Thoughts...Centered on Christ and Applied to Man

Fighting

2011-04-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

It's one thing to have a disagreement, it's another thing to fight. Even in misunderstanding, I really don't know why it would end up in fight-mode, rather than "Wait, what? I thought you said blah blah blah." "No, I said yak yak yak." "Oh. Well that changes things, doesn't it?". And even if we are arguing over something because of a misunderstanding, "argument" =/= "fight"; arguments are disagreements in which both parties are looking to come to the truth of the matter, while fights are...well...not so high-minded.

As for stress, maybe I lead an entirely uneventful life, but I seriously find it hard to be stressed to the snapping point (pun intended). God is bigger than that, and I just live in what He provides.

Regarding the question of "what is a fight?" I would maintain that:

(1) Fights are based on questions of "right." That is, it's always "That's my toy" "I'm right and you're wrong." "I can too do this."

(2) Fights are always personal-- You versus Me. (and I'm right. No, I'm right!....) Fights are not "This idea versus that idea; which is better?" where there is little of *myself* tied up in one idea or the other (even though the ideas may be "mine" or "yours").

(3) Fights exist where one has no willingness to change, if in fact one is wrong. The objective in fighting is to win. Not to reach agreement, nor to come to the truth of the issue.

(4) Most importantly, fights are always the result of selfishness.

But...

If: both of us love God supremely and put each other first, how can fights occur?

(1) If I'm putting the other person first-- should I not yield my "right" to them? Isn't this what Jesus' teaching about "turn the other cheek", and "go the extra mile", and "loan without expecting repayment", and "if someone asks for a coat, give them your shirt too" is all about?

(2) Again...this is incompatible with putting the other person first. You try it: next time you see a fight, ask yourself what that fight would look like if one person was willing to lose for the benefit of the other person. There's no fight anymore, is there?

(3) The only way to win is to make the other person lose. This is categorically not putting the other person first. It's also degrading and mean and selfish. If I love God, then I love truth more than I may ever love winning; and if I love truth, and I'm wrong-- guess what? I'm gonna change.

(4) This is what I said at the very beginning-- we both love God supremely and put each other first-- unless I'm sadly and badly mistaken, selfishness has no place. And even if it does occasionally crop up, what is the likelihood that we'll both have a selfish moment at exactly the same time. It takes two to fight.

The Heart of Calvinist/Arminian Debate

2011-03-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

Calvinist: God is sovereign. He has ordained....blah blah blah*...

Arminian: But then it's just God doing EVERYTHING!

Calvinist: Exactly.

Arminian: But what about....?

Calvinist: Yes. God is sovereign.

Arminian: But even so that...

Calvinist: That too. Saw-vurr-inn. He has ordained....blah blah blah*....

Arminian: Oh, nevermind.

*[Editor's note: calvinists can be pretty dry sometimes, so I shortened it for clarity and ease of reading]

Hate = Fail

2010-12-20T08:39:00.000-08:00

Forgiveness

2010-05-31T22:54:00.000-07:00

What is forgiveness? What does it mean to be forgiven?
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Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

The servant therefore fell down, and worshiped him, saying, "Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him a hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, "Pay me that thou owest."

And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, "Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all."

And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, "O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee?" And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
(Matthew 18:23-35)
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What did it mean to the first servant that he had been forgiven? It meant that he no longer was required to repay that which he owed. It meant he could walk out as a free man. It meant he was not bound under his former obligation.

What would it have meant to the second servant to have been forgiven? It would have meant the same thing-- that he would no longer be a borrower who was in danger of being thrown into debtor's prison.

What happened to the first servant when he refused to live according to the forgiveness he had received? He (and his wife, children, and possessions) was not merely sold , as would have been the case in the beginning. He was far worse off than he would have been otherwise. Not simply because he owed a debt that he could not repay, but because he had abused the grace and compassion that the lord had given to him.

What if we do not extend the same forgiveness and mercy to others, as God has extended it to us? Hmm?

Also, forgiveness and repentance are inextricably linked. Both servants repented and expressed their intention to repay their debt, that is, their intention to change their ways. One servant was in fact forgiven, the other servant clearly ought to have been forgiven (had the first servant been honourable). But if neither of them had pleaded that they would change their ways, they would both still have been in debt. Is not this like God's kingdom? God doesn't grant forgiveness without confession and repentance on our part, so as to make us free to do evil. But at the same time, God does not wait for us to prove ourselves before He grants forgiveness-- God doesn't predicate his forgiveness on some works of righteousness or compassion we do that show Him that we deserve His grace. Does He require us to be righteous and compassionate? Absolutely. Just like the lord in the parable, God requires us to live according to the grace He has given us, but He requires it after He extends grace to us.

And also, what if there is no definite object or substance that is owed? What if there is a more intangible wrongdoing involved; for example, me lying to you? There is no "debt" for me to repay. How then does forgiveness work? What does it mean for you to forgive me? What changes-- on my part and on your part?

It's a Strange Badge of Honour

2010-03-27T22:21:00.000-07:00

We’ve come a long way from being Pharisees. We don’t stand and proclaim our righteousness, when we know that inside we are just sepulchres full of old man’s bones. Oh, no. We would be shocked at such hypocrisy and maybe even shun someone who was audacious enough to try it.

We don’t try to come off as righteous. We fully and honestly believe that we are sinners, every day—thought, word, deed—and we take a strange pleasure in confessing it. It is as though we wear our sinfulness as a badge of honour; we pin it on our lapel and make sure it stands out. Nobody’s badge is the same colour, of course, but all of them mean the same thing—I am sinful—and we are almost proud of it. We hold our sinfulness very near and dear; and woe be to the man who suggests that we need not wear such a badge.

This situation is a very interesting twist, I think. I can’t call it hypocrisy—it’s not—it’s not claiming to be something we’re not, or acting one way and talking another. It’s quite the opposite; it’s claiming to be something we really believe we are, acting the way we talk. But it’s such a strange way to talk. Because we talk like we would die if we weren’t sinful. Because we talk like it’s a horrible sin to be un-sinful. Because we cling so dearly to the thought that we are sinful, so tightly to the idea that we are hopeless cases.

I find it intriguing in light of the thought that we are (supposedly, anyway) God’s children. Wisdom is justified of her children. Abraham’s children do the works of Abraham. “Ye do the deeds of your father.”

This strange talk evades a name. What should I call it? Can it be honesty? If I call it honesty, what then do we make of what we claim to be, if “the lusts of your father ye will do?” Can it be, perhaps, taking the Lord’s name in vain? We take his name to ourselves, calling ourselves His children—and yet we speak and act as though sinfulness is the most consistent and true trait of our lives.

If the Tree Fits, Why Not Put It Up?

2010-03-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

Sshh. Not a sound could be heard. Not through the whole town, not in any home, and specially not this House. All were fast asleep. The night was still and dark, colder than most. Clear and crisp air cloaked the nimble shadow that crept to the side door. The doorlock was plied with a softly glowing key that was burnished by centuries of careful use.

The Family was sleeping, but only hours ago they had all been feverishly working. Laughter, gaiety, and warmth filled the House as they had all gathered round to apply the finishing touches to the House's decorations. At last, the final fragile ornament, a beautifully painted pastel-tinted egg, hung upon the spindly dogwood. All the eggs dangled from the branches, gently moving as they were touched by the breath of air circulating through the room; it was a picture reminiscent of that tree from paradise, the fruit gently hanging from its branches, swaying in the soft breeze of the garden. In spite of itself, the little dogwood practically bloomed in the bright, cheerful light of the Family's glowing faces. The labour all finished, the family gazed on the sight once more, and then happily, excitedly lay in their beds and drifted off to sleep one by one.

Without fail, it would creak. But not this morning. It was indeed morning; still dark, still night, but that darkest and stillest part just before the first peep of light, when all seems to be most asleep. As he slowly pushed the door open to slip in to the Family's mudroom. He took in the sight carefully, noting the little pairs of boots all lined up and caked with yesterday's mud. "Yes, it was good that I packed carefully." He even thought in a whisper, lest he disturb the sleepers and rouse someone to spy out his mission. He stole into the center of the house to find the dogwood just where he knew it would be. Silently, he lowered his knapsack to the floor and spread out the gifts, placing them gently and quickly under the tree. Soon there was a pile of baskets crowded under the tree, a pile that belied the size of both the knapsack and the Rabbit that carried it. Then he was gone.

The sky had barely turned a faded greenish navy hue when Boy's eyes flashed open. It had come! Morning was here! They must hurry if they are to be on time. Ever so quickly, he rushes to rouse the rest of the House, to find only little Sister still asleep. Get up! Get dressed! It will never do to be late to the sunrise service. The sun would not wait for them. And afterwards, oh! the scrumptious breakfast, the hot cross buns, the Easter Egg hunt, oh, such surprises this morning always held.

And the tree. Boy almost forgot all about the tree. Then he heard a faint sound from the living room, and it all came back to him. Did they come? He had to go see; there was even less time to waste now than ever. He rushed hurriedly to finish, he ran to the room that held the best surprise of all, and almost doubtingly entered the room. He hesitated as he looked across the scene, for it was as if this room were sacred. But Mother and Dad were there, they seemed satisfied, ready, waiting. It was true. All the gifts he had hoped for, all the celebration for which he'd patiently and eagerly waited so many weeks; they were there. And the tree; the tree stood silently, but growing brighter as the rising morning light pushed the Family out the door.

Oh, friends. Would this day mean anything without the tree? Had the tree not come, certainly the fruit would not have come; certainly the Seed would never have held such promise. Could the real Son have come, had not the tree come?
_______________________________________

This is satire. If you don't get it, do not assume that it is simple fiction.

"You told me to clean my room, but I didn't."

2010-02-20T08:18:00.000-08:00

*Grumble grumble*
"I just can't help it. I sin all the time, and I even know better!"
*Grumble grumble*

Seriously? If we are God's children, this is an absolutely ridiculous idea. Imagine telling this to your parents....

"Mom, I just can't help it. I disobey you all the time -- you told me to run to the grocery store for you, and I got in the car and drove to the videogame store and never did pick up your groceries -- I even knew better!"

or,

"Dad, I know you told me to clean my room, but I didn't. Instead, I called my friend up and went over to his house to hang out. I couldn't help it!"

It wouldn't fly. You might manage to say it...before you got taken to the woodshed and punished for being flagrantly disobedient and rebellious.

God isn't an unreasonable Father. We have no reason to complain about what He asks us to do, and we have no reason not to do what He asks us to do.

Don't tell me that you can have sin in your life and still be pleasing to God. It's not true.

"And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him." (I John 3:5-6)

WE Are That Tree!

2010-02-16T00:25:00.000-08:00

Jesus could come back. He could come back right now – we’d be caught up in the air with Him, and everything would be “happily ever after,” wouldn’t it? But I when I think that Jesus could come back, my heart aches with sorrow. I want Him to come; I really do; but not yet. Please don’t come yet. Not now when we’re all dead, not now when there’s so many who are still living in sin, not now when oh so many would go to hell, not now when there’s still some chance for us to repent.

God, I love the church. She’s your body, your bride. I love her so much, but she’s dying – dead in sin and loving worldly pleasures – please don’t come back yet. Oh, won’t you be merciful a little while longer? I don’t want all those people to perish; but they will if you come back, because you are righteous and a just judge.

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

But Lord, what if WE are not righteous? If we are ungodly and sinful, how can we even stand – must we not perish along with the rest? We ARE ungodly and sinful. Lord, help us! We must not stay like this; we must be godly, we must be righteous – we need You. We must have revival or we shall die, because we are already dead as it is.

"A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why encumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: and if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down."

Friends, enemies, people, everyone! WE are that tree! We ought to be serving the Lord, we ought to be bearing the fruit of the Spirit, we ought to be obedient, we ought to have done so by now. But no, we are still disobedient, always rebelling, doing as we know we shouldn’t; regularly bearing bad fruit. WE ARE IN DANGER OF GETTING CHOPPED DOWN! You must change, you must repent, or you shall perish. You must forsake all sin, everything that is not pure, everything that is any less than pure, undefiled religion, all world-likeness – you must turn to God, you must turn and follow Jesus whole-heartedly. Nothing less than ALL is acceptable. You must obey Him in everything, or you might as well forget about it.

Oh, Jesus! How many years have you dug around us, fertilized us, and yet we still haven’t born fruit!?

What Have We Become?

2010-02-08T00:09:00.001-08:00

What have we become!?

We complain about divorce rates being higher than ever before, crime being rampant, society being inundated with immorality. But WHAT HAVE WE DONE? What of us!? We look at ourselves – the church – and then complain about the same things; divorce rates are high, crime and immorality are at an all-time high. We’ve become just like the world, and just like the world, we are dead. We are not a sick church that might be nursed back to health….would to God that was so! But the church is DEAD. So dead, and we don’t even realize it. There are a few, ever so few and oh so far between, that urgently rush through the field of Christendom, examining the bodies strewn about, desperately trying to find one that is still alive, but to no avail. One corpse will moan, and the survivor will rush over in hopes that he’s found someone else still alive, but it’s dead; another will twitch, and the searcher will shout with joy and run to its side, but it’s not alive. One church wears a t-shirt that says “I’m ALIVE,” but it’s just as cold as the rest; some are lying down; some sit up, propped up against others; some even still stand, but as a tottering mannequin, and not as a living soul. The survivor still looks, but as far as he can see, there is little hope. How can there be any hope in such a situation as this?

God, we need a miracle. You’re the only one who can raise the dead. I can’t love the church even a tenth as much as you – you’ve got to do something! If we have not because we ask not, then Lord I’m asking. We need revival so badly. No. we need YOU. You are the breath of life; You are the living word; You alone are life. Only if we are in You can we ever be revived. We need your Holy Spirit; we need Your rivers of living water to flood this place; we need to You to raise the dead.

The wages of sin is death. And oh, how we’ve earned it! We make excuse for sin yesterday, today, and all the tomorrows to come. We preach that actual holiness is not required to see God. We teach that sin is an inevitable part of even a Christian’s life. We say that God overlooks our constant and ongoing sin. We have a hundred thousand reasons why we can’t possibly be righteous. And so we find that we practice what we preach. Sin. But sin must NOT be allowed. Sin is NOT okay. Sin is NOT acceptable nor excusable, nor can it have ANY place with godliness. Sin is the cause of death. There isn't any other reason for death -- spiritual death especially. How can the church possibly be alive if it's not obedient, if it's not righteous, if it's not holy; how can the church be alive if it's sinful? Of all the things that it might be – it might be warm, friendly, casual, open, or any other positive adjective we might care to use, if the church is sinful, the one thing it can't possibly be is alive.

We have GOT to change. You, friend, have got to change. If we go on as we are, we shall surely taste brimstone, just as Sodom did.

God, we must have revival. We must have revival or judgment. But Lord have mercy, for we cannot stand in judgment; we would stand wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Let us come to buy gold from You, to procure white clothes, to find a little eye salve so we might see.

Let us be zealous and REPENT! We MUST have life, and it MUST come from God. Let’s go to Him, and perhaps it is not too late; perhaps He might still yet let us taste of His holy waters; perhaps He might be merciful. But we must go to Him, we must, and we dare not delay.

Become a Better Christian in 1 Easy Step

2010-01-29T05:00:00.000-08:00

Pick up your cup of coffee. That's it. It's that easy.

CBS News reports that holding a warm object (namely, a cup of coffee) makes you a happier, more generous, trusting, and favourable person. What do Christians like more than to have coffee, especially in church? And now science has finally seen the light -- having that cup of coffee (you don't even have to drink it!) makes you a better Christian!

Don't believe me? Read my entire post Warm Hands, Warm Heart on Nick the Geek's blog.

Love, As an Emotion

2010-01-27T22:35:00.000-08:00

Love, as an emotion, is kind of a weird thing to think about.

Love is something that is deep and abiding, like a current in the ocean as opposed to a whitecap that forms when the wind blows and then disappears just as quickly. Love is the little “me” inside that is overflowing with enthusiastic excitement, and is dying just to be let out of his cage just so he can hold your hand and walk with you in the park. Love is the flesh of the wound that is inflicted when I hurt someone. Love feels grief, pain, and loneliness intensely; love softens the wounds of hatred, malice, and sharp remarks.

But love is not an emotion. All those emotions follow love like a bumper sticker, but love is not feeling. Love is a choice. Love is action. Love is deliberate; love is habitual. Love is so closely tied up with trust, honesty, and truth, that sometimes it seems hard to tell the one from the other. Love is boring at times, sometimes even drudgery, because love is working towards the greatest good, and that work is not always sunshine and roses. Love is bold and courageous, because I really have nothing to lose but myself, and love is not selfish.

"Seven Cardinal Responsibilities"

2010-01-17T21:48:00.000-08:00

I was reading in Peter a while back and came across this section:

II Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith VIRTUE; and to virtue KNOWLEDGE;
1:6 And to knowledge TEMPERANCE; and to temperance PATIENCE; and to patience GODLINESS;
1:7 And to godliness BROTHERLY KINDNESS; and to brotherly kindness CHARITY.
1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Obviously, these are good things to have - and things that we, as Christians, are responsible for doing - sooo....my question is: What are these "seven cardinal responsibilities"?

I also understand that they are not necessarily in a chronological order (i.e. I don't have to have virtue before I can get knowledge, etc.)

I don't need dictionary definitions, I can get those in any good version of Webster's. What I want are definition of these in terms of how to DO them -- what is it about VIRTUE whereby I can say "yes, I have added virtue to my faith."? What is it about GODLINESS that is definitive whereby I can say "yes, I am without a doubt godly."? How does CHARITY work itself out in my life? Get the point? How do these work out in your life...DO they work out in your life? If so, why and how? If not, why not?

Just Do It for Me, Please?

2010-01-05T23:55:00.000-08:00

Ever come to the point where you go to God and say, “God! I don’t know how I can possibly make this work! What now!? Help!”

I have. And most of the time, I envision God rolling up His sleeves in eagerness and saying “Whew! I thought you’d never ask. I’ve been dying for you to ask me to get in there and do something for you. Now stand back and watch this!”

But wait. Is that really how God reacts? I’m not sure that’s how He works with us all the time, or even most of the time.

I prayed that prayer just the other night, and was wanting and waiting for God to react the way I envisioned He would. But instead He rolled up His sleeves (with just the same eagerness in His eyes), leaned over and said “Andrew, take another look at what you’ve got to work with. Don’t just give up and expect me to take it all out of your hands; I’ve given you a mind, a life, a motivation to work out what I want you to – I put it in your hands because I want to see YOU succeed at it – and when you do, it will be worth rejoicing over. I’m right here with you. Keep working at it. Give it another try.”

And it made me feel like a little kid learning to ride a bicycle, wanting my training wheels back, not wanting my Father to let go, terrified that I might fall over if He does; but at the same time knowing that if I do, He’ll be there to help me up again, to bandage my scraped knee, and give me another push. Knowing that if I learn how to ride my bike all by myself, I could ride to the playground with Him, or even the store, and then when I get bigger, I could go to the store to pick up groceries for Him!

Cancel Christmas???

2009-12-19T12:52:00.000-08:00

Cancel christmas? Such a horrible idea, isn't it? Or is it? Let me share something I observed a while back...

I was walking across the parking lot into Costco. Also walking toward the store were a mother and her son. The mother was telling the little boy what they were going to get and what they were not going to get; the little boy was whining about not getting something or other.

"Do you want me to cancel Christmas!?" the mother snapped.

"No"

"Then you better behave yourself."

So I ask you again, cancel Christmas? If christmas was truly the celebration of Jesus' birth, and as such was a holy day of worship toward God, then it could never under any circumstances be cancelled. But yet, the mother's threat still could be made...

Some Thoughts (Seasonal?)

2009-11-30T18:48:00.000-08:00

Have you ever noticed...

They start playing christmas music the day after Thanksgiving?

That Thanksgiving gets comparatively short shrift, as a holiday?

That Thanksgiving isn't a huge, overcommercialized holiday?

Is it because we don't give presents?
Is it because we don't feel compelled to put up decorations like christmas?
Is it because it's actually a Christian holiday, rather than only nominally so?

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Why is it christmas that everyone (practically speaking) loves dearly, regardless of what they think of Jesus?

Christmas junk has been in stores since August.

Something possesses non-christians to have a "christmas spirit;" and when I look around, it's not the Holy Spirit.

Why is it that christmas with all its appurtenances is pretty much exactly what I would expect a worldly holiday to be, other than the fact that Christians love it? This smacks of a horrible deception to me, and it's not the non-Christians who are deceived. They know that christmas is all about the presents and the tree and the food.

The Battle

2009-11-28T19:07:00.000-08:00

The battle is not won in ornate palaces with stained glass windows. The battle is not won by those who sit and imagine what it will be like when they taste the sweet fruits of victory. The battle is not won by enthusiastic planners of great campaigns. The battle is not won even by the mighty warrior who is the hero of every little boy.

The battle is won by the housewife, the battle is won by the man who provides for his family, the battle is won by the youth in school. The battle is won by those who live day by day uprightly, productively, thoughtfully, persistently, and above all, charitably.

The battle isn't won on sunday mornings. It's won on monday morning, and tuesday mornings, and wednesday mornings, and thursday mornings, and friday mornings, and saturday mornings.

Shouldn't we come on sunday morning, not to get the victory, but to declare the victory that we have won all through the rest of the week?

Something Wrong?

2009-11-11T23:01:00.000-08:00

Is there something wrong when:

I witness with trepidation because I can't point to a group of people and say "You see those people? They're Christians. They have the same fantastic life and God-given power that I just told you about. On sunday, let me pick you up, and we'll go to their meeting and you can hear them tell about what God has done in their lives and see for yourself what Christians are like and what they believe."

