The Camel's Hump

I've Moved!

2011-02-14T17:27:00.001-05:00

Well, not really. The blog is moving. The new website address will be: http://www.thecamelshump.org

I have a new design and I hope you like it. I look forward to interacting with you at the new site!

~sdg

The Groundhog & the Gospel

2011-02-02T23:05:00.000-05:00

Today, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow. According to folklore, this means an early spring. What makes this prognostication so surprising (I was surprised, at least) was the timing of it. In the midst of the largest winter storm this country has seen in 60 years, the groundhog predicts an early spring. Ironic is it not? As a majority of our country is gripped by winter's icy wrath, the promise of reprieve is made. This winter will end. Spring will come and it might even come early.

So what does an over-sized rodent predicting the weather have to do with the Gospel? I would submit to you that it has everything to do with the gospel, as strange as that may sound. When we look at the broad sweep of history, we see that God is telling a story. It is a story of judging and saving, for His glory and our good. It is a story that we would never write ourselves. It is a story that in the midst of it, looks hopeless, as if the story is ending in defeat. It can be as bleak as the coldest and grayest of winter days. And then all the sudden, rays of light will pierce the clouds. Covenants renewed. Temples rebuilt. Lands long promised, fulfilled. Messiah born. Curses reversed. Wrath satisfied. Justice upheld. Grace extended. Mercy overflowing.

The Scriptures are filled with stories of ordinary people, who despite the deep darkness that surrounded them, trusted the promises of God and were eventually vindicated. The Scriptures are also filled with stories of ordinary people, who despite the lavish promises of God, trusted in themselves and were eventually destroyed.

For example, if we look at the story of the exodus, what do we see? After the plagues have ravaged Egypt, the Israelites are allowed to leave. But then Pharaoh changes his mind. He send his army and the Israelites are pinned between the sea and the rage of Pharaoh. It looks hopeless. The storm of Pharaoh looms, but God acts. The Red Sea is split and Israel escapes as God destroys Pharaoh's army.

Fast forward to the time of Jesus. There was a buzz about him. People were talking. People were excited. A prophet of old has been risen up. But in a 24-hour period, it appeared to be over. Through a series of rigged trials, this powerful prophet had been murdered by his own people on a Roman cross. The icy wrath of God had fallen on the one whom many thought was the Chosen One, the Messiah. It appeared hopeless. But three days later, God acted and raised him from the dead in glory and power. Jesus was vindicated as King of kings and Lord of lords. To him was given the name Yahweh, which is the name above all names, for its is the name of God.

Do you see the parallels to what our furry friend from PA does each February 2nd? He is reminding us that spring is coming. This winter will end, maybe sooner than we think. Rest is coming. Warmth is coming. Dear Christian, the wintery storms you face day in and day out will end. The gospel has said so. Hold on, for the Resurrection is near. Final rest is coming. Stand firm. Be courageous. For you will be vindicated. Jesus has said so.

~sdg

A Scary Thought on Sanctity of Life Sunday

2011-01-23T08:21:00.000-05:00

"But Lord, we preached pro-life sermons, we voted for pro-life candidates and even gave a pro-life pamphlet to an unwed pregnant teenager. And we did all this in your name, Jesus!"

Yet, to many, Jesus will respond "Away from me, you workers of iniquity, for I never knew you!"

Father, Please protect us from the tendency to make causes our gospel, our god. May we fight abortion with everything in us, because that is what a heart gripped by the gospel will do. May our generation be the one who sees the end of abortion in America. May our generation produce a thousand William Wilberforce's. May I be one.

In Jesus name I pray.

~sdg

The Centerfold: A Warning

2011-01-13T08:22:00.000-05:00

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them! (Psalm 135:15-18 ESV)

That glossy book of perdition
in the hand evokes a dark emotion

The pulse intensifies
Over pages that temporarily satisfies

A soul in need of more
Despite the need within the core

This poisonous meal is consumed
Unaware that he is truly doomed

Each page. Each image. Each bite.
Creates a darkness darker than night.

Yet he presses on towards his prize
The centerfold of forbidden fruit and lies.

A tall beauty never meant for his gaze
Finally, the object of his praise

She smiles beautifully with luscious lips
But she cannot speak his soul from the pits

She looks at him with eyes that pierce his soul
Yet her image is blind, eyes dark as coal

“I’m a great listener” says her profile
But she is deaf and he is in denial

On the page, her form and figure appear complete
Yet she is lifeless and he is a cheat

He, too, has a mouth with which to speak
Yet he is mute as his family falls over the peak

He has eyes to see the harm he brings
Yet he is blind to the one on whose finger he placed rings

He has ears to hear the sounds of impending doom
Yet he is deaf to the warnings that dangers loom

He is among the living, working and playing each day
Yet he is lifeless, his soul in decay

Mute. Blind. Deaf. Lifeless.

You become what you worship and image what you bless.

~sdg

Book Review: Living in God's Two Kingdoms

2010-12-21T15:52:00.000-05:00

Living in God's Two Kingdoms: A Biblical Vision for Christianity and Culture is by David VanDrunen, who is Robert B. Strimple associate professor of systematic theology and Christian ethics, Westminster Seminary California. The book is published by Crossway.*

This book falls into a very large category. Christ and culture is a hot topic in modern evangelicalism. In my estimation, this is a good thing. The fact that a lot of young christians are earnestly desiring to engage the culture at large in a christ-like manner is exciting. Since there are a lot of people contributing to the conversation, there are several competing perspectives for how best to engage the culture. Dr. VanDrunen represents the Two Kingdoms perspective.

Summary

The book is broken down into four parts. First there is an Introduction, where VanDrunen introduces not only the two kingdom perspective, but here he also surveys three other camps within what he calls the "Redemptive Transformation of Culture" movement. The Neo-Calvinist, New Perspective and Emergent camps are surveyed for what they say regarding Christ and Culture. The next section is Part One, where VanDrunen examines the two adams, Adam and Christ. Part Two examines how both Old Testament and New Testament believers lived as sojourners as way to determine how we as modern believers ought to live. In Part Three, VanDrunen begins to flesh out what the Two Kingdom perspective might look like in the realms of Education, Vocation and Politics.

Review

I would give the book 3.5 stars (out of 5). The main gist of the book is that there are two kingdoms in this world. There is the common kingdom, in which all of humanity lives and there is the redemptive kingdom, in which only the church lives. These two kingdoms are governed by two covenants. The common kingdom under the Noahatic covenant (Gen. 9:1-17) and the redemptive kingdom under the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. 12). VanDrunen is attempting to answer how the people in the redemptive kingdom relate to and interact with the people from the common kingdom.

The first two parts of the book were quite persuasive and enlightening and I think, worth the price of the book. As I mentioned earlier, Part One deals with the two adams. The first Adam was created and placed in the Garden of Eden. His role was that of King and Priest. Adam was to rule over the garden and to guard the purity of the garden. Not only that, but as God's image bearer, Adam was eventually to enter rest. As God had worked and then rested, so to Adam was to work the garden and then enter rest in the "world-to-come". As we all know, Adam never entered that rest. Instead, he abdicated his throne and defiled the garden. He was banished, never to return, never to fulfill his destiny. Yet, humanity was not without hope. A second Adam was promised and that promise was fulfilled in the person of Jesus, the Christ. VanDrunen goes onto explain how Jesus has fulfilled the role of Adam and has now entered rest in the world-to-come. He makes it explicit that since Jesus has fulfilled the first Adam's roll, we should not be seeking to do what Adam was commanded to do. Jesus has done it. Any attempts to fulfill the cultural mandates of Adam is to say that Jesus was insufficient. VanDrunen contends that all cultural activities fall under the Noahatic covenant, not the original mandate given to the First Adam.

In Part Two, VanDrunen surveys both Old and New Testament to see how those under the Abrahamic covenant (and thus part of the redemptive kingdom) lived while they were sojourners. VanDrunen states that the Mosaic code only applied to the redemptive kingdom and the commands to kill everything that breathes were only to be carried out within the Promised Land. By looking at how the people of God lived outside the Promised Land when they were sojourners, we can get a clue for how we ought to live. For instance, while in exile in Babylon, even though the Israelites were promised they would return to the Promised Land, they were told to live in Babylon and plant gardens and build homes. They were also instructed to pray for the cities in which they lived, that they would prosper, because their fate was tied in with that of the city. When VanDrunen turned his attention to the New Testament, he points out that the exile terminology is used to describe the church. The church is just like Israel, in that she is in exile, awaiting the return to the Promised Land. In light of this comparison, we are to relate to the common kingdom just like Israel did. We are to work for it's good. We are to pray for it's blessing. Yet, we are to be mindful of the fact that our dealings in the common kingdom are temporary and our work there will eventually be left behind.

Part Three was not as good as the first two (I felt like it became more laborious to read). Here, VanDrunen is trying to show how the Two Kingdom perspective can speak to cultural issues, such as education, vocation and politics. If you're looking for a definitive work on each of these three areas, you're going to be disappointed. It's an overview for how each of these areas might be impacted. The most interesting I thought VanDrunen was trying to point out, was that since each of these areas belong to the common kingdom, there is freedom here for Christians to disagree. Christians can come to different conclusions as to how to do education, work and politics, because those realms are within the common kingdom. The church can only bind things within the redemptive kingdom. Only activities where the church is given authority can it bind it's members conscience on. Whether you choose to educate your child in public, private or at home is freely up to you. The church cannot tell what to do and other Christians can't either.

Dr. VanDrunen has definitely heightened my interest in this area. While he presents a very convincing case for the Two Kingdom perspective, I would like to do some more reading before I commit to this perspective.

~sdg

*Disclosure: I was provided a copy by Crossway in exchange for reading and reviewing the book.

Renounce Your Fandom

2010-11-30T13:23:00.002-05:00

I love sports (just ask my wife). But over the past year, I have grown increasingly frustrated with fandom. So frustrated in fact, I am about do something about it. I, Justin Camblin, hereby renounce my fandom. What do I mean by fandom? Fandom is the realm within sports were ordinary, seemingly respectable people wear the colors of their favorite team and root them onto victory. At least, that's what fandom used to be about. Now those ordinary, seemingly respectable people have turned in to pugnacious pooh-bahs pontificating on things they know relatively nothing about. I can take no more of it.

The epicenter of my disgust is found in the Pharisaical moralism that has been revealed in the fan psyche. It is no longer possible to simply follow a certain team. You must also assail the moral integrity of all those associated with the rivals of your team. You are not a real fan of Team X unless you hate Team Y with every fiber of your being and point out how they are all moral reprobates. A majority of the time the hate directed at your team's rival is based on factors that have absolutely nothing to do with the play on the field or court. They are moral factors or ethical factors. Allow me to expand upon what I mean with a few anecdotal tails from the Land of Fandom.

Here in the Bluegrass State, the University of Kentucky Basketball team is king. Fandom here is intense. And if you're going to be properly initiated into the Fandom of UK basketball, here are two rivals you must hate: the University of Louisville and the University of Tennessee. Benign indifference will not cut it. You must hate these two teams. Yet, your hate and bile will always come from the moral and ethical failings of those rivals. This past summer, fan websites here in Kentucky reported, with glee, the sordid details of a tryst between University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino and some woman (not his wife) he met in a bar. This woman had attempted to extort Coach Pitino and in the course of the trial, the details of that unfortunate night were made public. This was fodder for weeks on the blogs and fan sites. It had absolutely nothing to do with the game played on the court. It had everything to do with trumpeting the moral failings of our rival in order that we might look better. It doesn't end there. This past year has also seen several players from both the football and basketball teams of the University of Tennessee get into legal trouble for a sundry of reasons. In the build up to this past week's UK/UT football game, those legal troubles were again trumpeted on the blogs and fan sites, complete with mug shots. You see, UT is nothing but morally deficient thugs. And don't get them started on their fans. Rednecks and mullets...and you'd never see that in Kentucky. Us Kentucky fans are morally and culturally superior. Ethically superior as well; at least we think so.

Outside the UK realm of Fandom, we are not viewed as pure as we see ourselves. Exhibit A is John Calipari, our beloved basketball coach. Ever since Coach Cal (as he is affectionately known in the UK realm) came to Kentucky, a lot of hate and vitriol has been directed towards UK fans (some reporter said that UK fans would accept Hitler as coach, as long as he was winning, thus implying UK fans would trade the slaughter of 6 million Jews for a winning program). You see, apparently Coach Cal is a cheater. He is the only coach to have the distinction of having two Final Four appearances vacated from the NCAA record books. The first happened while he was at the University of Massachusetts. One of his players accepted money from an agent, which made him a professional and thus ineligible. The second happened at the University of Memphis. Apparently, one of his star players cheated on his SAT back while he was in high school, so he too, was ineligible. There it is folks, proof positive that Coach Cal is a dirty, rotten scoundrel and enough of a reason to shower the UK program and it's fans with hate. If Coach Cal wasn't reason enough, Kentucky's basketball program does have a checkered past. They have cheated in the past and been caught (In fact, it was Rick Pitino, the man UK fans love to hate, that saved the program and brought it back to national prominence, but that isn't mentioned too much anymore...softens the hate too much). So we're not as pure as we'd like to think...bummer.

Perhaps this moralistic fandom is localized in collegiate athletics. Surely professional sport fandom would be far more civilized. Unfortunately, this realm of fandom is also polluted. For example, my favorite baseball team is the Boston Red Sox (followed closely by the Atlanta Braves). If you know anything about baseball, you know exactly who I am supposed to hate. The Yankees. Ever since the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1919 and the Yankees became one of the greatest franchises in professional sports, Red Sox fans have hated the Yankees and their fans with an everlasting hate. While this rivalry is rooted a little more in the play on the field, the moralistic hearts have been revealed again; especially in the modern era. One such example of that moralism is Alex Rodriguez. Initially, he was hated because of his greed. Rodriguez currently has the richest contract in all of Major League Baseball. And Red Sox fans loved to point out his greed. They loved to point out how he wasn't worth the money, that he couldn't deliver when it counted. Not only did we hate Rodriguez for his greed, but the Yankee's owner who gave it to him. George Steinbrenner was ruining baseball. He bought his championships, we said. He didn't develop talent like the rest of the teams. Not only that, but he was a jerk. Tails of his rants and tirades can be quickly found. In fact, he was so dictatorial in his control over the Yankees, he once paid a man to dig up some dirt on one of his own players that he could use as leverage in negotiating a new contract. That got him suspended from baseball. Ole George was a real winner and Red Sox fans love to hate him for it. Back to Alex...he's also hated because he is an admitted cheater. Ignore the fact that his talent is matchless in this generation, Red Sox fans (and others) love to talk about how Rodriguez used steroids. How anyone with any moral scruples could root for the Yankees is beyond comprehension for the average Red Sox fan.

No fandom is exempt, sadly. Lebron James is hated for stabbing an entire city in the heart on national television. Tiger Woods is hated for destroying his family with multiple adulteries. Michael Vick is hated for running a dog fighting ring. What is really interesting is, this moralistic fandom doesn't end at the borders of sports. Politics, religion, fraternities, sororities, clubs and cliques all suffer from the malady of moralism. It effects every institution known to man because man is a moralist. We desperately need and want to earn our own salvation. We desperately want to be apart of something bigger than ourselves. So we give ourselves to all this things, all these functional saviors. Is it any wonder that we must assail the other functional saviors that are competing with the one we've chosen for ourselves? Should I be surprised that sports have been overrun by these incessant, bloviating, empty-headed blowhards that fill the internet?

What should we do? Renounce your fandom! Lay down these functional saviors. We are not citizens of the Big Blue Nation or Red Sox Nation, but "our citizenship is in heaven and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20). You see, I need to have my mind reoriented. My world does not rise and fall on the latest sporting event. I have a feeling that many of my friends could use that same reorientation. It's easy to lose our minds (and our souls) when it comes to sports. It's easy because we are so prone to love ourselves. What we need to remember is the gospel. We need to remember that we are no better than anyone. In fact, we are wicked. And no association can make us better than anyone. Apart from the grace of God, there is no salvation, no matter how high we build that tower. And that's all sports can ultimately become. Another attempt at the Tower of Babel. So, renounce that fandom, and let's spend our time reflecting on the only citizenship that will matter in the end. It sure will make watching sports enjoyable again.

~sdg

Book Review: The Deep Things of God

2010-10-12T21:08:00.000-05:00

The Deep Things of God: how the Trinity Changes Everything is by Fred Sanders, an associate professor at Biola University's Torrey Honors Institute. The book is published by Crossway*.

The simple thesis of the book is that Gospel is the Trinity and thus Evangelicals are deeply Trinitarian, whether they realize it or not. While simply stated, the substance of the arguments are far from simplistic. At times, this book can be a little heady. I found myself re-reading certain paragraphs in order for me to understand exactly what Sanders was saying. However, for the most part, I found the book to be readable and enjoyable.

I've been struggling with how to classify this book. It's not a systematic treatment of the doctrine of the Trinity. It's not a complete survey of evangelical engagement of with the doctrine of the Trinity. It's kind of a mish-mash of both. Sanders seeks reintroduce evangelicals to the doctrine of the Trinity, by showing them that evangelicals in the past have thought well about the doctrine and thought it important. As he does this, the doctrine itself is discussed and unpacked. For me personally, the book has really heightened my awareness of the Trinity, but in a way that allows the doctrine to remain tacit, rather than explicit (you'll want to read the book to see what I'm talking about!).

