in him I can do all things;
     that what I now have in Christ is mine in part,
       but that shortly I shall have it perfectly in heaven.

—The Valley of Vision, (Edinburgh, UK: Banner of Truth, 1975), p. 79.

Shall man be proud?

2009-01-08T21:13:00.002-06:00

"Christ chose those to preach mercy who had felt most mercy, as Peter and Paul, that they might be examples of what they taught. Paul became all things to all men (1 Cor. 9:22), stooping unto them for their good. Christ came down from heaven and emptied himself of majesty in tender love to souls. Shall we not come down from our high conceits to do any poor soul good? Shall man be proud after God has been humble?"

—Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed, (Edinburgh, UK: Banner of Truth, 2005), p. 27.

Growing up by degrees

2009-01-05T23:26:00.001-06:00

"Things of greatest perfection are longest in coming to their growth. Man, the most perfect creature, comes to perfection by little and little; worthless things, as mushrooms and the like, like Jonah's gourd, soon spring up, and soon vanish. A new creature is the most excellent creature in all the world, therefore it grows up by degrees. We see in nature that a mighty oak rises from an acorn... In the small seeds of a plant lie hidden both bulk and branches, bud and fruit. In a few principles lie hidden all comfortable conclusions of holy truth. All these glorious fireworks of zeal and holiness in the saints had their beginnings from a few sparks."

—Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed, (Edinburgh, UK: Banner of Truth, 2005), pp. 16-17.

Christ's sheep are weak sheep

2009-01-04T23:16:00.002-06:00

"Christ's sheep are weak sheep, and lacking in something or other; he therefore applies himself to the necessities of every sheep. He seeks that which was lost, and brings again that which was broken, and strengthens the weak (Ezek. 34:16). His tenderest care is over the weakest. The lambs he carries in his bosom (Isa. 40:11). He says to Peter, 'Feed my lambs' (John 21:15). He was most familiar and open to troubled souls."

—Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed, (Edinburgh, UK: Banner of Truth, 2005), pp. 14-15.

No sound, whole soul in heaven

2009-01-03T22:02:00.000-06:00

"Let this support us when we feel ourselves bruised. Christ's way is first to wound, then to heal. No sound, whole soul shall ever enter into heaven. Think when in temptation, Christ was tempted for me; according to my trials will be my graces and comforts. If Christ be so merciful as not to break me, I will not break myself by despair, nor yield myself over to the roaring lion, Satan, to break me to pieces."

—Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed, (Edinburgh, UK: Banner of Truth, 2005), p. 10.

Shall there be more mercy in the stream?

2009-01-02T22:02:00.001-06:00

"Physicians, though they put their patients to much pain, will not destroy nature, but raise it up by degrees. Surgeons will lance and cut, but not dismember. A mother who has a sick and self-willed child will not therefore cast it away. And shall there be more mercy in the stream than in the spring? Shall we think there is more mercy in ourselves than in God, who plants the affection of mercy in us?"

—Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed, (Edinburgh, UK: Banner of Truth, 2005), p. 7.

Even Reeds Need Bruising

2009-01-01T22:02:00.002-06:00

"After conversion we need bruising so that reeds may know themselves to be reeds, and not oaks. Even reeds need bruising, by reason of the remainder of pride in our nature, and to let us see that we live by mercy.
...
Hence we learn that we must not pass too harsh judgment upon ourselves or others when God exercises us with bruising upon bruising. There must be conformity to our head, Christ, who 'was bruised for us' (Isa. 53:5) that we may know how much we are bound unto him. Ungodly spirits, ignorant of God's ways in brining his children to heaven, censure broken-hearted Christians as miserable persons, whereas God is doing a gracious, good work with them. It is no easy matter to bring a man from nature to grace, and from grace to glory, so unyielding and intractable are our hearts."

—Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed, (Edinburgh, UK: Banner of Truth, 2005), pp. 5-6.

Friday Funnies

2008-12-12T13:40:00.003-06:00

Ok, so it has been a long time since I have posted. That may change quite a bit in 2009. I have some ideas to re-purpose this blog, and, God willing, I will post more frequently on specific topics. More on that later. Today, however, it is time for a Friday Funny (a series title I took from the Girl Talk blog... yes, the Girl Talk blog... gotta love biblical womanhood!).

Without further ado... give it on up to Homelessville!

DG NatCon 2008, Saturday, Part Two

2008-09-30T21:10:00.003-05:00

Highlights from Saturday:

* Hearing such intensly powerful messages from godly men, and experiencing refreshment from the Holy Spirit.

* Dwelling on truth.

* Meeting my friend, Brad, for lunch and eating breakfast.

* Walking around downtown Minneapolis.

* Hearing the truth of God without others around me disagreeing with it and being cynical - just rejoicing in who God is and what He says so clearly in His word to us.

Pics from Saturday:

DG NatCon 2008, Saturday, Part One

2008-09-27T18:05:00.002-05:00

Hello to those who are following my trip as I post. I hope it has not been too boring for you. When I was uploading the videos last night, I thought, "Why am I doing this?" My original goal was to take my friends and family "with" me. But, when I watched the videos, I realized they are not very interesting. I wasn't attempting to be interesting, but I also don't want to waste anyone's time. I want to redeem my time, and encourage whoever listens to redeem their time. As I was reminded today, it is a precious gift not to be wasted - ever. And I am at a conference about the use of words for the glory of God, and it has been such a blessing, but I hope to be conformed to the Word to use my words more effectively for eternity. Which has implications for every aspect of my life, including blog reading and writing.