Is there something wrong when:

Every sunday, like clockwork, I go to another meeting where everyone just sits in their pew and the pastor gets up in the pulpit and talks about who-knows-what for 45 minutes and then I wonder if I should have done more than just sit there and look slightly interested.

Is there something wrong when:

I even consider standing up and telling the next pastor that has the gall to say "Nobody can live a holy life until they get to heaven" that he has no right to stand up there and pass himself off as a man of God who is teaching what God wants to be taught, and that unless he is going to teach that we must be holy even as He is holy just as the holy men of God taught and wrote as the Holy Spirit inspired them to teach and write in the holy scriptures, then he should stop calling himself a preacher of God's word.

Is there something wrong when:

It makes me sick to think that all those people are just soaking up this teaching that sin is a necessary, though unwanted, component of a Christian life -- and hardly anybody knows enough to even realize that there's something wrong with that picture; or if they do, they either don't care enough to say something or they aren't brave enough to speak out against it.

Is there something wrong here?

Just Enter In/Praise Song (Medley)

2009-10-28T19:12:00.000-07:00

[Announcement by worship leader (not harsh, but firm)]
All right, we’re gonna start worship soon

[Worship leader counts, as to start a song]
1...2...3…hey!

[Guitar strums, etc.]
[Worship leader says/sings]
Come on now, we’ll play a worship tune
‘verybody’s in the room

[Sings]
Spirit come, it’s you we need
We’re so hungry, feeling’s gone
Ooh-ooh we plead

Fee-eel it move
Wee-e’re in the groove

Won’t you come, just enter in
Lost in feeling, now we’re drawn
Loong-iing for Him

Emotions move
God’s in the groove

[Worship leader prays (music playing softly, worshipfully in the background)]
Oh God,
Fill us now as we come before you
Free our hearts as we adore you
We worship you, we do
Help us keep this feeling the whole week through
Oh, Lord.

[Sings next song…]
When we sing just so
Ooh you feel just right (BGV: "feel just right...")
When the lights are low
Ohh you close your eyes

C’mon we'll all stand
Ohh sing Adonai (BGV: "Aa-doh-nai...")
C’mon lift your hands
Ooh worship tonight

We sing our praise song
Ooh let your soul fly (BGV: "fly aw-ay...")
Lord of all reigns on
Eemotional high

What About Heaven...

2009-10-12T13:24:00.000-07:00

I don't have a point, just a question:

Why is it that when we envision heaven, it is a place where we can, in God's presence of course, indulge in pleasurable and leisurely experiences constantly? It seems as though we picture heaven as the most perfect theme park, where it's always a perfect sunny 70 degrees, where we're hanging out with all our friends, and we can do whatever we want.

Why do we make heaven into our picture of what would satisfy the desires that we wouldn't consider very Christian to indulge while we are here on earth? Why don't we see heaven as a place where we only do what God wants us to do? Is it because that's not much fun?

One at a Time? Or All Together?

2009-10-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

How does it work for a family to be serving God versus a single person serving God?

A family is, in fact, a bunch of single people (except for one married couple in there), and so a big part of how a family serves God is involved with what each person is doing individually.
Thus, as a family, the father needs to do what God has called him to do (providing for his family, loving his wife, raising godly children in a godly manner, working in and with the church in the way God's called him to do), the mother would need to do what God has given her to do (raising godly children in a godly way, doing what needs to be done in running the household, loving her husband, and ministering to others as she has been called or as may be needed), the kids' main job in serving God has to do with being obedient, diligent in school – learning what it means to be godly adults, and practicing that in appropriate ways.

But serving God as a family means more than that. If that was all it was, then marriage and family really wouldn't be much of anything special. As a family, there is a unity (or there should be) that should stand as something special.

In the “perfect” marriage relationship, the husband and wife love each other unselfishly and consistently look for the other’s good before his or her own. Both are understanding, supportive, and communicative; they honestly want the best possible for each other, and are willing to sacrifice for that.

However, in the godly marriage relationship, the husband and wife love God first and foremost and work together towards the goal that God has for them, towards fulfilling his will. They are not focused inwards, towards each other, but outwards – their focus is on God and serving him, a common goal shared by both partners. Since they love God, they will also love each other in the manner of the “perfect” marriage relationship, but that will not be the main focus – the main focus is God and God alone, and the qualities of the “perfect” marriage relationship are simply the natural result of serving God first.

This is in fact the underlying principle not just for a married couple but for the entire family – they are all focused on an “outside” goal. The family relationship is built around the fact that each of the family is loyal first to God, and then, because of that, to the family.

The family as a whole should work together to serve God, so that it isn't, “Oh, Mrs. Christian is such a godly woman, especially with everyone doing everything they do in her family,” but rather “That Christian family is weird – it's like they all have the same goal or something.”

One of the main ways of serving God as a family has to do with the fact that every aspect of a family’s life should be an example of godliness to friends, acquaintances, and neighbours; like it says in Timothy about having well-behaved children (not accused of being riotous or unruly), and that the husband and wife ought to have the kind of relationship that people look at and admire because of its love and virtue.

The other major part of serving God as a family (maybe more as parents) has to do with raising children who truly know what godliness is (even if they choose to turn away from God). One of the things that stands out when reading through Kings and Chronicles are the little notes “and so and so walked in the ways of his father so and so, to work evil...” Or like the sons of Rechab, who had vowed not to touch wine or strong drink because of their Dad. Each of those things shows that the children’s actions reflect on the family, either in a good way or a bad way. For that reason, it's really important how children are raised (because they are, after all, a major “product” of marriage), and that even if the children decide to turn away from God, it's important that their only significant complaint should be along the lines of “Mom and Dad were just too much into Jesus -- that was all they ever talked about -- and I couldn't handle it” rather than about how “Mom and Dad were unfair, mean, and touchy” or any other complaint that might have validity.

In terms of what the family should be doing to serve God...

Generally speaking, the father’s/husband’s calling should provide the major direction for the family. So if the father is called to work in evangelism, the family would end up serving roles within that realm, not necessarily all doing what the father does, but serving in whatever areas may fit alongside his vocation.

It's one thing to say that a husband and wife should love God and work together to serve Him, but how exactly does that work in practice?

A lot of that comes around to listening – What does God want us to do? – and then doing it. It's hard to say very specifically something like “Well, this family should be cooking for the soup kitchen, helping out at Serenity House, leading Bible studies, helping out little old lady neighbors” because that is dependent on what God tells the couple to do – they might, but really what they specifically do to serve God is dependent on what he tells them to do.

Serving God as a family involves whatever is given in the Bible (pure, undefiled religion, etc.) and then furthermore, doing whatever else God has asked apart from the Scripture (being led by the Spirit to do such and such) – but what differentiates it from an individual serving God is that unity, that common goal, because it truly isn't a single person doing it – the whole family does it together – and it's more than “Well, Mom and Dad said we're going to go and do this as a family, so we have to do it,” but it really is a common value between each member of the family.
_________________________________

Thanks to the friend who helped write this.

Walking in Love and Truth

2009-09-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

If we live in the Spirit of the Lord
Then let’s walk according to His Word
You and I can walk in love and truth

Live so they see
Our words and deeds agree

If we live in the Spirit of the Lord
Then let’s walk according to His Word
You and I can walk in love and truth

Walk in the light
‘Cause He is in the light

If we live in the Spirit of the Lord
Then let’s walk according to His Word
You and I can walk in love and truth

You say you do
Does your life prove you’re true?

Submit! Sit! Stay! Obey!

2009-09-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

The Bible says that a wife is to submit to her husband. But how does that work in a godly marriage relationship? It would be easy to give a short, pat answer, but delving into that answer would not be quite as short.

Here’s the short, pat answer: Ephesians 5:22-33. That explains everything, doesn’t it?

The major element of that submission is that it is a willingness to do what the other sees as the best course of action. That statement can be badly misinterpreted, however, so I want to be clear what I mean by it.

It doesn’t mean that the wife is somehow inferior. It doesn’t mean that the wife should not protest the husband’s decision if she thinks it’s unwise. And it doesn’t mean that there are no areas in which she would rightfully carry authority; so in circumstances where her decision is appealed (by the kids, for example), there would be times when the only appropriate response from the husband would be “What Mom says goes.”

In the end, really what it comes down to is that while they would work side by side as equals – as one, and it shouldn’t be any other way – if anyone asked her “Who’s in charge?” she would point to her husband, and if anyone should say “You can’t do that. Who said you could?” she would point to her husband.

This submission doesn’t have to do with one of them having power over the other, or with the wife being like a servant to the husband. It does have to do with a recognition of how the authority structure in the family works, and it does have to do with the fact that God has created husbands and wives to interact a certain way, as a reflection of the relationship between God and men.

The marriage relationship is a joining of two into one, and so nothing really should be done by the one without the other – everything is no longer “yours” or “mine” but “ours” – and so that relationship is one where each wants the other to be a part of whatever task they have to do, as though they were the very best of friends (which they should be). But in that friendship, and in those tasks that they do together as one, one of them will generally need to take the lead, and scripture is pretty clear that that is the husband’s role.

An illustration comes to mind: There were a couple of guys who decided to go sailing, and since neither of them were “in charge” there were disputes about what they were going to do in some cases. Finally one told the other “Listen, I was the one who initiated this whole adventure, I was the one who let you come along, and you chose to join me – I’m the one in charge.” It wasn’t that the other guy was unfit to lead, but that he wasn’t the initiating force to begin with, and he had joined in with the understanding that he was joining, not leading – though he didn’t want to be mindlessly bossed.

Perhaps it’s a weak analogy for submission in marriage in general, but when a woman marries and has her husband as the authority, there is that aspect of willingly choosing to place herself under that authority. It is not that all of the sudden “Oh, I guess I have to listen to this guy now that we’re married,” but rather like how obeying Christ is part and parcel of becoming a Christian – not a sudden realization you have after you’ve decided to be a Christian – you choose to follow Christ knowing that that’s what’s involved. Submission is something that is wrapped up with marriage, not something that just kind of kicks in after you get married.

Submission doesn’t really have to do with “women being weaker vessels”, and there is no room for an attitude like

If you want to build a happy home,
Have you sacrificed a mind of your own?
‘Cause a good wife learns to cower
Underneath the umbrella of power...[1]

Godly submission is a description of how the two can and ought to best work together – the husband loving his wife, the wife loving her husband – being one flesh, serving God wholeheartedly with one heart, rather than two individualistic hearts.

Above all things, godly submission must work with love, or else it doesn’t work at all. A wife must actively work towards her husband’s highest good, not just mindlessly doing whatever he tells her to do, and if she is going to work towards her husband’s highest good, she has to listen to what God tells her, not just what God tells him. She has to think for herself and share those thoughts, rather than just listening to her husband’s thoughts.
_________________________

[1] Steve Taylor, "I Manipulate"

Thanks to the friend (who remains anonymous) who helped me write this post.

Such People as Quakers are Needed Today

2009-09-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

Oh! Better were it to be stripped and naked of all, to account it as dross and dung, and become a fool for Christ's sake, thus knowing him to teach thee in thy heart, so as thou mayest witness him raised there, feel the virtue of his cross there, and say with the apostle, I glory in nothing, save the cross of Christ, whereby I am crucified to the world, and the world unto me. This is better than to write thousands of commentaries, and to preach many sermons. And it is thus to preach Christ and direct people to his pure light in the heart, that God hath raised us up and for which the wise men of this world account us fools, because by the operation of this cross of Christ in our hearts, we have denied our own wisdom and wills in many things and have forsaken the vain worships, fashions, and customs of this world.

For these divers centuries the world hath been full of a dry, fruitless, and barren knowledge of Christ, feeding upon the husk, and neglecting the kernel; following after the shadow, but strangers to the substance. Hence the devil matters not how much of that knowledge abounds, provided he can but possess the heart, and rule in the will, crucify the appearance of Christ there, and so keep the seed of the kingdom from taking root. For he has led them abroad, lo here, and lo there, and has made them wrestle in a false zeal so much one against another, contending for this outward observation, and for the other outward observation, seeking C h r i s t in this and the other external thing, as in bread and wine; contending one with another how he is there, while some will have him to be present therein this way, and some the other way; and some in scriptures, in books, in societies, and pilgrimages, and merits. But some, confiding in an external barren faith, think all is well, if they do but firmly believe that he died for their sins past, present, and to come; while in the meant time Christ lies crucified and slain, and is daily resisted and gainsayed in his appearance in their hearts.

Thus, from a sense of this blindness and ignorance that is come over Christendom, it is that we are led and moved of the Lord to constantly and frequently to call all, invite all, request all, to turn to the light in them, to mind the light in them, to believe in Christ, as he is in them: and that in the name, power, and authority of the Lord, not in school-arguments and distinctions, (for which many of the wise men of this world account us fools and mad-men) we do charge and command them to lay aside their wisdom, to come down out of that proud, airy, brain-knowledge, and to stop that mouth, how eloquent soever to the worldly ear it may appear, and to be silent, and sit down as in the dust, and to mind the light of Christ in their own consciences; which, if minded, they would find as a sharp two-edged sword in their hearts, and as a fire and a hammer that would knock against and burn up all that carnal, gathered, natural stuff, and make the stoutest of them all tremble, and become Quakers indeed: which those that come not to feel now, and kiss not the Son while the day lasteth, but harden their hearts, will feel to be a certain truth when it is too late.

To conclude, as saith the apostle, All ought to examine themselves, whether they be in the faith indeed; and try their ownselves: for except Jesus Christ be in them, they are certainly reprobates. (II Cor 13:5)
____________________________________

The above is from Robert Barclay's "Apology for the True Christian Divinity."

Surely, if those called by the name "Christian" have such a focus on outward observances and such a faith wherein they may sin daily and yet still believe they are bound for heaven, such men and women as the Quakers were are desperately needed today. I will be one of them. I must be, so long as Christ, who lives in me, moves me to urge people away from their sinfulness, off of their outward rituals, and down from their selfishness.

I Don't Know (Song for the Quakers)

2009-08-31T22:53:00.000-07:00

I don’t know what I should do with my life
I don’t know if I should mar-ry me a wife
Or be single

I opened up my Bible and listened real hard
I listened and ah listened ‘til I grew real tahred
An’ I don’t know

(chorus:)
I listened and I read
But all it ever said
Was “boy, whatever you’re doin’ with your life
Do it to the Lord and you can do it right.”

Seems scripture alone can’t come alongside
Seems scripture just don’t help me decide
What I should be

(chorus:)
I listened and I read
But all it ever said
Was “boy, whatever you’re doin’ with your life
Do it to the Lord and you can do it right.”

(2nd chorus:)
I guess I need a friend
Who can tell me more than
Just “boy, whatever you’re doin’ with your life
Do it to the Lord and you can do it right.”

Who can ah ask tuh show me the right way
Who but the Spirit o’ God can show me today
And say more than

Just “boy, whatever you’re doin’ with your life
Do it to the Lord and you can do it right.”

Escalator

2009-08-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

Climbing up a down escalator
Eventually you will make it
Just before you meet your undertaker
Live in hope now

Climbing up a down escalator
Is this really how God made it
Always going to be holy later
Feel okay now?

Climbing up a down escalator
Just as you die, you will make it
No-one told you 'bout the elevator
Going up now?

Gradually getting better
Little by little you lose your fetters
One day you'll be dead
And then
Only then
Will you be truly alive
No hope to thrive
In this life
Hah. Wait until you're dead

A "Hell"ish Inconsistency

2009-08-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

Often, we think it a very grievous offense against God when someone speaks lightly of hell. One may say, "to hell with that idea," expressing their disgust, for example, and we would count it to him as blasphemy.

However, why do we not think it a very grievous offense against God when someone speaks lightly of heaven? Should one say "that's positively heavenly," expressing their delight, we think it to be no offense at all, and yet they have treated God's authority with respect to eternal destiny no less lightly than if they had used "hell" in their dialogue.

If someone says "Oh hell!" because they are frustrated, we would condemn them for using "bad language." But if someone says "Good heavens!" because they are surprised, we think nothing of it.

How can we so slight the good things of God, as to care not how or what people ascribe to the blessed state, and yet concern ourselves greatly with people's ascriptions of the state of the damned? Do we really truly believe that God is not concerned equally with His authority and glory and rightful attribution with respect to both sides of His office as eternal judge and arbiter?

This inconsistency is not right. We should either count expressions on both sides as equally harmless, or as equally serious offenses. We cannot count them harmless, for it is indeed a serious thing to usurp God’s authority; we must therefore guard our tongues (and our friends’ tongues) carefully, so that we speak without offense to God.

Things

2009-07-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

“Things,” material, physical objects – stuff – are interesting. Looking at the world we live in, I can’t help but realize more and more how it is so perfectly set up to be a trial period – we come, we stay a while, we get a chance to do some stuff, and then we’re gone – for the most part, none of us leave anything behind, except what may be used or admired by others. Someone else will live in the house we build, someone else will hang our painting on their wall, someone else will drive our car.

If, then, all this stuff is here for us to use, what are we supposed to be doing with it? It isn’t dependent on us – it’s here whether we use it or not – we can’t increase it in any way, there’s no way we can get more of it, or say “mankind has increased the amount of matter in from 10 bazillion tons to 110 bazillion tons.” Things, then, are really inconsequential…but what then are we here for? It’s interesting how people use things as a means of relating to one another – we steal or share, we restrict privileges, we tax, we give welfare, we adorn ourselves with gold, silver, and precious stones, we hold hands, we have sex, we babysit kids…the list goes on and on. The common theme, however, is that things are the means by which we relate to other people; this is the trial, not what we “accomplish” with the things we have, but how we use those things in relationship to others. Do we hoard “our” stuff, or are we generous? Liberal or possessive? Caring, sharing, and honest, or malicious, stingy, greedy, and dishonest? Selfish? Or charitable?

This is why Jesus can say “by their fruits ye shall know them.” It is not about what we have, what we “achieve,” or how much we can collect, but rather that we use what we have to show that we do indeed love others as much as we love ourselves.

Now, because this life is a trial, we must give due allegiance to the Trier. This means more than merely acknowledging His existence – it means we must know Him and follow His instructions. If we have failed the test, He is the only one who could ever say “I forgive you, now you can start again.” We must, at all costs, honour, love, and obey Him, if we are to live this life so that we pass the test.

He has given us two great commandments: to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love thy neighbour as thyself.

Tradition and Truth (or, "Observance of Days, Times, and Seasons, Become Common. Contrasted with Truth")

2009-07-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today, I hear it more and more -- I hear it in Christian Club at school, I see it in the lives of my friends and acquaintances, I see it in the church -- a following after traditions and celebrations, an observing of this day or that day, seasons that Christians make a special effort to set apart.

In the 1940s, A. W. Tozer said “From this bondage reformers and puritans and mystics have laboured to free us. Today, the trend in conservative circles is back toward that bondage again. It is said that a horse, after it has been led out of a burning building, will sometimes, by a strange obstinacy, break loose from its rescuer and dash back into the building again to perish in the flame. By some such stubborn tendency toward error, fundamentalism in our day is moving back toward spiritual slavery. The observation of days and times is becoming more and more prominent among us. “Lent” and “holy week” and “good” Friday are words heard more and more frequently upon the lips of gospel Christians.” [One might easily add “christmas” and “advent” to this list.]

How much more enslaved to tradition are we today? Tozer saw what he saw sixty years ago – now, we have sixty more years of life behind us, and now those who grew up observing times and seasons are not mere children, but the pre-eminent people in the church. What do we have today? Are we not more entrenched in our observances than ever before?

I hate tradition. I hate tradition, because, even though it often is begun with a real purpose (as a means to accomplishing an end), it often ends up controlling our lives – the tradition itself becomes an end in itself – it usurps the value and the authority of the initial reason it even exists!

“I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
– Amos 5:21-24

Traditions should only exist to serve a purpose greater than themselves. If they do not plainly serve that purpose, they cease to be useful. In fact, they become worse than useless – they shackle the mind and begin to enslave, yes, enslave our will, so that we no longer live or fight for a goal or purpose that is valuable in and of itself, but we begin to fight for the tradition. This is horror of the greatest magnitude. To zealously go into battle for something that has no intrinsic value is utterly ridiculous.

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
– Colossians 2:8

The only thing that is of real intrinsic value for any intellectual life activity is truth. At the root of all conflict, of all science, of all things worth fighting for, you will find truth. It is the one thing worth dying for. “I’m right and you’re wrong” we say as individuals. We say it as nations too: “you can’t treat people that way – it’s not decent, it’s not human – it’s not right!”

If truth is worth dying for, if it is worth fighting for, it is certainly worth living for! That is why I am here – to tell you, if you haven’t realized it already; to drive it home to you, if you’ve been thinking about it; and to encourage you, if you know it already – if truth is not the ruling principle in your life, you will end your life with nothing of any real value to you.

“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”
– Proverbs 4:7

Thus, our most important pursuit in life is to know and act on truth; to live our lives by it. Anything less is worse than useless. "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" True freedom is found only in Truth.

"Be a lover of truth. Let neither majority nor authority be more important to you than truth."
– Dennis Carrol

The only real authority is derived from truth. Truth is not determined by popular vote, for it remains the same whether or not the whole world refuses to acknowledge it. Truth is not determined by authority, by the word of a leader, for many is the leader who has led through falsehood and deception.

"Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding."
– Proverbs 23:23

Truth of supreme importance, and because of its importance, our lives must be led by his guide. Truth does us no good if we know it and yet ignore it through our actions. We must know it and live by it. "The lip of truth shall be established forever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment." (Proverbs 12:19) If you settle for less than truth in your life, in your motives, in your actions, your life is wasted. "For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36)

The Dismal Spirit of Today

2009-07-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

A. W. Tozer says, regarding the spirit of Christians today:

"We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar.