There where two sections I think are worth the price of the book alone. In the Introduction, Sanders presents a problem to us. If evangelicals are so deeply Trinitarian, why do so many seem to be confused by or intimidated by the doctrine? How is that the modern evangelical is so detached from his Trinitarian roots? Sanders believes, and I agree with his analysis, that the emphatic nature of evangelicalism has led to this problem. What he means is the evangelicals have always been concerned with highlighting certain aspects of the Christian doctrines. Bible, Cross, Conversion, Heaven have been the major emphases of evangelicalism. Sanders affirms this pattern of emphasis. However, when you are emphasizing something, you're assuming a larger body of truth out which a certain truth is then emphasized. The Cross of Christ is certainly worthy of emphasizing. However, the Cross draws it's power and meaning, so long as it's flanked by Jesus' pre-existence, incarnation and earthly ministry on the one side and his resurrection and ascension on the other side.Without those other truths flanking the Cross, Jesus death upon it would have done nothing for us in regards to our salvation. The same could be said of emphasizing the Bible, Conversion and Heaven. They are the right things to emphasize, so long as there is that larger body of Christian truth from which they stand out. What has, sadly, happened in within evangelicalism is that the points of emphasis have been severed from their roots and are presented as the whole story, rather than just the highlights. And when this happened, evangelicalism moved from being emphatic to reductionistic. Evangelicals became "anemic" as they lost connection with all the other important truths. And since the doctrine of the Trinity is one of those truths that falls outside of the emphasis (as it should, Sanders points out), evangelicals have lost touch with it's power and importance. For me, this nailed my growing up. I grew up in a stream of evangelicalism that had become reductionistic. It wasn't until after college where I was introduced to the rest of the story. So I really enjoyed this section, mainly because I connected with it so personally. I'm sure many other young evangelicals will connect with it as well. The second section I thought was amazing, was the chapter on prayer. Sanders lays out a way to pray "with the grain." What he means is that there is a way to pray that lines you up with the way the Trinity works. My favorite section of the chapter deals with how its possible for our prayers to influence God. I believe in the absolute sovereignty of God. What God wills, happens. How do I get off believing my prayers have any impact on God? Sanders gives a plausible explanation for how our prayers can and do influence God when we look at prayer through the lens of the doctrine of the Trinity (you need to read the book to get the answer...I couldn't do it justice here).

The rest of the book is good as well. As I mentioned before, there a few sections that are kinda heady, but Sanders himself says at certain points that readers can skip ahead if the topics feels too deep. One thing I did notice about the book is that Sanders repeats himself, a lot. However, I didn't really mind the repetition. It helped me remember where I was and what he was talking about. Other people may find it distracting or unnecessary, but I was fine with it. I had two beefs with the book. The first is that it had end notes rather than foot notes. I hate end notes. Petty, I know. Second, I would have like to see this book in hardback. It's a solid book, one that I will be referencing again and again. A hardback binding would have been nice.

I highly recommend this book.

~sdg

*Disclosure: I was provided a copy by Crossway in exchange for reading and reviewing the book.

A Modern Day Devourer of Widows

2010-08-30T11:04:00.000-05:00

“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” Luke 20:46-21:6

I have blogged previously about this section of Luke, but I feel the need to revisit it's ramifications, especially in light of the "Restoring Honor" rally held in Washington, D.C. this past weekend.

In the weeks leading up to this rally, Glenn Beck (Fox News commentator and talk radio host) has been asking for donations to help offset the cost of putting on the rally. Any funds raised over and above the need for the rally would be diverted to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (quite a worthy cause). During this fundraising drive, someone sent Beck 8¢. Eight pennies in a plastic baggy. It was all this person could afford to send in. They were desperate to contribute to this rally.

As I listened to Beck this morning (I prefer hearing it straight from the horses mouth, rather than edited news stories), he relayed a story about how the 8¢ sent in inspired thousands more to give and helped cover an unforeseen expense that had arisen. It was a miracle, according to Beck.

I have felt very uneasy about Beck's calls to "return to God." Beck is a mormon. As much as the Latter-Day Saints would like to claim it, they are not Christians. They do not serve the God of the Bible. So to what god are we to return? From what I've heard from Beck, it seems to be whatever god we desire (as long as they are from the Judeo-Christian heritage). Rabbis, priests and pastors were all present at Beck's rally. Beck's call to return to god is a generic call. And the sad thing is, the very Enemy he claims to be fighting against, is just fine with the generic god-talk.

Does morality really scare Satan? I don't think so. Why else would he offer all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus if only Jesus would bow to him? What greater coupe could the Enemy complete than to have all the world distracted by their morality, only to face eternal judgement? A call to morality is simply a call to save yourself in the opposite direction. The immoral try to save themselves by breaking the Law. The moral try to save themselves by keeping the Law. Both will fail. Both will be destroyed.

Another reason I think the Enemy is fine with the generic god/morality talk is that those types of people tend to have a more difficult road to salvation. The hooker on the street corner knows she's of lowly estate. The average pew-sitter with shined shoes and a pressed shirt and a respectable job is less likely to suddenly come to the knowledge of his lowly estate. It's easier for our average pew-sitter to be self-righteous than the hooker. And it's easier for the hooker to see her need of grace than our average pew-sitter. I've heard it said before that you must get a person lost, before you can get them saved. An acute knowledge of your own sinfulness is necessary before one will call out for Jesus.

To what is Glenn Beck calling the nation? He is calling them to return to morality. To trust in the goodness of people. Glenn Beck is calling people to trust in another savior...themselves. While he would deny it, that is the end of his generic god-talk. While he would deny it, he is devouring widow's houses. He tempts them to trust in something other than Jesus. The temple of moralism and self-righteousness will fall one day. Not one stone will be left upon another. Yet, the Kingdom of Jesus will continue its expanse until the day He returns to consummate His rule and authority over all the earth.

Our only hope is Jesus Christ. His blood-soaked cross is the only way we can be saved. Our religious works are not enough. Only Jesus.

~sdg

Found at Apple Store: Metanarrative

2010-07-26T17:36:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I did something most of you will probably consider insane (I know my wife did). A brand new Apple Store was opening up in Fayette Mall here in my home town of Lexington, KY. Since I have been waiting to purchase a new iPhone for myself and my wife, I decided to get up extra early and get in line to ensure that I could pick up a couple of phones (the free commemorative t-shirt was a nice incentive as well). But I have to be honest, there was something in me that also wanted to experience the grand opening of the store. As a borderline Apple fanboy, I follow the going ons of Apple and have read about the exciting and energetic openings at other locations. So even though the main purpose was to get iPhones, I was excited to just go and experience the atmosphere.

I arrived at the mall at 6:00am and found myself number 16 in line. The first person in line had showed up at 6:30pm the evening before (now that's crazy...I mean, dedicated). I quickly made some friends with the people in front of me and we chatted off an on while we sat in chairs the mall had put out for the first 20 people in line. We were able to leave the line as we wished and people respected your spot. The time actually passed by fairly quickly. I brought a book to read. UK Basketball was discussed. It was fun. As time neared the store opening, more and more Apple employees began arriving and mingling along the line, talking to people about why there were there or what product they hoped to buy. As the time for opening came, all the employees began chanting inside the store and they suddenly streamed out of the store and high-fived everyone in line. They were excited. Once they were all back inside the store, the store manager came out and gave a little speech. He asked if Lexington was ready for the Apple Store. We all shouted loudly that we were ready. He then asked the Apple Store employees if they were ready for Lexington and they enthusiastically shouted that they were likewise ready. And after that, they let the line start streaming into the store. We were greeted with high-fives and raucous applause and shouting by all the Apple Store employees. After making my way through all the employees, I headed towards the iPhones, were I was promptly greeted by Kyle who helped me secure two new iPhone 4s, along with some other accessories. I was out the door in 15 minutes, a satisfied Apple customer.

So why did I just share this little story with you? Because our culture would have us believe that there is no over-arching grand story of which we all share in. And because Apple proves to us that even though our culture says it believes the meta-narrative is dead, it cannot help but seek out a part within one.

Jean-François Lyotard, a 20th century french philosopher, coined the term "metanarrative". It refers to a system of thought that seeks to give a comprehensive meaning to history, society, and culture by appealing to universal truths. The Bible is a metanarrative. It provides a way of thinking about the world that is rooted in truths that are absolute for every single person who has ever lived or will ever live. Lyotard saw metanarratives as part and parcel of the modernist movement. He went on to also introduced the term "postmodernism" to the realm of philosophy, which was a way of thinking that rejected metanarratives (hence, it is post-modern). There are no absolute or universal truths. Truth is whatever you desire. Truth is relative and malleable and flexible. But postmodernism has a problem. No one lives this way and no one wants their neighbor to live this way either.

And what I see in Apple in this little experience I had, is that the idea of a metanarrative is still very much alive and well. As I listened to the people in line talk with the different Apple employees, I got a sense that many of them were simply there for the experience. A few people were there to get an iPhone or iPad (which have been in short supply since their launch earlier this summer), but the majority of the people in line around me just wanted to be apart of the grand opening. I myself thought this would be a cool experience (and it was), but if I already had what I needed, I certainly would not of waited in line for 4 hours just get high-fives and black Apple t-shirt. Yet, there were several there for what seemed like solely that purpose. But I would propose to you that one of the reasons several hundred people came that morning to the opening of the new Apple store was because it was an opportunity to be apart of something bigger than themselves. Apple provides that opportunity. Buy their products and you're apart of this global family of Mac users. Speak the language of Macs and iPhones and you can make instant friends. Being apart of the Apple community means something. Just ask the guy at the front of the line wearing his "I left my heart in Cupertino" t-shirt.

But why do we seek this? What draws us to reject the Me of postmodernism for a smaller role in larger story than we could never create by ourselves? Why do we go to the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls to feel small? Why do we stare at the stars in silence? Why do we passionately defend our chosen story in the comment section of blogs? I would suggest that something ancient within us compels us to seek a larger story. Even when we consciously state that "I am the captain of my soul", we blindly act in ways that give ourselves away to another captain. We are simply acting out the etching of our heart. You see, we were created for this. That great Preacher from the past stated that God "has put eternity into man's heart..." Postmodernism cannot account for this inner-drive toward community. But the Bible can. The real question is not "Is there a metanarrative that rules the world?", but "Which metanarrative is the right one?" I believe it is only the Bible that can account for the totality of man. Only the Bible can account for what we find in our world. It is the only metanarrative that can account for it all.

I think the one thing that really struck me from my whole experience at the Apple store was before we entered the store, the employees began chanting "We are Apple". We. Are. Apple. The metanarrative lives on indeed.

~sdg

Of Mice and LeBron

2010-07-09T10:24:00.000-05:00

Let me be frank. This whole LeBron saga has made me dislike the NBA even more than I already did. It highlighted everything I find distasteful. Drama. Self-Aggrandizing. Empty suits with even emptier heads. It was a grand turn-off.

However, to simply write off this whole story would be short-sighted. The more I thought about the whole story and how it's being reported, I couldn't help but come to the conclusion that we have some things to learn from this whole sordid tale.

Positive

In a culture that celebrates and practices radical individualism, for one of the greatest talents in basketball to choose to take less money in order to play on a team where he will not be the only great player is quite the shocker. In fact, it's more than a shocker. LeBron James has just profaned the very culture that lifted him to such stratospheric heights. For seven year, LeBron was King. Literally. But the King has stepped off his throne. And he's done it in a way that the majority of culture does not understand. Why would someone give up $30 million dollars? Why would someone give up being the King? Because James realized something. While an individual becomes a super-star; teams are what win championships.

What a statement! What a timely message for our culture to hear. James' rejection of individualism challenges the very core of what our culture holds so dear; thus the visceral reactions from every corner of the culture (except for Miami...they are as pleased a peach). I think it's a timely message for the church to hear as well. Too often, our church buildings are filled with a bunch of individuals. The concept of church as community is missing in most places in America. Our culture has infected our thinking. Let's not waste this opportunity to examine ourselves. Our reaction to this story may have something to tell us about our thinking.

Negatives

The method is the message. Or another way to say it is, what you say is just as important as how you say it. Whoever Lebron's PR person is should be fired. I have never in my life seen an athlete go from beloved to hated in such a short period of time (Tiger Woods may be the exception). Have you read the open letter from Cav's owner Dan Gilbert? Wow. I think someone is bitter (From now on, I will refer to Dan Gilbert as Mara Gilbert, but I digress). People in Cleveland were burning LeBron jerseys. They were crying in sports bars. Outside of Cleveland, people like me were sick of the hype. Part of that is not LeBron's fault. He can't help ESPN hypes his decision. But the actions by him and his team only increased the speculation and drama. The hour long special on ESPN to announce his decision about made me want to puke. It wreaked of arrogance and self-aggrandizing. I did not watch it. Refused to do so. Besides, the Reds were playing and baseball is better anyways...again I digress. I can guarantee LeBron will not be approached to write a book about winning friends and influencing people. The only friends LeBron has now are in South Beach.

How does that apply to us followers of Jesus? Well, we carry with us a message that is far more offensive that what LeBron did to the city of Cleveland. While LeBron did profane an aspect of culture, the Gospel we carry profanes it even further. We have a message that a lot of people will reject, will hate. Jesus told us so. So shouldn't we be ever so careful that the only way we offend people is with the gospel? If we are offending them with our political opinions or sports opinions or a self-righteous attitude or anything else, we have shut them off from the one offensive message they need to hear. If I allow a political opinion to separate me from others on the other side who haven't heard the gospel, then I've allowed a false distinction to dictate who I engage with the gospel. Even if I tried to engage them, they will automatically have a wall built up to me, because I've elevated this political opinion. The Apostle Paul was very aware of this fact. In I Corinthians 9:22, Paul writes, "...I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some." The offense of the cross is a big enough hurdle for people to overcome. They shouldn't have to overcome our opinions or poor attitudes as well to get to Jesus.

Is legacy more important than winning? Can they be separated? I guess I'm asking if one needs to win to be great. LeBron seems to think so. Here's where he fits right in with our culture. Do you remember the No Fear shirts? Do you remember the slogan "He who dies with the most toys wins"? This is exactly why LeBron chose team over individual. He spent 7 years in Cleveland and has no rings. He needs rings. Rings mean he's accomplished something. Championships justify him. So perhaps Lebron's choice of team over individual is not as pure as we thought. The knife wound in the back of the city of Cleveland is evidence of that. When we think that winning is the path to greatness, people get hurt. And it's usually those who have invested the most in us.

That's why in the Kingdom, the path to greatness is the path to losing. Jesus said that the first shall be last. Jesus said that if you would be the greatest, you must be the servant of all. So in the Kingdom, in the one place that matters, championships mean nothing. Rings and bling won't give you any clout in this Kingdom. But hands weathered in the service of others are priceless. A heart that cries out to true King and longs to do His bidding is what is truly great. You can be the biggest loser in this life and find out your sitting on the right hand of the King himself in the next. And the great thing about living this way, no one gets hurt in your climb to the bottom. Instead, others are lifted up. The legacy of a servant is to be desired more than that of a champion.

If you haven't read the open letter from Mara Gilbert, go back and read it. Did you catch the religious language? Chosen One. Heaven. Hero. Sounds like LeBron James was more than King in Cleveland. Sounds like he was savior too. And when false saviors are exposed as such, all hell breaks lose. I think all I need to say here is, there is only one King and Savior. His name is Jesus and He is one who sticks closer than a brother. We will never be snatched from His hands. In fact, our names are engraved on His palms. He is preparing a place for His people. And He will return one day and put to further shame these false savior kings. Just like Tiger, I'm glad for another false savior being exposed. I pray that the followers of Jesus in Cleveland will use this opportunity to interject the Gospel into their conversations about LeBron. I pray that followers of Jesus everywhere will use this opportunity to talk about the hope that we have. LeBron points us to Jesus. LeBron is a failed savior and all failed saviors point to Jesus.

Conclusion

We are wretchedly complicated beings. Even in honestly innocent decisions, there lays in the corner of our hearts motivations with wicked intent. I think that's the biggest thing we could learn from LeBron. We will never be able to live in perfect holiness. We will never be able to satisfy all the demands. Outside Christ, we're left to build our own legacy, thinking we're doing what's right while we kill those who put their hope and trust in us. As we are exhorted to be unlike Jonah, let us be unlike LeBron. And let us be more and more like the true Savior King. And let us pray that LeBron will bow his knee as we have been granted to do.

~sdg

The God of the Cloud

2010-06-24T11:07:00.002-05:00

At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD
they set out. They kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the
LORD by Moses - Numbers 9:23

Each morning I arise and from my tent I see

The great Cloud at the center of camp which torments me

For days uncounted, the Cloud has not moved

So I sit in my tent, scraping by on daily food

The God of the Cloud has given his law

"Move when the Cloud moves," but no movement I saw

My heart grows anxious, "Why do we sit in this arid land?"

I long for the promised milk, yet I'm held back by a command

I look again from my tent, the Cloud has not moved

So again I sit, scraping by on daily food

Wondering, Waiting, Wishing; I want to just go!

The God of the Cloud is excessively slow!

To my neighbor, I complained about the unmoving Cloud

To which he rebuked me and shouted aloud,

"Where is your faith, my fretful friend?