On another note, I am sitting in Panera bread right now, and there are so many Christians here (the type that travel to a conference about God and the use of words grounded on a solid understanding of the Bible and the God of the Bible), and it has been so stirring to see each group pray together and listen to edifying conversations. This conference has served to revitalize my longing for heaven.

DG NatCon 2008, Friday

2008-09-27T07:50:00.001-05:00

Highlights from Friday evening:

* Getting to the conference center, checking in, receiving all the free books and things, walking around the bookstore, seeing people I know.

* Wishing my wife was with me and seeing more clearly in that longing my affection for her.

* Singing loudly to the Lord with 3,000 other people. Oh, how awesome it will be to sing to God together in heaven!

* Hearing the Word preached and being convicted and encouraged to repent and fight to tame my tongue.

Pics from Friday evening: (plan to take more pics tomorrow)

NatCon Trip, Day Two

2008-09-27T01:03:00.008-05:00

Highlights from day two: (just from before the conference. conference stuff to come later.)

* The Lord sustaining me through the night and granting me another safe journey.

* Seeing and talking to my precious wife and kiddos through live.yahoo.com. It was very cool.

* The Lord helping me fight the temptation to grumble about getting lost.

* Seeing Northwestern College and listening to the radio station while I drove to the campus.

* Being surprised by how nice my room is, since it was so cheap.

Pics from day two: (just from before the conference. conference stuff to come later.)

Nat Con Trip, Day One

2008-09-27T00:07:00.004-05:00

Highlights for me from day one of my trip:

* The grace of God in holding me and the car together, in drawing me near to Him, and in keeping me physically safe.

* Being reminded of the above by all the dead skunks and blown tires I saw (a lot of both).

* The simple delight of my stop at the Myriad Botanical Gardens in OKC.

* Being thankful for my wife and how she helped me prepare for this trip (she is a precious gift to me).

* The providence of God in not letting me make in time to see the vistor's center in Kansas.

* Driving a rental car... something I always enjoy, like getting a package in the mail, it is a simple pleasure.

* Arriving at the hotel in Des Moines and sleeping.

Videos and pics from day one:

About to head to the conference...

2008-09-26T16:31:00.004-05:00

This has to be another short post. I got lost in St. Paul while looking for my school because I took a wrong turn (3rd wrong turn during my trip so far). :) My room rocks. Who would have thought that the cheapest room on priceline.com within 10 minutes of the conference center would be so good? Now, I need to head over to the conference and check in. I think they will have the bookstore open, so I hope to take a look. I plan to upload pics and videos tonight and share some thoughts on the evening.

DG NatCon 2008 Trip, Day One

2008-09-26T09:49:00.004-05:00

I need to get on the road, so I will be brief. All in all, I am thankful for yesterday. I drove most of the way yesterday, and I am excited about the conference that starts this evening. God graciously granted me a safe journey to Des Moines, and I got to make one cool stop in OKC. I am having some internet connection issues at the hotel, so I will upload the pictures and videos later today, Lord willing. I plan to blog throughout the weekend, so stay tuned.

What Is Sin?

2008-08-27T15:22:00.002-05:00

What Is Sin?
by David Powlison
from The Journal of Biblical Counseling (Spring 2007; Vol. 25, No. 2) pp. 25-26

First, people tend to think of sins in the plural as consciously willed acts where one was aware of and chose not to do the righteous alternative. Sin, in this popular misunderstanding, refers to matters of conscious volitional awareness of wrongdoing and the ability to do otherwise. This instinctive view of sin infects many Christians and almost all non-Christians. It has a long legacy in the church under the label Pelagianism, one of the oldest and most instinctive heresies. The Bible's view of sin certainly includes the high-handed sins where evil approaches full volitional awareness. But sin also includes what we simply are, and the perverse ways we think, want, remember, and react.

Most sin is invisible to the sinner because it is simply how the sinner works, how the sinner perceives, wants, and interprets things. Once we see sin for what it really is - madness and evil intentions in our hearts, absence of any fear of God, slavery to various passions (Eccl. 9:3; Gen. 6:5; Ps. 36:1; Titus 3:3) - then it becomes easier to see how sin is the immediate and specific problem all counseling deals with at every moment, not a general and remote problem. The core insanity of the human heart is that we violate the first great commandment. We will love anything, except God, unless our madness is checked by grace.

People do not tend to see sin as applying to relatively unconscious problems, to the deep, interesting, and bedeviling stuff in our hearts. But God's descriptions of sin often highlight the unconscious aspect. Sin - the desires we pursue, the beliefs we hold, the habits we obey as second nature - is intrinsically deceitful. If we knew we were deceived, we would not be deceived. But we are deceived, unless awakened through God's truth and Spirit. Sin is a darkened mind, drunkenness, animal-like instinct and compulsion, madness, slavery, ignorance, stupor. People often think that to define sin as unconscious removes human responsibility. How can we be culpable for what we did not sit down and choose to do? But the Bible takes the opposite track. The unconscious and semiconscious nature of much sin simply testifies to the fact that we are steeped in it. Sinners think, want, and act sinlike by nature, nurture, and practice.

HT: Monergism

Bob Kauflin on the Importance of Singing Truth

2008-08-22T14:36:00.001-05:00

The Therapeutic God Is Valued to What Extent?

2008-08-21T19:00:00.005-05:00

The triumph of the therapeutic in the postmodern world is by no means only a secular enterprise…. David Wells, in Losing Our Virtue, tells a tale of two spiritualities, the classical and the postmodern. 'The latter begins, not so much with sin as morally framed, but with sin as psychologically experienced, not so much as sin in relation to God, but with sin in relation to ourselves… our anxiety, pain, and disillusionment.' As Wells sees it, God in this spirituality is 'valued to the extent that he is able to bathe these wounds, assuage these insecurities, calm these fears, restore some sense of internal order.'