"The tragic results of this spirit are all about us: shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit. These and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul.

"For this great sickness that is upon us no one person is responsible, and no Christian is wholly free from blame. We have all contributed directly or indirectly , to this sad state of affairs. We have been too blind to see, or too timid to speak out, or too self-satisfied to desire anything better than the poor, average diet with which others appear satisfied. To put it differently, we have accepted one another's notions, copied one another's lives, and made one another's experiences the model for our own. And for a generation the trend has been downward. Now we have reached a low place of sand and burnt wire grass and, worst of all, we have made the Word of Truth conform to our experience and accepted this low plane as the very pasture of the blessed.

"It will require a determined heart and more than a little courage to wrench ourselve loose from the grip of our times and return to biblical ways. But it can be done. Every now and then in the past Christians have had to do it. History has recorded several large-scale returns led by such men as St. Francis, Martin Luther and George Fox. Unfortunately, there seems to be no Luther or Fox on the horizon at present."

I may be no Luther or Fox, but I, as they did, will stand up and speak out for a return to purity, righteousness, and a separation from worldliness. I must stand on the Bible for my spiritual standards, caring not that the Word of the Spirit may be divisive or disruptive. Will you stand with me?

Broken Hearted Warrior

2009-06-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

There stands the soldier of truth. At his feet lies his foe, ever elusive, deceptive, but now with nowhere to hide. The soldier's sword glimmers in his hand, his feet firmly planted and his banner held high, as he gazes round the battlefield. His heart fills with sorrow as he sees the innocent dead, the wounded and dying, all who have perished in the struggle.

"You've killed them." The liar says, as he yet cowers on the ground. "There, the blood is still wet on your sword -- you, in your rash zeal for this 'truth,' you've destroyed these, and look at the others...at him, he has deserted because of you -- this pain needs to stop. Come, let's stop the hurting, stop breaking relationships. Is it really such an enormity? It should never have come to this; should we not stop now, while there is yet time?"

Can such an one ever rest from guile and subtilty in his contriving to cover his sin of former time with smooth words and a twisted truth? Ah, it is a hard thing -- nigh impossible.

"No." The soldier says softly, as his eyes well with tears. "For me to lay down my sword and banner, and allow you to stand is to betray my King and His trust in me, to betray my brotherhood, and to exalt the very enemy of the crown and throne and sceptre of the Kingdom for which I stand."

His voice a little stronger, "The blood of all these people may drip from the sword of truth, but it is on your hands, and the King will require it of you...in full."

...

Why, why must the victory of truth stand atop the graves of honest men, women, and children? Why must the triumph of truth come at the cost of honest and innocent souls?

The Bible -- the Word of God?

2009-06-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

Is the Bible God’s word?

First, does the Bible pass the test of historical accuracy? We know it does, for several reasons: first, because it passes the test of reality – worldly archaeologists rely on it to tell them where to find places to dig (and what do you know…the archaeologists dig, and presto – there it is) – the Bible is archaeologically accurate. Second, the Bible has more manuscript evidence than any other historical document. Third, even the secular historians’ (Josephus, etc.) accounts agree with those of the Bible. And fourth, the Bible’s account of historical events and people have consistently been confirmed by other historians, even today (Darius existed, King David existed, Solomon existed, etc.).

These are more than enough to show the Bible’s reliability, at least as a historical document. Now, this does not prove that it was inspired by God (i.e. men wrote what God told them to), as men alone can also write historically accurate documents…but it does give us some place to start, because if we know that it is historically accurate, then we can look at its content (i.e. what Jesus said about himself) to see what it says.

Second, is the Bible consistent with itself? In its 2000 (at least) year history, there has been ample time for those who do not believe it to find a contradiction in it, but to date, there has been found not one bona fide, incontrovertible contradiction.

Now, can we prove something from this? Not directly, until we consider what Jesus said about himself. So what does he say? Most importantly, he claims that he is God.

If we examine Jesus’ claims, then we are left with only a few options. Either Jesus was who said he was, or he wasn’t. What does this mean? If we break it down further, Jesus could have been a lunatic (with an infinitely wrong belief of himself), a liar (one who knows that what he says is untrue), or exactly who he claimed to be – God. There are no other options.

That Jesus claimed to be God is plain to anyone who reads the historical accounts of his teachings (see John 1:1-17; 8:58; 10:30; Luke 5:20-21; and others)

But what if he was not who he claimed to be? We have two options left: he must have been a liar or a lunatic.

If he was a liar, what did he stand to gain by propagating the lie? That people would follow him?...this might be possible, except that when given the chance to save his life by simply saying “yeah, it’s not true, I’m really not God” does he do this? No, in fact, he continued to maintain that what he said was true (see John 18:19-23; Luke 22:67-71; and Mark 14:61-62). Again, if he was a liar, how is it then that he rose from the dead? He was certainly dead after having been crucified (the Romans were experts in crucifying people), and yet there were hundreds of eyewitnesses who saw him alive after he had been dead and buried. Not only this, but those who could have disproven his resurrection did nothing to deny it (the Pharisees had a lot of credibility to lose if Jesus rose from the dead, and the Roman soldiers who were guarding the tomb could have easily repudiated the story of Jesus’ resurrection, if it had not been true). Thus, we see that the claims that Jesus made were not lies; at the very least, Jesus believed in what he taught up to the very end.

This brings us to our third option…if he were a lunatic. What is the defining characteristic of lunacy? It is that what I am and what I believe I am are different. If this difference is only a little, we call it pride (or depression), if it is larger, we call it delusions of grandeur; now, these differences are those of degree – what if we look at differences of kind - if I were to believe myself to be a horse? I would certainly be classified as certifiably insane. The ultimate in lunacy, then, is to claim to be something infinitely different in kind and degree, when I am not that something. For a man to claim to be God is just such a situation – God is infinitely greater (degree) and definitely not human (kind). For Jesus to believe his claims (assuming that they are not true), would mean that he was raving mad – as insane as is possible. And yet, his claim were true, as we have seen before... everything that he claimed would happen to him, or that he was, are backed up by history, as he said, (paraphrased) “If I don’t do the works of my Father [God], then don’t believe me. But if I do, then you know that the Father is in me, and I in the Father” (John 10:37-38)…thus, he says that if what he does is not matching what he says, then we don’t need to believe him. Jesus clearly was no lunatic.

The logic of this argument goes thus:

Jesus is lord, liar or lunatic.
Jesus was not a liar.
Jesus was not a lunatic.
Therefore: Jesus is lord.

This argument is not my own original creation – I’m not that smart – C.S. Lewis originally used it in “Mere Christianity” (an excellent book, by the way) and Josh McDowell refines it in “Evidence That Demands a Verdict” (I don’t have space to quote his whole chapter here, you’ll have to read it for yourself).

"But," you may say, "you still haven’t proven that the Bible is the Word of God." You are right…but I don’t have far to go. Now we can say that:

Jesus was God
Jesus maintained that Scripture is authoritative (see Mark 12:10; Luke 4:21; and John 7:38; 17:12)
Therefore: Scripture is at the very least, ordained by God as the authoritative rule of conduct for all men (i.e., you and me).

Whether it was specifically written by God or “is the Word of God” or however you want to look at it, this is far enough for our purposes…the Bible is authorized by God as the rule of life which defines right and wrong conduct.

A Word from William

2009-06-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

"Come, let us pursue this interesting and important inquiry. How far can God save from sin here? This question can be satisfactorily answered only by hearing what the Lord says on the subject and, having listened to the Scriptures, you may then with propriety and advantage listen to the testimony of those who boldly profess to have an experience on the subject.

"What says the word of the Lord? What people say -- whether they be learned or unlearned, official or unofficial, or anything else -- if they speak not in harmony with the direct and plain teaching of the word of God, they speak not the truth on this subject, whatever they may do on any other. And as the opinions of other men are not our standard, neither are their lives. If A and B say I cannot be saved from sinning -- if they say I must go on in unbelief and unfaithfulness and evil tempers unto the end of my earthly days, if they say I cannot love God with all my heart and be loyal with simple obedience to my heavenly King -- I ask A and B for their authority. If they confess that, after some two or three disjointed, misapprehended texts of Scripture, they rely upon the fact that this unholy, inconsistent, Spirit-grieving life is the common confessed experience of Christians, and therefore nothing better is possible to me, I reject their authority. I won't accept the backsliding experience of any number of people as the standard of religious attainment for me. It is not what men are, but what God wants them to be; not what they actually possess and enjoy of purity and peace and power, but what Christ, the blessed Christ, with his agony and Blood bought for them; what the Father freely offers, and what the pleading, long-suffering Holy Spirit waits to bestow. If I live at Ephesus, am I to conclude that it is impossible for me to keep my first love with its self-consuming, soul-saving power? Or if my lot is cast in Laodicea, am I to teach that it is the right and acceptable thing before God and men not to be enthusiastic, not to be be eaten up with the zeal of God's house, not to be burning hot, but to be miserably, contemptibly lukewarm in His service?

"O my brethren, my comrades in The Salvation Army, to you I write, Beware of this measuring yourselves with yourselves. It is not wise. Endless loss and sorrow and backsliding have been caused by it, contenting ourselves with being as good as other people. And yet many will do it, no matter how warned or cautioned they may be; and therefore let us hurry up to the high levels of attainment, so that instead of dragging men down to Ephesus and Laodicea we may lift them up to Mount Beulah, and draw them on to that blessed highway, the highway of holiness."

-- William Booth

Worth Reading.

2009-06-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

I read this on Mike's profile (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/note.php?note_id=86434649709&ref=nf). Mike reposted it from Fariss' profile...and I am passing it along to you (with some spelling corrections), because it is worth reading, and more than worthy of being read, it is worth being acted on. So read on...

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Fariss' opening statement:

As of late my good friends Jonathan and Britt have been noticing more and more of the immodesty this culture has grown into a habit of accepting.

Our notes are aimed at trying to start change. so i encourage you to come along side us and write, and promote change in your area whether it be writing your own note/blog or copying and pasting ours.
Attention craving, conformitism, and immodesty are crippling our society, our churches, and our schools from behind and we don't even notice it. so please be the change.

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Jonathan's Note:

Ah, I'm not really sure how to start this.

I just want to thank all the female friends of mine for being modest.

I went bowling the other night, with a bunch of friends, and it was just so...man, there were a lot of girls who were not dressed modestly, let's just say. I felt bad for them, it was weird. I don't understand why girls dress like that. It's like, why demean yourself, just to get attention from guys who don't value YOU. That only attracts guys who only care about your body. And that's not someone you want to spend the rest of your life with...immature, selfish, and perverted.

So, my point.

Thank you ladies, for being modest. Because, it's hard for guys as it is, not to be looking at ladies like that. So when girls dress like that it just makes it harder. That is NO excuse though, guys make their own decisions, and you aren't responsible for that.

Be proud about who you are. Because you are a loved creation of the Most High. So don't feel like guys won't notice you if you don't wear less.

GAH! ok, ha, side note. Whoever came up with the saying "less is more" should....I don't even know, But it has messed a lot of brains up, and that's NOT cool.

anyway.

Yes, so guys WILL notice you. Ha, ok, little secret of the male mind. Guys like a challenge, so if you're dressed modestly, and act mature, and aren't totally open about EVERYTHING, they notice that. Maybe it seems like a short term loss, and long term gain. But don't worry about such things. Be who you are, and you will be amazed.

Also, I want to apologize for the perverted ways of males. I really do feel bad for girls a lot of the time. You girls have so much pressure on you to "look your best" and to be current and fashionable. Not to mention school, and all the stuff you have to deal with there. It's not cool that guys use ladies as eye candy.

Mmmm, you my friends know my thoughts about that, if not, you don't know me all that well.

I am for love...but one of the few things I hate, is how guys use girls for eye candy.

But my main point of this note, was to say thank you for being modest. So, thank you. Keep doing so, and be proud about it.

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Britt's note:

Goody goody, now its time to write about Guys and modesty.

In our culture today, Just as Girls feel that the best way to fit in is to look a certain way, Guys feel that that the best way to fit in is to grab attention and beat other Guys down.

if you haven't notcied already most guys tend to CRAVE ATTENTION!

Guys Crave the validation that comes from getting attention.. it can be negative attention, or it can be positive attention done with the wrong motivations. That's why you sometimes have the guy at youth group that will never stop talking and being annoying, and you can have the goody goody hypocrite that volunteers for every youth event because he gets kudos for it. Both guys are seeking validation from the attention these actions produce.

WHEN GUYS CRAVE ATTENTION IT BREEDS IMMODESTY

Guys don't have to wear nothing to be immodest. A guy can be immodest by the way he conducts himself, the way he talks, what he talks about, what activities he participates in, his motivation for doing things and so on.

I was talking to a middle school boy about 3 years younger then me and i was talking to him about dating (sidenote: I am very much against dating before the age of 18, its pointless until your actually ready to get married) he was in a relationship and i asked him why he was dating this girl even though they were only in middle school. he said "Because everyone i know is doing it, and she's hot, so it makes all the other guys jealous and it just feels good to have the ATTENTION because she is so popular and hot", i asked him if really did like her, and after some thought he said "No but the attention is really nice".
GAHH! that is disturbing! The new generation of men are becoming pathetic wimps that are desperate for attention! its not wonder we are having so many moral failures in men now days!

Craving Attention breeds immodesty

Please o please guys, our culture is in a place that we need Guys to step up and be leaders. The Bible has said that just as the men of the church fall, the est of the church will fall also. Men/Guys that crave attention and are immodest will NEVER be able to lead.
strive to redefine what the media says about Men being wimps that are dependent on sexual desires and attention, Redefine how we lead, Redefine the norms, Redefine "Love", Redefine on fire for Jesus, Redefine Passion, Redefine our schools, Redefine Christianity

Redefine our Culture

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Fariss' addition:

It's very obvious at this point in time the way our world is going is down hill... When I look around I'll tell you what I see in a list:

1. Pre-marital Sex as something OK, something that "everyone is doing" (a lie)

2. Sexual confusion--- you are who God made you to be, not who you feel you should be.

3. Drugs & Alcohol...... and with them I hear all the lies being put in peoples heads such as
---------->They Don't Hurt Me
----------->I'm not addicted and I can't be...
------------>I do it because I'm bored
------------->I do it because It feels like I won't gain the attention of the world otherwise.

4. Lies... I see people believing the lie that "they should be satisfied on this earth" when the only true satisfaction can come from a loving God.

I'm here to tell you that there is HOPE... there is LOVE... but they can only come in their true from a loving and mercyful God.

I'm tired of sitting down and watching friends and acquaintances get sucked into their worldly desires...
I know that God is for lack of words to describe him, The Best Thing That Has Ever Happened To Me.

I've seen the above and have practiced lust and sin as a habit... It's the biggest part of my testimony I'm ashamed of. It's sick, repulsive, disgusting and LITERALLY POISON (not joking) to dwell upon.

I hope this encourages you all. I pray you all come to a point in your relationship with Christ that you come to realize what is of God and what is not. I wish for every one of you who read this note to grow exponentially in your love with God.

Step out...... Be a REBEL!....... Everyone is conforming and instead of the unbeliever being the rebel, they have be come the norm.
We need to be rebels in our communities reading our Bibles, Spreading God's Love, Spreading the Gospel and the reason for the HOPE that is in us.

God Bless,
Fariss

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I can't add too much more.

Jesus said "go and sin no more...I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Our actions will speak volumes more than the words in this note ever will. I don't want to have passed along a note that "is encouraging" to make us "feel better;" I want to influence actions: godly, righteous, holy zeal for the Love and Truth that God is and stands for. That means that you and I need to be filled with the Spirit of God, renewed in our minds to have the mind of Christ, and to have put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new man. Action. Faith is all fine and well, but without obedient action, it is worse than useless, and gives a reason for unbelievers to despise and blaspheme the God they so desperately need.

For Those Who Think We Cannot

2009-05-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

Deuteronomy 30:11-19
_______________________________________________________

Here, the Lord tells the children of Israel what he requires of them. He has laid out his commandments, and He has explained in graphic detail the consequences of forsaking those commandments. Now, these things were written for our examples – that we should not lust after evil things, as they did – so let us take care to pay attention to what we read. In giving the commandments of this covenant, as weak and unprofitable as it was, as burdensome a yoke (that neither they nor their children were able to bear, says Peter), what does the Lord say? He says there is nothing about these commands that is difficult: they are not hidden requirements that we might break them unwittingly, they are not far off, idealistic and unrealistic; they are not up in heaven that we need some prophet to bring them to us, nor are they in some far away country, that we need a hero to retrieve them for us. No, the Lord says, they are right here, near you – in fact, they are in your mouth – in your heart. Simply do them and live. It is not a difficult choice, people.

Now, if that is what our Lord provided for His people in the former covenant, what greater provision and power must there be in His new covenant? For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God…by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament…wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are call might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

The new covenant being established on better promises than the old, we may say that through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, grace and peace are multiplied unto us according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness – through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue – and by him are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these we might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Thus, in the Spirit and power of the Lord, we may live, not in fear, nor in sin, but in wholehearted obedience and love, and that not as though it were difficult, but easily and naturally, for our Lord says “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (I John 5:2-4)

An Act Made at a General Court, Held at Boston, the Twentieth of October, 1658

2009-05-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

I was reading Foxe’s Book of Martyrs the other day, and came across a passage that sounded eerily familiar – too familiar, perhaps. Without further ado...
____________________________________________________________

An Act Made at a General Court, Held at Boston, the Twentieth of October, 1658

"Whereas, there is a pernicious sect, commonly called Quakers, lately risen, who by word and writing have published and maintained many dangerous and horrid tenets, and do take upon them to change and alter the received laudable customs of our nation, in giving civil respects to equals, or reverence to superiors; whose actions tend to undermine the civil government, and also to destroy the order of the churches, by denying all established forms of worship, and by withdrawing from orderly Church fellowship, allowed and approved by all orthodox professors of truth, and instead thereof, and in opposition thereunto, frequently meeting by themselves, insinuating themselves into the minds of the simple, or such as are at least affected to the order and government of church and commonwealth, whereby divers of our inhabitants have been infected, notwithstanding all former laws, made upon the experience of their arrogant and bold obtrusions, to disseminate their principles amongst us, prohibiting their coming into this jurisdiction, they have not been deferred from their impious attempts to undermine our peace, and hazard our ruin.

"For prevention thereof, this court doth order and enact, that any person or persons, of the cursed sect of the Quakers, who is not an inhabitant of, but is found within this jurisdiction, shall be apprehended without warrant, where no magistrate is at hand, by any constable, commissioner, or selectman, and conveyed from constable to constable, to the next magistrate, who shall commit the said person to close prison, there to remain (without bail) until the next court of Assistants, where they shall have legal trial.

"And being convicted to be of the sect of the Quakers, shall be sentenced to banishment, on pain of death. And that every inhabitant of this jurisdiction, being convicted to be of the aforesaid sect, either by taking up, publishing, or defending the horrid opinions of the Quakers, or the stirring up mutiny, sedition, or rebellion against the government, or by taking up their abusive and destructive practices, viz. denying civil respect to equals and superiors, and withdrawing from the Church assemblies; and instead thereof, frequenting meetings of their own, in opposition to our Church order; adhering to, or approving of any known Quaker, and the tenets and practices of Quakers, that are opposite to the orthodox received opinions of the godly; and endeavoring to disaffect others to civil government and Church order, or condemning the practice and proceedings of this court against the Quakers, manifesting thereby their complying with those, whose design is to overthrow the order established in Church and state: every such person, upon conviction before the said court of Assistants, in manner aforesaid, shall be committed to close prison for one month, and then, unless they choose voluntarily to depart this jurisdiction, shall give bond for their good behavior and appear at the next court, continuing obstinate, and refusing to retract and reform the aforesaid opinions, they shall be sentenced to banishment, upon pain of death. And any one magistrate, upon information given him of any such person, shall cause him to be apprehended, and shall commit any such person to prison, according to his discretion, until he come to trial as aforesaid."

A Few Words from Leonard

2009-05-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

Some quotations from Leonard Ravenhill. I found them encouraging and applicable; I pray they do the same for you.
_________________________________________________

"A popular evangelist reaches your emotions. A true prophet reaches your conscience."

"A true shepherd leads the way. He does not merely point the way."

"You never have to advertise a fire. Everyone comes running when there's a fire. Likewise, if your church is on fire, you will not have to advertise it. The community will already know it."

"John the Baptist never performed any miracles. Yet, he was greater than any of the Old Testament prophets."

"I doubt that more than two percent of professing Christians in the United States are truly born again."

"Our God is a consuming fire. He consumes pride, lust, materialism, and other sin."

"There are only two kinds of persons: those dead in sin and those dead to sin."

"Children can tell you what Channel 7 says, but not what Matthew 7 says."

"Some women [some men, too!] will spend thirty minutes to an hour preparing for church externally (putting on special clothes and makeup, etc.). What would happen if we all spent the same amount of time preparing internally for church with prayer and meditation?"

"Maturity comes from obedience, not necessarily from age."

"What good does it do to speak in tongues on Sunday if you have been using your tongue during the week to curse and gossip?"

"Would we send our daughters off to have sex if it would benefit our country? Yet, we send our sons off to kill when we think it would benefit our country!"

"The only time you can really say that 'Christ is all I need,' is when Christ is all you have."

"The Bible is either absolute, or it's obsolete."