Were you not delivered from slavery's end?"

"In power and might the God of the Cloud has acted,

In sniveling and complaining you have reacted"

"Repent, repent," he shouted aloud

And I fell on my face, in the fear of the God of the Cloud

With my face in the sand, then I remembered

How with power and might the God of the Cloud thundered

"Let my people go!" and released were we

I remembered feeling free when he split the sea

I remembered the mana that fell each day

I remembered all the great acts; my heart pierced by His ray

Now as I look out my tent, the Cloud still has not moved

Yet now I sit and wait, rejoicing in daily food

The God of the Cloud is not slow as some think

Instead He teaches by bringing us to the brink

The end of ourselves is the beginning of Him

And to those who wait, sweet milk is poured, overflowing the brim

~Soli Deo gloria

Book Review: Primal

2009-12-20T16:48:00.039-05:00

I was privileged to be apart of the blog tour for Mark Batterson's new book, Primal. I'll go ahead and give you my overall rating and then go into a little detail as to why I rated it what I did.

I would give the book 3 out of 5 stars.

Summary

Mark is attempting to take us on a journey to the heart of Christianity. He feels the essence of the faith has been buried under years of man-made additions. He wants to strip it all back and expose the heart of the faith to his readers. The book is really an exposition of the Greatest Commandment. Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Each way we are commanded to love God (heart, soul, mind and strength) is given a section of the book. Mark ends the book with a challenge to engage loving God in one the ways that doesn't come easy to us.

What I Liked

There were several things to like about this book. First, Mark writes very readable prose. I cruised through this book very easily. At no point was reading this book laborious. I also really appreciated the heart of this book. Like myself, Mark sees problems with the western, American church. But he starts with himself. He spends some time talking about the problems he sees in himself and this book seems to have been birthed out of rediscovering what truly mattered. Mark has seen the log in his own eye, before beginning to remove the speck from the church's eye. This is commendable.

I really liked Mark's discussion of simplicity on the far side of complexity. There is too much simple Christianity for my liking. Mark shoots a hole through by it talking about how we need to explore the depths of Christianity if we're ever going to understand it's simple truths.

Editorial Notes

I hate endnotes. With a passion. Unfortunately, this book is full of them. While this is most likely an editing/formatting decision, it's one that detracts from the overall rating of the book. It also seemed like every time there was a quotation of Scripture, it was in italicized font and indented. But not all of those quotes were Scripture. And since there was no reference or footnote for me to quickly find, I'm left wondering if this actually came from the Bible or another source. I didn't like that the Bible was put on equal footing with other sources. I'm sure Mark or the editors are Multnomah meant nothing by it, but I believe it to be a poor decision (regardless of who made it).

A Caution

One area that I felt uneasy with was how the issue of the sovereignty of God was handled in the book. In a section on "counterfactual theory", which is a branch of history that asks "what if?" questions, Mark begins to ask all these questions about the story of Joseph. He basically comes to the conclusion that if Joseph had not made a few key decisions, both Egypt and Joseph's family would have perished. While that seems okay on the surface, it creates far too many theological problems than it solves. For starters, it assumes that one man can thwart the will of God. And if that's true, we are one pitiful people; worshiping a God who we can overthrow if we just realized it. God will accomplish his plans with or without our involvement. Why waste time asking what if questions? It seems silly. God is not a God of "What if", but "What is". This world is his plan and his idea. Later on in the book, Mark says that he believes that God is sovereign. But he then starts talking about free will, like it somehow stops God in His tracks. Mark creates a tension (between God being sovereign and man having free will), but does nothing with it. While I'm quite sure that Mark never intended to give an in-depth exegesis of the relationship between the sovereignty of God and responsibility of man, I think something more was required given the assertions made. Had Mark done so, and even if I disagreed with his theological conclusions, I would have been satisfied that he at least interacted with the tension he created. Instead, I believe readers are left with a more muddy picture, rather than a clear one.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. While I wouldn't make it the first book I read in 2010, if you're looking for a book that talks about the basics of Christianity, this is a good starting place.

~sdg

Book Review: Fearless

2009-09-08T00:05:00.003-05:00

I wouldn't normally pick a Max Lucado book to read. However, since I'm apart of the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers, they were really pushing to have this book reviewed, so I thought I'd take a shot at it. So, here it goes :)

Overview

The book begins with a chapter on why we fear. Lucado then spends the remainder of the book examining different fears that people have and using the words of Scripture to help ease those fears and remind people to turn to Jesus. Lucado never goes "pollyanna" optimistic and never goes "Chicken Little" pessimistic. He's real about the fears that exist in this world, but offers the hope of Jesus that can overcome those fears. The book is laced with personal stories and stories of people he's either met or read about. The stories help the book move along at a quick pace.

Review

Overall, I'll give this 4 stars. I give it 4 because the book achieves what I think it was meant to achieve. The book is soaked in Scripture. Lucado backs up what he says Jesus said by quoting Jesus. That's a refreshing approach for me (sadly, I've run into too many people who say Jesus said this or did this, but never back it up by quoting the Scripture). There were a few times where I furrowed my brow and probably made a funny looking face. I think Lucado rips a few verses from their context to support what he's saying or makes a simple statement that the Scripture, under a close examination, wouldn't support. However, these few moments of debatable scholarship don't detract from the overall theme of the book.

~sdg

The Raven: Public Accounting Edition

2009-08-10T19:28:00.000-05:00

Inspired by a really bad poem by a statistician (click here)

The Raven - by Edgar Allan Poe & Justin Camblin

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of financial lore,

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my cubicle door.

`'Tis some client,' I muttered, `tapping at my cubicle door -

Wanting reports, and nothing more.'

At risk of developing lesions during a bleak and dreadful tax season,

As each piece of my reason left and died upon the floor.

Eagerly I wished the spring; - April 15, my mind rings

Each day the calendar brings, stings for my sanity which is no more

For the rare and radiant gift from above, my sanity which is no more

Nameless here for evermore.

And the sad distant (as if a mile), rustling of each paper file

Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;

So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating

`'Tis some client entreating entrance at my cubicle door -

Some late client entreating entrance at my cubicle door; -

Wanting reports, and nothing more,'

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

`Sir,' said I, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;

But the fact is I was counting, and so gently you came rapping,

And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my cubicle door,

That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide the door; -

Darkened hallway there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no accountant ever dared to dream before

But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,

And the only word there spoken was the whispered words, `Sanity – No More!'

This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the words, `Sanity – No More'

Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the cubicle turning, all my soul within me burning,

Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.

`Surely,' said I, `surely that is something at my window lattice;

Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -

Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -

'Tis the wind and nothing more!'

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,

In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.

Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;

But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my cubicle door -

Perched upon a bust of the Partners just above my cubicle door -

Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,

`Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, `art sure no craven.

Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore -

Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

Much I marveled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,

Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;

For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being

Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his cubicle door -

Bird or beast above the sculptured bust above his cubicle door,

With such name as `Nevermore.'

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -

Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before -

In the spring he will leave me, as the tax seasons have flown before.'

Then the bird said, `Nevermore.'

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,

`Doubtless,' said I, `what it utters is its only stock and store,

Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful disaster

Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -

Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore

Of "Never-nevermore."'

But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,

Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;

Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking

Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -

What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore

Meant in croaking `Nevermore.'

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;

This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining

On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,

But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,

She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer

Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

`Wretch,' I cried, `thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he has sent thee

Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of my Sanity – No More!

Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Sanity for evermore!'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -

Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,

Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -

On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore -

Will there, will there be April 15? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!

By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -

Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Eden,

I shall attain my sanity, that I lost so long ago, attain it evermore -

Attain my mind, my wits, my sanity evermore?'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked upstarting -

`Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!

Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!

Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!

Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of the Partners just above my cubicle door;

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,

And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted - nevermore!

Book Review: The Hole in our Gospel

2009-07-07T19:28:00.000-05:00

Summary

The Hole in our Gospel is published by Thomas Nelson and written by Richard Stearns, who is the president of World Vision, US, which is a Christian humanitarian aid organization. The book is a hybrid. It's part memoir and part rallying-call. Stearns balances his story with broader applications of the things he has learned. The book is divided into five parts. The first part is mostly the story of Stearns coming to faith and his life leading up to him coming to World Vision. Part two, Stearns begins to go deeper in his story and also draws out from Scripture, his understanding of the "whole gospel." Part three is spent describing the great problems that face our world. There is not tons of detail, but he gets the point across; our world is broken. Part four, Stearns begins to get an edge and gives a stinging rebuke of the Church for being "AWOL for the Greatest Humanitarian Crisis of All Time." Part five is dedicated to fixing the "hole in our gospel." Here, Stearns pleads for every Christian to get involved. If we all grab a shovel, Stearns says we can move the mountains of poverty, hunger and injustice. He casts a vision for what the world could look like if we did....and it is an compelling vision.

Review

There are several things to like about this book. The part I appreciated the most was it's balance. When I selected this book to review (I'm apart of Thomas Nelson's Book Review Bloggers), I was a little fearful I was about to get a dose of social gospel nonsense. The traditional ideals of truth and right doctrine are constantly under attack these days and I was relieved to see Richard Stearns uphold those ideals. Every time I felt like he was drifting off into liberal land, he would quickly clarify what he meant and reaffirm that he was not denying the traditional beliefs, only showing how those beliefs intertwined into what he was saying. Stearns is no biblical scholar (which he readily admits), but you can tell that he is a man of the Word and it comes out in the balance he provides through the book. It was refreshing and inspiring.

Another thing I liked is that Stearns articulates the things many do not want to articulate. He confronts a lazy and apathetic western church with the horrors of a world wrecked by sin (the affects are obvious: poverty, hunger, disease, war, etc.). But, unlike the countless celebrities who exploit the plight of the poor for the sake of their own image, Stearns struggles along side those he rebukes. He uses his story to show that he does not have it all figured out. He constantly reminds the reader, that even as president of World Vision, he struggles with maintaining a broken heart for the poor. His tone, which is sharp at times, is never one of being "holier than thou." It's a plea from one struggler to another. It was refreshing and challenging all at the same time.

The last thing I liked that I'll mention is that Stearns helped personalize the problems that face our world. The pages were filled with stories of people I'll never meet this side of heaven. The thing that drove it home was that they are people...they have names and dreams and desires and emotions. It made me really stop and ponder the breadth of that thought. People die needlessly every day and American's freak out about their 401(k) dropping. But beyond stopping me to think, it has caused me to act as I will be prayerfully considering how I can engage the poorest of the poor.

While there was much to like, I did have one over-arching problem with the book. While Stearns is clear to state that we are saved apart from any works, I disliked his connection of works with the gospel. Perhaps I am splitting hairs, but I feel it's important to differentiate the gospel from gospel-effects (I believe works to be gospel-effects). The gospel is simply that God has made possible relationship with Him and salvation from sin and death through the life, death and resurrection Jesus Christ, who is God's Son. How that affects believers is our works. If there is a problem with our works, then we maybe we do not believe the gospel like we say or maybe no one has taught us the implications for believing this good news. The resurrection of Jesus is our hope that we will be resurrected. Our hope is not in this life, but the next. If that's true of us, we are now free to spend ourselves in this life (because this life is of no account to us) so that others, including the poor and sick, can have the same hope that we carry in our hearts and minds. I think the resurrection was an aspect that was sorely missing from Stearns assessment of why the church has got a lot wrong. The American church is still hoping in this life, rather than the next. The American church is not free to spend itself. It will never be free to spend itself, until the hope of the resurrection becomes a reality in the congregations spread across America. My assessment would be that this gospel, one that Stearns says has a hole in it, is really a false gospel; a gospel that requires nothing of it's adherents. I wish Stearns would of called it false. I can deal with things that have holes. A hole in my dollar bill is not that big of deal. It's value is still in tact. A fake dollar bill is a big deal; it has no value.

I realize that I'm picking at seemingly small things, but I believe in calling a spade a spade. If a purported gospel is not lining up with Scriptural revelation, it is no gospel at all; let us be blunt about protecting the integrity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

In the end, I really enjoyed the book (even when I was convicted by it) and would recommend it to any Christian, without reservation.

~sdg

Global Warming Update

2009-02-06T09:09:00.010-05:00

For those new to the blog, the fraud that is man-made global warming gets me a little riled up. So, when I see news stories that, whether intentionally or not, make fun of the global warming alarmists, I have to post it. A few days ago in Buffalo, NY, a global warming conference was held. The temperature was negative 6 degrees outside while the conference was going on.

hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

Here's the link to the story.

~sdg

Check out this Blog

2009-01-26T15:05:00.000-05:00

Hello friends!

I apologize for not posting in a while. The holidays and start of busy season for me have kept me without a lot of time to post. Anyhow, a friend of mine and myself have decided to start a blog which at times will be a running conversation about doctrine and life. It's called 4sixteen . Please check it out and post some comments. We're hoping to start some conversations about the state of the church and doctrine in general.

-sdg

Eric Redmond's Post-Election Thoughts

2008-11-05T11:34:00.000-05:00

Eric Redmond is a black christian and his thoughts on the election are great. I found them helpful and I hope you do as well.

~sdg

Happy Birthday Jonathan Edwards!!

2008-10-05T17:21:00.001-05:00

Today is Jonathan Edwards' 305th birthday. Besides the Bible, he has been instrumental in my understanding of the will and God's sovereignty in the salvation of sinners. Click here (thanks to the guys at DG for finding this) to read some of his deep convictions on the subject.

Thank you God for a man like Jonathan Edwards, who thought deeply, loved your Scriptures and helped me formulate thoughts and understand Your word better.

~sdg

Rebel has dropped

2008-10-02T10:54:00.000-05:00

Lecrae's new album has hit the stores and it is awesome. I highly recommend this album and his other work. I love this guy. He's godly in his lyrics and the beats are awesome. If you love hip-hop, you need this album.

Here's an interview with Lecrae posted at the Resurgence . Check it out.

-sdg

Book Review: The Shack

2008-09-14T14:37:00.012-05:00

This is my first attempt at reviewing a book, but I hope that there is value in what you find here. I had heard a few people reference The Shack and also read a few reviews of the book. I was skeptical of it when I read it, but I believe that helped me. Even though the book is a work of fiction, the ideas that drive the story deserve our full attention. If you do not approach this book with some skepticism, you will buy some assumptions that you wouldn't have otherwise.

For a quick summary, the story centers around the character named Mack. Mack experiences a great tragedy in his life which shatters his world. In the midst of his "Great Sadness" Mack receives a note from god, inviting Mack to meet him at the Shack where the tragedy happened. Mack reluctantly goes and spends the weekend with god (as a quick side note, the god of the Shack will be spelled with a lower case "g", any reference to the real God will be spelled with a capital "G"). Mack meets with the three persons of the trinity and leaves the shack a changed man. The story ends abruptly. I felt like I was riding in a truck that just driven off the edge of a cliff. Boom. It's over. deal with it. On a literary level, it left a bad taste in my mouth for the story in general. I felt like the author was trying to figure out some way to end it and this was the best he could do. You'd think after Mack has this existential experience in the forest, there'd be more to the story. But no, it pretty much just ends.

I want to begin my comments on this book with a discussion of context. No matter what you want to discuss, context is king. You cannot take comments out of their context and expect to discuss the comment intelligently. I hope that I have not taken the author's statements out of context. I have included page numbers so that you can go read the entire context for yourself. While I've tried to be careful to treat the authors comments within it's context, I do not feel that the author has done the same with God. God has been ripped from His context. The Scriptures provide the context for God's revelation of who He is and what His character is. The sad reality of this book is that God has been ripped from the very truth he states about Himself. This critic will be the foundation for the remaining critics I lay out. So, let us begin.

The first objection I have to the god of the Shack is that this god is very man-centered. All god does is centered on and purposed for his love of man. On page 106, god says "We have limited ourselves our of respect for you..." On page 107, Jesus says to the father (who has currently manifested himself as a black woman) "You honored [Mack] and you honored me..." How the father treated Mack made Jesus feel honored. It seems to be saying that god finds fulfillment in man, in helping man. It seems like honoring man is a way to honor God. It seems like this honor is equal. What if we changed the word from honor to glory. Would Jesus ever say, "You glorified man and that brought glory to me"? I do not remember one instance where God declares the importance of His glory to Mack; that through all his pain, God's glory was meant to shine through. There was never this conversation, only that god is love and his love overcomes the pain of Mack's life. This is, sadly, a story of Mack's pain, and Mack's life and how god comes to help Mack be more adjusted and live in spite of Mack's pain. This is Mack's story, it is not god's. God is merely an actor in the story of Mack. Probably the saddest statement comes on page 126 where god emphatically states, "I'm not a bully, not some self-centered demanding little deity insisting on my own way." This is sad b/c God does insist on His own way. His way is the best; the only way! What He purposes in His heart, He accomplishes. God is radically God-centered and we are the beneficiaries of that God-centeredness. If God is not God-centered, He is not truly loving. And, frankly, if God is content being focused on something other than Himself, why should I waste my time with him? I can find the same satisfaction in man he does. Thankfully, I am not left with that option. God is a lover of God and I am satisfied in resting in His good pleasure.