- Dennis P. Hollinger, Choosing the Good (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), 120. [Endnote: David Wells, Losing Our Virtue: Why the Church Must Recover Its Moral Vision (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 42.]

Another post I wrote long ago dealing with this topic: The Therapeutic Gospel Is No Gospel (I will attempt to update the links on the old post soon because they are all broken).

Surprised as Any Man Born Blind

2008-08-21T18:55:00.003-05:00

i am my beloveds and my beloveds mine
and i am as surprised as any man born blind
but it’s still coming in blurry
the images i see
but someday it will all come clear
and i will be set free
- Derek Webb, Lover Part 2

Fear of Finishing?

2008-08-13T19:29:00.003-05:00

I think I just realized that I have a fear of finishing things. But I am not quite sure if it is a fear. It feels more like an emotional/physical weakness/breakdown. What I feel is very similar to what happens to me near the edge of something high.

When I am standing on something very high (for me, this is about 4 stories and up), my legs will freeze as I approach the edge--even if there is a glass pane from floor to ceiling, but moreso if there is only a rail. The higher I am and the closer I am to the edge, the more my legs feel as though they are stuck to the floor. Usually, I avoid the edge because I don't like it when my legs freeze. And, thankfully, I am not often up very high. I can consciously work to make my legs move if I have a desire to look over the edge or must be near it for some reason, and my stiffness eases as I force myself to spend more time near the edge.

Likewise, the more important the task, the harder it is for me to finish it. The closer I get to the end, the more pull I feel to avoid it--even if what it would take to finish is so simple and would have been a breeze at the beginning.

I need the Lord's help. I want to trust Him even in the smallest of things and hear and heed His promise... "fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).

Death by Love

2008-08-12T13:05:00.004-05:00

A new book by Mark Driscoll. Below is a trailer for the book. You can also read one of the chapters at the website. It looks like it will be helpful.

Expressions of Fallenness

2008-08-06T19:44:00.002-05:00

Each epoch carries its own peculiar expressions of fallenness and evil. Christians should never view any period as either the great source of evil or the great embodiment of good, for the origin of those realities lies outside the pale of human historical movements, though always touching historical realities.

- Dennis P. Hollinger, Choosing the Good, 104

They Watched TBN So You Don't Have To!

2008-08-05T20:39:00.003-05:00

It's no news that most of the folks on TBN are false teachers (as the Bible would call them). However, I don't pay any attention to them, and I forget how bad their teaching really can be. This post from the Church Matters blog from 9 Marks was a good reminder... funny, sobering, sad, and helpful.

http://blog.9marks.org/2008/08/we-watch-tbn-so.html

The Next 5,000 Days

2008-08-04T17:24:00.003-05:00

An interesting and thoughtful look at what the Web is becoming. His depiction of the future of the Web as "The One" is a little eerie, but I think he is right. I thought, what can I begin doing now to guard against the negative effects? What are the potential positive effects? What will I be willing to do and not do when it comes to "The One"?

HT: Joshua Sowin

Hearing vs. Doing

2008-07-31T13:29:00.002-05:00

I am so thankful for words fitly spoken into my life (see Proverbs 25:11). They usually stick with me for a long time, and the Holy Spirit uses them again and again. I am reflecting on one of those words today. Several years ago when we were guests at new church plant, the pastor, Craig Cabaniss, told me that he was a little overwhelmed after attending a conference because he wanted to be a doer, not just a hearer (see James 1:22). He had taken in so much good teaching at the conference, and it was altogether too much to begin working into his life. In that moment, by God's grace, Craig gave me a new perspective.

I, too, want to be a doer and not merely a hearer, but I still have what sometimes amounts to a lust for knowledge. I love to gather information and learn things and think about ideas and concepts. That is what conferences and books and are for, right? Nope. Not according to James and the Holy Spirit who inspired his words. Hearing must lead to doing. I noticed this connection again recently as I was meditating on a portion of Scripture in Colossians:

"from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (v 1:9f).

Paul asked God to fill the Christians in Colossae with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding for a purpose. And that purpose was that they would live in a way that pleased God and bore fruit through good works. The knowledge was not an end in itself. Godliness and God's glory through kingdom work were the end (in this example at least).

Learning is easy for me, but application is difficult and often painful. It is slow and erratic. I have had very little experience with perseverance and disciplined application in my life. I know far more than I have applied. I am more learned than I am godly. And it bothers me. I long to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God--a knowledge that does not just know, but experiences, God's transcendence and imminence. I want my life to be characterized more by dependence on the Holy Spirit and obedience to the gospel and love to God and others than by what I know. May God help me. And may my hope remain fixed solely in Christ and His work on my behalf!

Brokenness Defined

2008-07-30T15:33:00.001-05:00

Brokenness... The spiritual state by which one is disarmed of one’s self-dependence and pride, therefore leaving one disabled and in desperate need of help, thereby making one a viable conduit for the glory of Christ. What happens is that God wants people that have been totally smashed of their own personal pursuits and are now pursuing vastly the passion and heart of Him. - Eric Mason

The Other "B" Word

2008-07-29T15:45:00.003-05:00

Brokenness. [The post title is from a good sermon I heard almost a year ago at the Village (listen, read). ] The subject of brokenness, however, is from my soul…

As I prayed with my family last night, I sensed the Spirit leading me to pray for brokenness, and I did. I used to pray constantly for brokenness. God was always faithful to answer, and my brokenness over my sin and depravity was always such a means of grace driving me to the cross. God would meet with me so powerfully, and I sensed His nearness instead of taking it for granted because "the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18).