"Why do we expect to be better treated in this world than Jesus was?"

"Testimonies are wonderful. But, so often our lives don't fit our testimonies."

"My main ambition in life is to be on the Devil's most wanted list."

"You can't develop character by reading books. You develop it from conflict."

"When there's something in the Bible that churches don't like, they call it: legalism.'"

"We can't serve God by proxy."

"We must do what we can do for God, before He will give us the power to do what we can't do."

"There's a difference between changing your opinion, and changing your lifestyle."

"Our seminaries today are turning out dead men."

"How can you pull down strongholds of Satan if you don't even have the strength to turn off your TV?"

"If a Christian is not having tribulation in the world, there's something wrong!"

"Any method of evangelism will work, if God is in it."

"Church unity comes from corporate humility."

"Many pastors criticize me for taking the Gospel so seriously. But do they really think that on Judgment Day, Christ will chastise me, saying, 'Leonard, you took Me too seriously?'"

"If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified."

"You can know a lot about the atonement, and yet receive no benefit from it."
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And one final quote, a warning to which we would do well to take heed:

"If the whole church goes off into deception, that will in no way excuse us for not following Christ."

On Interpreting Scripture

2009-05-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I feel dumb asking other people what they think about this or that spiritual topic. Not all the time, but when I don’t know the “answer” – for some reason, it strikes me as presumptuous (maybe that’s not the right word, but it seems not quite right, anyway) to ask others, when it is the Spirit of God that leads us into all truth – shouldn’t I simply ask the Author what He meant, if I don’t understand?

If Jesus said that the Spirit, when He was come, would guide us into all truth, I must lay hold on that promise and bring it before God as the basis for my prayer – God has promised that He would send the Spirit, and that the Spirit would guide me into all truth – if I am to live and walk in the Spirit, then I must take God at His word, and actually live that way. So if I am to rightly interpret a section of Scripture, I must be in the Spirit (for who knoweth the mind of man, save the spirit of man; who knoweth the mind of God, save the Spirit of God?).

Now, the wisdom (that is, the correct and skilful application of knowledge) that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated. Easy to be intreated. That means that any enduement of heavenly wisdom will only make me more approachable and willing to listen to others’ thoughts and arguments. Hmm…like love, pure, not rejoicing in iniquity, but rejoicing in truth; heavenly wisdom is first pure, seeking the pure, the right, the truth, so as not to fall into error or sin.

The Problem with Committees (Or, "When the Kingdom Gets in the Way")

2009-04-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

The other day, I saw a large committee (more than twelve people were present, with more who were supposed to be there) actually function well, and seem to effectively get necessary tasks accomplished or designated. I didn't think about it at the time, but now that I ponder it, I wonder why committees sometimes work, but other times don't.

They often fail to work successfully (or work only at a mediocre level) in churches...and generally it is the same with cities that have a city council. The committee ends up not doing very much at all, just sort of muddling along, not breaking anything, but also not really accomplishing anything noteworthy. Or the council members will work or fight against each other and, while still muddling along and not technically breaking anything, end up destroying their citizenry's confidence in their effectiveness and the integrity of the members and the system (and once the taxpayers are convinced that the system and the governors are not looking out for their best interests, they start taking some sort of action, be it protesting, getting involved directly in the system, or simply moving away).

Churches often end up the same way -- the board of elders, or the several pastors, or whoever makes up the committee will generally muddle along, getting enough done to keep the normal day-to-day church operations going (paying rent, salaries, and scheduling cleaning, or whatever), but not really doing much more than that, having difficulty getting involved in a new area of activity or changing routines. Or the elders/pastors will end up in conflict and will spend so much of their energy in adversarial activities amongst themselves, that they have trouble functioning effectively, and the church members end up losing confidence in the leaders' effectiveness, integrity, and often begin to doubt that the system works at all.

So… what makes the difference between a functional committee and a dysfunctional committee? I think there are several elements:

Necessaries:

First, a group will function well if there is a common goal to work towards. This cannot be a nebulous or inconcrete goal, however; it must be a goal that everyone can see and know exactly what they are working towards -- in short, it must be measureable -- it does not need to be measureable exactly in numbers (though that is certainly one way of measuring something), but it must, at all events, be crystal clear in the minds of all members. [Examples of goals that don't have numbers but are yet measurable: winning WWII, stopping Godzilla from destroying Tokyo, hitchhiking to California, etc.]

Second, a group must not only have a common goal, but all the members of the group must agree that that goal is the one to work towards. In a work situation, this acceptance is generally implied when you take the job -- you must work toward the goals of the company. In a church setting, this goal must be made clear, and must clearly be accepted by the members of the group.

Hindrances:

First is the kingdom mentality. I think one of the things that often gets in the way of effective committee functioning is when the committee is given rule over a kingdom. This happens in city government -- the mandate of the city council is to bear rule over the citizenry, and maximize their welfare; same story in church government -- somehow, the church body becomes to the leaders a type of citizenry ("our flock," "our congregation," etc) for which the elders/leaders perceive that they have some mandate to rule over and maximize "welfare...

The problem that I see with this is that truly effective kingdoms must clearly have in mind a common goal (as mentioned above), but in general, the basic premise of a kingdom is to extend your rule over as many people, and as much territory as is feasible -- this means WAR -- but war is pretty much the one thing that these kingdoms either cannot, or will not do. For municipalities, it is forbidden, and for churches, it is sorely ill-defined, and few "soldiers" can see the battle to fight it, let alone prepare for it.

Thus, when your organization is in some sense a kingdom, and there is no war or conquest, the kingdom mentality fails to function very well at all.

Second, any obscurity of the goal will tend to result in a proportional reduction in the effectiveness of the group to make decisions. Clarity of purpose, direction, and objective are absolutely essential.

Third, forgetfulness. People often tend to get involved in their specific tasks, and forget the end goal that their task is designed to help accomplish. When the leadership gets involved and focused on this project, that project, and what-project-should-we-do-next, sight of the goal is lost, and the effectiveness of their directions is greatly reduced. The goal must be kept in mind at all times, and the criteria for all projects must be its effective contribution to the accomplishment of the goal. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Fourth, stasis. Growth or movement helps to focus a goal [it is easier to spot someone who is running, than someone who is walking, and easier to spot someone who is walking than someone who is standing still]. The point at which an organization "reaches the top," is the point at which it is most likely to fall apart. This is because a goal once reached is a goal now nonexistent. When the leadership is in a position of "what shall we do now?" all unifying and motivating effects of the common goal are removed, and unless a new goal is instituted [this is, in my opinion, where a good leader will recognize that a new goal is needed, and set it up for the organization], the leadership will fall to bickering about selfish points that accomplish nothing for the organization.

I had a fifth point....but I thought of it as I was in the middle of writing the fourth, and I forgot it. I even considered stopping to write it down, but decided not to, continued writing number four, and promptly forgot my fifth point. Frustrating. (And my own fault, too!)

The 5 Minute Prayertime (Or, "Uh, It's 8:55 -- Anyone Have Any Prayer Requests?")

2009-04-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

We were doing Bible study the other day, and we stopped reading about 10 minutes before it was time to leave, so that we could pray (we were reading Luke 18, which is kind of ironic). We spent about five minutes sharing what we thought we needed to pray about, and then spent about 5 minutes in prayer.

Is prayer really something to be done at the end of Bible study – for 5 minutes – like a little activity to close off the study? Is prayer really about making a laundry list of needs and praises and then reciting them to God?

“Ok, so we need to pray for your brother, for his friend, for my mom’s health, for our church, for Bill who is in the Navy, Jane passed her graduation exam – praise God, pray for us to live out what we just studied, and to help us drive home safely…. Joe, would you like to open us in prayer?

‘God, we just ask that you would show your presence and give strength to my brother as he goes through this hard time…’”

Really? When half the prayers we say are basically standard lines that we could say about (insert name here) and ask that God would help/encourage/show Himself/work in their heart/strengthen (circle one)…

Is this how prayer meetings are supposed to work? Or have we lost something along the way? What happened to praying without ceasing? Jesus (in Luke 18) tells us that we should pray always and not faint. The disciples spent pretty long amounts of time “continuing in prayer and supplication.” I have a really hard time imagining the apostles sitting around a room asking people for prayer requests and then designating an “opener in prayer” and then going around the room, praying about the things that people had brought up.

Is this how we talk to God? A five minute “we’ll talk now” session after we read our favorite part out of the book He loaned us? And we don’t even ask Him what He thinks about it…just “Hey, you know, it’d be really nice if you ran an errand for me; my neighbour needs your help.” If we’re feeling particularly righteous, we might even pray for 15 or even 30 minutes. Such devotion!

Petitions certainly have their place in prayer – but if whenever we get together to pray, it’s only to ask for this thing, that thing, and the other thing, then I think we’re missing something fundamental.

How then is prayer (in a group setting) supposed to work? What is it that prayer accomplishes? What is it that causes prayer to be truly effectual?

Seers

2009-04-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

Visionary for hire
Your eyes seem lit with fire
You speak of things much higher
Your job is a quagmire
Wisdom wants you to try her
Too often you find yourself the liar
Visionary for hire.

Nobody knows
Nobody cares (Or do they)
But see your judgment goes
Is it really so fair? (but hey)

When you get paid,
Man, you got it made
People say you set them free
Do they realize? (do they see)
This visionary works for a fee.

Visionary for hire
Where do you get your fire
You talk of things much higher
You’re stuck in a deep mire
To blind to wisely apply her
You’re trapped in a circle of liars
Visionary for hire.

Nobody goes
Nobody dares (or do they)
But your sense of right flows
By the man who pays the fare (but hey)

When you get paid
Man, you got it made
People say you set them free
Do they realize (do you see)
This visionary works for a fee...

Offences and Servants

2009-04-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

Luke 17:1 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!
Luke 17:2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
Luke 17:3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
Luke 17:4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
Luke 17:5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
Luke 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
Luke 17:7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
Luke 17:8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
Luke 17:9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not.
Luke 17:10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
__________________________________

17:1-4... It seems that this section is not concerned about us sinning, it's more about when someone else sins against us, which, because we live in a world of fallen people, is likely. Thus, Jesus is telling us how we are to love others...the same way that God loves us - who forgives us when we come to Him and repent.

Since a key word here seems to be "offences"....we should define it, should we not? It seems that in this section "to offend" is the same as "to try to cause to sin"...Strong's concordance says that it means "to trip up, or entice to sin."

17:1 -- Offences will come...that is, there will always be someone who will try to deceive the weaker brethren. And woe unto him that offends...it is wrong to lead people into sin, and thus God will punish people who do it.

17:2 -- It would be better for one to die a horrible death, than to lead a little one astray.

17:3-4 -- John Wesley writes "If he sin against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day return, saying, I repent - That is, if he give sufficient proof that he does really repent, after having sinned ever so often, receive him just as if he had never sinned against thee."....so these two verses aren't concerned with us sinning, but with us forgiving those who sin against us

17:5 -- The apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith, so we know that that is what Jesus is talking about in verses 6 through 10...He is responding to the disciples' petition.

17:6 -- "If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed..." that is, if you have even a little faith, you have it all, for you can do anything (anything that glorifies God) if you have even a tiniest bit of honest faith.

17:7-8 -- A servant is bound to serve his master, and the master need not thank the servant, for the servant's pay is equal to the service he renders - the servant serves, and does merely his duty - what glory is there in doing nothing more than you are told?

17:9 -- Therefore, does the master need to thank the servant? Nope.

17:10 -- So, Jesus says, we are like the servant (God is our master)...if we do what God has said (that is, keep the law), what glory can we claim for ourselves? We have none - all we have done is what we were supposed to - we haven't done anything extra that God should be indebted to us. So in this way, we say "we are but unprofitable servants...we have no merit to our credit, we have only done our duty."

Note that Jesus never says that cannot do our duty, instead, He says the opposite - not only are we bound to do our duty, we can do it, and then say "yes, we have done our duty". So why are we "unprofitable" servants? Because we have robbed our master - while we were in sin, all our time and talents that should have been used in our master's service, we have used in the service of His enemy - this is nothing less than robbery! So even though we render obedience now, we have no way of repaying our debt (this is why we need a saviour). Thus, salvation comes, not by the works of the law (doing our duty), but by faith in Jesus Christ, for he has made it possible for God to forgive us (Galatians 2:16).

Does this passage teach that we will continue in sin? God forbid! Rather, it tells us that we can (and strongly implies that we will) keep His commandments...but we are not justified by our own works, but by faith in Christ, remember, it was faith that the apostles were wondering about - so Jesus lays out how even if we keep the law (which we can), we still can only be saved by faith.

Secrets

2009-04-05T12:47:00.000-07:00

“Everything secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity.”
--Lord Acton

When public discussion of a subject is forbidden, it should raise an immediate suspicion in the minds of those who know of the situation.

There is a very good reason that we have a constitutional right to a public trial. When decisions are made in secret, apart from the view of the people who constitute and support the decisions, there arise several problems. First, if the decision is secret, then there can be no appeal to a higher authority, should a party be wronged. Second, if the decision is secret, one of the major motivations for honesty on the parts of all involved is removed: no-one other than the parties present knows what was said, and most importantly, there is no way of factually verifying whether something was or was not said (should it come under dispute). Third, if the decision is secret, there is a direct implication that certain parties do not think that the decision (or the process through which it was reached) or the reasoning behind it will stand the test of public discussion.

“For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
(John 3:20-21)

“For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.”
(Luke 12:2-3)

“No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.”
(Luke 8:16)

“Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? And who knoweth us?”
(Isaiah 29:15)

If we are truly honest, then we will have no fear of our words or deeds coming to be known by all. It is only if we have some dark deed or dishonest word to hide, that we will be apprehensive about being recorded or publicized.

I Can Only Imagine

2009-03-29T22:59:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I turned on the radio, and paused to hear what the Christian station was playing before I pushed my cassette into the player. I had turned it on just in time to hear the announcer say that next up would be MercyMe with “I Can Only Imagine.” Now, I didn’t like the song, mainly because it is generally overplayed and seems pretty much geared to just stirring up a “worshipful” experience in the listener’s emotions; but I decided that I should listen to it and give it a fair chance – maybe it’s not as bad as I thought. So I held off on Rez Band and let MercyMe play. The more of “I Can Only Imagine” that I heard, the more I could say that the tune was catchy, and I could even say that the music was tasteful (though not my preference), but the more I heard, the more I was disgusted. The song makes me sick! The lyrics simply do not accord with what the scripture says.

The hook line “I can only imagine” sets the tone for the whole song, puts it immediately in the realm of non-experience. If you can imagine something, perhaps it is something you’ve experienced before and can relate to; however, if you can only imagine something, then it is clear that you have never experienced it, otherwise you would say that you know what it is like, not that you can only imagine it. At best, you can hope to experience it in the future, which is (I think) most likely the point of the song – but even that consideration does not stand in the song’s defense.

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side

The first thing that he “can only imagine” is what it will be like to walk by the Lord’s side. If we can only imagine this, we do not know the Lord. Psalm 23 says “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me” – the Lord walks with us; It is written in Micah: “what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” – walking with the Lord is not some future hope, but something God requires of us right now. “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Yes, in heaven we will indeed walk by His side – but that walk will not start in heaven – that walk starts right here, right now (if you’re not already).

I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine
I can only imagine

Perhaps he can only imagine what it is like to see the Lord’s face – but scripture is pretty clear about what it means for me to face the Lord and what it means for the Lord to face me. Moses “talked with the Lord face to face” – as with a friend, the Bible says; we know what it’s like to talk with a friend face to face. “The LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.” (II Chron. 30:9) The face of the Lord is gracious and merciful; David was pretty well terrified when he could not see the Lord’s face (Ps. 13:1; 30:7; 88:14; 143:7) – should we not live our lives knowing that “the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers”? Of all the verses of the song, this is the most believable – do I know exactly what my eyes will see when I enter heaven’s gates? No. However, by the same token, I don’t know what my brother will look like when he visits tomorrow…but I do know what he is like, and I will hardly be surprised when I see him.

[Chorus:]
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine

What will his heart feel? What does his heart feel? Perhaps he doesn’t know that the Spirit of glory rests on believers (I Peter 4:14), and that we are in fact partakers of the glory that shall be revealed. Peter says about Jesus that “though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” We are to be full of God’s glory now, not merely later. Will we be surrounded by His glory in heaven? Absolutely. But are we bereft of His glory in our walk on earth? No! We are to “walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.” We are to live in His kingdom today and we are to live in His glory today, and if we are doing so, we will know what our hearts feel like when His glory is around us.

Will he dance or be still? Will he stand or fall to his knees? Will he sing hallelujah or be silent? I can only imagine? All of those things – dancing, being still, standing, kneeling, singing hallelujah, and silence – are all things that followers of Christ should be doing. This part of the song almost makes sense – until he decides to say that he “can only imagine” – why can he “only imagine” doing something that he ought to be doing right now?

I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son

What is this? He can only imagine the day that he finds himself standing in the Son? If this is indeed the case, he is no better off than an atheist or a pagan, because “we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” (I John 5:20) If he is not dwelling in the Son, he will not inherit eternal life. “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine
I can only imagine

If he can only imagine doing nothing but worshipping God, what is he doing? He’s not worshipping God, because he can only imagine doing so? Perhaps the “forever” should play in…but then that means that he only worships God sometimes – not all the time. That’s even worse! Christianity is not a part-time occupation. Worshipping God all the time with all our whole life is the very essence of what following Christ is about; and if he can only imagine doing so, I can only think that he is deceived to think himself Christian.

[Chorus]
I can only imagine [x2]
Etc. etc.

Why, Bart, why? I can understand that you wanted to write a song about heaven and how wonderful it will be….but is it too much to ask that you actually say what you mean? Is it too difficult to write lyrics that actually say what I think you’re trying to say? To write lyrics that are scriptural?

Thousands, if not millions, of churchgoers sing these same words regularly. Why? I don’t know. I don’t know. Maybe because it makes them feel good. Maybe they don’t think about what they’re actually saying. Maybe they don’t care. Maybe they don’t like it either, but just go along with the crowd. Maybe it’s really not a popular song at all, and it’s just one of satan’s conspiracies to undermine the church by playing it on the radio. Maybe not. What I do know is that I cannot sing “I Can Only Imagine”; I would have to be out of my mind to so belittle God’s work and His promises.

A Gospel Question...

2009-03-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

I was asked how to approach a homosexual with the gospel…

The first thing that you must remember is why you are talking to them in the first place. Are you approaching them because “they especially need the gospel”? Or are you telling them because you genuinely love them and want them to live their lives so that God is pleased with them? You must share the gospel because the love of God has been poured out in your heart through the Holy Spirit, and also (though not less important) the simple fact that we are commanded to bear witness of the gospel in all the earth.

If your motive for sharing the gospel is not pure, then you have other problems that are far more pressing than sharing the gospel with someone else (Matt. 7:3-5).

In general, you should not approach them any differently than any other sinner. My advice is to remember two things: first, to “let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” (Col. 4:6) Second, “in meekness [instruct] those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.” (II Tim. 2:25) Meekness and graciousness are paramount, you must not treat them as less than human, or as more sinful than anyone else (Jas. 2:10-11) – they are just as human as everyone else, and certainly have not broken God’s law any worse than anyone else has.

Having said that -- you just take the same kind of approach that you would for anyone else: telling them of their rebellion toward God, of God's requirements, of the punishment that they deserve (that we all deserve), and of the salvation from sin that Christ has provided. Tell him that it is open to him specifically, and that Christ does not save us merely from the punishment of sin, but also from the power of sin in our lives so we can live rightly before Him. Then tell him what God requires of us for salvation -- that it is by faith that we receive it -- we don't go change ourselves and then come....we first turn to God, and He changes us, "for he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life," and “repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

(Thanks to Daniel for prompting me to think about the topic.)

Looking the Part

2009-03-19T11:21:00.001-07:00

"I once saw a man at a golf course step out of his cart and approach the first tee. He looked immaculate -- expensive set of clubs, sharp looking clothes, confidence all over his face. He looked every inch the pro...until he tried to play golf. He was simply not very good. He might have looked the part, but he should have just hung around the clubhouse where he was a convincing golfer instead of demonstrating his true abilities by actually attempting to play."
--Benny Perez

"We are a generation of cheap Christians going to heaven as inexpensively as possible; religious hobos and spiritual deadbeats living on milk instead of meat, crusts of bread instead of manna, as though we were on a cut-rate excursion."
--Vance Havner
_______________________

Are we dressed for the part of living for Christ -- but unable to actually live it out, as the golfer was? Do we have the form of godliness without the power of God? Are we truly living victoriously, using and showing the power of Christ....or would it be better if we just hung around in our "clubhouse", where we can look convincingly spiritual? If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit -- for if we live after the flesh, we shall die: but if we through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, we shall live; for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

If He has given us strength that is according to His glory (which He has), and if Christ dwells in our hearts by faith (which He does)-- we must live our lives out according to His glory, and according to the love in which we are rooted and grounded. If we do not...we are in serious trouble!