The author also presents sin in a man-centered way. Sin is not committed against God, but ultimately against ourselves. On page 120, god says "I don't need to punish people for sin, sin is it's own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It's not my purpose to punish it; it's my joy to cure it." Statements like these frustrate me greatly. The phrase is worded ever so carefully to get the reader to unconsciously agree with the statement without any thought. Essentially, god has said that sin is man's punishment on himself. God's only complaint about sin is that it hurts his children. Sin is not an attack upon god's nature, but stepping outside arbitrary bounds god set up for social order. A careful review of the Scriptures will refute this view of God and sin. When David confessed his sin of murder, rape and adultery, he states that he had sinned against God and God alone (Ps. 51:4). That's a bold statement. What about Uriah? What about Bathsheba and her family? Were they not sinned against? The answer is yes, they were, however the Scriptures are teaching us a very important doctrine. Sin is ultimately against God and His nature. To act counter to God's nature is to sin. Why is it a sin to lie? Only because God declared it should be so? No. Lying is a sin because God cannot lie (Heb. 6:18, Titus 1:2). So when we lie, we attack God's nature. We must understand that sin is so much more that what we do to others. It is primarily a rejection of God and His nature. It is to spit in His face and say "I know better! Screw you!" My friends, that is what sin is; do not be deceived. With a Biblical understanding of what sin is, we can now see why there is punishment involved. Is sin really what destroys, as the god of the Shack has supposed? Perhaps in the way that it causes separation between God and man. It makes you an enemy of God and the Bible is very clear, one day, God will route His enemies. They will be thrown into the lake of fire. The measure of the punishment fits the measure of the being who is sinned against. Since God is infinitely perfect, to sin against Him requires infinite punishment (or a perfect substitute). If God does not punish sin, then He is unjust. He won't even defend His own name. But we know from the Scriptures that God is full of justice (Ps. 33:5, Ps. 37:28, Is. 30:18, Is. 42: 4, Is. 61:8, etc.), that He will never clear the guilty (Ex 34:7, Num. 14:18, Nahum 1:3) and all He does is for the renown of His name (Is. 48:9, 11). Sin is a big deal. Sadly, the god of the shack uses cloaked language to undermine the Biblical view.

The god of the Shack is incomplete. At least if it was trying to be the God of the Bible. The god of the Shack only talks about love. That's pretty much it. If the author was intending to portray the God of the Bible, then he has committed the sin of reductionism. Basically, he didn't tell the whole truth about the whole counsel of God. As I read, I could here the Beatles in the background singing "All You Need Is Love." I got the feeling that the god of the Shack is a 1960's hippie with rose-colored glasses and a tie-dye t-shirt. I half expected god and Mack to start smoking pot on the deck. The problem with this narrow discussion of God's character is that people who don't know better will begin to think that's all there is. But, again, Scripture paints a different picture. God is jealous (Ex. 34:14). God is wrathful (Jn 3:36, Rom 1:18, 2:5). God is just (Is. 30:18). God is merciful (Deut 4:31, Dan. 9:9). God is sovereign (Ps. 68:20, Is. 51:22, Ez. 20:5, Is. 55:11, etc.). God is loving (I John 4). God is truth (Jn 14:6, I Jn 5:6). God is more things than I have space to write or expound upon or even know (I Cor. 13:12). As a side note, people wonder why guys don't come to church. It's because they only hear about the "love god." Guys will not follow someone they can beat up. Basically, if they can't respect you, they will not follow you. I believe that if we started presenting a fuller picture of who Jesus is, more men would follow. The god of the Shack is the same limp-wristed, dress-wearing, Herbel Essence using, pageant contestant being peddled by most American churches. It disgusts the heart of the true God. Check our Revelation 19 sometime, it'll blow your weak view of God in a heartbeat.

For lack of a better word, the god of the Shack is bi-polar. What I mean by that is that god the father seems to love everyone in the whole world, all through out human history. She is quite "fond" of everyone. What that means, I'm not really sure (which we probably should be sure about). Jesus, on the other hand, loves the church. So, now I'm confused. Does god (father/jesus/holy spirit) love everyone or just the church? The god of the Shack never really answers that question. All we're left with are ambiguous statements that could be construed to mean whatever you wanted them to mean. I think it's kinda important we answer this question. A Biblical understanding shows that God does love everyone, just not the same way. God loves His enemies, but not the same way He loves the Church. These vacant statements on who and how God loves are boarding on criminal.

Another aspect of the unclear statements on God's love is the muddied picture of who is actually saved. There is a scene where Mack gets to be reunited with his father and be reconciled. The reason that was needed was that Mack's father was an angry, abusive drunk. He beat Mack and his mother often. Eventually, Mack runs away, but before leaving, he puts poison in every bottle of alcohol he can find. While it's never explicitly stated, the implication is that Mack murdered his father. Anyhow, the scene appears to be a glimpse of heaven and somehow Mack's abusive, drunk father gets in and on top of that, is allowed this reunion/reconciliation. So, if Mack kills his father while his father is still an unrepentant abusive, drunk, how'd he make it into heaven? It is consistent with the god of the Shack loving everyone, but dangerous in the assumptions underlying the scene. This assumes that all is needed for salvation is going to church (which Mack's father did) and saying a prayer and no life change is required. That is flat wrong! If a man truly submits his heart, under the direction of the Spirit, he will change. If he says a prayer and never changes, he is not saved. You cannot come face to face with God and remain unchanged. This could simply just be a huge whole in the plot line and completely unintentional. If so, scrap this paragraph and chalk it up to a shoddy story editor. However, I doubt that. The author was intending to communicate something with this scene. The lack of any continuity with Scripture leaves this whole even open to wide interpretation. When it comes to who gets saved, themes like that should never be this obscure.

The final aspect of the book I found concerning was that the accomplishment of the cross is being twisted. God makes a statement in the book that the cross was a triumph of mercy over justice. I have some big issues with that. The cross was not a triumph over justice, but a dramatic display of it! God cannot violate His justice. He is required to punish sin (as I've discussed earlier). To say that mercy triumphed over justice is to say that justice was stayed, denied, ignored, in order to show mercy. In reality, the cross was the punishment of sin, and not everyone's sin, only those who were to believe. Jesus purchased the faith of every believer on Good Friday. To say the cross was a triumph of purely mercy is to strip it of it's power and beauty. I was meant to hang on that tree (as were you), but Jesus was my (and your) substitute. His atonement has been imputed upon me (and you). The cross is the greatest display of God's justice, mercy and love wrapped up into one event. It's the shining jewel of glory that we long to see and cherish. Don't strip the cross of it's glory by believing the shallow god of the Shack.

In conclusion, The Shack is a poor attempt to re-write the character of God. Had the author used plain language to make his points, this book would never had enjoyed the level of popularity is has. The veiled language and hidden assumptions are dangerous and destructive. Become a thinking Christian and engage the truth of Scripture as you read. The God of the Bible is not scared to tell us who He really is. He is authentic, the real deal. Unfortunately, the god of the Shack is a fraud, a sham. The god of the Shack is just the same old lie, cloaked in new garments. Save you money and time and read your Bible instead. It is the actual Word of God. You don't have to hike to some dingy shack to spend time with God. Just open the Word and the very God of the universe is there, waiting to be discovered and loved.

~sdg

Don't Waste Your Life T-shirts!

2008-09-12T12:46:00.001-05:00

The crew at DG have just released a new t-shirt line. Definitely check them out. I'll most likely be purchasing one...

~sdg

The Economics of Sin

2008-09-07T16:23:00.001-05:00

Click here for an interest article on the economics of sin.

The article is thin on theology, but I found it interesting nonetheless.

~sdg

The Power of Godliness

2008-09-05T15:58:00.004-05:00

"For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying it's power..." 2 Timothy 3:2-5

That is quite a list. Sounds like our world today, doesn't it? Ever noticed how disobedience to parents is on the same level as abusive or reckless...I guess Paul wanted to drive home a point...we are all guilty. The phrase that really stuck out to me was "having the appearance of godliness, but denying it's power..." What about godliness requires the acknowledgment and use of power? Have you ever thought about godliness as a power source? Why does godliness need to be powerful? How is it powerful? These are interesting questions. Perhaps we should answer the how first. The power that godliness provides is the power to be godly. How does this work? Our godliness only comes from one source, that being Jesus, the Son of God. Our godliness, and therefore, the power to remain godly, is through our connection to Jesus Christ. He used an analogy of a vine and it's branches. Jesus is the vine; we are the branches. We receive our strength, our power to produce fruit from Him. Our godliness is not our own. We receive is from Jesus. So then, the good fruit we bear (godliness) is dependent upon its power received from the vine (Jesus). Without the power we would not and could not be godly. The answer to the why question becomes self-evident. There must be a power within godliness, or ultimately, we would not be godly.

So what was Paul getting at? If one can't be godly without the powerful connection of Christ, what was he condemning? Notice that Paul uses the word "appearance". The greek the word is morphosis. I've decided I do not like the translation here. The word means form or semblance. I think a better rendering would be "having a semblance of godliness..." Now my reason for this is the definition of semblance. It means to appear to be something in form when reality is something different. That's what Paul meant here. Most likely, appearance is chosen over semblance, simply because more people know what appearance means than they do semblance. However, I think semblance is a more precise rendering of the text. Paul was trying to emphatically state that their godliness was merely external. It is very possible that Paul is saying the same thing Jesus did when he challenged the Pharisees. Repeatedly, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, using strong words at times. The reason for the rebukes was their blatant hypocrisy. He called them "white-washed tombs", "blind guides" and "brood of vipers." He admonished them to "clean the inside of the cup." The problem with the Pharisees was that their hearts were dirty and disconnected from God. They had a semblance of godliness. The externals were more or less there. But Jesus knew their hearts. They did not believe in Him. They denied the very power by which they might be truly righteous...truly godly.

This is what Paul is getting at. There will be a time (and I believe, is now here), that people will show the external acts. They will appear to be godly. They will perform these acts to be seen as godly...not because they are. They will love the praise of man over the praise of God. They will have denied the true power source and become a sham and a hypocrite.

May it never be said of us that we had a semblance of godliness. Let us be godly. Let us hold fast to the one power who can change us and make us godly. Hold fast to Jesus and you will never be left powerless!

~sdg

A Plan or a Part: Humanity's Role in the Unfolding Story of God

2008-08-21T20:41:00.006-05:00

Probably the greatest single lie ever bought by humanity is the claim that man is the rightful center of all things. Self-actualization is the highest goal. Man should then do what feels right or what is natural to him, so that he achieves the best life. This was the garden lie. The lie that says, "write your own story, for there is there no grand over-arching story to bring you meaning." Humanity has been tainted ever since; warring with one another, killing, maiming...all in the name of self.

Sadly, as often happens, the culture that has bought the lie has shaped the church, rather than the church shaping the culture. We've taken this same old lie and christianized it. We even have a verse to back up our claim. There could not be a more clearer example of ignoring context than when most people quote Jeremiah 29:11. There, God states He has a plan for Isreal, to give her prosperity, hope and a future. It is a great promise, please do not misunderstand. The problem that arises is that so many churches have misinterpreted and misapplied it. Instead of a grand promise made to Israel (the Church), it has become the christian version of the garden lie. Man is the center. God is the cosmic genie, dispensing gifts to those who please Him. He is nothing more than an impersonal, mechanical force that mysteriously governs the universe. The verse has been stripped from it's context and thus it's communal aspect. Individuality is assumed over and above community. The message becomes, God will make you fat and rich. The allure of following God is not because He is God, but because He'll make you prosperous. That is the bill of goods we (I used that term lightly) are selling in a lot of churches and we wonder why the church looks like the culture and not the other way around (sometimes I wonder if these gatherings can even be called "churches").

Is this all we, as christians, can offer the world? Nothing but a new twist on an old lie? I strongly reject the philosophy the church has adopted. The Bible is clear about what the truth is. God is sovereign over His creation and thus sovereign over the story unfolding within it. The redemption story is His story. God is speaking as each new day unfolds. New chapters are written. He is the author and we are merely actors in His drama (I am affirming God's sovereignty over and above man's choice. While we make "choices" in this life that we are responsible for, mysteriously, God is behind it all, writing the story of our lives). You see, God has a plan and in His plan, His people have hopes and futures. They have riches beyond comprehension. The difference is that the story is about God, not humanity. He grants us certain parts to play. All of us have supporting roles, none are given leadings roles.

The glorious truth of the Scriptures is that God has assigned us parts, not plans. We have roles to play, not story-lines to write. Perhaps, with this perspective, we might suffer better, or rejoice better or just love God and people better. What if we were content with even having a part. Would life seem more simple? Would we take our lumps with joy as James commands? Would the world take notice? Would the real christians shine and the mediocre come to true faith? There is great importance that we get this right. The world needs us to get it right. Jesus is counting on us to get it right! The story is about God and His glory. Our job is to know our role and act our hearts out for God and His Kingdom!

Need to laugh?

2008-08-05T17:25:00.002-05:00

Read this

I've actually driven by the Holy Land Experience in Orlando. My parents actually went...I might need to make fun of them.

Independence Day

2008-07-04T22:39:00.005-05:00

Over 230 years ago, the Founding Fathers gathered to sign a document declaring their intent to separate from the British Crown. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed. We were colonies no more. The world has never been the same.

Today, marks 1,200 days (3+ years) since I declared my independence from lust. Just like when the colonies declared their independence from England, war followed. My war has been no different. There have been victories and defeats in battle. I will fight the battle until the day I die and then I will take lust's unconditional surrender and the victory will be final. Praise be to God, for He has won the ultimate victory for me over sin!

What's your independence day?

sdg

No Woman, No Cry?

2008-06-20T15:38:00.006-05:00

When it comes to chilling out at the beach, nothing beats listening to Bob Marley. He is the epitome of beach life. I'll even listen to him in the dead of winter as a way to think warm thoughts. Despite my admiration for Marley's talent, I have to ask myself if he speaks truth. I was recently listening to his song "No Woman, No Cry." I used to love this song. I thought, "How true is this song?!" Most of the memories in my life that involved pain involved women. I thought Bob Marley was a genius. For many years, this was my anthem, No woman, no cry. Don't let them get close enough and you can't get hurt. Well a funny thing happened to me. I met a really awesome young lady and now we're getting married. I couldn't be happier. God has truly blessed me. I've begun to prepare for marriage by reading all the books I can on marriage. Everyone tells me marriage is one of the toughest things you'll ever do. I want to be as prepared as possible.

I stumbled across this book that I have learned immensely from. It's called When Sinners Say "I Do". One of the more provocative insights I found was this: Marriage is a revealer of sin, not creator of sin. Even though I'm not married, I'm still finding that having another person around who is intimately involved in your life really reveals another side of you. For most people, including myself, it is shocking to learn that there is this dark other side of you that you've never struggled with before. For example, I've come to realize that I can get really angry over very insignificant things. I've just come to this realization. Mostly, because my fiance asked me one time after a little tantrum why I get upset over small things. I had no idea. The temptation is to blame her for my anger. I could use the powers of deduction and come to a conclusion that is wholly wrong. I could say, "I never got angry over little things before I met her. I get angry over little things now. Therefore, she is the reason I get angry. It's all her fault." From my reading and from my limited experience, I am finding this to be the case in a lot of relationships. I see a lot of blame going on and not a lot of responsibility being accepted. The truth of the matter is, that sin was always there. My anger has always been there. My mini fits of rage have always been there. I've just never had anyone close enough to notice and call me out on it. Dave Harvey, who authored the book I mentioned above, likened marriage to a big oven and we are like unrefined gold. The fire of marriage brings to the surface our impurities...impurities that have long existed within us. Harvey's point is this, one of marriage's purposes, as designed by God, is to reveal to us our sinfulness. It is a tool for sanctification. We should expect that sin will exist within our relationship. It is not meant to be tolerated, but dealt with. That is God's purpose. He wants to bring the sin to the surface so that he can properly deal with it. We must not ever blame the problems we face in our marriages on our marriage or our spouse. You are the biggest problem in your relationship. I wonder what your conflicts might like look if you and your spouse both approached it thinking that the other was the innocent party. What if we took to heart Jesus' parable of the log and the speck. If both parties think the log is in their own eye, there will be a lot more grace, mercy and forgiveness offered and offered quickly. I hope so much to approach my marriage conflicts that way!

So, if that's the right way, why are we so prone to want to think the other way about sin within the marriage. Why do we find the need to blame? Why do we blame our marriage or our spouse? I believe it comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of man's condition, his moral state. The Bible is very clear about man's moral state. Man is corrupt. His nature is sinful. His bent is rebellion (while this is all true, we must not lose sight of the truth that man is also created in God's image). Our world preaches the opposite. Man is basically good, perfectible (and not created...in anyone's image). If we believe as the world does, we will easily fall into the trap of blaming our marriages and spouses for the sin in our lives and relationships. If we hold to the truth of Scripture, we will understand that although I am created in God's image and a Saint because of what Jesus has accomplished for me, sin still dwells within my flesh. My sin becomes mine and the fault of no one else. I begin to own my sin, which is the first step to freedom from it. Once I own it, I can take it to Jesus and exchange it for liberty. We need the Gospel every day! Our marriages should be gospel-saturated marriages. Ones that turn to Jesus every day, laying those new impurities we've discovered at His feet and trading them for a life of freedom from the bondage of shame, dishonor and disillusionment.