This has not characterized my life recently, though. Although confession and repentance have been a regular practice in my life since God shone the light of the gospel in my heart, lately it has been a result of routine rather than desperation. And that is dangerous.

Desperation is a means of God's grace, and it often comes hand in hand with brokenness. And brokenness often comes from a keen awareness of God's holiness and beauty and--in light of Him--the sinfulness of my sin. Then, by God's grace, the gospel of Christ's life, death, and resurrection breaks through to bring comfort, peace, and assurance to my soul with freshly awakened astonishment!

Yet, when my seeing of sin and my confession of it and turning from it is colorless and halfhearted and superficial and weak, so will be my view of the Savior. But Christ is not colorless or halfhearted or superficial or weak. He is shockingly vivid and zealous and profound and strong! Waves and wind and rocks and demons and disease and dead men all obey Him! All things were made through Him and for Him! And sin was serious enough to God to slay His Son on the cross. How can I not be broken before this God! How sweet it is to embrace brokenness before Him! "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" (Psalm 147:3).

Lord, turn me away and out of myself! Turn me to You, Your gospel, Your people, Your glory, Your mission! Guard me from mere routine, grant me brokenness and desperation, and help me fix my eyes on Jesus!

Relating to Unreformed Christians

2008-07-17T14:45:00.008-05:00

Although I still wholeheartedly affirm R. C. Sproul's comments that I posted yesterday, I was delighted and challenged by Ray Ortland's words as posted on Justin Taylor's blog today. I have not yet read the full article, but what Justin quoted was poignantly helpful to me since every Christian in my and my wife's families and nearly everyone in our church home group is (to my knowledge) not Reformed.

It reminded me of John Piper's recent article in which he weighed the implications of the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who do not affirm the truths that Reformed Christians believe are biblical. He goes beyond just relating to others, and the result is an affirmation of truth and a convicting call to holiness and humility.

Unreformed Christianity Has Failed...

2008-07-16T16:58:00.003-05:00

I don't think we are ever going to see a healthy evangelical church until the evangelical church is reformed--solidly reformed, where it takes seriously biblical Christianity and its concept of a sovereign God--because unreformed Christianity has failed in our culture. It has been pervasively antinomian. It has been pervasively liberal in its trends and tendencies away from Scripture, because there is not a basal commitment to the sovereignty of God.

R.C. Sproul

Amen.

(heard near the end of this recording after the interview with Collin Hansen)

Potential posts

2008-07-15T12:06:00.004-05:00

There are a couple of things I am thinking through right now about which I would like to write a blog post:

- What is appropriate music for corporate worship?
- How are we to interpret the Bible?

These are huge topics which have been debated for... well... ever. They have been much on my mind, though, and I want to write my thoughts down and hopefully interact with people about them. At the very least, I want to present an orderly and concise perspective on these things to clarify my own thinking and continue to think through the issues involved.

Lord willing, I will post on these soon.

Babel implications revisited

2008-07-14T16:34:00.002-05:00

This post on technological discernment is in line with my thinking on the proliferation of new media (and in some ways continues my wondering about the potential negative effects of the human network in my own post).

Simple Post

2008-07-09T12:59:00.010-05:00

It has been a little while since I posted due to school and family busy-ness, so I thought I would post something simple to get myself started again.

Books I recently finished (in the last month or so):
10 Days to Faster Reading - I enjoyed this one a lot. It helped me increase my reading speed from about 235 wpm to somewhere in the 600s to 700s. (I cannot recall the specifics.)

Planting Missional Churches - I liked it a lot. It helped me continue thinking on this subject beyond what I would have thought without it.

Plan Your Estate - for a class... very informative and helpful on the subject of estate planning.

The Deliberate Church - It was okay. I think I had an idea of what I wanted it to be like, and it did not meet my expectations; but that is not the fault of the authors. The beginning chapters were more foundational and theoretical, and I enjoyed those much more than the later, practical chapters. I think it will be more helpful to me in the future when, Lord willing, I am serving through leadership in a church.

Strengthsfinder 2.0 - eh, it was alright. I got it for the online questionnaire code to 'discover' my top 5 strength themes. The results were (in order): Input, Learner, Intellection, Connectedness, Relator. Which means my strengths are gathering information, learning, having intellectual conversations, seeing how everything is connected, and forming deep relationships with others. How do I use these strengths to the glory of God? Still thinking on that.

The Personality Code - Another book that gives you a code to an online questionnaire. I liked SF2.0 better. This one uses the iDISC profile. The result: medium Dominance, low Interpersonal, medium-high Steady, and high Conscientious (Summed up as "Detective"). It wasn't very helpful to me.

Currently interacting with:
Choosing the Good - for my Ethics class. So far we have used it for the concise intro to the history of ethical thought. I thought the critique of Ayn Rand's ethical egoism was a little shortsighted, but that is probably due to Piper's influence on my thinking (for which I am thankful).

Kingdom Ethics - also for my Ethics class. We just started this one, so I have only read Chapter One. It was an interesting look at the Sermon on the Mount (on which the authors base the book). It seems self-consciously technical--a style I don't really like--but I look forward to learning from and interacting with this one.

Foundations of Astronomy - for my Astronomy class. It has been cool to reflect on the heavens that tell of the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). I am amazed by how incomprehensibly large the universe is. At the same time, there are many unqualified and unexplained statements in this book. How do we "know" the sun is such and such billions of years old, so that the author can state it so emphatically? I am speaking epistemologically, not of the young earth/old earth argument. Simply, how can one use the word "know" in that context? Can any of us actually know how old the sun is?