Love

2009-03-02T21:21:00.000-08:00

A couple songs keep running through my head...I think I ought to share them:

Love Hurts
Love hurts, love scars
Love wounds and mars
In any heart not tough
Nor strong enough
To take a lot of pain
To take a lot of pain
And love is like a cloud
Holds a lot of rain
Love hurts

I'm young and I know
But even so, I know a thing or two
I have learned from you
I've really learned a lot
I've really learned a lot
And love is like a stove
Burns you when it's hot
Love hurts

Some fools rave of happiness
Of blissfulness, togetherness
Some fools fool themselves, I guess
But they're not fooling me
I know it isn't true
I know it isn't true
Love is just a lie
Made to make you blue
Love hurts

He Gave Me Love
When I was down, they wouldn't stay
When I was hurt, they turned away
But Jesus called me and I must obey
He gave me love

You see, His friends all let Him down
And when He healed everyone around
All He got was a thorny crown
Because of love

Because of love for you
Because of life and truth
Because of love for you
Come take his love

Sometimes they laugh and are unkind
And others smile and say I've lost my mind
But all I know is what I find
And I find He gave me love

He gives me love for you
He gives me life and truth

The first song is written from the perspective of someone who knows "love", but does not truly know Love Himself (nor understands that there is anything more than "love"). The second song is written by one who knows not just what love is like, but Jesus Christ, who IS love.

Oh, that we would not just know about Love, but that we would abide in Love -- dead to ourselves, and living in, through, and of HIM -- for love is the fulfillment of the law. Oh, I wanna show them You're so real...fill my heart with Your love. We're Your hands and your feet, Lord -- help me win them with Your love.

Health...Harmony...Happiness...No...Holiness. Holiness of Heart.

2009-02-23T20:35:00.000-08:00

"We are to live in holiness, a strict inward conformity to the mind of Christ -- and righteousness, a full outward conformity to the precepts of the Gospel.
This is to be done before God, under the continual influence and support of His grace, and with a constant evidence of His presence and approbation."

"True happiness is found in hearing the glad tidings of salvation by Christ Jesus, and keeping them in a holy heart, and practicing them in an unblameable life."

--Adam Clarke

"A Christian is one who continually obeys the commandments of Christ. Wholehearted obedience is to be regarded as the proper sign of genuine, personal faith: 'Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.' [Matt. 7:19-21]. The Christian comes out and separates himself from whatever is impure and unholy in the conduct and habits of the world. The Christian brings forth the fruit of righteousness to the praise and the glory of Christ -- virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity. All these are to be in him and abound. He sets his affections of things above, not on things on the earth. He makes public confession of his love and attachment to Christ, and dedicates his all -- spirit, soul, body, talents, and opportunity -- to the diffusion of the cause and glory of the Redeemer in the world."

--R. W. Wooten
________________________

These are just some thoughts that continue to help me keep my focus on Jesus Christ, my Lord, my Saviour, and my only Hope and Rock of salvation.

Faith...

2009-02-21T15:39:00.000-08:00

"Socially irrelevant, even if privately engaging."

God, no! If my faith can be described this way, what is it worth? If this is true, faith is nothing more than a personal thing, with as much real importance as my collection of Hot Wheels. If Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, and He has commanded us to go into ALL THE WORLD and tell everyone so, I have absolutely NO business whatsoever living by a faith that is merely privately engaging.

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works?"

Conversation Pieces [Nutshell]

2009-01-31T14:52:00.000-08:00

Conversation pieces patching smoky screens
Across the silent spaces hanging in between
Crossed lines on the telephone, you overheard
Pretending not to listen
But hearing every word
Lives laid on the tabletop for all to see
The superficial counterpane of make believe
Bottles standing empty now reflect the face
Of lives filled up with broken dreams
And empty space.

Moonshine on the water, as the ship comes in
The light upon our faces, revealing everything
Where has all the love gone Lord
Is it too late now to start
Or can your love reach tired spirits
And broken hearts.

Father you can see your children turn away
And leave you waiting open armed
Day after day
I wish that I knew better
How to show them where you are
To talk of love is easy
But to love is very hard
To sing of love is easy
But to love is very hard.

Moonshine on the water, as the ship comes in
The light upon our faces, revealing everything
We've forgotten how to love Lord
But it's not too late to start
For your love saves tired spirits
And broken hearts
Your love saves tired spirits
And broken hearts.
__________________

Love, truth, forthrightness...

Could You?.......Did You?........What Then?

2009-01-25T12:22:00.000-08:00

If you could live your whole life to the fullest and honestly love everyone (not just LOOK like you love everyone), yes, God would have to let you into heaven...the only problem is that you've already blown your chances at a pure, holy life, because somewhere along the line, you have broken God's law:

Have you ever told a lie (or a "half-truth")? Have you ever stolen something? (I have...and I was raised by God-fearing Christian parents). Have you ever used God's name as a curse word? Have you ever hated your brother? (Jesus said that to hate someone is just the same as murdering them). Have you ever looked at a girl (or a guy) and lusted after her (or him)?...that's adultery (or fornication) Have you ever envied your neighbor's (or brother's/sister's/friend's/etc.) stuff?

If you (like me) have broken even one of these laws, you are a lawbreaker...and God doesn't let criminals into heaven - you can't make it if you've messed up just once...and if you don't make it into heaven, there is only one place left for you.

BUT...there is a way. Because God loves us humans so much, He wanted there to be a way for us to be saved ('cause by our own works, there is no way we would make it). So He sent His Son, Jesus (who didn't sin), to become human, just like the rest of us, to live a perfect life, and then to be sacrificed, so that God could forgive us.

Now, in order to make up for a sin that I've done, I would have to do over and above what God's law requires of me. But since it was hard enough to even live up to the law, it would be absurd to think that I could surpass it and do more good than the law requires...so how can my sins be forgiven, if I can't make up for them?

Jesus had not sinned even a single time...he did not have to die...but He chose to die -- this was the one thing that He could do that was over and above His duty...Jesus had to keep the law just like everyone else - He couldn't obey for us (He had to obey for himself), but since He had never broken the law, he didn't need to be punished. Jesus suffered in order to "make up" for my (and your) sins; public justice was satisfied - this means that all could see that God upholds the punishment of the law, and at the same time, was willing to forgive people who have sinned.

If you have sinned -- you have two options; you can suffer the consequences (not a pretty thought), or, thanks to God's grace (Jesus' sacrifice), you can be forgiven.

How does a sinner receive this forgiveness? It is not by trying our best to do better (we tried that already), and it is not by any merit of our own (we deserve to be punished). It is through faith in Jesus Christ...this means two things: that you believe that He died for your sins (and that He will forgive you), and you repent (this means that you stop serving yourself, and give yourself wholly to God). These two things, repent and believe, are all God requires...these are easy, and yet at the same time hard. There is no work involved (all we can do is accept the gift of forgiveness), but at the same time, we are giving our entire lives to God - we are not our own anymore.

If you have accepted God’s gift, God has said that he will give you the power to actually keep His law, so that, as a believer, you don’t ever have to sin again – “live in holiness and righteousness all the days of your life” is how the Bible puts it – and God will admit you to heaven.

How to Overcome Sin [Part 2 of 2]

2009-01-17T08:57:00.000-08:00

[By Charles G. Finney, originally published in the Independent of New York in 1874]

All such efforts to overcome sin are utterly futile, and as unscriptural as they are futile. The Bible expressly teaches us that sin is overcome by faith in Christ. "He is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption." "He is the way, the truth, and the life." Christians are said to "purify their hearts by faith" --(Acts xv, 9). And in Acts xxvi, 18 it is affirmed that the saints are sanctified by faith in Christ. In Romans ix, 31,32 it is affirmed that the Jews attained not to righteousness "because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law." The doctrine of the Bible is that Christ saves His people from sin through faith; that Christ's Spirit is received by faith to dwell in the heart. It is faith that works by love. Love is wrought and sustained by faith. By faith Christians "overcome the world, the flesh, and the Devil." It is by faith that they "quench the fiery darts of the wicked." It is by faith that they "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and put off the old man, with his deeds." It is by faith that we fight "the good fight," and not by resolution. It is by faith that we "stand," by resolution we fall. This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. It is by faith that the flesh is kept under and carnal desires subdued. The fact is that it is simply by faith that we receive the Spirit of Christ to work in us, to will and to do, according to his good pleasure. He sheds abroad his own love in our hearts, and thereby enkindles ours. Every victory over sin is by faith in Christ; and whenever the mind is diverted from Christ, by resolving and fighting against sin, whether we are aware of it or not, we are acting in our own strength, rejecting the help of Christ, and are under a specious delusion. Nothing but the life and energy of the Spirit of Christ within us can save us from sin, and trust is the uniform and universal condition of the working of this saving energy within us. How long shall this fact be at least practically overlooked by the teachers of religion? How deeply rooted in the heart of man is self-righteousness and self-dependence? So deeply that one of the hardest lessons for the human heart to learn is to renounce self-dependence and trust wholly in Christ. When we open the door by implicit trust he enters in and takes up his abode with us and in us. By shedding abroad his love he quickens our whole souls into sympathy with himself, and in this way, and in this way alone, he purifies our hearts through faith. He sustains our will in the attitude of devotion. He quickens and regulates our affections, desires, appetites and passions, and becomes our sanctification. Very much of the teaching that we hear in prayer and conference meetings, from the pulpit and the press, is so misleading as to render the hearing or reading of such instruction almost too painful to be endured. Such instruction is calculated to beget delusion, discouragement, and a practical rejection of Christ as he is presented in the Gospel.

Alas! for the blindness that "leads to bewilder" the soul that is longing after deliverance from the power of sin. I have sometimes listened to legal teaching upon this subject until I felt as if I should scream. It is astonishing sometimes to hear Christian men object to the teaching which I have here inculcated that it leaves us in a passive state, to be saved without our own activity. What darkness is involved in this objection! The Bible teaches that by trusting in Christ we receive an inward influence that stimulates and directs our activity; that by faith we receive his purifying influence into the very center of our being; that through and by his truth revealed directly to the soul he quickens our whole inward being into the attitude of a loving obedience; and this is the way and the only practicable way to overcome sin. But someone may say: "Does not the Apostle exhort as follows: 'Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do, of his good pleasure[']"? "And is not this an exhortation to do what in this article you condemn?" By no means. In the 12th verse of the 2d chapter of Philippians Paul says: "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure." There is no exhortation to work by force of resolution, but through and by the inworking of God. Paul had taught them, while he was present with them; but now, in his absence, he exhorts them to work out their own salvation, not by resolution, but by the inward operation of God. This is precisely the doctrine of this article. Paul had too often taught the Church that Christ in the heart is our sanctification, and that this influence is to be received by faith, to be guilty, in this passage of teaching that our sanctification is to be wrought out by resolution and efforts to suppress sinful and form holy habits. This passage of Scripture happily recognizes both the Divine and human agency in the work of sanctification. God works in us, to will and to do; and we, accepting by faith his inworking, will and do according to his good pleasure. Faith itself is an active and not a passive state. A passive holiness is impossible and absurd. Let no one say that when we exhort people to trust wholly in Christ we teach that anyone should be or can be passive in receiving and co-operating with the Divine influence within. This influence is moral, and not physical. It is persuasion, and not force. It influences the free will, and consequently does this by truth, and not by force. Oh! that it could be understood that the whole of spiritual life that is in any man is received direct from the Spirit of Christ by faith, as the branch receives its life from the vine. Away with this religion of resolutions! It is a snare of death. Away with this effort to make the life holy while the heart has not in it the love of God. Oh! that men would learn to look directly at Christ through the Gospel, and so close in with him by an act of loving trust as to involve a universal sympathy with his state of mind. This and this alone is sanctification.

How to Overcome Sin [Part 1 of 2]

2009-01-16T08:20:00.000-08:00

[By Charles G. Finney, originally published in the Independent of New York in 1874]

In every period of my ministerial life I have found many professed Christians in a miserable state of bondage either to the world, the flesh, or the Devil. But surely this is no Christian state, for the apostle has distinctly said: "Sin shall not have dominion over you, because ye are not under the law, but under grace." In all my Christian life I have been pained to find so many Christians living in the legal bondage described in the 7th chapter of Romans--a life of sinning, and resolving to reform and falling again. And what is particularly saddening, and even agonizing, is that many ministers and leading Christians give perfectly false instruction upon the subject of how to overcome sin. The directions that are generally given on this subject, I am sorry to say, amount to about this: "Take your sins in detail, resolve to abstain from them, and fight against them, if need be, with prayer and fasting, until you have overcome them. Set your will firmly against a relapse into sin, pray and struggle, and resolve that you will not fall, and persist in this, until you form the habit of obedience and break up all your sinful habits." To be sure, it is generally added: "In this conflict you must not depend upon your own strength, but pray for the help of God." In a word, much of the teaching, both of the pulpit and the press, really amounts to this: Sanctification is by works, and not by faith. I notice that Dr. Chalmers, in his lectures on Romans, expressly maintains that justification is by faith, but sanctification is by works. Some twenty-five years ago, I think, a prominent professor of theology in New England maintained in substance the same doctrine. In my early Christian life I was very nearly misled by one of President Edwards's resolutions; which was, in substance, that when he had fallen into any sin he would trace it back to its source, and then fight and pray against it with all his might until he subdued it. This, it will be perceived, is directing the attention to the overt act of sin, its source or occasions. Resolving and fighting against it fastens the attention on the sin and its source, and diverts it entirely from Christ.

Now it is important to say right here that all such efforts are worse than useless, and not infrequently result in delusion. First, it is losing sight of what really constitutes sin, and, secondly, of the only practicable way to avoid it. In this way the outward act or habit may be overcome and avoided, while that which really constitutes the sin is left untouched. Sin is not external, but internal. It is not a muscular act, it is not the volition that causes muscular action, it is not an involuntary feeling or desire; it must be a voluntary act or state of mind. Sin is nothing else than that voluntary, ultimate preference or state of committal to self-pleasing out of which the volitions, the outward actions, purposes, intentions, and all the things that are commonly called sin proceed. Now, what is resolved against in this religion of resolutions and efforts to suppress sinful and form holy habits? "Love is the fulfilling of the law." But do we produce love by resolution? Do we eradicate selfishness by resolution? No, indeed. We may suppress this or that expression or manifestation of selfishness by resolving not to do this or that, and praying and struggling against it. We may resolve upon an outward obedience, and work ourselves up to the letter of an obedience to God's commandments. But to eradicate selfishness from the breast by resolution is an absurdity. So the effort to obey the commandments of God in spirit--in other words, to attempt to love as the law of God requires by force of resolution--is an absurdity. There are many who maintain that sin consists in the desires. Be it so. Do we control our desires by force of resolution? We may abstain from the gratification of a particular desire by the force of resolution. We may go further, and abstain from the gratification of desire generally in the outward life. But this is not to secure the love of God, which constitutes obedience. Should we become anchorites, immure ourselves in a cell, and crucify all our desires and appetites, so far as their indulgence is concerned; we have only avoided certain forms of sin; but the root that really constitutes sin is not touched. Our resolution has not secured love, which is the only real obedience to God. All our battling with sin in the outward life, by the force of resolution, only ends in making us whited sepulchers. All our battling with desire by the force of resolution is of no avail; for in all this, however successful the effort to suppress sin may be, in the outward life or in the inward desire it will only end in delusion, for by force of resolution we cannot love.

Holiness in the Church

2009-01-10T19:03:00.000-08:00

My goal and God’s command is holiness in the church.

II Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Luke 1:74-75 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
I Peter 1:15-16 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
I Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
I Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

This holiness means:

First, it means doing what God has given us to do. Not some of what God has commanded, not most of what He has said, but all His commands – we are not to leave out any of them. If we are neglecting any of God’s positive commands, we need to correct this sinfulness immediately.

Second, it means not doing what God has told us not to do. God has called us to refrain from murder, and it is of paramount importance that we do not murder. God has told us not to covet – we are not to covet, at all costs.

Thus, at the very least, holiness in the church means that the actions taken by the church and its members positively fulfill the commissions of the Lord, and in no way violate them, and taking great care to abstain from all of our Lord’s prohibitions.

Thirdly, holiness in the church affects the church’s actions in the “gray areas” – when there is no scriptural command for or against a given activity – here, several scriptural principles must guide the church in her decisions:

(1) Does it have any appearance of evil
(2) Does it edify the brethren
a. In knowledge of God and the truth
b. In Grace – the gift given to us whereby we are made new creatures, created for good works in Christ
(3) Are any of the brethren encouraged (whether overtly, or in effect) to engage in an activity that would go against their conscience, or lead them into a situation that their conscience would become compromised?
(4) The church should ask – in doing the activity, whose interests are being served: the “self” of the church, or God’s interests?

All these guidelines simply serve as a more thorough explanation that in all things, the two greatest commandments are the hanging point of all God’s law. We as a church must first of all love God with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength; any action, decision, or choice that in any way weakens, reduces, or interferes with our love toward God ought never to be allowed. Second, we as a church must never forget that we are to love our neighbour as ourselves; this commandment has two implications: (1) that we do love ourselves, and (2) that we extend this love to all those we interact with. (John 13:35, Gal. 6:10) This is the way that we, the church, are to be "blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation," this is how we are to "shine as lights in the world." (Philippians 2:15)

Have We Heard?

2008-12-27T22:22:00.000-08:00

Look at all the lonely people
So the Beatles say
And where are we today?
Have we seen the lonely people?
Have we listened to the cries?
Do we point them to the steeple,
To the one it signifies?

So many prophets have prophesied
So many watchmen on towers cried
Have we heeded their desperate cries?

Do we find ourselves asleep in the light
Have we simply given up the fight
Can we rouse ourselves to do what’s right
Or just resign our souls in this sinful plight?

Look at all the lonely people
So the Beatles say
And where are we today?
Have we seen the lonely people?
Have we listened to the cries?
Do we show them to the steeple,
To the one it signifies?

Looking through rose-coloured stained glass windows
Have we seen the slowly dying souls
Can our laziness allow all those
To lie out there and die in their throes

Look at all the lonely people
So the Beatles say
And where are we today?
Have we seen the lonely people?
Have we listened to the cries?
Do we show them to the steeple,
To the one it signifies?

Tell me why are we so isolated
If to those in Christ we’re related
Why is our Christian love debated?
Our witness has become so jaded

Look at all the lonely people
So the Beatles say
And where are we today?
Have we seen the lonely people?
Have we listened to the cries?
Do we show them to the steeple,
To the one it signifies?

Jesus said to love one another
Poor unsaved, enemy or brother
Can we really love God our Father
If we can’t even love each other?

So many prophets have prophesied
So many watchmen on towers cried
Have we heeded their desperate cries?
________________________

Thanks to Keith Green, Petra, & Servant as prophets that have gone before, as messengers of God to wake a sleeping church.

T.U.L.I.P.

2008-12-17T18:54:00.000-08:00

I was recently asked to consider the five points of calvinism. I find them to be in error compared to the scriptures, and therefore do not accept them. The five points are most often remembered with an acronym, TULIP:

Total depravity
Unconditional election
Limited atonement
Irresistible grace
Perseverance of the saints
______________________

T - total depravity
Of the five points here, I think this is the most plausible one -- I don't think it's correct, but of the five, I think it's likely closest.

I find it incorrect because it doesn't work logically with what I find in scripture: (1) if it is true, then it means that God creates sin, because He is the creator of all men; (2) if it is true, then we cannot, even after we are saved, serve Him in "holiness and righteousness all the days of our life", as He promised to our father Abraham; (3) if it is true, and we still sin in thought, word, and deed daily...what has God done for us? we're still miserable wretched sinners who continue to disobey Him – “the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” – now, if we continue to do the works of the devil, has Jesus accomplished His purpose? And (4) if it is true, then Jesus had a sinful nature, since "verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." -- if we have a sinful nature, Jesus must have had one -- since we know that Jesus had no sinful nature, why must we suppose that we have one?

I would also note that I do not believe that man is inherently righteous. Sin and righteousness consist in our choice to obey or disobey God, not in an inherited trait of our human nature.
___________________

U - unconditional election
This is the doctrine that God has already (from eternity past) decreed who will be saved and who will be damned.

This means that some people have no opportunity for salvation -- they are damned, period. This does not accord with scripture, for "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." The way of salvation is open to ALL (not only some): "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The Gospel is given to all -- to "whosoever will" -- and is not restricted to any select group.
_________________

L - limited atonement
This is the doctrine that Jesus blood was sufficient only to save the elect.

It is wrong because it contradicts scripture. "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." Jesus did not provide propitiation only for the elect, but for the whole world. If the atonement is only sufficient for the elect, then God is insincere in offering salvation to all, since He made no provision for all to be saved.
_________________

I - irresistible grace
This is the doctrine that if God has elected you to be saved, you cannot resist His saving grace, and will (regardless of whether you want to or not) be saved.

It is incorrect because it means that we have no choice in the matter of salvation, when salvation is the one matter that it is of utmost importance to have a choice; it is this matter in which God himself demands a choice on our part: "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" and "As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?"

If God's grace is irresistible, God's admonishments to "Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings" could never be disregarded -- and yet, we find that they are.
_______________________

P - perseverance of the saints
This is the doctrine of "once saved, always saved", that those who are of the elect will persevere until the end. In short, that it is impossible to turn away from salvation.

This is false because it is backward from what Jesus said. Jesus did not say that those who are saved will persevere, He said that "he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. " Salvation is, in some sense, the result of endurance; endurance is not the result of salvation.

Also, there are a host of dire warnings against turning away, or making shipwreck of our faith, or of falling away. If there is no possibility of our turning away, all these warnings are pointless. Some passages to consider:

Ezekiel 3:20; 18:20-28
Matthew 18:23-35; 25:14-30
Luke 12:42-47
John 15:1-6
Acts 8:9-24 (esp. verses 9 & 18-23)
Romans 11:13-23
I Corinthians 8:10-11; 9:26-27; 10:1-12 (esp. 10:12)
Galatians 5:1-4
I Timothy 1:19-20; 4:1; 5:8
Hebrews 2:1-3; 6:4-8; 10:26-31; 10:35-39; 12:15-17
James 5:19-20
II Peter 2:20-22
Revelation 2:4-5
_____________________

Other things I have noted about the calvinistic system:

One, that it works quite well with itself (all five are interlocking, and together comprise a complete system); if it is taken in totality, there is little contradiction within itself. However, the problem arises when it is compared to scripture, since, while it is logically coherent, it is not consistent with what scripture says.