I pray you begin to approach the sin revealed in your marriage as opportunities for greater growth, not reasons to blame your relationship or spouse. May God give you a heart to see and know the truth about yourself and that your greatest need is Him.

sdg

Baseball Evangelism

2008-06-15T21:48:00.003-05:00

13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. - I Peter 3:13-17

Yesterday was a great day! I spend the day with some friends and my fiance at the ballpark watching the Red Sox take on the Reds. One of my friends who came with us was Kevin. I met Kevin through the homeless laundry that my life group serves at each month. Kevin is probably the biggest Red Sox fan I know. He is even more of a fan than I am and that is saying something! We picked him up at a park downtown and headed north. We got there early to watch batting practice. It was great. There's nothing like seeing all the players close up, hearing the crack of the bat, the sounds of the vendors, the warmth of the sun on your skin and the smells of the fresh cut grass and hotdogs. Kevin had a smile plastered on his face the whole time! We eventually settled into our seats to enjoy the game.
The game was intense. It probably ranks up there as one of the top games I've ever been able to attend. The emotions ran high and low and ultimately the Red Sox were victorious. As we made our way back to the car, I felt good. I thought our day was complete as we approached the car. God had other plans. We decided to just hang out by the car and wait for the traffic to die down. What followed was a movement of God. We spend the better part of an hour talking. Kevin has had some deep hurts. However, those hurts have caused him to run farther and farther from God. He wants to believe, but his pride won't let him. He wishes he could see Jesus and just believe, but he can't. I tried to speak words of truth. I presented the gospel to him. He resisted, he changed topics...never wanting to confront the truth of what I said. I want my friend Kevin to go to heaven. I want Kevin to know Jesus and have true wealth. Kevin thinks I have it all because I have stuff. I think that's the hardest thing for homless/poor to get around is the desire for more. Kevin wants what I have, but the only thing he needs is Jesus. As we continued to talk, 2 Corinthians 5:20 was streaming through my mind:

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

I was pleading with Kevin, almost begging him to be reconciled to God. I am one of the few who have an opportunity to be Jesus to him. Jesus is not physically here. I am. I am a follower of Jesus and Jesus makes his appeal through me. I experienced that last night. I do not know the fruit that will come from our talk. I pray that God grants repentance. I pray that God's kindness to Kevin through people like me will bring about salvation. Please pray with me for Kevin. He is so close, yet so far away.

-sdg

The Death of Me

2008-06-14T22:11:00.010-05:00

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. - Galatians 2:20-21

O wretched man that I am. Thanks be to God that I do not achieve the righteousness required for salvation on my own. I am utterly in capable. My flesh constantly wars against me. The battle is fresh and the conflict is heavy. Every day, the war rages on. I am so thankful for Paul's letters. In the very moment I need encouragement or rebuke, the words of God recorded b Paul are of great help. I see two things in this passage that bring me strenght.

First, my debt has been paid in full. I was crucified with Christ. In God's court, the condemned has been punished. His justice has been satisfied. Since I am not dead, this current life lived in my corrupt flesh is lived in utter dependence on Christ. He is what sustains me as I go about my daily activities. I am sturck by to implications from this truth. First being that my life is not my own. Pauls explicitly states this when he said that we are not our own, we've been bought with a price. We are to glorify God in our bodies and lives. When I was talking with a friend of mine, he made an interesting statement. In regards to sin he simply, but emphatically stated, "I do not have the right!" That is a shocking statement in this country. America is built on rights and the free exercise there of. The culture has twisted it so taht everything is a right, everything is deserved. Sadly, the church has adopted this mindset to a large degree. What would our battles with sin look lik if when tempted, we screamed out "I have no rights!!"? My rights, my will, my volition, my life were all killed on the cross. I am not my own. I am a slave of God, purchased to do His good woks in the world. The second implication is that we daily need communion with God. We must be in constatn communication with our life source. If we fail at this point, we will fail in the other. Without feeding the truth of God into our souls, we will grow tired and wak, unable to figh the temptation. We are beauty starved. We settle for the imposter beauty of sin instaead of the genuine, deep beauty offered by the Word of God. In gazing pon the beauty of Christ, we receive life to our dead bodies, life to do and be all God has called us to.

The second truth I see is that I do not nullify God's grace! There are going to be days when I do not live as though it's Christ living in me. I am going to ract and to struggle and I will fail at some point. What do we do then? I think that's why Paul included this verse as the last line in the paragraph. He lays out the ideal in verse 20. The ideal is a daily, striving communion with God that allows Christ to dwell and control our daily lives. But what happens when we fall short (as we all have)? Paul answers it clearly! We do no nullify God's grace! Our actions, for good or evil do not affect our righteous standing before God. Jesus fulfilled the whole law perfectly. That perfection has been imputed upon me. The doctring is called substitionary atonement. Christ was our subsititute and he has made atonement for our sins. This is the essence of the gospel. Men no longer have to earn their salvation. In fact, they can't! All they must do is turn to Jesus and in Him, their lives of rebellion are forgiven and not only are they forgiven, they are declared righteous. Holy, perfect, co-heirs and co-reigners with Christ! Martin Luther called it the "Great Exchange", our sin for His righteousness. I couldn't think of better trade.

-sdg

Power of the Cross

2008-04-13T22:18:00.006-05:00

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. - I Corinthians 1:17

There is something about the cross that just draws people. It is powerful in it's draw of the elect. The last half of the first chapter of I Corinthians is all about the cross and its affect on people. It is very peculiar how some peopel respond to the cross. According to Paul, there are three responses to the cross from three types of people.

First, the Jew sees the cross as offensive. Paul calls it a stumbling block. A crucified messiah was (and is) offensive to the orthodox Jew. They believed the Messiah would usher in true freedom for the Jewish people. A messiah who was crucified is no messiah for the Jew. The cross is a revulsion to the Jew.

Second, the Greek sees the cross as foolishness. While the gods of that day (and our day) were temperamental and moody, no Greek would ever follow a god who could be killed. What kind of god gets killed by the very people he came to save? There has been early grafiti found that depicts a man on a cross with the head of a jackass with another man below the cross worshiping. The caption reads, "Achimedes worships his god." To the western mind, a crucified god is ludicrous.

The final group of people are simply labeled by Paul as "those who are being saved." They represent both Jew and Greek. Their response is something of joy combined with adoration. In verse 18, Paul gives their response. It (the Cross) becomes the power of God. What an odd response. Paul says that they are called. To some people it just clicks. Something inside of them says, "Yes!" They jump at the cross and embrace it and love it. I believe this text is teaching the doctrine of unconditional election. The something that makes the cross powerful is God's unconditional electing love. It's not like these Jews and Greeks are some how smarter than those who reject it. In fact, Paul says that most of them were weak and lowly...that God chose them to shame the strong and puffed up. It is not man, but God who acts and works. Regardless of your thoughts on the doctrines of grace, I do believe we can coalesce around the following.

We spend too much time not preaching the cross. We have all these diversions. Fancy screens, big choirs, cool music...the list is endless. We are long on the things Paul was short on. He says in I Corinthians 2:1 that he did not use lofty speech or wisdom. He made known only Christ crucified. Paul was the greatest missionary of all time. Perhaps we should follow his lead. Didn't Christ say he would build His church? Why do we spend so much time trying to convince people to choose something they find stupid? We try so hard to make church friendly and light, in the hope more people will come, but once their there, are they there because they love the Cross of Jesus, or because they feel good? Heaven and Hell are weighty matters. Salvation is a weighty matter. Why are most church services so light and fluffy? The implications are scary! Perhaps we should spend more time worrying about proclaiming Christ crucified. I would be willing to bet that God would grant many to come to true salvation.

Some people are just going to reject the cross. It is their nature to reject it. Why do we change everything we do to attract people into the church who reject the idea of the cross? Why do we want that? We water down the gospel and risk lulling people into a false sense of eternal security. We need to be like Paul. Let Christ build the church and just preach the cross! To those whom eternal life has been appointed will be drawn and saved.

-sdg

Just Desserts

2008-03-30T22:11:00.002-05:00

Typically, each Sunday evening, you'll find me watching "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition". I really enjoy this show. Families with difficulties are chosen to receive a brand new home. While not very manly to admit, the show often reduces me tears as you hear about the struggles and tragedies that have befallen these families. While I appreciate the show and rarely miss an episode, there is a theme running through it that I believe to be a horrible lie. This lie is perpetrated not only in this show, but also through out all of culture. Without fail, the "designers" will say something to this effect, "this family deserves this..." That is what I believe to be the lie. This is the lie that haunts America. This is the lie that has made the American church weak and pedantic in it's thinking and theology.

Perhaps I'm coming across to harsh. Or am I? When we look at our lives through the lens of Scripture, does that statement pass the litmus test of Biblical truth? It is my assertion that no, it passes no test of truth and is therefore a lie. Today at church, I met a guy in my Sunday school class I had not met yet. He and I and Nick engaged in a great conversation about the church not truly understanding what forgiveness really means in regards to christian leaders who's sin causes their fall from leadership. My new friend made the statement that we don't understand the depths of our own sinfulness. Because, if we did, we would live differently. I couldn't agree with him more. It is the great truth that can set us free. When we believe we deserve certain things because of this or that, we become prisoners of our own expectations. If what we think we deserve is not granted, we believe we've been jilted. Our arrogance in assuming we deserve good has brought us to a place of resentment and bitterness directed at whoever we find responsible for our lack of fulfillment. Perhaps it's God. Perhaps it's Republicans. Perhaps it's white people. Perhaps it's your parents. Perhaps it's your boss. Whoever it's culturally acceptable to blame, we blame and eventually the blame turns into hate and hate imprisons us.

The truth is that we deserve nothing good. We deserve destruction. Our sin is grotesque before the Lord and His anger burns hot against it. His justice and wrath are soothed only through the slaughter of the guilty. Friends, this is our just desserts. This is what we deserve. Yet God is gracious, slow to anger. His mercies are new every morning. He has not dealt with us according to our sins. He laid them on Jesus. He made Jesus cursed. He made Jesus sin. He made us righteous...not through works, but bestowed through grace. When we properly understand what we truly deserve as sinfully wretched people, we can properly understand exactly what Jesus accomplished on the cross for us and that understanding should bring us low and humble as we approach the throne of grace. To often, we presume upon God's kindness and make demands we ought not make. We try to bargain with God. If he does this or that, we'll do this or that. That's not how it works. God does not negotiate. God tells us how it's going to go down. We can either rejoice or rebel.

I pray that each one of us come to a greater understanding of our sinfulness, not so that we become tortured souls, loathing the very day of our birth. Instead, I seek for us to be humble and appreciative of even the small good things that God sees fit to give us. Despite all the hard times and sins committed against us, we deserve a lot worse. I pray the Spirit uses these thoughts to spur you on to truly cherishing your election to God's family. He is so good. We are so undeserving. Praise be to God, our Father! May He complete the good work started in you!

-sdg

Veritas

2008-03-08T11:24:00.003-05:00

What is Truth? - Pontias Pilate

Language is truthful, not when the meaning attached to the words by the speaker, but when the meaning intended to be produced in the mind of the particular person addressed, is in accordance with the facts. - J. Gresham Machen

The context of this statement was dealing with liberal preachers who will gladly proclaim Jesus to be God. The problem is that the liberal and the Christian have two different meanings of the word of God. The phrasology is the same, the meaning could not be more different. I think that is interesting that as we enter the political season, we will have ever candidate at one time or another talk about Jesus and how they believe He is God. Let us be wary that that might not necessarily mean Jesus is Creator and Judge of the universe.

While I think it is important to discenr what people mean when they claim Jesus as God, I want to approach the subject from a different angle. I want to talk about telling the truth. All through out Scripture, we are commanded to speak the truth. Psalm 15:1-2 states,

1 O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart

According to David, a Christian is marked by speaking the truth. God, through the prophet Zechariah, states,

16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace

Paul gives this exhortation to the Ephesians at 4:25,

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

Here, the command is obvoiusly among Christians. While this seems like a "duh" statement, it was a problem among church at Ephesus. They weren't telling the truth to their Christian brothers and sisters. Apparently, the Colossians were having the same issue. In 3:9, Paul writes,

9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices

Paul equates lying with the old self. There are echoes of Psalm 15 here. If a Christian is one who speaks truth, then an unbeliever is one who speaks lies. Falsehood is part of the old nature. Truth is apart of the new nature.

It is plain to see that truth is commanded of Christians. So what then is truth? I think Machen got it right. Truth is truth when the words we speak convey a meaning to our audience that is in accordance with reality. IF we say something and our audience takes that word to mean something different and our intent was to deceive, we have not spoken truth. We must be careful not to use language in such a slick way to appease our audience, but at the same time, mean something entirely different. I think that it could be very easy to speak in a way that conveys a sense of truth, but in reality is an out and out lie. I have been challenged to watch my phrasing so that all my words convey truth, not just the mere appearence of truth. I challange you to do the same.

-sdg

Jesus the Priest

2008-03-03T23:00:00.002-05:00

During my testimony, I described how Jesus relates to us in three ways. As Prophet, Priest and King. I'd like to discuss the Priest relation. I always got the obvious priestly references. In Hebrews, he's called our high priest. We know he is not unsympathetic because he was tempted in every way that we were. I know he makes intercession before God the Father for us. Like the Priests of old, Jesus was not only offered up the sacrifice for my sin, but was the sacrifice for my sin. It's is quite obvious that Jesus relates to me as the Priest. I've recently come across some very subtle ways in which Jesus relates to me as Priest.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus waited until he was 30 years old before starting his ministry? I've always wondered that. I was reading Numbers last night (I finally made it throug Leviticus) and I came across a census. That's how Numbers gets it's name...because God wanted to count the people. The warriors were counted, those 20 years old and up. They number above 600,000. Big army, even for today's standards. The priests are then counted; those Levites who are elibigle to serve in the tabernacle. There was a slight difference in who was counted. Only men, aged 30 and above were allowed to serve in the tabernacle. Did you catch that? 30. It hit me. Why did Jesus wait till He was 30 to start His earthly ministry? In a simple and subtle way, He was proclaiming to His Jewish audience that He is the last High Priest. Nothing negates his eligibility. Not even His age. It's amazing. Even to the most inate details, God is telling His story...no i is left undotted, no t's are left uncrossed. This, of course, got me thinking. Could there be more?

As I read, there are many more conditions for being a Priest. But, Jesus seems to break a lot of those rules. For instance, priests aren't allowed to touch dead people (unless its immediate family). Priests aren't allowed to touch lepers. Priests must marry virgins. They cannot marry divorced women, defiled women or widowed women. The litany of rules continues. Jesus never touched a dead person. When he touched them they came to life. Jesus never touched a leper, for when he touched them, they became well. The Bride of Christ is a spotless bride, cleansed from her whoredom, completely changed into the virgin. Jesus is our Priest. In more ways than we can ever imagine.

I guess this was saying to me that God is so much bigger than I can ever imagine. He fits into no box. He transcends all. He is above all. He is in control of all. And He is good. For that I am grateful. Be encouraged. God's detail in laying out the life of His Son also finds it's way into our lives as well. God cares that much about telling his story, that he has not forgotten the details. He knows the ends and He will provide the means...this I know to be true.

sdg

Is Jesus A Christian?

2008-02-24T23:54:00.007-05:00

J. Gresham Machen asks a very provacitive question in his chapter (from Christianity & Liberalism) on the divergent views of Christ. He asks if Jesus was a Christian. I have never asked myself that question. I now believe how we answer that question will shed great light on our attitudes and beliefs about who Jesus is and what he came to accomplish. Before I go on, answer the question in your head. Is Jesus a Christian?

Well, what do you think? Is Jesus a Christian? If you do a quick search of religions, you'll probably find out who founded the religion. The one who founds the religion is always pointing others to some thing that is the object of the new religion. From that object, worshippers garner their sense of purpose and maybe even a little hope. In the major religions that are practiced in our world today, none of the founders of those various religions claimed themselves to be the object of that religion. Muhammad did not claim to be Allah, only His prophet. Buddha did not claim to be god. The Hindus have many gods. Joseph Smith did not claim to be God, only his prophet. L. Ron Hubbard did not claim to be God. We can safely say that each of these founders were the first of their respective religions. The first Muslim, the first Buddhist, the first Hindu, the first Mormon, the first scientologist. So that brings me back to our question. Is Jesus a Christian? Lets deal with the two possible answers separately.

First, we could say, yes, Jesus was a Christian. On the surface, that sounds nice. I follow Jesus, if I'm a Christian, doesn't that make Him a Christian? I believe a deeper examination will reveal a different answer. One problem Machen describes with this answer is that Jesus proclaims Himself to be the object of faith, not an example of faith. We are not called in Scripture to have faith in God like Jesus had faith in God. We are called to have faith in Jesus. Jesus is not our example of faith like Muhammad is an example of faith. For a Muslim to worship Muhammad as Allah, that is heresy. Yet we Christians worship Jesus as God. There is only one name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved. It is the name of Jesus. Secondly, the problem of sin that Christianity alleviates also disallows Jesus from being a Christian. You become a Christian by admitting you need your sin problem fixed by Jesus. How can Jesus fix our sin problems if he too is admitting He needs a sin problem fixed? Since Jesus is the object of faith and the means by which we attain salvation, Jesus cannot then be a Christian. He lived a perfect life and continues to live perfectly in heaven. He has no sin problem. He came to deal with our sin problem. He transcends the movement. No other worldly religion can make this claim. Only Jesus. His otherness is what makes Christianity even possible. If he was just like us and we were to only have faith like Jesus, our faith we be utterly worthless, for we would still be dead in our sins.