Can Evangelicals Learn from World Religions? - I am really digging this one. So far (about half-way through), this has been solid and well-reasoned. I love books on one subject that actually teach you much about various subjects and do so without going on tangents. It has been a delight to think on this subject as the author looks at it from the perspective of the Bible and church history, especially Calvin, Edwards, and Lewis. Their thoughts on this subject as presented in the book have been insightful and faith-strengthening.

Books I already own and would like to start soon:
Leading with Love
Charity and Its Fruits
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Overcoming Sin and Temptation

The Value of Virtual Connectedness...

2008-06-25T22:25:00.001-05:00

. . .exists insofar as it connects real humans to one another. And real humans interacting through virtual means does not necessarily result in real connection. Then again, neither does in-the-flesh interaction, but the probability of real connection in person must be much greater, right?

The Human Network and The Tower of Babel

2008-06-24T17:33:00.003-05:00

I read much about The Human Network at work since it is one of Cisco's big marketing campaigns and is a picture of the internal and global culture they are attempting to create. I think Cisco has had a positive impact on the world and the Internet in particular, and therefore on the ways we connect and communicate. So what follows is not a negative criticism of Cisco, its vision, or The Human Network campaign.

Everything I read about The Human Network is--as one would usually expect from a marketing campaign--positive and exciting. And I think much of the progress and technological innovation and impact on globalization and communication is good. I think it has striking implications for the global cause of Christ as well. It means greater ease of strategic partnerships and collaboration for missional initiatives both in the U. S. and abroad. It also means instant communication can be achieved with lower costs in most parts of the world. In addition, huge chucks of the emerging markets lie within the 10/40 Window, and broadband wireless internet connectivity in these regions could be of great service as the Church seeks to participate in its mission there. I thank God for these things.

Still, every time I read the marketing material I think of the Tower of Babel (cf. Genesis 11:1-9). The Tower campaign probably sounded to the people as something positive and exciting. They may have said things like, "Welcome to a place where an idea is created by one, tweaked by many and shared with the world" or "When we're all connected, great things happen" (both from Cisco's public site).

We can see that the group decided the tower was a good idea: "Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth'" (v. 4 ESV).

Imaginatively, I can hear "top in the heavens" as a buzz phrase used to promote the hype surrounding the building and its promise of increased human connectedness ("lest we be disbursed") and human glory ("let us make a name for ourselves"). The text gives us no reason to think the Tower was a campaign of overt hatred of God. Though it resulted in a massive and overt undertaking, the underlying sin was subtle and buried under a heap of faith and hope in human wisdom and achievement and community that probably did not sound all that bad. But God's response was not one of approval:

". . .this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language" (vv. 6-7 ESV).

Though all the positive effects I mentioned above bring me a degree of joy, I cannot help wondering what the negative effects of our greater global connectedness will be. "This is only the beginning" of a new era of communication and global collaboration. The barriers of culture and language are gradually breaking down through the effects of social networking, and I wonder if the Lord might confuse the human network somehow or if He will allow it to continue until He returns.

I am not trying to sound a sensational alarm. It is just something I have been pondering. "There is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9 ESV). Although it is interesting to me, it is not ultimate. Our only true hope is Jesus. He is the only one who gives true connectedness with one another (reconciliation)--but first, and more importantly, with God. The perfect human network will come in the New Heavens and New Earth with Christ Himself as its eternal foundation and structure--far greater than wires, routers, and switches!

The Foundation of Morality

2008-06-20T22:26:00.003-05:00

Christians have sometimes argued that the Decalogue forms the foundation of Christian morality. Clearly, the moral law reveals the broad structure of God's designs, and believers have a responsibility to embody these designs, but they are not the moral foundation. If we start with the commandments themselves, we miss the grounding: God's redemptive act of freeing his people and forming a covenant relationship with them. The preamble to the Decalogue is just as important as the commands themselves: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt" (Exod. 20:2). On the basis of God's actions and his covenant relationship with the people, he then calls them to obedience, and the Ten Commandments give explicit content for following their redeemer.

This framework is evidenced again and again throughout divine revelation. Moral injunctions are set in a wider context. Thus, they are not mere universals that we are obliged to perform; they are not the heart and essence of the moral life. Indeed, when we divorce them from their ultimate grounding in God and God's acts of grace, and when we separate them from the larger Christian story, they become hollow principles with little motivating and sustaining power.

Dennis P. Hollinger, Choosing the Good, 41-42.

Another Wordle... this time it's Matt Chandler

2008-06-20T15:40:00.003-05:00

I could not resist. . . this crazy little thing has fascinated me this afternoon. I copied and pasted Matt's sermons from 2007 into Wordle, and this is the result:

Religious Affections

2008-06-20T11:25:00.006-05:00

After the ESV Bible Blog posted a link to the Wordle application, I started experimenting with it. It is rather cool. This is a Wordle I made with the text of Religious Affections. . .

Vocational Calling & Perseverance

2008-06-18T14:05:00.002-05:00

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." -Galatians 6:9

One facet of perseverance is doing what you believe God has called you to do even when it seems that in His providence He has set up temporary roadblocks. If you give up only because you do not understand how it is going to work, your true dependence is on yourself, not on God. Don't get distracted by the roadblocks or allow despair to crush you. Remember that those God calls to Himself are foolish, weak, low, and despised (cf. 1 Cor. 1:26-29). And to the same people, He gives particular ministry and gifting. It is not supposed to be easy! When you hope in God and rely on Him for all strength, He gets the glory. And God's glory is His goal and yours.

A name for my new-found interest = Digital Ethnography

2008-06-12T10:24:00.002-05:00

The Machine is Us/ing Us (Final Version) from Leandro Corrêa on Vimeo.