Also, most churches that I have seen do not believe all five points -- generally keeping "T" and "P" and discarding the other three. This is an appealing course of action (since "U", "L", and "I" are the most offensive three of the five); however, it is logically unsound, since the five points all support each other, and the system falls apart if even one is removed.

Sacrifice

2008-12-13T16:12:00.000-08:00

On sale now! Buy your very own home altar!

Now, when people ask, "What did you get your family for christmas?" you can have an answer that will really pique their interest! "Why, now that you ask, I found an awesome deal on an altar! No longer will we have to use our barbeque as a makeshift one -- we've got the real thing!" "Honey, where did you put that lamb that we were going to offer up as a burnt offering?"

Why bother having someone else sacrifice, when you can do it yourself and know for sure that you are doing it wholeheartedly before your god? Now THAT is something to really get fired up about!

________________

Ps. 51:16

Change the World!

2008-12-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

As Christians, we need to live according to the God that we serve - not conformed to the world's standards - we are to conduct our lives in righteousness and true holiness; if we would just do this - "shine" as righteous children of God in the midst of our sinful world - the gospel would be half-preached without us saying a word.

Yet, as my friend Sarah notices, most "Christians" are merely living by the world's standards, sullying the holy name of our Lord Jesus by their selfish actions, and refusal to live a life like the one they say they believe in.

True Christians, STAND UP!!! If we don't stand up, we will surely perish in the judgement, for it will begin at the house of God.

EVERYONE who is a true Christian ought to be unmistakeable because of their total committal to God and those around them... if people have to say "I always suspected that you were a Christian..." then you have failed as a Christian - everyone that knows us on a level beyond "Hi, I'm Andrew" should be able to say "I knew you were a Christian - it came out in everything you did."

LET'S GO CHANGE THE WORLD!!!!!! this is no ideal that we can try for, but never reach...this is the whole point of Christians being on this planet. God has commanded it, God has supplied everything we need, all that is lacking is OUR CHOICE TO GO DO IT!!

YOU, the Christian reading these posts, need to do this. If you want to just hang back and stay where you don't have to get out of your "comfort zone" -- FIND ANOTHER RELIGION, because to serve the Living and True God takes more than Sundays and Tuesday nights. Christianity means that your entire heart, soul, mind, and strength are devoted to God, and that the people you meet are just as important as you are. There is no room for selfishness with God - it is all or nothing; this doesn't mean that we cannot have a good time, it simply means that GOD IS MOST IMPORTANT.

I repeat - LET'S GO CHANGE THE WORLD!!! We will not regret any moment spent in the service of God and our fellow man.

A Bible

2008-11-27T00:45:00.000-08:00

I am my neighbour's Bible;
He reads me when we meet.

Today he reads me in my house,
Tomorrow in the street.

He my relative or friend
Or slight acquaintance be,

Yet he is reading me.
___________________________

A friend shared this with me -- I have no idea who the author is.

"Depressing"

2008-11-20T22:11:00.000-08:00

In class tonight, we listened to a lecture on the state of the U.S. economy by Paul Krueger, given about a month ago. He described the different factors that contributed to the economic crisis that we are in today, and how depressing the economic situation was. As I was listening to the lecture (about halfway through), I realized that rather than hearing about the failure of the economy having a negative effect on my mood, my morale was improving!

Now almost completely distracted from the lecture, I wondered why my mood would improve while listening to the news of bad things happening to our country's economic system....and I figured out why:

Repeatedly over the last month or so, I have been able to see how extremely important it is for God's church to be a living, righteous, pure, and holy witness of Him -- and that that means that each member of the body MUST live their lives holily, justly, and unblameably before God and men. Holiness is NOT optional. Unfortunately, I have had to see this through encountering, confronting, and being confronted by people who claim to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, but who urgently insist that sin and iniquity are to be the normal life-principle of Christ's people. Not merely an isolated few people, but fellow students, leaders in the church, and friends.

In addition, I am faced with the situation where the pastor of the church that I attend insists on putting the church in the place of partaking in the use of pagan symbols as part of their celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ -- and I am absolutely terrified at the prospect of standing before the entire congregation and decrying the christmas tree as a morally indefensible practice for worshippers of the One True God to use, and then demanding that it be removed from the building.

My realization was that the problems posed by the failure of our economy are petty and insignificant in comparison to the problems facing the body of Christ. How can I be worried about the things of this world, when those who name the name of Christ are not departing from iniquity, but are instead departing to iniquity?

I Will Stand Up

2008-11-10T08:06:00.000-08:00

And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,

"Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images and quite pluck down all their high places: And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it.

And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man's inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit.

But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them."

-Numbers 33:50-56
_________________________________

Like the Children of Israel, we were once wandering in the wilderness of Sin, but we are come to the land of promise -- let us therefore enter in with boldness and drive out EVERY inhabitant...leave none, lest they be pricks in our eyes and thorns in our sides; lest God do to us what He thinks to do to those who fill up their sins alway, in their forsaking His commands.

I will stand up and declare unto you all, as Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh did, that we ought to "go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it." I will tell you how the land - the life promised to us "is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us [and He does, hallelujah!], then He will bring us into this land and give it us, a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not."

Will you go with me to possess the land in righteousness, or will you turn back and say "it is too hard for us, the nature of the people is too strong for us"? Will you drive every inhabitant out and live in the good land of rest, or will you go in only half-heartedly and leave them to torment you and be your downfall?

Low Expectations

2008-11-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

Recently, there has been a movement gaining ground in the church regarding the low expectations for teenagers (the major proponents being the Alex and Brett Harris, through their ministry, The Rebelution) and how those low expectations lead to low achievement levels; as far as that goes, I believe it is altogether true. I would say, however, that it is not merely that adults have low expectations of teenagers, but that it is farther-reaching than that...people have low expectations all around - even adults are not expected to stand up and say "Yes, by the grace of God, I can and will live like God wants me to live, shunning sin, and actively obeying His will!" Instead, we have an "Oh woe is me, I'm a miserable wretched sinner, and I'll never live up to God's will for me!" kind of Christianity. This attitude is insipid childishness, and ought to be laid aside along with all the other weights and the sin so that we can run our race in righteousness and true holiness.

Reminds me of the Newsboys song "I'm Not Ashamed"

"What are we sneakin' around for -- who're we tryin' to please?
Shruggin' off sin, apologizin' like we're spreadin' some kind of disease
I'M SAYIN' NO WAY...NO WAY..."

The life of groveling as a miserable (yet saved) sinner is easy, because sin does not have to be given up - merely confessed...and those who are thus wallowing in the mire will try their hardest to drag down any who would truly take the Saviour's hand and stand out of such a vile existence - which makes it even harder for us who desire righteous, godly living to stand, since everyone around us is doing their best to make us fall back. We must therefore do as Paul instructs Timothy, and be as warriors,taking the whole armour of God and remaining untangled with the affairs of this life, in order that we may fight the good fight and receive the prize that awaits those who endure to the end.

Perhaps I am just rambling to no effect, but I hope to God that I am not. I only desire to provoke my brothers and sisters in the Lord to follow after holiness, without which, not one of us shall see the Lord.

The Rudest

2008-11-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

My brother-in-law was discussing his job at Costco, and he made the comment that the best day to shop there is on Sunday before 11:30, which is when the traditional church service gets out. That in itself was reasonable, but it was his next comment that was very interesting (and depressing)....he said that the church people who come through are "the rudest customer base of the week."

What kind of witness is it when those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ have that kind of perception of the people who profess to have been changed by the power of the true and living God? The gospel of Christ is so powerful that Christians can do anything, including having the reputation in the eyes of the community as the rudest customers in town. God forbid!

"Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." II Timothy 2:19
"Abstain from all appearance of evil." I Thessalonians 5:22

All There Is

2008-10-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

When I look around
And I see the sights and sounds
The people in the pews
Seem to be so glad
But it seems so sad
How many hear the news?

So very well they know
Jesus really loves us so
Is that all there is?
Say only a prayer
Heaven, you’ll be there
What is there to miss?

Chorus:
God said be perfect, be holy too
Give you the power, show you what to do
To let Him work, that’s what he needs
So our every hour, we do his deeds

Bridge:
Didn’t Jesus say something about
Having faith in him and living it out?
To come and pray
To worship in song
On Sundays tides us over
But isn’t it really wrong
When God says “give it over”
To keep on going our own way
And say:
I can’t help it, my old me
Makes me sin so constantly

God said be perfect, be holy too
Give you the power, show you what to do
To let Him work, that’s what he needs
So our every hour, we do his deeds

This might be news to you
Are you sitting in the pew
In the same routine?
Here is the good news
His strength you can use
Your life can be clean

God said be perfect, be holy too
Give you the power, show you what to do
To let Him work, that’s what he needs
So our every hour, we do his deeds
_________________________

Matthew 5:48; Romans 6:1-2; I Peter 1:16

Unstoppable

2008-10-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

As I was sitting at a table at school with some of my acquaintainces recently, one of them remarked that he was unstoppable. I, trying to maintain some level of maturity in the conversation, replied, "No you're not."

He rejoined by saying, "If it wasn't for law enforcement and physics, I would be unstoppable."

My reply was simply that "If it wasn't for law enforcement and physics, you wouldn't exist."

After that point, the conversation quickly degenerated into a discussion over whether or not it was possible to exist without physics -- relatively pointless, and irrelevant to the point that I am making here.

That evening in Bible study, we read in Hebrews chapter 7 that Jesus Christ is made our high priest "after the power of an endless life." Now, it seems like the concept of immortality lies at the heart of what it means to defy physics -- since the most rigorously tested law of physics is that of entropy (everything breaks down over time) -- if I cannot kill you, there is not much that I can do to stop you.

The other concept that we saw in the book of Hebrews was that "the sceptre of his kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness;" which, when compared to the passage in I Timothy chapter 1, that "the law is not made for a righteous man," shows how the law had no hold on Jesus. Because he had never sinned, there was no way that any law enforcement could possibly have any claim on him.

So, while the guy at my table was by no means unstoppable, the God I serve is exactly that -- unstoppable. And even better than the fact that God is unstoppable, is the fact that He has graciously allowed us the opportunity to become partakers of His unstoppable power and nature (II Peter 1:3-4).

An Hour a Day, That's All

2008-10-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

Last monday, after practicing patient assessment as part of our explorer scout program, the advisor of my scout post thought that we evidently needed more practice in that area (we did). He told us that it would be great if we could have the sheet that outlined the process (steps to take, questions to ask, decisions to make, etc.) by the next meeting. This was kind of unexpected, but not that unreasonable, as we probably should know the steps to go through in order to figure out what is wrong with someone. It was his next comment that I took especial note of -- he said that if we spent an hour a day reading over it and practicing going through it, we would have it down perfectly.

As I was driving home from school a few days ago, I was pondering the "hour a day" suggestion and suddenly had a thought -- do I spend an hour a day studying and practicing my relationship with God? How long do I actually spend studying the Word of God? Bible study is certainly far more important than studying patient assessment procedures: if it is good to spend an hour a day studying for explorer scouts, how much more time ought we to spend studying and building our relationship with the God of the universe? I figured that I average about 1 1/2 to 2 hours per day in Bible study (not including church meeting and Sunday school).

How much time do you devote to building your relationship with God?

I Just Wanna Know

2008-10-03T23:08:00.000-07:00

Life's too short for small talk,
So don't be talking trivia now.
Excess baggage fills this plane:
There's more than we should ever allow.
There's engines stalling and good men falling,
But I ain't crawling away.

I just wanna know--am I pulling people closer?
I just wanna be pulling them to You.
I just wanna stay angry at the evil.
I just wanna be hungry for the true.

Folks play follow the leader,
But who's the leader gonna obey?
Will his head get big when the toes get tapping?
I just wanna know are they catching what I say?
I'm a little too young to introspect
And I surely haven't paid all my dues,
but there's death traps lying in those woods,
Most of 'em already been used!

I just wanna know--am I pulling people closer?
I just wanna be pulling them to You.
I just wanna stay angry at the evil.
I just wanna be hungry for the true.

Search me, Father, and know my heart;
Try me and know my mind.
And if there be any wicked way in me,
Pull me to the rock that is higher than I.

I just wanna know--am I pulling people closer?
I just wanna be pulling them to You.
I just wanna stay angry at the evil.
I just wanna be hungry for the true.
_________________________________

Jesus open my eyes
To what you would want me to be.
Make me worthy to carry your name,
Though the world may put me to shame

Give me love in my heart
For those who hurt me, make me cry,
For they’re the reason why you died
And it was you who first loved me.

Give me a smile, make me happy all the while,
And give me the strength to see it through.
And give me success if you feel I should be blessed,
I want to give it all to you.
I want to give it all to you.

Jesus open my eyes...
_________________________________

After all the things that you have shown me,
I'd be a fool to let them slip away
In doing things I know I shouldn't do.
But I don't want to fall away from you,
From you.

After all,
I've only grieved Your spirit,
And then I don't know why You stay with me.
But every time I fall, Your love comes through,
And I don't want to fall away from You.

When the light is gone
And good times are getting old,
There's no one left to count on
And all my friends are cold:
When I thirst for love, oh Lord,
You're a fountain to my soul
My soul
My soul Oh Lord
My soul

In a way my life is full of burdens,
But in a way You carry them from me,
Jesus.
'Cause no one understands the way You do.
And you know Lord,
I don't want to fall away from You.

Well every day I pray to start anew,
'Cause I don't want to fall away from You.

No Lord
I don't wanna fall away from You
No Lord
I don't wanna fall away from You

From You...Lord
_________________________________

[Thanks to Steve Taylor, Dave Mattson, and Keith Green for putting into words what I could never say so well.]

A Guideline

2008-09-20T21:59:00.000-07:00

Having resolved to quit every activity that does not work godliness, I am now continually faced with an evaluative process. To be precise, I must determine in each case whether that activity works godliness or not.

The question then becomes: How do I know if something works godliness or not? What guidelines can I have in place to evaluate my activities against? In other words, I need a way to say "This is not okay because..."

What is it that pushes an activity "over the edge," so to speak, from acceptable and godly to a state where it is not advancing the work of God?

I can set a standard for myself (and have), of certain things that I refuse to do -- but without an absolute principle behind it, the set of rules is really meaningless. The key is to find the principle; once the principle is made plain, I can then take it and apply it to whatever situation I find myself in.

Sermon Topics

2008-09-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

I have been wondering over the last few days about the ministry of preaching the Word of God. How does a pastor, evangelist, preacher, or teacher choose a sermon topic? How do you select the passage of scripture or subject to expound, especially week after week?

I think I understand the mechanics of how to preach or teach on a given section, but how do I choose which topic to deliver?

Sorry

2008-09-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

When I was young, well, younger, after I had done something wrong, Mom would make me apologize. Often, in order to emphasize the attitude changes that should be occurring, she would ask, "What does 'sorry' mean?" So there was no mistake, she would tell us: "'Sorry' means that you don't do it again."

I think it works the same way with God. When we come to our senses and realize how much wrong we have done God by disobeying Him, we have to apologize, both to Him and to the people we have been ungodly towards. We tend to want to say it in more words, but essentially what we say is "God, I'm sorry."

My question is, are we sorry? Do we really give up what we were doing before, never to do it again? If we are, there should be a definite and distinct difference in both our attitude and our actions. When we are sorry, our outlook shifts from our own justification to being focused on what is right for the other person; our actions also reflect this -- we are willing to repay (when before we weren't), we place ourselves at their mercy (so they can exact whatever will propitiate them), etc.

Is this how we are toward God, letting Him take whatever He wants? How are we toward others? Do we take what we think is fair, or do we put their happiness first?

Spots

2008-09-02T16:14:00.000-07:00

"Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless." -- II Peter 3:14

If we are to be found without spot, what must we do? First, and most obvious I think, is that every individual who is looking "for such things" must give all diligence to "do these things" that Peter outlines in the first chapter (in verses 5-11).

Second, however, Peter also points out that there is a larger sense in which we must beware of (and thus also take care to eliminate) spots. He says, speaking of false teachers and their followers: "spots they are, and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you..." (II Peter 2:13)

So, in a corporate sense, as the body and bride of Christ, we must take great care to be alert to the existence and/or entrance of such people into the church -- and then remove them from the body. Thus, He may "present [us] to himself a glorious church, not having any spot or wrinkle, or any such thing." (Ephesians 5:27)

Fire!

2008-08-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

Thou Christ of burning, cleansing flame,
Send the fire!
Thy Blood-bought gift today we claim,
Send the fire!
Look down and see this waiting host,
Give us the promised Holy Ghost,
We want another Pentecost,
Send the fire!

God of Elijah, hear our cry:
Send the fire!
To make us fit to live or die,
Send the fire!
To burn up every trace of sin,
To bring the light and glory in,
The revolution now begin,
Send the fire!

'Tis fire we want, for fire we plead,
Send the fire!
The fire will meet our every need,
Send the fire!
For strength to ever do the right,
For grace to conquer in the fight,
For power to walk the world in white,
Send the fire!

To make our weak hearts strong and brave,
Send the fire!
To live a dying world to save
Send the fire!
O see us on Thy altar lay,
Our lives, our all, this very day,
To crown the offering now we pray,
Send the fire!

--William Booth
______________________________

Lord,

Whether you send the fire or not, I will serve You. But oh, see these around us, who need to be drawn to the fire, to be cleansed by the fire, and to be set on with the fire for You. Send the fire, Lord Jesus!

Act II

2008-08-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

No, it's not popcorn...

My second "official" act under my resolution was to purchase a notebook -- I'm keeping a log of the things that I do for a whole week, so as to better be aware of the activities that I spend my time on. By Saturday, I will have a week's worth of notes, which I will then review and see what needs to be changed, added, or removed from my life.

Also, I would like to know, along the same lines as I asked regarding Facebook: For those of you who talk to me online, what has my conversation been on instant messenger (whether it is Facebook chat or MSN Messenger)? Am I really being useful, or do I just make interesting conversation? Do I "provoke to love and good works," or do I talk about whatever is interesting at the moment?

Resolution: August 13, 2008

2008-08-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

While contemplating my life direction recently, I thought about some of the things that I do and how they are related to God's service. There are a lot of things that we do while hardly taking any thought as to whether they are really something we should be doing: for example, how often do we sit down to watch a movie at the end of the day while neglecting to take the time to do more in-depth study of God's Word, or simply starting a conversation with Him?

All this to say that I believe it's really wrong to live parts of our life without taking thought to the effect of those activities on the state of our relationship to God. I also think I need to do something about it...so to start anyway, I resolve:

To quit doing any and every activity that does not work godliness. If it be what I watch (movies, videogames), what I read (novels, websites, other books), what I say (online discussion, face-to-face conversation), what I do (games, work, leisure activities), what I spend money on (food, gifts, projects, music), what I choose to listen to (music, speeches, comedian monologues), or people I associate with (classmates, acquaintances, friends).

So, my first action under this resolution is to ask you all -- what have my actions on Facebook been?

Have they been entertaining?

Or have they provoked you to godliness?

Or have they been pointless?

Or have they been informational?

Or...

I'd seriously appreciate your thoughts.

The Rebelution (Part 3)

2008-07-12T14:45:00.000-07:00

After a break, Brett delivered the message of the second session.

Brett’s point in this session was to explain what “do hard things” is all about; telling both why we should do hard things, and how we can go about doing them.

He started off by telling the story of his first shower [http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2006/05/my-first-shower-nearly-killed-me], in order to show how the big challenges that we face now are no different from the ones we have already faced and overcome (like learning to walk, becoming potty trained, or taking a shower). Yet for some reason, the older we get, the more we define our limitations by what is easiest for us – so often, we write off the opportunity to grow by taking the attitude that we are “not a people-person,” or “not a math-person,” or any number of “well, I’m just not a *insert noun*-person,” and we limit ourselves only to things that come easily; but if our little siblings were to say the same kinds of things, we would be not only shocked, but we would under no circumstances allow them to get away with it – I mean, can you imagine a three-year old saying “I’ll never get this bathroom thing – I’m just not a toilet person”? Or what about a ten-year old saying “making my bed is so hard, I’m just not a blanket person”?

We live in a culture that expects us, as both teenagers and adults, to survive (be potty trained), but not to thrive (know complex algebra). But God isn’t glorified when His people don’t use what He’s given them…He is glorified when we do hard things, not easy things.” We grew as kids by doing difficult things – so that’s what we need to do to keep growing, because doing hard things is what living breathing people do (if no-one did hard things, the human race could never have survived).

So how are we supposed to go about actually doing hard things? And what does doing hard things look like? Brett explained seven different aspects of doing hard things:

1. Doing hard things looks like trampling sin in our life
We must fight sin because it is the most destructive thing to God’s work that can happen – sin is always bad; yet at the same time, sin is often the “easiest” option. Being a slacker is wrong, but easy, while being diligent is right and hard. This is why we must fight against sin as long and as hard as we can.

2. Doing hard things looks like battling discouragement and complacency
Fighting discouragement is important for several reasons
· First, because strength does not lie in giftedness – it is achieved. Thus, we must not lose hope if we fail while trying…even though it is very cliché, we should “try again.”
· Second, because worthwhile things are not easy – they’re hard! So if things get tough, we should not become discouraged, but rather press on even harder…which is the third reason
· Because worthwhile things are hard – we should never give up when we meet resistance, we should keep going.
Complacency, which is a smug self-satisfaction, is the greatest enemy to growth, because it is an attitude of “I’m good enough and don’t have to work anymore” – if our purpose in life is to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, and growth means doing hard things, then complacency is 180° from what we should be doing.