What if we answer the other way. Jesus wasn't a Christian. That sounds almost like heresy (I'm beginning to think that if it sounds like heresy to the modern church, it's probably not heresy at all and quite sound biblical doctrine...but that's another story). What was Jesus? We cannot deny that Jesus was a devoutly religious man. He prayed, He fasted, He went to synagogue. So what was Jesus' religion? Machen states it is the religion of perfect sonship. Perhaps only in heaven will we ever attain to such heights. Machen talks in terms of religions. I personally hate religion. Religious people get on my nerves. I just want Jesus to go Ultimate Fighter on them like He did on Paul. Kick 'em around a bit and get the their thoughts right...but I digress. Perhaps it would be more helpful to talk in terms of relationship. Does Jesus relate to God like I relate to God? I hope you are giving a resounding no! Jesus is God. He relates to himself and the other members of the Godhead in a totally different way that we cannot even grasp. It is a relationship which we will never experience this side of heaven. Our sin masks it. Paul says we see dimly now, but at death, clarity of sight. So if Christianity is a relationship, between man and God, it is safe to say that Jesus was no Christian. He was something more, something deeper, something all-together mysterious. He was the final revelation of Christianity, it's ultimate object.

I think the significance can be huge. I believe a generation of Christians grew up in a Sunday school system that taught them to be like Jesus. We are told to imitate Jesus. While a worthy goal, we can never fully attain it. We can never relate to the Father as He does. We can never attain sinlessness. All we have that resembles Jesus is imputed upon us by Jesus Himself. Perhaps we should shift our teaching. Perhaps we should teach children to have faith in Jesus, instead of teaching them to be like Him. The difference sounds subtle, but the ramifications are huge. Perhaps we'll have less legalism plaguing the church. Perhaps there would be less Christians consumed by the guilt over their inadequacies. Perhaps the faith in Jesus would bring a revolution to the church in which many souls are brought into the Kingdom of Light.

My challenge to you is to quit trying to be like Jesus and instead have faith in Jesus. Faith that he will supply your every need. He will supply your atonement, your grace, your strength, your righteousness, your propitiation. I challenge you to embrace Jesus for all that is and wants to be for you. Don't limit him to a mere example of acceptable piety. Embrace the freedom of the abundant life that He offers.

sdg

Unto Others

2008-02-11T20:56:00.000-05:00

12"So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.13 "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. - Matthew 7:12-14

I was struggling with what my devo would be this week. I haven't had much time lately to read my book, so I had nothing new there. Well, I have my topic and I'm preaching to me. Today was an okay day. It's Monday and cold...can't really be that great. Towards the end of my day I found out I got blamed for a practical joke in which I did not participate. I decided to give the girl who indirectly implicated me a hard time...actually there were several of us. Turns out she really thought we were all mad at her and she started crying because she was embarrassed. I immediately felt like a giant tool (can you say "tool" in a devotion?). The group of us apologized profusely and we all had a good laugh (including the girl who was crying) about it, but I left work with a nagging feeling...or perhaps it was more like a bullhorn in the ear. Conviction was setting in.

I think one the main reasons to memorize Scripture is so that it can be recalled to help in times of trouble. I also believe the Holy Spirit uses those memorized texts to convict us of our sin. Ephesians 5:4 was blaring in my ears:

4Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Earlier Paul writes in 4:29

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Wow, I have a ways to go. James does not have nice things to say about the tongue. He says it is set on fire by hell (3:6) and calls it a "restless evil, full of deadly poison (3:8)." Jesus said that out of the depths of my heart, my tongue speaks. Things are not looking good for me. I have this uncontrollable tongue, a restless evil, that is speaking from my heart. O God, save me from myself!

Thankfully, he has. Perhaps your saying, "JC, you were just joking. Don't be so hard on yourself." Now Solomon is mocking me.

18Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death 19is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, "I am only joking!" - Proverbs 26

Now I am a crazed madman reigning down death. Ugh!

So why should you care? I think we have a tendency to mess around with people a lot. We like to screw with each other and make jokes and comments. I guess my encouragement to us would be to watch our joking. Our talk should build others up! They should not be torn down by our negative speech. Let us enter the narrow gate and treat our neighbors how we expect to be treated.

-sdg

Sinfully Unconscious

2008-02-04T14:28:00.000-05:00

At the very root of the modern liberal movement is the loss of the consciousness
of sin." - J. Gresham Machen

I was listening to a sermon by Mark Driscoll and he was talking about one thing he struggled with before he became a Christian was that he really didn't think he was that bad. Compared to everyone else, his life wasn't that awful. He didn't grasp or understand the depth of his wickedness. After hearing that segment and reading Machen's chapter on God and Man (from Christianity & Liberalism), I realized that the first great obstacle to accepting Christ is pride, manifested in the belief that man is inherently good. Man is naturally unconscious to his sin. His every day life goes on, yet he is oblivious to the grievous sins mounting up against him. That unconsciousness leads to a great ignorance. Romans 10:3 states:
For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.
Man thinks he is righteous. He seeks to establish his own standard of righteousness and earn it. Man is so convinced of his inherent goodness that he rejects the only means by which he can be truly righteous; faith in Jesus, the Messiah. That is our world in a nutshell. Everyone thinks they are good people. If they are good, they have no need which cannot be fulfilled within themselves. Man is self-sufficient. God is irrelevant. Having a broken view of man leads to all sorts of intellectual leaps. Since it is believed that man is inherently good, man cannot sin. He is only acting out his nature and his nature is good; especially, since there is no objective truth. If there is no sin, then there is no need of a savior to redeem us from our sin. Machen spells out the logical result. He states:

Without the consciousness of sin, the whole of the gospel will seem to be an
idle tale.

Why would man need Jesus if sin is not an issue? He has no need of Him. In the mind of man, religion is nothing more than a crutch for the perceived weak.
I think Jesus was keenly aware of this mindset. In Matthew 9:11-13, an interesting scene takes place.

11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why
does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 12 But when
[Jesus] heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but
those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means,'I desire mercy, and
not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

Did you catch that? Jesus came for the sick and dying. Those tax collectors and sinners knew they were such. They were social outcasts. There lives were not secrets. They understood their need. That is who Jesus came to save. The Pharisees had no need for Jesus. They were "Abraham's children." They had a righteousness all their own, not realizing it was nothing more than menstrual rags. In order for the gospel to have any hope of taking root in a person's life, that person must grasp, at least in part, the depth of their own wickedness. Machen goes on to say that first step in becoming a Christian is becoming aware of one's own sin. Without that awareness, we have no need of Jesus.
So what are the implications of this truth? First, I think the church has to be careful about being "seeker sensitive." Too many churches are afraid to reveal to people their sinfulness. They talk in meaningless platitudes and do not preach in a way that convicts of sin. Machen writes:

The fundamental fault of the modern Church is that she is busily engaged in an
impossible task - she is busily engaged in calling the righteous to repentance.

He goes on to say:

Even our Lord did not call the righteous to repentance and probably we
shall be no more successful than He.

I love that! We waste our time telling people they are good. Perhaps we'd see far greater number come to faith in Jesus if we preached in a way that made them understand their need of it.
Second, I believe we ought to daily wrestle with our sinful nature. We should remind ourselves that we have a need. It is only by the daily allowance of God's grace do we make it. We have a sin sickness and we need the Great Physician each and every day. Only then can we truly maintain the righteousness bestowed upon us. We get it daily from Jesus.
Finally, I think this should alter the way we approach sharing the gospel. I don't think this means picking up the bullhorn and heading downtown. I think it means greater patience with our unbelieving friends as we spend time sharing Jesus with them. They will initially reject Him. They think they're fine just the way they are. It is at this point I suggest praying like a Calvinist...that God in His great mercy might grant your friend a consciousness of their sin and thus turn to the only one who can solve their problem...Jesus. Only God the Holy Spirit can bring that awaking in a person's life and it is our duty to pray for the light to switch on.

-sdg

Fruit and Salvation

2008-01-16T15:13:00.000-05:00

There are seven guys in my life group. So we decided that each guy would have a day to share a devotion with the rest of the group. The following is my devotional. I hope that God might use it powerfully in your life.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. - Matthew 3:7-10

This passage was in my daily reading last week and I had planned to use it today for my devotional. I thought it was interesting that Johnny chose to talk about the well-watered tree from Psalm 1. Verse 3 of Psalm 1 says that the tree yields its fruit in season. Here we find a warning from John the Baptist to the "trees" of Jesus day regarding the fruit that they are yielding.

As I read this I thought back to our conversation last Wednesday when we talked about how good fruit is something that comes out naturally. Good trees produce good fruit. Bad trees produce bad fruit. To remind ourselves what I mean by fruit, let's look at Galatians 5:22-24:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

So that leaves me with a question. How do fallen, depraved and sinful people produce good fruit? We know that our human nature is bad, it is for sin, according to Galatians 5:17.

17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Ephesians 2 is more explicit:

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

So how do bad trees produce good fruit? They become good trees.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. - 2 Corinthians 5:17

and

3 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." 4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into hismother's womb and be born?" 5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of theSpirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." - John 3:3-8

There is a fundamental change. The word Paul uses is Metmorphoo. Which is where we get the English word metamorphosis. We go from ground crawling worms to winged butterfly. We are completely changed.

I believe there are many implications behind this. The first being that the modern western church is in trouble. Many who attend it's services on the weekend are not saved. They are churched, not changed (if I can quote Jon Weece). And church (used in its generic Sunday morning service sense) will not save you. If anything, it will make you a mean spirited, closed-minded fool who drags the name of Christ through the mud.

I think the second implication is that we need to watch ourselves very closely. If we do not see the fruit listed above in Galatians, we need to ask ourselves some serious, sobering questions. Daily, we should be examining ourselves, looking for fruit. Remember, the axe is laid to the root of the trees not bearing good fruit...fruit in accordance with repentance. Jesus' words in Luke ring loud and clear:

34 "But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." - Luke 21:34-36

Praying that I stand with you all on the last day,

-sdg

The God Who Is

2008-01-03T13:18:00.000-05:00

"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor the fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places." - Habakkuk 3:17-19

The Lord give and the Lord takes away. Our confidence is not in the stuff we receive but in God himself. He is the ultimate source of our good. He is the ultimate means of our eternal satisfaction. God is. Everything else exists at God's good pleasure. There is why his gifts make such poor gods. They were intended to be pointers to a greater reality. That God Himself is the ultimate gift. Money, sex, alcohol, drugs, luxury, comfort...the list is endless. The very sun that warms our planet will one day be replaced by the light shining forth from the glory of God! I sometimes wonder what heaven will be like. These verses make me think that the common answers people give miss the point of the pleasure we enjoy in this life. People think that heaven will be this cacophony of pleasure; a hedonist's dream come true. The great (or sad) axiom of the sixties will become reality (minus any consequences): If it feels good, do it! From that, visions of everything from golf, to beaches to rivers of Chick-fil-a sweet tea have been offered up to explain what heaven is like. Very rarely do you hear anyone say, "God will be there," or "Jesus will be there and we can worship him forever!" The modern church feels necessary to invent heavenly pleasures to interest people in perhaps choosing Jesus. Choose Jesus and play free golf for eternity (I can almost hear the jingle for "The Villages" playing). Choose Jesus and see your long dead relatives who also choose Jesus. Choose Jesus and sit on the pristine beaches of heaven sipping frozen fruity drinks (non-alcoholic of course...remember, there is no booze in heaven). It is quite ludicrous when you think about it. We are peddling heaven like a retirement community in south Florida. A place where all your worries are gone and the sun never stops shining. The church is afraid to tell people that the worship of God is continuous in heaven (that line doesn't typically bring in the masses). Too many "christians" (and I use that term lightly) abhor the thought of an eternal worship service. Perhaps those people don't truly understand their own sinfulness. In fact, I know they don't. When one comes to understand even a small bit of how deep their sinfulness goes...the saving work of Christ becomes that much sweeter to the saved soul. It becomes even sweeter when the one understands that salvation is not a choosing of man, but the choosing of God. When that light has shined forth into the heart of the elect, the idea of an eternal worship service sounds like heaven.

It is scary to think about those who chase heaven for reasons other than Jesus. Sadly, they will be among those who Jesus does not know. They will be cast aside into the eternal flames of destruction because they treasured something other than Jesus. Their god was heavenly pleasure and their reward will be hellish torment.

These verses spoken by the Holy Spirit through the prophet Habakkuk will be read at my wedding. I want to remind myself, my wife and my guests that in this moment of great joy and pleasure, that God is the true pleasure and the true joy. All these earthly things are but shadows of the joys to come. I want people to cast down their selfish, pleasure-hungry visions of heaven and embrace a God-centered vision of heaven; one in which we enjoy not his things, but God alone in all his magnificent and all-encompassing glory.

-sdg

Inclusionary Gospel

2007-12-22T13:05:00.000-05:00

"Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God."

- Romans 15:7

I love how relevant the scripture is. No matter what circumstance, God has spoken. I've been having a sinful attitude as of late. I was wanting to exclude someone from my circle. I had come up with all these arguments and I was using scripture to justify my sin. That is a scary place to be when I think about it. I want the Scriptures to inform me, not me use Scriptures out of context to meet my own ends. I am a sinful man. After I was forced to make a right decision, I was convicted that my attitude was wrong. I love it and I hate it. I love that I recognize it...there's hope for me yet. I hate it because I am sinful. I have a very long way to go. The Gospel is inclusionary. Christ welcomed me when I was of ill repute. I have a duty to welcome others in the same manner.

O God - save me from myself and help me to learn that the Gospel is inclusionary and not exclusionary.

sdg

The Whoredom of Idolatry

2007-12-19T19:30:00.000-05:00

"My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore."

- Hosea 4:12

The thing that struck me, besides the graphic language, is that idolatry is a fruit sin, not root sin. God is telling me that my idolatry is the result of something. I have the spirit of whore. I have a

belief that what I have in God is not enough to fulfill me. Since I believe that I can fulfill myself outside of God, I seek out other things. I commit two sins. I turn my back on God an attempt to

fulfill myself on other lovers.

Another thing that struck me was the irrationality of sin and idolatry. It makes no sense. Can a block of wood or a walking staff really provide us with the meaning we so desire? How stupid!

The same is true of any idol, whether it be sex or money or pride or power. To seek after it will only leave you empty and dry.

May you cast down your idols down and fall in repentance. He is there to pick you up and make you whole again.

sdg

My Grandma Just Died

2007-11-16T06:15:00.000-05:00

"Man who is born of woman is few of days and full of trouble. He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like shadow and continues not." - Job 14:1-2

My grandma just died. Life is so short and so fragile. Despite all the great mercies of medical knowledge and technology, life cannot always be maintained. Death still reigns in this world. Everyone will eventually die. There is no getting around it. Pain and suffering exist in this world. They will continue to exist until Jesus comes again. However, because of Jesus, death, pain & suffering take on new meaning. Death is not the end. The sting was removed by Jesus' death. Death can now be embraced, rather than feared. It is the way to God. My grandma is in the presence of Jesus right now and I can't think of a better place to be. Pain and suffering can be endured because our hope is in Jesus. We know that this life is not everything. Right now, we are but mist, eventually, we will be living forever in the service of our King and God. I do not deny the raw feelings of death or suffering. It is real and painful, but our pain is not pointless. God is doing a marvelous work in us through it. Embrace it and ask God for eyes to see and ears to hear. That is my prayer in my moment of pain. "O God, use this to mold me more into your likeness."

-sdg

Mindful of God

2007-10-20T08:23:00.001-05:00

"For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly." - I Peter 2:19

The injustice in our world is rampant. Sin reigns in the hearts of people and the end result has been great injustice. Slavery, to this day, is still practiced in the world. Men beat their wives because they cooked the meal wrong, or worse, burned it. Children are abused, both physically and emotionally. Injustice is all around us. Because of the suffering that exists, our world has created a certain aura around those who suffer. Suffering in and of itself has become a means of righteousness. I think that Peter was aware of this and gave us a warning. I believe Peter is pointing us away from this empty suffering. The reason I believe this is the little clause he added to the sentence..."mindful of God." Without this clause, the focus is no longer on suffering, but God Himself. It is only when we suffer with God on our mind that we suffer graciously. What does it mean to be mindful of God? I think it is an important question to ask. If we are to suffer as God has called us to, we ought to know what this clause means. The perfect example was Jesus. How did he suffer? What was it about his disposition and actions that made his suffering worthwhile? I think Peter answers our question. In v.23, Peter tells us how Jesus responded to the injustice he suffered. "When He was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly." I believe we have big shoes to fill. Let's discuss this one part at a time. Jesus did not return evil for evil. There was no tit for tat, no eye for an eye. As He preached in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus turned the other cheek. This is truly amazing A God who does that which He commands His creation! To deepen the thought, consider this; Jesus is God, God has decreed that revenge is His, He will repay for injustice. In perfect obedience, Jesus laid aside His rights as God and subjected Himself to the authority of the Father and live in the manner of a servant. That is the type of God we serve; One who will show us how to live.