At the Foot of the Cross

2008-05-29T17:09:00.004-05:00

At the foot of the cross
Where grace and suffering meet
You have shown me Your love
Through the judgment You received

And You've won my heart
And You've won my heart
Now I can

Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

At the foot of the cross
Where I am made complete
You have given me life
Through the death you bore for me

And You've won my heart
And You've won my heart
Now I can

Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

And You've won my heart
And You've won my heart

I lay every burden down
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross
At the foot of the cross
At the foot of the cross

Owen on the knowledge of sin

2008-05-23T10:14:00.003-05:00

Upon this one hinge, or finding out and experiencing the power and efficacy of this law of sin, turns the whole course of our lives. Ignorance of it breeds senselessness, carelessness, sloth, security, and pride; all which the Lord's soul abhors. Eruptions into great, open, conscience-wasting, scandalous sins are from want of a due spiritual consideration of this law.

- John Owen, Overcoming Sin and Temptation (2006). In Kapic. M. & Taylor, J. (Eds.). Wheaton Illinois: Crossway.

What you feel vs. what is real

2007-12-17T21:11:00.002-06:00

Martin Luther wrote, "[The righteousness of Christ] is entirely outside and above us." That's why we need to stop looking inward and look outward at the work of Christ on our behalf. As Sinclair Ferguson stated, we should "expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing, and extolling Jesus Christ."
And we can do this regardless of how we feel, because the gospel exists independently of us... The gospel is objective.
That which is subjective changes regularly, like shifting sand. But that which is objective is built on the solid rock of the gospel. When we look inward, we live by the subjective, the temporal, the ever-changing, the unreliable, the likely-to-be-false. When we look outward, to the gospel, we live by the objective, the never changing, that which is perfectly reliable and always completely true.
C.J. Mahaney, The Cross-Centered Life, pp. 50-51

What ought to be our attitude toward the sovereignty of God?

2007-10-21T13:30:00.002-05:00

It has been well said that "true worship is based upon recognized greatness, and greatness is superlatively seen in Sovereignty, and at no other footstool will men really worship." In the presence of the Divine King upon His throne even the seraphim "veil their faces." Divine sovereignty is not the sovereignty of a tyrannical Despot, but the exercised pleasure of One who is infinitely wise and good! Because God is infinitely wise He cannot err, and because He is infinitely righteous He will not do wrong. Here then is the preciousness of this truth. The mere fact itself that God's will is irresistible and irreversible fills me with fear, but once I realize that God wills only that which is good, my heart is made to rejoice. Here then is the final answer to the question (concerning our attitude toward God's sovereignty)—What ought to be our attitude toward the sovereignty of God? The becoming attitude for us to take is that of godly fear, implicit obedience, and unreserved resignation and submission. But not only so: the recognition of the sovereignty of God, and the realization that the Sovereign Himself is my Father, ought to overwhelm the heart and cause me to bow before Him in adoring worship. At all times I must say, "Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in Thy sight."
- Arthur W. Pink, Booklets and Pamphlets (Joseph Kreifels).

Elect Jon Calvin!

2007-05-14T14:04:00.001-05:00

My family and I were driving away from our church yesterday, and we saw this sign and thought it was hilarious. I turned the car around, parked, pulled out my cell phone and took the photo. When we got home, I searched online for any campaign information I could find on a Jon Calvin in Highland Village, TX. I didn't find much, but I did learn that Jon Calvin's full name is Jonathan Edward Calvin. Ha!

If you are confused as to why this is humorous, check these out:
http://www.theopedia.com/Calvin
http://www.theopedia.com/Unconditional_election
http://www.theopedia.com/Jonathan_Edwards

For further study, I recommend http://www.monergism.com/

Disappear by Bebo Norman

2007-01-19T14:54:00.001-06:00

On a day like this
I want to crawl beneath a rock
A million miles from the world
The commotion that never seems to stop

And on a day like this I want to run from the routine
Run away from the daily grind
That can suck the life right out of me

I only know of one place I can run to…

I want to hide in You
The way, the life, the truth
So I can disappear
And love is all there is to see
Coming out of me
And you become clear As I disappear

I don't want to care about earthly things
Be caught up in all the lies
That trick my eyes
They say it's all about me

I'm so tired of it being about me

I want to hide in
You The way, the life, the truth
So I can disappear
And love is all there is to see
Coming out of me
And you become clear
As I disappear

I would rather be cast away
Separated from the human race
If I don't bring you glory

Prayer and Backsliding

2006-12-20T23:57:00.001-06:00

"Now what is the cause of most backslidings? I believe, as a general rule, one of the chief causes is neglect of private prayer. Of course the secret history of falls will not be known till the last day. I can only give my opinion as a minister of Christ and a student of the heart. That opinion is, I repeat distinctly, that backsliding generally first begins with neglect of private prayer.
Bibles read without prayer; sermons heard without prayer; marriages contracted without prayer; journeys undertaken without prayer; residences chosen without prayer; friendships formed without prayer; the daily act of private prayer itself hurried over, or gone through without heart: these are the kind of downward steps by which many a Christian descends to a condition of spiritual palsy, or reaches the point where God allows him to have a tremendous fall. This is the process which forms the lingering Lots, the unstable Samsons, the wife-idolizing Solomons, the inconsistent Asas, the pliable Jehoshaphats, the over-careful Marthas, of whom so many are to be found in the church of Christ. Often the simple history of such cases is this: they became careless about private prayer."
J.C. Ryle, A Call to Prayer, accessed here.