*If anyone remembers them, I’d appreciate the list of things that Brett gave that might be occasions for complacency “top of the class, likely to be president…” – I was listening, rather than writing notes and can’t remember the 6 or so examples that he gave.*

[The question I put in my notes was “How Do We Fight This??” – this is the very thing that I must constantly guard against, because God has blessed me with great ability (at least in school), and it would be extremely easy to slip into a complacent mode of thought and action.]

Doing hard things is about building muscle – something that requires diligent exercise…relaxation does not build muscles. And it’s not only physical muscle, it’s spiritual muscle (exercising our selves unto godliness), and mental muscle (training our renewed minds {Rom. 12:1-2} to think as Christ does).

3. Doing hard things looks like doing more than is required
Brett explained the history of the Vikings, talking about how they were the fiercest warriors in the world – feared by all. One of the reasons that they were so terrifying was their strength…which they gained through exercise. How? By rowing themselves to the battle – they didn’t use slaves to row their boats…they did it themselves, and because of this, they grew far stronger than they would have otherwise. How does this apply to us? We need to go the extra mile, challenge ourselves, because doing more than is easy is the very thing that increases our strength.

4. Doing hard things looks like getting over our fear of failure
“There is nothing stupider, (perhaps this is a bad word in some families, but it is true) nothing stupider than not doing what we know is right, only because we fear that we’ll fail.” Brett went on to explain why we should not fear failure, starting with an example: if he challenged everyone in the auditorium to 100 push-ups, chances are that there would be a few really strong guys who would take up the challenge…and even more certainly, Brett would lose – probably not making it even close to 100 – so why do it? Brett pointed out that, even if the strong guys make it to 100 fairly easily, they did not grow stronger at even close to the rate that Brett would (even though he would probably fail). The lesson: it’s okay to fail while trying hard things, first because you actually tried (rather than giving up without even starting), and second because you get stronger even though you fail.

5. Doing hard things looks different for every person
People are different, and have very different gifts, talents, and circumstances; however, differences in gifts or circumstances is no excuse for not doing hard things – but those hard things will take different forms. The prime example that Brett gave was that of men and women – each very different in gifts and circumstances – each has a very different role, but this does not relieve them from the responsibility of doing hard things – it just means that they do different hard things.

6. Doing hard things looks like doing small things…not only big things
It is easy to think of “doing hard things” as involving the “big” things in life – preaching the gospel, going on a missions trip, etc. – but in reality, the hard things that we have to take care to do are the small, everyday things – being courteous, holding the door open, making sure to keep our every action pure, watching the words we speak, cleaning up after ourselves, respecting our parents, loving our siblings, etc. – because “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” (Luke 16:10).

7. Doing hard things is our best life
Not our easiest life – not even our funnest life…our best life. It will be difficult, perhaps even seemingly impossible at times, but serving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (emphasis on all) will result in our living the best, most productive, and fruitful life, a life that gives God all the glory that he deserves from us. In doing this, not only will we reach our full potential, we will realize God’s full potential for us; we will stretched to our limits, but if our sufficiency is of God, we cannot truly fail in serving him.

That's all I have typed up for now... eventually I'll get Gregg Harris' session posted.

"Non-Vehicle"

2008-07-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

I was reading through the Sequim Municipal Code (yes, it's as boring as it sounds) as part of my internship with the City...and I came across this in the definition section:

"'Non-vehicle' is any object which is not a vehicle.' (SMC10.12.010c)

I was like, "Wow...if we have to resort to definitions like this...we have totally lost it!"

Now...having thought about the quote for most of the day...here's my thought: maybe we need to be more blatantly obvious. What would happen if the legal system didn't have a complete set of definitions (sometimes insanely simple ones)? There would be chaos, because people would be using whatever definition they had grown up with!

I think it's the same way with being a Christian -- if we don't make it completely obvious, it is way too easy for people to mistake it for something else: they may think we "are just a nice person"...or "he's a great guy"...or "they're really easy to get along with"...or any number of things, EXCEPT the one that they should say, if we have been dipped in the blood of Jesus and filled with His Spirit.

A Letter

2008-07-01T18:14:00.000-07:00

To whom it may concern -- that is, you,

Have you contemplated the goodness of God? It is His goodness that leads to repentance.

His goodness does not consist in forcing every situation to result in the best possible outcome, but in His gracious allowance of our choices, His just reward for our successes and failures, and his provision: for forgiveness of past failures and for exceeding abundant power to succeed (neither of which we deserve)! What then should be our response to God's unpeakable goodness?

First, it should be sorrow, but not mere moroseness. Godly sorrow is contrition -- a realization of God's good standard and our failure to meet it -- deep, no, total regret of our misdeeds and desire to have done rightly.

Second; however, this sorrow should never be our primary mode of existence, because the purpose of godly sorrow is to work repentance. Desire to do right and regret do not make repentance, for repentance is an action. To repent is not to regret our past actions, but to change our present life (that is, our actions); it is also not an incremental change, but a complete, entire, and wholehearted change -- from sinful, selfish motives and actions to reliance on, devotion to, and service to God. In short, repentance is forsaking sinful sef-centeredness and consecrating our life and motives to God, centered on His will, His wisdom, and His lordship as supreme.

Thirdly, our response should be one of continued, persevering submission to God and His cause. Repentance is a start (in fact, the only start), but it is only a start -- we must continue in choosing to act rightly. This is righteousness, for we have not been merely saved from sin (though we do not deserve even this), we have been saved to righteousness. This is the defining mark of every true child of God, for John tells us that in this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: the children of God work righteousness, while the children of the devil work sin (I John 3:10).

Is your life centered around God and His goodness? Or is your life centered around what is best for you and those you love?

In Christ,

Andrew Powers

John Hyde's Testimony

2008-06-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

“John Hyde’s close walk with God had aroused spiritual difficulty in the community where an Indian doctor decided to test the preacher’s daily life. Many had been converted and the native physician wanted to know whether or not Hyde’s religion at home was as genuine as he claimed.

So he dispatched a friend to the missionary, affirming that he too was a Christian believer. Hyde at once opened his home to the Indian, and asked him to remain for several days. This fitted perfectly into the doctor’s scheme, and so the native accepted the invitation. Living with Hyde, he had occasion to study the man in action.

After three or four days the man ran away and went to the doctor who sent him, saying “He has no fault, that man has no fault; he is a god, he is a god, and not a man!”

-- from "Praying Hyde," by Basil Miller

Reading this provoked me to ask myself: "Is that what my testimony is? Do people see my actions and marvel at the work which God does in me?" Is it? I answered myself with a yes....yet hesitated, because I don't actually interact with as many people as I could be interacting -- I find my character to be upright, but that I am often reluctant to place myself on top of the hill, in contact with all I see. This is what God has been pushing me to do (and I have been doing more and more), and the more I do it, the more I see God's marvelous power work. To Him be the glory!

What about you...are you giving the testimony of God that Hyde was?

Angry Young Men

2008-06-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

Angry Young Men
By Randy Stonehill

“He wants some angry young men
Ones who can't be bought
Ones who will not run from a fight
Ones who speak the truth whether it's popular or not
Ones who'd give up anything to walk in His light

Chorus:
Rest assured when Jesus comes again
He'll be looking for some angry young men

He wants some angry young men
With fire in their eyes
Ones who understand what Jesus gave
Ones who have grown weary of the world and all its lies
Ones who won't forget they've been delivered from the grave

Rest assured when Jesus comes again
He'll come back for the angry young men

Yes He will

Bridge:
They say if you don't laugh you cry
I say if you don't live you die
Well, well, the road to hell is paved with some impressive alibis
But unless you thirst for Jesus first
Man, heaven will pass you by (uh huh)
Heaven will pass you by

You'll be tempted, tried and tested
There'll be wars the devil wins
But God's love is not a license to lie there in your sins
He understands the human heart
His mercy is complete
But His grace was not intended
As a place to wipe your feet

Rest assured when Jesus comes again
He'll be looking for some angry, angry men

He wants some angry young men
Who love the Lord they serve
Ones who'll do much more than make a speech
Ones who'll act their faith out with the passion it deserves
'Cause if we cannot live it – tell me, who are we to preach?

Rest assured when Jesus comes again
He'll come back for the angry young men

Rest assured when Jesus comes again
He'll be looking for the angry young men
He'll be looking for the angry young men

Where’s the angry men?

Yes He will,
He’ll be lookin’

Yes He will

Hey!
Where’s the angry men?”
_________________________________________

An “angry young man.” Yes, this is what I want to be. In fact, I’ll ask you – am I:

One who can't be bought?
One who will not run from a fight?
One who’ll speak the truth whether it's popular or not?
One who'd give up anything to walk in His light?
One with fire in my eyes?
One who understands what Jesus gave?
One who has grown weary of the world and all its lies?
One who won't forget he’s been delivered from the grave?
One who thirsts for Jesus first?
One who loves the Lord he serves?
One who'll do much more than make a speech?
One who'll act his faith out with the passion it deserves?
One who lives it?

Tell me – am I one to preach?

…...Are you?

Putting Others On The Right Path

2008-06-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

"Charity shall cover a multitude of sins" (I Peter 4:8)

To return Christians who have erred from the way of salvation is just as important as saving the souls of those who have not yet tasted of the heavenly gift. Fortunately, we should not be apprehensive about approaching these people, since (hopefully) they have been in the church, and we have a chance to acquaint ourselves with them.

How then shall charity cover sins? Should it simply gloss over them as if they were nonexistent? God forbid. James speaks of it in his epistle, chapter 5, verse 20: "He which converteth a soul from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins" -- that is, many sins shall not be committed because of the corrective influence. Jesus even gives us protocol for dealing with people who persist in iniquity: first talk to him (or her), then bring others to talk to him, if he won't listen, then tell the church, and if worst comes to worst, "let him be to thee as an heathen" (Matthew 18:15-17).

We must at all times show in our conduct the righteousness and holiness that is in our hearts ("be holy for I am holy"), because of what our Lord Jesus has done for us - that others might see our good works and glorify God.

Sin is the very antithesis of God's character. Therefore, as His representatives, we should always strive to keep one another out of sin, and in the way of righteousness.

Obedience

2008-05-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

"To obey is better than sacrifice" I Samuel 15:22

Who are we to obey? God.

Why? Why should we do what God tells us to do? Isn't it much more fun when I don't have to worry about "don't do this, don't do that..." Our duty to obey God is not because He is God, but because His commands are in our best interests (see Matthew 7: 7-11) -- because God is good.

Since we are to obey God, what is it that He tells us to do? He says: "Love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength...and love thy neighbor as thyself." We cannot just "believe"- for without works, faith is dead (James 2:14) Jesus' death is only for us if we are His friends, and as He said, "ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." How is it with us? Are we Jesus' friends? Have we and are we doing what He has commanded? Do you treat others as we would want to be treated? If not, beware, for you are in danger of hellfire! However, if God will say "well done, good and faithful servant"...glory to God! He is glorified in our obedience.

The Rebelution Conference (Part 2)

2008-05-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

Back to the Rebelution conference – Portland 2008......

So for the first full session, Alex delivered the message.

He began by saying that an elephant was the pet that he had always wanted when he was younger (I mean…what other kid can say “yeah, I just got an elephant the other day”…you would totally rule the playground!)…but then as he grew more mature, he began to think about how you would keep an elephant from running off – they’re so strong that they are used to pull trees right out of the ground! But the owners of elephants never have a problem with their elephants running off…why? Because they tie some twine around their leg, and fasten it to a stake in the ground – the elephants never run away. What’s so special about the twine?...nothing, because the twine is not what is really keeping the elephant from breaking it and running away; the farmer, when the elephant is young, takes a chain and shackles the elephant to a tree – no matter how hard the little elephant tries, he cannot break the chain, or uproot the tree – the elephant learns that when it has something tied around it’s leg, it can’t get away…when it is tied with the twine, the shackles are not around its leg, they are around its mind. Thus, because it does not expect to be able to break free, it doesn’t even try, and thus never breaks the twine and runs away.

In many ways, we are like the elephant – we have much strength, potential, and energy – yet we are often controlled by culture’s shackles…low expectations. So what went wrong? Why do we have these low expectations, these “shackles”?

What does the Bible say about teenagers? Nothing. The Bible talks about children, and then about men – adults – there is no in-between stage ever mentioned, no mention of a time when responsibility is light and goofing off is okay – so what was it like being a teenager before the current concept of “teenager” came into being (“teenager” was first used in 1941)?

Alex gave three examples of teenagers – George (Washington), David (Farragut), and Clarissa (Clara Barton)…all three accomplished amazing things while still in their teenage years, because they had high expectations and were held to a high standard of responsibility.

So what changed between then and now?

One of the major changes was that in the early 1900s, partly because of the abusive child labour practices, it was made mandatory that children attend school through high school level – this greatly alleviated the child labour problem, but had a side-effect of causing many young people to be idle (rather than actively engaged in productive activities, as George, David, and Clarissa were)…due to this idleness, very gradually youth became consumers, rather than producers, thus creating the expectation that youth would simply be consumers (lowered expectations), and then because they were idle, youth had the opportunity to “goof off” and thus furthering the lowered expectations…so the cycle went on.

Alex quoted somebody [I don’t remember who…argh] as saying that “the current ceiling [of expectations] is where the floor should be” – our culture’s expectations for youth are so low, that “high expectations” are really only the basics!

For example, when Alex and Brett looked up “teens” and “expectations” on Google, they found a website that was for parents who wanted help raising teenagers – and they saw that there was a section about expectations, they decided to take a look, just to see what people were saying. The author first made some general comments which were pretty good, along the lines of “always encourage your teen to push himself,” etc….and then they saw some specific recommendations that parents might take as examples: for early teens (13-15) – they should be expected to make their bed every day, know how to take a message on the telephone, and clean their room (with some help from Mom and Dad); for older teens, the expectations are higher – they should be expected to do a daily chore, keep the gas tank above ¼ full, and clean their room (all by themselves!). Alex and Brett were shocked that this is all that teens are expected to do – quite a contrast when compared to what George, David, and Clarissa were expected to accomplish! Rather than simply live “up” to the current expectations, we should instead “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” (I Timothy 4:12).

We are not called to fit in, but to be exemplary! (Romans 12:1-2) We need to wake up to the fact that the low expectations are robbing us!! We are like the elephant, and we need to realize that we can (and should) break the twine of low expectations, so that we can freely and effectively live for God.

So what does a “rebelution” look like? It is where teens take advantage of their teen years, as George, David, and Clarissa did, redeeming that time, and using it for what it is – critical training for adulthood. So the question we must ask ourselves is this: are we doing things now that will prepare us for adult, productive life? Are we doing what we need to do?…or are we doing what we want to do?

Forthcoming sometime in the future will be session #2, with Brett Harris…

Modesty (From a Woman's Perspective)

2008-05-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

I was discussing the topic of modesty with some of my friends a while ago, and then just recently it resurfaced, and I believe that their perspective is valuable, so I have attempted to refine the ideas expressed (instant messenger conversations are kind of hard to work with) – and here they are.

Andrew: Andrew Powers (me)
Sarah: Sarah Ganzhorn
Hannah: Hannah Ganzhorn
Nalani: Nalani Brisco
Alicia: Alicia Powers

Sarah: Have you ever noticed that articles talking about modesty are normally focused on women being modest and most of the time don't even mention the fact that men also should be modest?

Andrew: Sometimes it bothers me...but I think it's probably because guys think about it more.

What were your thoughts on the "modesty for guys" topic?

Sarah: Men may be visually oriented... but girls also are – maybe not to such an extent but it is still there, and it still causes problems.

Andrew: So what ways should men be modest?

Sarah: I don't want to get on a soapbox or anything but I think that men can be modest in pretty much all the same ways women should be. For example, men are always saying that when women wear really tight pants it causes them problems – well, men wearing rather tight pants cause women to have problems as well.

Nalani: A guy can be immodest by being vulgar (either in his self-representation or his speech [like if he swears a lot or makes a lot of sexual innuendos (being pervy!)])....ummm....hmmm....being arrogant and proud to a fault...

Hannah: In speech, behavior, and appearance…specifically, immodesty in speech and behavior pretty much equals flirting, which can include ridiculously outrageous compliments, being smart or witty with the sole intent of attracting, showing off strength, etc.

Modesty of dress is not using one's body to attract, modest clothing would not be too loose (as in descending pants), too tight (as in bicycling tights), or too skimpy.

Alicia: I think the modesty for guys probably comes in character. Arrogant and proud or humble.

Andrew: To me it seems that a lot of times immodesty in a guy exhibits itself in different forms than girls (where clothing is the major issue)...with guys, immodesty can be not in the clothes so much as in, say, the muscular body, or the fast/loud car, etc.

Sarah: Mmm, yes that’s true, also, girls' immodesty is not limited to clothes – she can dress modestly and not behave modestly.

Andrew: Right. So what is modesty, then?

Nalani: Well, there's modesty as being humble, and then there's physical modesty--wearing clothes that aren't terribly revealing

Sarah: The definition for modest would be the opposite of immodest, and my opinion of immodest would be intentionally attracting the attention of the opposite gender in a way that would cause them to lust, etc.

Basically, anything that is immodest for a girl, the male version of it is also immodest. So, just like girls being immodest because they are wearing really tight pants, it is the same with guys wearing really tight pants.

Hannah: Immodesty is dressing or behaving in a way that encourages impure thoughts or actions….modesty is dressing and behaving in a way that is above reproach.

Andrew: Ok....so immodest actions for a girl can be flirting, acting provocatively (body postures, shoe choice, etc.), etc......so what do guys do (or wear, or say) etc., that fits into the "immodest" category?

Nalani: It kind of depends on what you think of as indecent. I'm not too fond of the way baggy pants some guys wear... and lots of older folks don't appreciate all of the holes in pants (or other clothing) that reveal all that skin. And unless it's swimwear, I would say no really short shorts either, and no rips/holes in the clothing that could potentially expose their privates…

Hannah: I think guys are as guilty as flirting of girls.... they do a lot of showing off... so far as what they wear... pants can easily be to big, or too tight ( as in bicycling shorts) and I really would rather they keep their shirts on.

Sarah: You want specifics? Well, guys can also have provocative body postures, guys can also flirt...I guess you could say the big guy thing is to show off to get all the girls attention, you know, to show that he is the strongest or whatever

I would say that guys' shirts should meet their pants at all times – same as for girls.

The saggy pants business is so bad, and tight shirts aren't that great either.

Andrew: So then, does immodesty have something to do with "showing off"....and if so, what is it that guys do to "show off" that "intentionally attracts the attention of the opposite gender in a way that would cause them to lust"?

Sarah: I think showing off is a good example of immodest behavior, well, girls are attracted to strong men, so I guess when a guy goes out of his way to seem strong in front of a girl then that would be immodest behavior indeed.

Hannah: In my experience, it's mostly body, brains, and personality… I don't really notice the showing off of stuff... except maybe having a 'hot' car, but so far as intentionally attracting, a lot of guys will be gentlemanly just as a chance to show off how strong they are or whatever, I've heard a lot of girls oohing and ahhing over how buff some guy is.

They’ll pay me outrageous compliments, or try to be really smart because they think I am. Usually that's accompanied by asking me out.

It's not so much what they do but what they say.

Andrew: So would you say that a lot of the "immodest" actions are efforts on the guy's part to make you prefer him over others --- so really anything that flows from that motivation is truly "immodest"?

Hannah: Yes... I guess you could say that... there are exceptions though…

Such as… you can't really call a guy who wants his wife to like him better than other guys immodest

So I would say it's only immodest if the guy hasn't the right .

___________________

I could probably write a wordy conclusion to this “interview”…but Hannah’s paraphrase of Paul is perfectly apt; she says it is really about how “guys should concern themselves not only with keeping their own thoughts pure but also the thoughts of their sisters in Christ.”

I completely agree. This is the true attitude of charity – not using our liberty as a cloak for selfishness (I Peter 2:16), not destroying others through our actions (Romans 14:13-15), and taking heed that our liberty does not become a stumblingblock to those that are weak (I Cor. 8:9). “Let every one of us please his [sister] for [her] good to edification” (Romans 15:2)…. “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth” (I Cor. 10:24).

The Rebelution Conference (Part 1)

2008-05-08T22:21:00.000-07:00

I promised a review of the Rebelution conference, so as I have time, I will be writing a full report -- to begin with, I have the introductory remarks.

Last Saturday, I attended the Rebelution conference – Portland 2008...

Alex & Brett Harris with their father, Gregg Harris

There were four sessions:

1. Alex
2. Brett
3. Gregg
4. Alex/Gregg/Brett

Before launching into the first session, Alex and Brett introduce themselves and explain how the idea for the Rebelution began, and pose the question: “why are we here? – why are you here?”

They explained that they came to the realization that while culture says “it doesn’t matter how we spend our teen years”….it really DOES matter! So they found themselves in the same kind of position as Jeremiah, when God began to use him:

“Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.” (Jer. 1:4-8)

Seeing that the culture was saying to those who “cannot speak, for they are but children” that it was okay, they didn’t really need the responsibility – they decided that this message was totally contradictory to the true, biblical purpose of not only the teenage years, but of living at all! So they began writing about “doing hard things” on their blog, and that was the beginning of the Rebelution.

....coming at some point will be the first session with Alex Harris.