Let's continue pondering the verse. Peter ends by saying that while suffering, Jesus did not threaten. Let me stop for a moment. Here is the King of the Universe, with all authority in heaven and earth, hanging from a tree. I be the legions of angels were ready to strike. Flaming sword and chariot were waiting for even a breath of an order to engage. Or even yet, He could of justly spoken to them their coming condemnation. He could have spoken in great detail about the horrible and insatiable pain that awaited them for their crime. Yet, He was silent before them, like a lamb led to the slaughter. Instead, Peter tells us what Jesus did. He entrusted Himself to God, the Father, who judges justly. Wow! That is what it means to to be mindful of God in our suffering. To know that He is the one who judges justly. He is the One with ultimate final authority. He is sovereign overall. He is the righteous One who executes justice. No matter what suffering you endure, if you do so unjustly, consider God! Will He not set the account right in the end? Does He not delight in making things new and right? Be mindful of Jesus in your unjust suffering. Know that your injustice is not forever. It is a mist that disappears in the morning.

There is one implication I would like to address. If we must suffer with God on our mind as ultimate judge, what does this mean for those who suffer and are not mindful of Him? They suffer in vain. We are meant to identify with Jesus in our suffering and if we do so without considering Him, we will revile in return, we will threaten and the anger that wells up inside of us over our perceived injustice will ultimately destroy us if God allows it to.

Dear friends, be mindful of God in your suffering. Don't be like the world. Be like Jesus. Ask for the strength and He will supply it!

peace

Foremost Sinner

2007-09-27T14:01:00.001-05:00

"The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost. But I have received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life." - I Timothy 1:15-16 (ESV)

These two verses have great meaning for me. I feel deeply when Paul says that he is foremost among sinners. Another translation says "chief of sinners." I have felt that way. That feeling creeps up often, especially after sinning. But there is hope in those verses. The chief sinner, the Christian killer was a recepient of mercy for God's purposes...that Paul might be a vessel for mercy and example of Jesus' long-suffering patience. If Paul, chief sinner, can be saved and not only saved, but used to bring Gospel to billions upon billions; there is hope for me. I am a woefully unclean man. I seek to serve the Awesomely pure God. I have no hope, except that God might find mercy and bestow it upon me so that He might use me to impact others for Christ. Perhaps just one...perhaps I will impact more, but the point is that my salvation, my gift of mercy is for the benefit of another. I am to be an example, I am to be an example that no one is beyond the reach of God. He saves whom He saves, and no one is beyond His grasp.

Mixed in the message of great hope is a subtle, yet all-encompassing truth. While I still wrestle with the "hows" of election, I can say that I firmly do not doubt its truth and power. I believe the verse also teach that God elects or choses those who will believe. he enables the heart of man to know Him and to know Him is to choose Him. The Father is irresistible. His beauty is immutable. His presence is insatiably satisfying. Let's look at the last part of the txt. Paul says he has been raised up as an example to those who were to believe in Jesus for eternal life. The structure of this sentence gives rise to the fact that in Paul's mind, God has chosen those who will believe, just like Paul was chosen to believe. If God, through Paul, wanted to convey a different message, the text would be worded differently. IF the message is one of free will, the text would read, "Christ might display his perfect patience as an example so that some would believe in him for eternal life." That rendering of the sentence conveys an entirely different message. Paul becomes an example to all and God is then hoping that some might believe because of Paul's example of Christ's patience. The Holy Spirit did not inspire Paul to write that way. He inspired a text that teaches election. Paul was to be displayed as an example to those who were to be saved. Paul's example was for those who were to be saved...there was no choice. "Those" were going to believe in Jesus for eternal life. There is no qualifier. No ifs, ands or buts. "Those" would believe because of the mercy shown Paul by the Father through Jesus Christ.

We (current believers) are part of the "those." We have believed in Jesus because God, in His great mercy and perfect council, saw fit to shed light into our darkened souls and make rivers of living water flow from our hearts of stone. For those of you who are not Christians, believe on Jesus. Look at Paul, he killed Christians and God still saw fit to show mercy. you can likewise receive His mercy. Believe on Jesus for eternal life and be counted among the "those who were to believe!!".

peace

DC*B Release out!

2007-09-26T16:28:00.001-05:00

I'm currently enjoying the latest release from the David Crowder*Band, "Remedy". It's pretty amazing. I'm only 6 songs into it and it's already a must have album. I encourage you to check it out!!

Peace

Pitch Black

2007-06-27T22:00:00.000-05:00

"This is the message we have heard from him and proclam to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." - I John 1:5-7

This past Monday, I went to Mammoth Cave National Park with my boys. At one point in the tour, they turn out all the lights to show you how dark it is in the cave. You literally cannot see your hand in front of your face. I started to wave my hand in front of my face to see if that made any difference. It didn't., but my mind started playing ticks on me. I had the sensation that I could see my hand waving. In reality, I couldn't, but my mind was creating a false reality in the absence of any light. My mind then turned to this thought after this lights were turned back on; sin functions in the exact same way. Sin is darkness and there is no light there because God cannot exist where sin is present. Those who live in sin and darkness actually have no idea how blind and how dark it really is. Their mind has created a false reality in which the y see. Their hand moving in front of their face is "seen". They continue in their sin because their nature has tricked in them into believing that their reality is true. Sin causes such sensory deprivation that we are unable to differentiate between myth and truth. It is only when the light of Christ is shone into our hearts that reality sets in and truth is finally seen and known. Finally, with seeing eyes we are able to walk out of the caves of sin and return to the surface, basking in the warmth and light of God.

peace

Determined & Undefiled

2007-04-19T20:41:00.001-05:00

"But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself." - Daniel 1:8 (ESV)

Daniel had determined in his mind he would not defile himself, so he took action and asked for a healthier substitute. He didn't forsake food all together. He didn't go on a hunger strike. He sought out to glorify God by keeping to God's commanded dietary laws. God granted favor to Daniel because of Daniels unrelenting determination to honor Him by keeping His commandments. I wonder what would of happened had Daniel practiced what so many Christians practice when it comes to remaining pure before the Lord. I wonder if Daniel had practiced the passive avoidance if he would have falled like so many do day in and day out. I know that this practice has not worked for me. In my battles against lust, I have always been determined not to defile myself. However, I would fail. The temptation would become too great and I would give in. I had not learned Daniel's technique. I had not learned that in order to remain undefiled, I must be filling myself with something. I believe that humanity was made to crave beauty, to seek after beauty, to be inspired by beauty. The problem lies in where we seek out this beauty. The beauty the world has to offer is fleeting and shallow, yet fatally addictive. As a Christian, I knew that to seek out this beauty is sin. Therefore, I would avoid it all cost. However, I would not feed my soul. I went on a beauty strike. I had wrongly determined that my desire to seek out beauty was wrong as well and that I must supress it and then my battles with lust would subside. So I consumed no beauty. My soul would gasp and writhe and eventually the pangs would grow too strong and I would give in to lust because it was instantaneous, even though I knew it to be fleeting. What Daniel understood and I did not was that my hunger for beauty was not and is not sinful. It is essential to fight the very thing I hate. Daniel understood that if we are to remain undefiled, we are to not only say no to temptation, but we are also say yes to the things of God. We are to forcefully and violently, if necessary, seek after that which is of God. If Daniel had approached not defiling himself like I had, he would found himself in the same boat, eventually giving in and eating the king's food, out of starvation. There are too many men in the church (and I used to be one of them) who only passively avoid evil. They pray that their God-given desires to be consumed by beauty and passion would magically disappear, that they somehow be spiritually castrated, so that they no longer desire anything, but be numb, passionless and pure; because that's what they think God demands. They think He demands passionless, joyless obediance and if killilng off the desires in order that we achieve that, so be it. Friends, this is not so. God does demand obediance, but He demands obediance that is joy-filled and full of emotion. We must be aware that our desire to know and chase after beauty was instilled in our souls by God Himself, so that we might know and chase after Him, the one True Beauty. That is the key to fighting lust, or any other sin. I believe at the heart of sin is the desire to find beauty in things that are not God. So, if we not only avoid the sin, but we then feed our souls the five-star meal of God, we can remain undefiled. We must feed this raging craving in our souls for beauty, but not with the shallow and fleeting beauty the world offers, but with the only True Beauty and that is found in the person of Jesus Christ. His crucified image is beautiful to the Christian soul. His bloodied body is a marvelous wonder to ponder. It is the key to our continued determination and our continued purity. Fill your soul on Christ and you will never be let down. The beauty of the cross is the only truly satisfying images available. Satisfy your soul cravings on Him and His glory shines even brighter.

Perhaps you are saying to yourself, "but I've already defiled myself, is there any hope for me?" YES! That's one of the marvelous affects of the Cross. Defiled, dirty, sinful people are counted righteous, if they call on the name of Jesus. Call out to Him and regain your purity that was lost long ago. The Cross is the means by which receive justification before God (a clean slate) and it also the means by which we receive sactification (keeping our slate clean). God is the means for all things and we are just recipients of grace. It is God who supplies, so that none can boast or be owed by God. It is God who grants an undefiled life. Pray earnestly to receive it. Remember, James, the brother of Jesus said that we have not because we ask not. Pray for purity...perhaps God ordained that your purity come through asking for it.

Determined to be Undefiled

Why I don't believe in (man-made) global warming

2007-03-30T23:29:00.000-05:00

This question was posed to me by my life group. It was asked in almost utter shock, like I was proclaiming the world to be flat when everyone knew the opposite is true. I couldn’t answer the question. Not because I don’t have reasons behind my disbelief, but because they are far too numerous to expound upon in the time allotted to refute the existence of this phenomenon known as “(man-made)Global warming”. Let me first say I do think there are real problems with real solutions. I believe God has called us to be stewards of the resources He has given us and that includes the environment. However it is time we differentiate between that which is myth and that which is fact and take the advice of Paul and not be captivated by empty philosophy or thought of this world.

Reason #1
The picture above. That’s the Sun. Did you know that our Sun is currently in a 11 year cycle known as “Solar Maximum”? This means that the sun is at it most active period. The picture was taken in July of 2002 and shows
a solar prominence erupting, throwing off ions and electrons into the solar system. For further information, click here. So the most likely reason the past few winters have been milder than we remember were probably due to the sun, not Joe Sixpack with his SUV (I won’t mention the countless liberals who cry wolf and then fly around on private jets). Click here for an article on two new books coming out along this subject. Click here and here for two more articles about the sun’s effect on climate (more detailed examinations of the new books mentioned in the previous link).

Reason #2
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”
- Romans 8:19-22 (ESV)
The earth is cursed. All of creation was cursed at the fall. Who was it cursed by? Did humanity look at the snake and curse the ground it slithered on? No, it was God Almighty who cursed the very creation He called “good”. So why do we sit around trying to figure out why the earthquakes happen or why hurricanes happen or what impact cow farts have on the atmosphere. This is ridiculous! So the earth gets a little warmer...it has nothing to do with us (except for our own sin). Why should we look for more excuses to feel guilty? If anything we ought to look at these weather changes with anticipation and hope of Christ’s Second Coming, not sit around worrying about nonexistent problems that make humanity the center of attention and relegate God to a position of nonexistent influence. This is what I mean when I say that it is the ultimate of arrogance to believe that we humans are what is causing atmospheric change. God has curse this environment and it will be God who redeems it, not us, not because we stop driving SUVs. The whole point of this curse is to remind us of the extreme nature of sin. Sin is a big deal! That’s what you ought to think the next time a hurricane destroys a city! You should fall on your face and say “oh God! We have sinned against you, thank you for your salvation and for not destroying me!” You should not think, “geez, I wonder if my SUV caused that and thus I am responsible for the death of those people. I know, I’ll empower government to take more of my money and regulate my life so that I stop destroying the environment, because I’m too dumb to know any better. Oh, thank you all powerful government for your ability to see into the future and keep me from destruction.” Do not be deceived my brothers, God cannot be mocked. God is sovereign and free and not tied to the actions of man. He still governs creation and no matter how much we emit C02 (we should all probably stop breathing too, since we humans exhale a greenhouse gas), God will do as He pleases. To say humans cause anything is arrogant and affront to the sovereignty of God Almighty.

Reason #3
There is no such thing as a “consensus” in science. Why is that? Well, consensus means that a majority of the people agree that something is wrong or right. This can’t be in science. Science is the study of fact. Everyone agrees that the earth is round. Several hundred years ago, there was a consensus that earth was flat. Thank God for Christopher Columbus. My point is that just because a majority of people say something is, does not mean they are right. Global warming is either caused by humans and we can prove it scientifically or we can’t and it is simple as that. Consensus is just a bunch of scientists organized around a political proposition.

Reason #4
If global warming were the serious problem the alarmists are claiming it to be, then why is America singled out for change and other countries are given exemptions? I mean, if we’re serious about stopping global warming, any and all greenhouse emissions should be eliminated. According to Al Gore, were on the cusp of the destruction of civilization as we know it. Yet, America is the soul culprit. Why are China and India exempt from the Kyoto protocols? China is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind the United States, yet you never hear any environmentalist-wackos calling on China to reduce its emissions. There is a fallacy there. If greenhouse gas emission is what causes global warming and global warming is evil, then all greenhouse gas emissions should be cut and no exemptions should be allowed. However, that is not how it is working. That causes me to question the validity of the alarmists’ frantic warnings of impending global destruction via the SUV. Click here to read a lecture by Michael Crichton on how he came about to write his novel State of Fear, which calls attention to the alarmism of the environmentalist-wacko agenda. For another brilliant article on the alarmism and their lack of science, click here. Click here for an article detailing the farce that is the Kyoto protocols.

Reason #5
100 inches of snow fell in upstate New York yesterday. 100 INCHES!! That is over 7 feet! Are you kidding me? Global warming, huh? I bet those people wish the globe would warm up some, because 7 feet is just a tad overkill if you ask me. But alas, I move forward.

Reason #6
“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”
Environmentalism is a religion. It has all the components of one. It has a god (mother nature), sin (pollution), an “Eden” concept (life pre-Industrial Revolution), salvation (corn-based ethanol...which is causing riots in Mexico over the price of the tortilla, but that’s another story), apocalyptic doom-sayers (Algore), etc. The only thing it lacks is a redemption. How depressing is that? Who would want to give themselves to an religion where you feel guilty all the time with no hope of redemption? Michael Crichton has been on the forefront of this idea. Click here to read one of his lectures that he gave on the topic. While the lecture at times can seem anti-religious, I want to convey the fact that environmentalism is in itself a religion; a false one at that. For another article that deals with the religion of environmentalism, click here.
I will not align myself on the side of idolators who on any other day would curse the God I love and deny His existence, let alone His sovereign Lordship over all. The movement is rife with socialists and communists, who are atheist through and through. I find it so sad that Christians are so quick and eager to align themselves with this false religion over this false sense of guilt they have allowed themselves to own.

At the end of the day, I will probably not be able to talk you out of your belief in man-made global warming. You know why? Because it is a belief. It is based in faith, not fact and no matter what I say will convince you otherwise. I only ask that you and your enviro-wacko buddies quit attempting to make me feel guilty for allegedly raping the earth and killing baby seals and polar bears with my SUV.

peace

Repent or Perish

2006-08-27T08:30:00.001-05:00

“Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” - Luke 13:4-5

Tragedy comes quickly and always without mercy. Many times we are left numb and unaware of the damage done to our souls by the trauma of life. Suffering is no respecter of persons and death is every man’s foe. All to often we are left wondering why this awful thing had to take place and unfortunately, many lecture God on the rightness of what He has allowed to take place.

God has taught me that He is sovereign over His creation. He is moving and working. With those lessons in mind, I have come to the conclusion that God brings suffering and tragedy upon us. He allows death and sickness to be pervasive in His world. He allows cancer to attack our bodies and He allows airplanes to fall out the sky. Yet, God is good. He is the Greatest Good. He is Holy and Perfect. Our human minds have a hard time grasping this concept. A God who is Perfection, yet allows what seem to be imperfection invade His Domain. Do not be deceived. God has not been over-thrown. He is still very much in control.

The words of Jesus in Luke 13 are a warning to those viewing the tragedy from the outside. Our day is coming. One day, a tower will fall on us. One day, our airplane will fall from the sky, our tsunami will hit...are you ready? Friends, our time here is short and we have no idea when it will end. However, do not be discouraged. God is patient with us. If you keep on reading in Luke 13, you find that God wants so badly for your life to yield the spiritual fruit that comes from knowing Him.

To those experiencing suffering, know that God is good. God is in control and God is putting you through this suffering for His glory (see John 9). One day, He will make all things right. Pray for the Holy Spirit and you will find comfort and unspeakable peace that will only be explained by presence of Jesus the Christ, in your life.

peace

An Exposition on God's Love, Part IV

2006-08-16T18:53:00.000-05:00

The final descriptive aspect of God’s love is that it is radical! Lets’s start with Paul in his letter to the Romans. “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:6-8). While we had no interest in God, He saw fit to make a way for us. His love is radical, earth-shattering and so counter-cultural. I believe that the prophet Hosea paints probably the most beaufitul picture of the love of God. It also explicitly declares the extremely radical nature of His love. Hosea chapter 2 starts with God declaring how Israel had whored herself by chasing after other lovers. He then prescribes a punishment, embarrassment and shame. However, verse 14 starts with the most beautiful and tender promises of God. He states:

Therefore, behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness And speak kindly to her. Then I will give her vineyards from there, And the valley of Achor as a door of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. It will come about in that day," declares the LORD, “That you will call Me Ishi (Husband) And will no longer call Me Baali (Master). For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, So that they will be mentioned by their names no more.