Primary Threat

2006-12-17T21:18:00.001-06:00

"'The central problem of our age is not liberalism or modernism,' Schaeffer writes--or even hot-button social issues like evolution, abortion, radical feminism, or homosexual rights. The primary threat to the church is the 'tendency to do the Lord's work in the power of the flesh rather than the Spirit.'"
Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth, pp. 365-66

Testimony

2006-06-10T09:06:00.002-05:00

I am currently applying for admission to the Center for Distance Education at Northwestern College, and I had to submit my testimony as part of the application. I have not posted in quite some time, so I thought I could post what I wrote in order to get started again. I would have liked to go more in depth in some areas, but I was limited to one page. So, here it is... Soli Deo Gloria.

One evening when I was seven years old I sat in my Grandmother’s lap, and she told me about sin and Jesus, about His death on the cross and what it meant to ask Jesus into my heart. She said I had to ask Jesus to come into my heart by praying to Him, so I repeated her prayer and then fell asleep as she cried tears of joy over me. As I grew up and was told this story time and time again, I was assured that I was a Christian. This meant to me that I would not have to go to hell, and my life was up to me to handle until I went to heaven. The Bible meant nothing to me; the church meant nothing to me; and God meant nothing to me. I thought of myself as a good person, yet I hid many sinful habits that I developed throughout the years, and I worked hard to keep them secret. I allowed anger and depression to surface in public but tried with fervency to look “good” compared to family members and peers who were not good. The truth was that I loved the darkness, and I took deepest pleasure in evil things.
However, in the Spring of 2002, God, in His mercy, began to noticeably change my life and my heart through the gospel of His Son. The girl I was living with at the time broke up with me for another guy, and I had to move back to my mother’s house. The depression that I thought was gone came rushing back at full force, and in self pity and anger I shut myself off from everyone around me. One afternoon, I woke up from a nap and began thinking about the meaninglessness of my life and how I did not want to live any longer. With tears, I began shouting to God, asking Him to kill me, and in my arrogance I said to Him, “If you don’t kill me, I will do it myself.” I knew where a gun was in my mother’s house, and I planned to use it on myself the next day. In God’s providence, as I was curled on the floor, my then four-year-old sister walked into my room, gave me a hug, then ran down stairs to tell my mother I was crying. My mother came up to me to find out what was wrong, and I told her that I wanted to kill myself. I was scared of how I felt, and I knew I needed help. My mother said she would find me help, and although she is not a Christian, she called a church in our area and asked what she should do. They gave her a number for a Christian counseling center, and I agreed to go, thinking it was worth a try and probably just something else that would not work.
Two days later, I arrived for my first counseling session, and my counselor explained that they only used the Bible in counseling because God’s Word was the only way to find healing and help. She then explained that they were Christians, and that meant that they believed that Jesus was the Son of God who came to earth, died on a cross for our sins, and rose from the dead so that we might have life in Him. She said that if I had a problem with that, this place was probably not the best place to go for counseling. I said, “No, that’s cool,” and I immediately felt a sense of peace that I had never known before. I just knew somehow that I was exactly where I needed to be. I believe the Holy Spirit opened the eyes of my heart that day to the truth of the gospel. I went to counseling twice a week, where I was encouraged to think through my life and my problems biblically. I began to study the Bible and pray, and God continually met with me in that way. I joined a church and two small groups. I wanted to know Jesus and His Word, and I still do.
In the past four years, God has grown me in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ through the study of His Word, prayer, hearing His Word preached, worship, and fellowship with other believers. His faithfulness and grace continue to amaze me! There is no way I can fit on one page all the ways that God has grown me and changed me, but I can say that it He is changing me constantly by bringing me back over and over to the gospel of His grace and granting me repentance from the ways I continue to not believe it and seek things other than God, His glory, His kingdom, and righteousness. There have been many ups and downs in my life with Jesus, and I know there will be more. Along with all the changes of my heart, mind, motives, and actions, God has also graciously given me a beautiful Christian wife and more recently a daughter. I cannot live one day without the grace of Jesus. He faithfully shows me my sin, my need of Him, and His provision of perfect righteousness and cleansing blood. He is the reason I get up in the morning, and He alone sustains me every day. My desire is to be conformed to Him, honor Him in all I do, and be used by Him in His kingdom as I wait for His return and the resurrection of my body to live with Him forever. Christ is my life, my righteousness, my Savior, my portion, my treasure, my Lord, my joy, my hope, and my all. I am confident that He who began a good work in me will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ!

Vanity...

2006-04-22T23:51:00.001-05:00

How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.
- Thoreau

Goodnight

2006-04-10T03:02:00.001-05:00

Well, I have been working on some posts as I have had the time and as I was able to gather my thoughts. I have some posts started and many ideas still only in my head. Anyway... I wanted to post something, so here goes...

This weekend has been a good weekend. I know I have had better, but I have certainly had worse. The best part of the weekend was being mindful of the grace of Christ. What better meditation could there be than that of the riches of God's glory and grace to me in the person and work of His Son? And it has been cool to see God sanctifying Francey; it hasn't been easy on either of us, but it is definitely sweet. I mention it because it seemed to be the theme of the weekend. Praise God that He would treat Francey with such kindness and mercy, to work in the depths of her heart. His grace was upon me, sanctifying me as well. Last week, I was responding to conflict in such anger, but the Lord strengthened me by His Spirit to respond with much more grace and patience. I am so thankful that God has brought us together in marriage. There is no other I want. Francey is a gift from God to me, and I love her so much more now than I did on the day of our wedding. May our life and marriage be conformed more and more to Christ, and may our home be filled with the fragrant aroma of Christ, that He might be glorified!

It is late, and I need to go to bed (and I'm so tired that I actually just thought that rhymed).