The Translators to the Readers

2008-04-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

I took the time to read the preface in my Bible (KJV) over the last couple days, and I was surprised by the depth to which the translators explained the issues that they dealt with in the translation process -- many of those issues are "current"...yet the translators had to take them into consideration even in 1611.

I found the final paragraph (which I have divided into three parts for ease of reading) to be very provoking - stimulating thought, and encouraging me to walk by the same rule whereto I have already attained, as Paul exhorts the Philippians (3:16).

"Many other things we might give thee warning of, gentle reader, if we had not exceeded the measure of a Preface already. It remaineth that we commend thee to God, and to the Spirit of His grace, which is able to build further than we can ask or think. He removeth the scales from our eyes, the vail from our hearts, opening our wits that we may understand His Word, enlarging our hearts, yea, correcting our affections, that we may love it above gold and silver, yea, that we may love it to the end.

Ye are brought unto fountains of living water which ye digged not; do not cast earth into them, with the Philistines, neither prefer broken pits before them, with the wicked Jews. Others have laboured, and you may enter into their labours. O receive not so great things in vain; O despise not so great salvation! Be not like swine to tread under foot so precious things, neither yet like dogs to tear and abuse holy things. Say not to our Saviour with the Gergesites, Depart out of our coasts; neither yet with Esau sell your birthright for a mess of pottage. If light be come into the world, love not darkness more than light; if food, if clothing, be offered, go not naked, starve not yourselves. Remember the advice of Nazianzene, It is a grievous thing (or dangerous) to neglect a great fair, and to seek to make markets afterwards: also the encouragement of St. Chrysostome, It is altogether impossible, that he that is sober (and watchful) should at any time be neglected. Lastly, the admonition and menacing of St. Augustine, They that despise God's will inviting them, shall feel God's will taking vengeance of them.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God; but a blessed thing it is, and will bring us to everlasting blessedness in the end, when God speaketh unto us, to hearken; when He setteth His Word before us, to read it; when He stretcheth out His hand and calleth, to answer, Here am I; here we are to do thy will, O God. The Lord work a care and conscience in us to know Him and serve Him, that we may be acknowledged of Him at the appearing of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, to whom with the Holy Ghost, be all praise and thanksgiving. Amen."

Having the very Word of God in our hands, we should not despise it nor ignore it, but guard it as though it were the only spring of water -- living water in this dry and thirsty land...for it is the Word of life preserved for us by God's mighty hand. Let us drink not sparingly of it, but as we are commanded to: opening our mouths wide, that the Lord may fill us with every spiritual blessing in high places. Let us not hoard it either, but as we have been filled, we ought to thus share with others -- that as it were rivers of living water might flow out of us -- giving refreshment and direction to those both weary and lost along the way.

Why?

2008-04-09T16:03:00.000-07:00

Something that's been in my mind the last couple days is that question: "Why?"

Why do we do pointless things? Why do we sit down in the evening and watch a Disney movie that we have seen a hundred times instead of reading the Bible?

Why do we go to school? Why do YOU go to school?

Why am I even here at the computer? Is there something more important than writing this note?

Why do we do things that seem to serve no real purpose? Why do we watch TV? Why do we go to Disneyland/Legoland/Six Flags/etc.?

Why don't we do something that would truly advance the kingdom of God? Why don't we go to that Bible study? Why don't we talk about God with our (Christian) friends at school? Why don't we pray more than a few minutes every day?

Why do we pray for the things that we do? Why do we, instead of praying for 20 minutes, pick up the Nintendo controller and play a videogame that will have no effect on anyone's life?

For what it's worth, perhaps these questions will provoke you to a deeper consideration of what your purpose in life is, and why you are doing what you are doing.

In Christ,

Andrew

Unity

2008-04-02T10:48:00.000-07:00

"All efforts of union but that of God's holiness is as pounding cold, crooked pieces of iron toegether. The more blows, the more crooks and differences. Put them into a furnace of white heat and they will lose their cold, stiff, crooked individuality, and flow into one mass...Freedom from sin knits together in love." --D. S. Warner

Thus, if righteousness, the righteous life that we ought to live through Christ, is not preached, we will never have any more than a superficial "unity". If we preach that "we must sin in thought, word, and deed," we will most assuredly have sects and factions; so long as this insidious doctrine is preached and believed, we will only be as cold-hearted crooked, stiffnecked individuals. Unless we preach for the purpose of right, godly, blameless living; unless we call each other to "cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God", we will never see true unity in the professed body of Christ. But, if we live in holiness and righteousness, we can then call to our brothers and sisters, and say, "receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man...ye are in our hearts to die and live with you." (II Cor. 7:1,2).

"There is therefore no real cause of division but sin." --D. S. Warner

Can you say to every man, that you have behaved yourself in all holiness and righteousness and honesty? If you cannot, is not this the very reason that you have not true fellowship in the body of Christ? If you are not one with the true followers of Christ, DO something about it! Don't just sit and wonder where it went, for you know where it is -- it is in the obedience to Christ -- for "hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments", and if we know Him, we will know and fellowship with those who are His.

My "Statement of Ethics"

2008-03-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

Ethics are, simply put, "doing what is right." What is right? "Right," according to the dictionary, is the state of being in conformity to facts or truth; thus, any ability to "do what is right" implies that there is a truth to conform to, and that that truth is applicable to the situation. I believe (based on evidence) that ethics have an absolute basis, not changing according to my culture or individual sentivities. This absolute is Jesus Christ - for He is the Word of God - He is the way, the Truth, and the life.

My values are derived from what I know to be true - thus, my highest value is that Truth is more important to me than anything else, including my life. For several reasons I have found the Bible to be the epitome of truth, not only true as a whole, but true in all of its parts as well -- literally, the word of God, given to man. Because I am dedicated to Truth, I choose to abide by the principles and laws given in the Bible, which are, in essence, two:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment."

Thus, my mission in life is to carry out this edict. I show this by obeying the commands given by God.

"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself..."

"...On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." This means that all of the other descriptors of righteous living are merely attributes of this one motive -- benevolence -- service to God and my neighbour. Integrity, honesty, loyalty, self-denial, work-ethic, patience, meekness, etc. are all manifestations of my obedience to this second command.

Modesty (From a Man's Perspective)

2008-03-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

Modest clothing is clothing that does not draw my eye (and thus my mind) to places (or thoughts) that stimulate lustful or envious desires. Immodest clothes are worn with the knowledge that they are a stumblingblock to those who look thereon.

Now, modest clothing does not preclude lust altogether -- I may choose to lust after a girl who is dressed in a burqa -- but the key is where the thought process begins; is it provoked by the article of clothing worn (or not worn, as the case may be)? This is immodesty. But if it begins as a choice by my own mind to lust, immodesty is not the issue of concern.

This principle of modesty does not apply to clothing only; body posture, word choice, and voice inflection can (and should) all be governed by the same principle.

The driving force behind true modesty is charity -- A desire to put the needs of others before one's self interest.

Emotionalism

2008-03-10T22:42:00.000-07:00

One thing I heartily dislike in "worship" (praise, actually), during most church services is when it is done in such a way as to foster a "worshipful" emotional state.

This focus in "worship" does two things:

It supports the (false) idea that worship consists in a certain feeling, rather than the consecration of my will to God's will.

The second thing that it does is to take my eyes off of true worship and puts my focus on a warm/fuzzy feeling which is so far from the true service of God.

I would much rather skip the portion of the service (though song is a very appropriate form of praise) and spend more time strengthening my faith with preaching from the Word of God. Perhaps I am waxing slightly heretical to favour rationality over emotion, but I think not.

"Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." (I Corinthians 14:12-15, emphasis mine)

A Cheap Religion

2008-02-27T08:18:00.000-08:00

In perusing a Gospel newsletter, I came across this article, and thought it made a very important point - one that I see describing much of the "church" today, and thus, it needs to be addressed.

A Cheap Religion

This is an age when we want things at a bargain -- a reduced price. This also pertains to religion. All people in all climes want happiness and peace of mind; hence any form of relifion which will promise this and give a hope of heaven, without much ignominy, is the very thing they are after. So we see:

A religion without repentance. true repentance implies not only the forsaking of all outward and inward sin, but restitution as well -- the undoing, so far as possible, of all offenses of the past.. This means confession to God and to individuals who have been wronged, defrauded, or hated. Friend, have you so repented that no one can point at you and say, "You injured me and my standing, and have never apologized"?

A religion of good works. thousands of people, including ministers, arise early Sunday morning, say prayers, take Holy Communion, give offerings to ease the conscience, and make themselves believe they are on the way to heaven; but they lack the one all-essential thing -- the New Birth. Jesus plainly said "Except a man be born again [born from above], he cannot see the kingdom of God." Why be deceived?

A religion without holiness. We read that without holiness no man shall see the Lord, but this cheap religion says, "We must sin; we must gratify unholy desires." Such a religion may please the flesh, but remember it will fail you when you are dying. Then you will want to be as pure as the blood of Christ can cleanse you.

A religion that will let you drink, grudge, speak unkindly, go to law, or seperate you from your family, will dissapoint you at the Judgment.

On the other hand, the right kind of religion will enable you to live a Christlike life. Yea, since you are made partaker fo the Divine nature, you will naturally act like your saviour. As a result, you will love the Bible more than any other reading. You will also love long sessions of secret prayer. Of course, you will love all men of all nations, even your enemies.

Friends, how is it with you? Do not rest on a form, but insist on the power of Christ within.

-- E. E. Shelhamer (printed in Hallelujah!, the official gazette of the Bible Holiness Movement)

The Gospel

2008-02-20T07:12:00.000-08:00

Every person on earth needs forgiveness for having disobeyed God (Romans 3:23). We cannot be saved from sin by trying to do better, for we have no way of making up for our own past misdeeds.

Therefore, part one in the way of salvation is: Repent from your sins.

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19)

However, step one alone cannot save us, for without God's involvement, it is merely works. Thus, repentance must be combined with faith in God, for those who wish to be pleasing to God must "believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6)

Part two then is: Believe on Jesus Christ.

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." (Acts 16:31)

Now, what do repentance from sin and faith in Christ look like in your life? "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (James 2:26). This involves the next two parts...

Confess Jesus as your Master:

"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart the God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans 10:9)

and...

Live the obedient life:

"Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)

"Whosoever says he knows God but does not obey Him is a liar." (1 John 2:4)

Too many people stop at part two and think that they have all the salvation they need - faith without works - this dead faith, however is not the salvation that Scripture speaks of. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil; if the people that He has saved continue in sin, what victory is there, since Satan's works are still being done? If you are truly saved, you will bear fruit - good fruit - just as a tree is known by the fruit it bears, a believer in Christ is known by whom he obeys (1 John 3:10).

Envy or Jealousy?

2008-02-06T08:19:00.000-08:00

Envy and jealousy are often used interchangeably, but these terms are very different. Both can be used to describe a "covetous" state of the will, but this is where the synonymity ends.

To covet is to desire - this is not in itself evil - "but," you might say, "isn't covetousness everywhere condemned as evil?" It may appear so, but in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he tells them to "covet earnestly the best gifts." (12:31)

What is the difference, then?

Envy is the coveting of those things that are not rightfully one's own, resulting in ill will and discontent. True love never envies.

Jealousy, though, cannot be morally wrong, for the very reason that God Himself is a Jealous God. So what is jealousy? It is the coveting of those things that are rightfully one's own, resulting in righteous anger at the injustice that is done by someone else taking it away.

Does this give us an excuse to be angry with others? I would argue that, in most circumstances, the answer is NO; because usually we are too shortsighted to see the consequences of our anger. Jealous actions must always be consistent with love, because love is the root of jealousy.

However, there is a place for anger, because Paul admonishes us to "be angry, and sin not," but this anger must result not from injury to our person, but from true, godly love - and our actions must always be consistent with love: "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." (I Corinthians 13:4-7).

What It Means To Be Holy

2008-01-30T08:38:00.000-08:00

"Just what does it mean to be holy people? First and foremost, holy people have given themselves wholly and completely to God. When they determine what is right or wrong for them to do, they do not ask "Can I do that?" but instead "Would God want me to do that?" They are more concerned with God's smile of approval than they are with public opinion. God has first place in their life." (1)

"A spark from the fire is like the fire. The tiniest twig on the giant oak, or the smallest branch of the vine, has the nature of the oak or the the vine, and in that respect is like the oak or vine. A drop of water on the end of your finger from the ocean is like the ocean, not in size, of course, but in essence, in its character, and in its nature; just so, a holy person is like God. Not that he is infinite as God is; he does not know everything, he has not all power and wisdom as God has, but he is like God in his nature. He is good and pure and loving and just in the same way God is" (2)

Holiness is simply this: the giving of oneself to God, as His own. This is our our reasonable service to God; having been redeemed from certain death through the death of His Son, what less can we do than "God, you have saved my life, I am forever indebted to you... I will be your servant." To be holy is to be set apart for God's service...another word for this "setting apart" is sanctification. If I am truly sanctified, I am wholly in God's service - there is no "but God, I wanted..." in holiness: it is "Thy will be done."

Are YOU holy? Or do you have the form of godliness without the power thereof? Which would you rather have?

God has given His children exceeding great and precious promises, such that we may have "ALL things that pertain to life and godliness." Will you claim these promises? Do not delay...God is eager to bestow upon us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. If there is a part of your life that does not conform to His law, it needs to be laid aside, because it is a hindrance. We must run this race to win: this means leaving all our baggage behind and press on toward the mark of the high calling of Christ Jesus. Look unto Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, keep Him foremost in your mind, for it by His gracious power that we began the race, and it is only through His power that we can finish it.

(1) -- Martin Hotle

(2) -- Samuel L. Brengle

The Old vs. The New (Covenant)

2008-01-28T18:51:00.000-08:00

"The weakness of the law was threefold: (1) it could not cancel past sins - that is it could not justify; (2) it could not make dead men live - that is, it could not regenerate; (3) it could not make bad hearts good - that is, it could not sanctify."

(1) It could not justify, because it was the "ministration of condemnation." - II Corinthians 3:9

(2) It could not regenerate, otherwise Paul would not have been killed by it. - Romans 7:9-10

(3) It could not sanctify, otherwise it would never have been disannulled for "making nothing perfect." - Hebrews 7:18-19

"To teach that the insufficiency of the law lay in man's moral inability to meet its simple demands on human behaviour is to err most radically. If the law could not be kept, God is in a position of laying upon man an impossible burden and then punishing them for failure to do the impossible"

-- Adapted from A. W. Tozer's book "Paths to Power"

Tozer makes a very good point: that the defect in the covenant of law was not that it was too difficult to keep, but that it didn't make the comers thereunto perfect. In the new covenant, however, that has been remedied; Christ's work of grace has not only allowed our sins to be forgiven (justification), but we are made new creatures in Him (regeneration), and are given all things that pertain to life and godliness (sanctification).

Peculiar! (The Sequel)

2008-01-15T20:37:00.000-08:00

But what should this righteousness and obedience look like in YOUR life? That is something that would be difficult for me to say, unless I lived with you, going wherever you went, etc., which would be totally impractical. So here's what it looks like in my own life.
I'm 17 (19 now), I live at home, and I go to school at Peninsula College.

Friends:
Like I told my older sister, I treat other people who are carnally (worldly) minded in one of two ways: either tell them about Jesus or show them who Jesus is through my actions, but only if they decide to turn from sin and follow Jesus do I allow them a chance to be my friend. This results in my having very few friends, but for the sake of pureness of heart I refrain from allowing "evil communications" into my life [I Corinthians 15:33]. Basically, people that I know who are carnally minded are merely acquaintances, for I choose (and sometimes it is a hard choice) to be friends only to those who are Jesus' friends – those who obey Him [John 15:14]. Now, this does not mean that I do not talk or interact with worldly people, because I do (some of them may even consider me their "friend" – and I may be the best "friend" that they have), but it does mean that I do not allow them to influence my heart.

Home:
My standard for the music that I listen to is based on "evil communications corrupt good manners." [I Corinthians 15:33 and Proverbs 23:7] thus lyrics must be pure, edifying rather than degrading (e.g. "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" or "Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron" would be acceptable, whereas "Good Vibrations" or "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" are not acceptable), and for Christian music (which most of it is, anyways) lyrics must provoke me to love and good works [Hebrews 10:24], and not lead me toward sin. I may like or dislike certain kinds of music, certain eras in music history, or certain artists, but music in and of itself is not inherently evil, but the intent of the musician (this can be difficult, if not impossible to determine, so most judgment depends on the lyrics) and the content of the lyrics are the qualities by which I judge music either good or bad.
Movies (this includes videogames), I judge by the same principle as music: I Corinthians 15:33. Knowing what scripture says about evil communications, I (and my parents and siblings) have a "three strikes and it's out/stepping into the pitch" rule: three bad words (see "Language" below) = stop and rewind or adultery/fornication portrayed in a positive light = stop and rewind. This doesn't leave many movies that are watchable, let alone well made or good… but I would rather risk the ridicule of my acquaintances than be cast into hell because the movies I watched had taught me to lust and/or to curse my Lord.
Books I hold to the same standard as movies.
Language: in scripture, we are commanded not to take the Lord's name in vain [Exodus 20:7] and again not to use filthy or corrupt language [Ephesians 4:29 and 5:3-4]. Having said that, here is a list of the words that I will not use, except in their proper manner, although sometimes not even then (for the sake of refraining from the "appearance of evil" [I Thessalonians 5:22]):

God's name – "Jesus/Christ/Jesus Christ/etc." without the respect/reverence due Him.
God's name in euphemistic form: "Gosh/Golly/Gee/Jeez/etc." all of which are God's name. In order to give people the benefit of the doubt, I do not usually credit people with knowing what they are actually doing when they say something like "Gosh darn it", unless I have already approached them about the subject.
"H---" usurping the power of God to send sinners there or belittling what God made it for. This includes the euphemistic forms such as "heck".
"D---" in a way that usurps God's authority. This also includes "less offensive" forms such as "darn" and "dang".
"S---/C---/etc." for this is filthy language to be sure. Euphemistic forms include "shoot", etc.
"F---" because as well as (in practically all uses) being vulgar and filthy, this degrades God's design for men/women in marriage. This includes euphemisms such as "frickin'".

Rather than showing myself to be filthy [Luke 6:45], I choose rather to maintain a pure heart and life…which includes the words that proceed out of my mouth.
Fortunately, because my parents are very good Christians, we do Bible study practically every night, reading about 4 chapters a night, as well as discussing any current questions or topics brought up in our home Bible study or that one of us may have had that needs addressing. Knowing the Word of God is extremely important! Keeping my sword from getting rusty and staying in practice with it are keys to using it well.

School:
Tedious and boring, I know, but in essence it is work (merely of the mind rather than the body, although those of you with writer's cramp may beg to differ); and thus I must, for conscience sake, do it as unto the Lord [Colossians 3:23], which means doing the best that I can do.
I don’t take part in many extracurricular activities, which is my own preference. BUT, if you do join the basketball team or whatever, be very careful in the "Friends" department: having to be around others who you would normally avoid can be a very good opportunity to witness, but it can also lead to their evil communications corrupting your good manners.

Scriptures to consider:
Genesis 17:1
Job 28:28 + Proverbs 2:3-6
Ezekiel 18:21; 36:27
Isaiah 55:7
Matthew 4:10; 5:6; 5:8; 5:48; 6:24; 11:30; 19:21
Luke 1:6; 1:74-75
Romans 5:20-21; 6:1-23; 8:1; 14:17-18
I Corinthians 1:30; 10:13; 15:34
II Corinthians 6:16-17; 7:1
Galatians 5:16; 5:24-25
Ephesians 4:24
I Thessalonians 4:7; 5:22-23
I Timothy 6:11-14
II Timothy 2:19
Titus 2:11-14
Hebrews 7:26; 9:14; 12:14
James 2:14-26
I Peter 1:15-16
II Peter 1:3-4; 3:11; 3:14

Peculiar!

2008-01-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

Peculiar, that's what we need to be, because that's what we are (or should be) [Titus 2:14]. This does not mean that we should all wear a neon orange hat or crawl around on all fours. It does, however, mean that we ought to act from a totally different mindset [Romans 12:2]: we ought to be patient where others would lose patience, longsuffering where others would blow up, not lusting after the things that worldly minded people do, etc. [Galatians 5:22-24].

But conducting ourselves in such a way is extremely difficult – like a camel passing through the eye of a needle – practically impossible [Matthew 19:24]! So how then are we to manage to do these things, and why should we even bother trying, since we know it to be virtually impossible anyways?

I shall answer the "why" first. Why should we do what is humanly impossible? Because we are commanded to! "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." [Romans 6:12-13] In other words, "don't sin, but rather do righteousness."

Thus, we know why we ought to do righteous things (and not do iniquity) but how shall we accomplish this, since we know it to be impossible for us? Should we, as some do, simply resign ourselves to sinning daily, since it is impossible to avoid anyway? God forbid! Those who have taken this route end up ceasing to be peculiar – looking and acting just like anyone else! Think about it... good or bad?

Not good, right? That's what I thought – like salt that has lost its flavour [Matthew 5:13]. So how then shall we conduct ourselves righteously, since we can't? Through the power of God. For although salvation and righteousness are utterly impossible for us to obtain for ourselves through our own power, there IS Someone with enough power to give both to us: "With men this [salvation] is impossible; but with God ALL things are possible." [Matthew 19:26, emphasis mine] With our own strength, we cannot serve the Lord all our days in righteousness [Luke 1:73-75], but because God has promised it to us and commanded us to do it...He will supply to us EVERYTHING we need for life (spiritual life) and godliness. [II Peter 1:3]

One last thing... "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in ignorance: but as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, 'Be ye holy; for I am holy'" [I Peter 1:13-16].