What beautiful language!! What radical love! How is it that after we whore ourselves on empty pursuits, He lavishes upon us a love that is indescribable? He woos us. He beckons us to embrace and receive this radical love that is more than we could ever comprehend. I use the sexual image of a whore to truly communicate the depth of our transgressions against God and despite the gravity of our situation, God loved us and died for us. It does not get anymore radical that that!

I now want to shift gears and give you two results of God’s love These are the effects of God’s love in the life of one of His children. The first is that God’s love enables us to love. I believe that scripture firmly states that only true love comes from the Father and those without the Father cannot give what they have not experienced. Let’s examine the text for back up. The first is Ephesians 4:32-5:2 which states, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us…” We are to be imitators of God our Father. If we do not have a father/child relationship with Him, we cannot be like Him. We cannot love like him. However, because of His love, we can have a relationship with Him and we can learn to imitate Him and His love. John is a little more definitive in his writing. I John 4:7-8 clearly speaks about where love comes from. He says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” Love is from God. God enables us to love. His very nature is love. So, when we imitate God as Paul called us to do in Ephesians, we will take on the nature of love. Love will flow out of us as natural as spring waters from out of the mountains. If you do not have God, you know nothing of love; do not be deceived. When I began this study, I thought I would end here, by answering my original question. However, in my studies a more weighty point revealed itself and I am compelled to share it with you.

My final result of God’s love is that His love manifested in and flowing out of the life of the believer is evidence of his salvation. Basically, if we do not have love, we do not have a saving relationship with God and are in danger of hell. I have seven scriptures that back up my claim. I will share them all and then wrap up what I believe they are saying.

I John 4:20 - If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.

I John 3:14 - We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.

I John 4:18 - There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

I John 2:15 - Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Galatians 5:22 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love…

Romans 13:10 - Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

John 13:34-35 - A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

Did you catch the theme? Those who are saved are those who love! Those who know God (the point of the gospel), love! This is not an intellectual knowledge, but a deep, intimate knowledge; like that between a man and wife.

Dear friends, the question is not whether non-believers can love, but do you exude love? Does love ooze out your pores? If not, pray earnestly that the Holy Spirit wrap you in God’s love and open the eyes of your heart to see it! Pray without ceasing that you be known for your love and thus for your membership in the family of God!

peace

The Gospel According to Jerry

2006-08-02T08:32:00.000-05:00

On vacation, my friend Jerry took me sailing. The boat is called a catamaran. Jerry made ready the vessel and we set off for a sailing adventure. The wind was light, but good enough to go out for a while. It had been a long time since I last sailed and I distinctly remember returning from the trip green in the face. With that bit of history in my mind, I was a bit nervous about going out.

We set sail for Shell Island and in search of some dolphins. What I didn’t expect was for God to show up (which is a bit ridiculous of me...He’s everywhere!). While on our way I began to remark to Jerry on how the beaches had cleared out. He responded by saying the area schools had already started back. That was a bit shocking to me...it was August 2. He went on to say how ridiculous he thought that was and what educators ought to be worrying about is adding more quality to education, not quantity of days. I heartily agreed. Most kids hate school as it is...why make them suffer? It’s not like adding five days will really do anything...all the arguments against year-long schooling began to roll through my head and then God shifted my focus. We in the church are not unlike this school district. In an attempt to produce better “christians” we have added and added to the spiritual disciplines. We have added quantity at the sake of quality. We have preached quantity of time instead of quality of time. We have traded stillness before God for busyness and we are slowly dying.

Jerry asked if I was doing good with the bumpy ride. He said to let him know if I felt sick, because he could get to land pretty quick. I was feeling great. I had a learned a trick. If you look at the sea as it passes by...you’ll be sick in a minute. You need to keep your eyes fixed on the horizon. Look where you’re going and you won’t get sick. God started me thinking again. As we go through life, we can get distracted by the waves and the seaweed and the dead fish that float by. If we look too long you’ll get sick, turn green and puke. We must keep our gaze fixed on Jesus. He is the fixed point to which we can look upon and heal our sickness. It reminds me of Moses and the Israelites in the desert. The people had taken their eyes off the Lord and begun grumbling. So God sent poisonness snakes to take care of the rabble-rousers. Many died. God then instructed Moses to fashion a bronze snake on a stake and to lift it up in the center of camp. God then instructs Moses to tell the people who are bitten to lift up their eyes and gaze upon the bronze snake and they will be healed.

About 30 minutes into our trip we found what we were looking for...dolphins. We had to maneuver the boat a bit, but we got right up next to them. The are amazing animals; huge beasts; so agile. Again, God spoke. “Get close...experience something!” Friends, we have kept God at a distance or in a box. We have dumbed Him down. He is neither feared nor loved. We never get close enough. We cannot properly love Him because we do not properly fear Him and we cannot properly fear Him if we do not get close enough to get scared. The God so many of us claim to serve is not tame and therefore ought to be feared...but remember, He is good!!

Probably one of my favorite movies is Pirates of the Caribbean. Captain Jack Sparrow is also one of my favorite characters. I felt like Capt. Jack on our return trip. I felt the salty air briskly whipping around my body. The spray of the sea was upon my face. The only thing I was missing was excessive eye makeup and a hat (a really big one). The Lord again moved in my heart. The freshness of God is in the deep. The fresh air, the warm waters are best experienced in the deep. Are you dried out and bored of the shore? Has the sand bar lost its appeal? Something inside you longs for more and God beckons to you from the deep.

We finally returned to the beach. We pulled the boat on shore and I took a nap. I don’t know if my friend Jerry is a Christian or not, but he taught me about God. I hope he feels the same way.

peace

An Exposition on God's Love, Part III

2006-07-22T09:43:00.000-05:00

This is part three of a series of posts on the Love of God

The third aspect of God’s love is that it cannot be conquered. His love is also a conquering agent. Ephesians 2:4-7 states:

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Death was conquered by God’s love and we live now! We were once dead, but now, in Christ, we are alive! The pinnacle scripture that talks about nothing conquering God’s love is Romans 8:35, 37-39:

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?…But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Nothing can beat us. God’s love, God’s grip on us cannot be broken! Not only has God’s love conquered death and cannot be conquered by death, God’s love has made death a slave, made death a precious gift! Paul said so eloquently in Philippians 1:21-23, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.” Do you believe that? Does your life reflect that? Dear friends, if you are a Christian, then death is a gift! Death was once our enemy and thanks be to God for His love which has made our enemy our slave! This is truly a great mystery. Paul says in another letter to the Romans that “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (8:28, emphasis added). All things, includes death. It includes a lot of other things I don’t have space to expound upon (visit here and learn more).
The fourth aspect is that God’s love unifies people. Colossians 2:1-2 states,

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face,that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself (my emphasis).

The hearts of the believers were knit together, they were one! The agape of the Father breaks down barriers and brings about unity. Jesus’ prayer in John 17:22-23 paints an even clearer picture. “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” Jesus prayed that we, His followers, be one unified organism, just as He and the Father are one. The oneness of God is central to the belief in God. The Jews, some still to this day, recite the Shema . It is a quotation of Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O’ Israel, the LORD is God, the LORD is One!” The Shema is a statement of belief, not a prayer. Another interesting fact about the oneness of God is that it is very possible that the second part of the Shema, “the LORD is One” could be more than just a statement of monotheism or unity. Zechariah 14:9 states “And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.” Cyrus Gordon has stated that God’s name is One. In Hebrew, your name was descriptive of your character. God’s name is One. God is unified, in perfect harmony and His love can do the same thing for us. When we have a proper perspective of His love, we will not allow the petty differences destroy the unity that Christ died to create.

peace

An Exposition on God's Love, Part II

2006-07-17T18:48:00.000-05:00

This is part two of a multi-part post on God's Love

I have come up with seven aspects of God’s love. Five are descriptive in nature and the final two deal with the results of God’s love. The first we’ve already dealt with at a surface level. It is that God’s love is sacrificial. John 3:16 communicates that implicitly. Let’s examine some scripture that is more explicit. I John 3:16 says “We know love by this, that He (Christ) laid down His life for us.” Paul admonished us to, “Be imitators of God, as loved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (Ephesians 5:1-2). Think about that. The slaughter of His own Son was a fragrant aroma to the Father. I find that stunning. The sacrifice of His Son was pleasing to Him. Anyhow, let us continue. My final two scriptures use some graphic language to describe the sacrificial love. The prophet Isaiah, some 700 years before Christ stated, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted…Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter" (Isaiah 53:7). In Revelation, the apostle John proclaims, “Worthy is the Lamb (Christ) that was Slain (my emphasis)” (5:12). This is gross, graphic language describing the death of Christ. He had His throat slit like a lamb and His blood poured out on the alter of God for the propitiation of our sins. Christ’s death was a disgusting sight. If you had been there, you would of thrown up. Mel Gibson’s film does not even come close to the brutality of the cross. Yet, in the midst of the cross’ brutality is the most beautiful act, the most fragrant aroma. Sacrifice is at the core of His love and it is marvelous to behold.
My second aspect is that God’s love is beneficial. What I mean by that is that His love gives us something. John 17:26 sates “I have made Your name know to them, and will make it known; that the love with which You did love Me may be in them and I in them.” That is amazing! The love of God can invade our very hearts and bring Christ along too! God’s love allows for God Himself to dwell in us. How awesome!! We’ve already examined John 3:16 and John 17:3, so we understand the gift of eternal life. I John 3:1 says, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” We are children of God! We have an inheritance. This leads me to the final piece of this aspect. Psalms 136:1 states, “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Now, the interesting thing is the word, lovingkindness. In the Hebrew, the word is checed (pronounced khe-sed). It means obligation. God’s obligation is everlasting. Now, you are probably thinking, “God is obligated? How is it love if He’s obligated?” That’s a good question, but we must think like a Hebrew to understand. You see, checed was a honor that belonged to the father of a household. His obligation was to maintain shalom, or equilibrium for the family. God has begun the work of restoring shalom to His house through the death of His Son and will complete it at Christ’s second coming. God will never give up on us, He will always pursue us so that balance can be restored in His house. Obligation, in that light, is beautiful.

peace

An Exposition on God's Love, Part I

2006-07-16T16:00:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

I hope to write to you about God’s love; its depth and breadth and to encourage you to abide in the awesome love which our Father has lavished upon us.
The following sprang from a discussion among my life group. A question came up and this essay is the fruit of my study of the Scriptures to answer the question. It was asked whether those who are unbelievers can love or not. Basically, is love a natural or supernatural characteristic. The following is my humble exposition on the love of God.
I think the best place to start is to attempt to define the love of God. This task, in and of itself, is awesome. I do not use “awesome” lightly. We are talking about God! “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, ‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?…where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding" (Job 38:1-4). God goes on for three more chapters putting Job in his place. Earlier Job states that “To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are His" (Job 12:13). It is with this understanding, that God is sovereign and beyond myself, that I attempt to define God’s love. My offering to you will be flawed and imperfect, but I pray that the Holy Spirit guides my pen and your hearts.
I will be leaning heavily on John Piper for my definition (side note: read anything and everything from John Piper. He is a modern-day prophet). I’ve changed some of the wording, but the essence of the definition I get from him. God’s love, true love, is:

Sacrificing at great cost to oneself, so that the object of your love may experience pure and perfect joy, namely, knowing and savoring God in the person of Jesus Christ.

So, let’s break this down. The first part is sacrifice. Let’s turn to probably the most famous Bible verse, John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, he sent His only Son…” (my emphasis). God made a sacrifice at great cost to Himself. He sent His only Son to DIE! And for sinners, but we’ll get to that later. The second part of my involves pointing those we love to God, so that they might find ultimate joy in Him. The second half of John 3:16 helps us here, “…that whoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have eternal life.” Christ’s sacrifice gives us eternal life (if we take it), but what is eternal life? Is it living in heaven, in paradise, sipping fruity drinks? Hardly. John 17:3 gives us the answer, “…and this is eternal life, that they (believers) may know You (the Father), the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Christ came to die so that we might know God. That is the gospel…God . This is where our true joy lies, in knowing and savoring God as our greatest treasure.
While we are off to a good start, my definition doesn’t completely answer our question. The world can imitate elements of sacrifice and pointing others to a god. I think a deeper digging into the Scripture will give us a more definite answer.

This is part one of series on God's love. Keep checking back for more posts on this topic

peace

Salad Bar Theology

2005-08-09T17:31:00.000-05:00

There are few things that enrage me more those who engage in "Salad Bar Theology". Now, what do you ask is "Salad Bar Theology" ? The definition is quite self-explanatory. What do you do at a salad bar? Well, first you get some lettuce (there are different types, iceburg or romaine). Then come your toppings. Cheese, bacon bits, cubes of ham (my personal favorite), cottage cheese, croutons, bean sprouts, etc. Next, you pick your dressing. Some unnecessarily weight-conscious women don't use dressing, but that is another post. The basics are Ranch, Bleu Cheese, French, Italian, 1000 Island...the list could go on. By the end of the bar, you've got exactly what you want and I would bet that no two people eat exactly the same salad.

So, how does this apply to theology? Well, there is a disturbing trend among people who apply the "salad bar" to theology, or to their beliefs about God/Spirituality; meaning, that when they go through the "salad bar" line to pick out their beliefs, they take God (lettuce - but remember there are different types...the same is with god), next they take what they believe (their toppings and dressing) and *WHALA* we have a personalized set of beliefs based on a personal little god. Once their little god is created, they then consume it and the beat the hell out of people with their "salad bar" theology.

Here is the problem. Context. My personal favorites are the ones who tell me Jesus said to love everyone and that's why we can't go kill the terrorists. In the context of the Scriptures, it is quite clear that governments are charged with the protection of their people. Christ's commands were to me, personally. He never put those constraints on my government. Government was instituted by Him to keep evil in check in the world. To neuter government, to take away its sword on the basis that Jesus said to love everyone, is asinine. If you wanted (and people do), you can find a single verse in the Bible that will support your claim or view. The problem is, you ignore 30 other verses, or chapters that speak of another way. Therefore, those who refuse to look at an issue in its entire context (the entire Scriptures) are fools are show themselves as so everytime they speak. Don't tell me Jesus would do this or that unless you've taken the time to see what the entire Scriptures have to say. Then you can speak truth to me. Otherwise, quit believing at the salad bar. Take it or leave it. Take the whole Gospel or don't take it all. Quit hand-picking your verses that fit your agenda. Get on board with God's agenda. That is the message of the Scriptures. To use Scripture to prove your own little agenda is to demean the very Word of God and endanger yourself of missing the point. I beg of you...don't miss the point. Don't spend eternity wishing you'd gotten it.

peace

Revenge = Justice

2005-07-03T22:28:00.000-05:00

I saw Batman Begins for the third time last night and I picked up on something that I hadn't noticed in the first two viewings. There is a comment made that Revenge and Justice are two very different things. Revenge is all about self-gratification, making the wronged individual feel better about themselves. Justice is portrayed very differently. It is said that Justice is about harmony, making things right. Justice is preferred over Revenge.

On the surface, that sounds great. Justice is about the common good, Revenge is about the small self. However, the more I thought about it, the more I began to disagree with it. Now, on what basis can I say this. I turn to Scripture for my answer. God says that Revenge is His (Duet. 32:35 - "It is mine to avenge; I will repay"). So God is obviously about revenge. He will repay those who wrong the innocent. A striking example of how God avenges those who are under His protection can be seen in the life of Abraham. In the covenant God makes with Abraham, He states that He will "curse those who curse you" (Gen. 12:3). Those are strong words. The God of the universe has just told a man that He will repay those who wrong him. God has just declared Revenge on those who attack Abraham.

Okay, so we've established that God is a God of Revenge. He repays the wrongs done to those He cares for. However, there is also a competing theme in Scripture that says that God is a God of Justice. Isaiah 30:18 says ,"For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him." But how can this be? God reserves Revenge for His exclusive use. Yet, the great prophet Isaiah calls Him a God of Justice. Job 8:3 goes further and askes rhetorically, "Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?" So God doesn't pervert justice, yet what He hands out is called revenge. In the mind of the fool would this be called a contradiction. No, the only logical conclusion that can be drawn from this mental exercise into the mind of God is that Revenge and Justice are not mutually exclusive. When God hands out Revenge, He hands out Justice along side it. When Justice is handed out, Revenge too is served up. The two are one in the same in the hands of God Almighty.

Now, God alone is not the only source of justice. According to Romans 13, God instituted government as a means to hand out justice (revenge) and keep evil in check. So when the attacks of 9/11 happened and I found myself yearning for revenge against those responsible, my desires were not sinful. I was asking for justice and I was asking a God-ordained institution to carry out its duty. However, if I were to personally crusade against extremist Muslims, I would then be seeking justice and revenge outside of God's commands and sinning. A tool in the hand of God and in the hand of those ordained by God to carry it is right and just.

In conclusion, yes revenge and justice are the same thing. However, depending on who is handing out this revenge/justice will dictate the rightness of it. Vigilante's are wrong. They do not carry the ordination of God to hand out revenge for wrongs suffered. Governmet does carry this ordination and is right it exercising the power of the sword that God has bestowed upon them. I realize many more questions arise with this topic (such as dictatorships and the like), I will attempt to explore those in a later posting.

peace