To all who read this, goodnight, and may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all! (2 Cor 13:14).

Questions of Worldview

2006-04-03T20:01:00.001-05:00

A coworker and friend, Luci, recently told me about a report she was required to do for a class of hers. The class is currently studying worldviews, and this particular assignment centered around four separate interviews asking the same seven questions. I think these questions come from the book, The Universe Next Door by James Sire (which is one of the books they are using in the class). Well, I volunteered to be interviewed, and here are the questions I was asked with my responses to each question:

1. What is prime reality – the really real?

Reality begins and ends with God. God has revealed Himself to be “I AM who I AM.” God is; therefore God is real. God defines what is really real, and God has also created things that are really real – both natural and supernatural.

2. What is the nature of external reality?

External reality is God’s creation, designed and planned according to His will and carried along by the word of His power. External reality, therefore, is an objective reality no matter one’s subjective experience of it. The creation is distinct from God and dependant on God, while God is completely independent of the creation and at the same time intimately concerned with its smallest of details.

3. What is a human being?

A human being is the only one of God’s creatures created in His image, and, like the rest of creation, humans are distinct from God and dependant on God. Humans are not divine and have been created to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Though created good, humans now have been corrupted by sin and are radically depraved as a result of the Fall. Our only hope is in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

4. What happens to a person at death?

When a person dies, his soul departs from his body, and he then faces the judgment of God based on faith. Believers in Christ immediately enter Heaven (a place of everlasting joy with Christ) and those who have rejected Christ immediately enter Hell (a place of everlasting torment apart from Christ). Both groups then await the resurrection of their bodies and the final judgment of God based on works done in this life. There is no purgatory, no reincarnation, and no hope of redemption after death.

5. How is it possible to know anything at all?

God created us with the ability to know and think. It is possible to know because God has made it possible. Our knowing is subjective and imperfect, but it does not follow that we cannot know anything true or that which corresponds with objective reality. In fact, we can know true things, and as we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ our knowing is progressively conformed to truth.

6. How do we know what is right and wrong?

Right and wrong are objective realities defined by God and written by God into the fabric of creation and onto the hearts of humans (through the conscience). We know what is right and wrong ultimately because God has revealed to us in large measure what is right and wrong – both generally in creation and specifically in the Bible. Although there are many disagreements about what is right and wrong, it does not follow that right and wrong are concepts relative to the individual.

7. What is the meaning and purpose of history?

History is meant to display the glory of God and accomplish all the saving purposes of God in His Son, Jesus Christ. All things in history finally relate back to God.

The Therapeutic Gospel Is No Gospel

2006-03-30T01:15:00.002-06:00

Of many subjects, this is one of the most frequent on my mind lately. The biblical gospel of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for sinners is not the same thing as Jesus coming so that we can really enjoy life here without feeling so bad about our issues, addictions, dysfunction, etc. Recovery is not the same thing as repentance. And working by principles to rid ourselves of habits that harm us is not the same as putting to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit (Romans 8:13 and the entire chapter).

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes... For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith'" (Romans 1:16,17).

This is a popular text with an unpopular yet amazingly profound truth: the gospel is the power of God for salvation! Literally, the text says that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who is believing (Young's Literal Translation). This "believing" is ongoing and active faith "in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). The gospel is our motive for change and our power for change. Christ's holiness is the light that shines in our dark hearts, illuminating sin - His Spirit pulling sin out by the roots - a painful and glorious endeavor mediated by Jesus, worked through faith, and grounded in the grace and love of God. There is much more to discuss, but it will have to wait for another day, Lord willing. I will end with a two-part quote and some links to worthwhile resources I have benefited from recently in regards to this topic.

"Compulsive unbelief and self-will (an against-God bias) are more ominous - and more interpersonal - than the psychological kinks of other theories. We compulsively rebel against the Person to whom we owe our lives. Our psychological kinks are wrongs done against the Person we are created to love. We are not first 'psychologically' false. We are first interpersonally false, covenantally false, religiously false. We play false to ourselves because we play false to God and don't want to face up to it. In another word, we sin. We don't want to know this. It's easier to admit sexual perversity, death wish, power drives, egotism, neediness, or class-consciousness than to admit sinfulness in the sight of God. Bad as they are, those other things are not the devastating blow that unglues us. This does" (Powlison, Speaking Truth In Love, pp. 38-39).
"God's gaze, intentions, and actions heal more deeply. Self-will cannot heal self-will. Unbelief cannot heal unbelief. Drugs cannot heal our allergy to self-knowledge. Only Jesus the Messiah can fix what has gone so wrong in us and around us. As discussed earlier, before we get tangled psychologically and socially, we have a relational problem with God. So the mercies of God come through a Person, who comes in person to restore peace. He alone touches deep enough to untangle the roots of everything else that troubles us" (Ibid., p. 41).

Links of interest:

CJ Mahaney's outline from the sermon series titled "Another Gospel? The Challenge of the Therapeutic Movement"

Our Saturday Outing

2006-03-26T23:53:00.001-06:00

Saturday, my wife, my daughter, my father-in-law, and I went to the Dallas Arboretum and had a nice time enjoying the common grace of God in the beautiful weather and scenery. I took not a few pictures (almost 200)! Here are some of my favorites:

First, my beautiful wife

And my cutie-pie daughter

Some colorful flowers

And some other things

My little cutie-pie again

...who is also fussy at times

"The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever" (Isaiah 40:8).

A verse I have been meditating on...

2006-03-16T10:40:00.001-06:00

... for a couple of months. It keeps amazing me, and I can't get over it!

"This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him."

- Psalm 18:30