TruThseeker

Limb Differences

2010-04-26T22:19:00.000-07:00

Considering the amount of study and talk in which I have participated regarding trials, I suppose it is right to assume God has been preparing me to lead my family through a little adversity of our own. A few years ago, the Lord used James 1:2-4 to shake up my world. As our small group memorized the first chapter, I was dumbfounded at the Word of God and how it related to all of life! Only the Triune God could open His blessed Word to these failing eyes the way He did.

Fast forward to summer 2009. Bek's father was diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer. While we were shocked and stunned at the news, the trial remained somewhat distant, happening outside our home. God poured out grace upon grace to our family, granting Randy a clean bill of health near the end of January 2010!

Near the end of January 2010, Bekah and I found out she was pregnant with our fourth child! We were humbled that God would grant us a fourth arrow with which to fill our quiver! Her pregnancy proceeded on schedule bringing us to Tuesday April 20, 2010. Our 18 week ultrasound arrived, promising gender confirmation! We had decided to take Hannah with us to the ultrasound, planning to phone Grandma Stuart with the news once we left the hospital.

As Hannah spoke to Grandma, she reported that we were having a boy! Hannah was witnessing answered prayer as she had been praying for another little brother! She then announced to Grandma that Isaac did not have a left hand! We were actually somewhat relieved because we were debating how to tell Grandma and Papa.

During the ultrasound, the Radiologist informed us that he could not find Isaac's left hand! He had traced the left arm from the shoulder to elbow and along the forearm. But his forearm simply ended. He could not see Isaac's left hand.

Needless to say, we were shocked. We managed some shallow humor as our thoughts turned to our son. The good news was that all the other numbers measured normal. As far as the professionals could tell, the problem was isolated to his left hand.

The following day we attended our appointment with Dr. Vold. He informed us that he had never witnessed such an event! While we were hoping for answers, he basically said this was outside his area of medicine. However, he did bend over backwards to secure for us an appointment with Maternal Fetal Medicine, located one floor below. What a kind and gracious comfort The Lord extended to us in the form of Dr. Vold's efforts!

Today, Monday April 26, 2010, we attended another ultrasound, confirming Isaac's "deformity". After talking with a geneticist and a doctor from MFM, they believe that Isaac's "condition" is an isolated event and there should be no further effects. Yet another gracious gift that God has given us if it is true!

In an effort to keep this post short, I will direct you to Bekah's blog for further explanation regarding our reactions and faith in Christ. I plan to add many thoughts and Scriptures throughout the rest of our pregnancy. As we know, man plans his way, but The Lord directs his steps. For now, please enjoy the following 3-D images of my little man!

Isaac William Wentling

Here is a picture of Isaac's left side. The end of his left arm is located directly above the 'e' in the word forearm. The doctor believes it is severed an inch or two above his wrist.

Trials

2010-04-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

Too often trials get a bad rap. Here's a bad rap with some thoughts on trials. You provide the music.

Can you appreciate sunshine without the rain?

Or treasure good health without the pain?

Can couples rejoice in a child's birth

without filled quiver to understand worth?

All are true to some degree,

but a fuller regard through life they see.

So to lift thy loudest praise,

and whole-hearted lauding of Christ you raise,

with all the strength of mustered voice,

though trials be heavy in Him rejoice!

For tests of faith you must endure,

their perfect result: presenting you mature.

What brother in strife would fail to see

trials are life's necessity?

From death to life trials transform,

Is the Savior in focus without the storm?

From the storm your life He saves.

Are you looking to Christ or fearing the waves?

Mom for a Day

2010-04-06T10:44:00.000-07:00

In keeping with the poetic blog theme and celebrating the recent vernal equinox, I would offer the following:

Roses are Red,

Violets are blue,

I'm glad I'm a man,

and so are you.

These words were verified through a recent trial with which the Lord has blessed us! Although Bek is pregnant (an obvious blessing and gracious gift from God), The Lord has thought best to test our faith with another tooth problem. On March 27, she began feeling some pain in one of her wisdom teeth which extended through this past week. Consequently, she slept much less than normal last week. After suffering through the weekend, she was able to see the dentist who helped with some medications, scheduling an extraction for yesterday, April 5.

Bekah was not overly excited at the prospect of having another tooth removed. However, when weighing it against the option of extended tooth pain and many more sleepless nights, it seemed best. Because she is pregnant, she is unable to inhale large doses of the famed "laughing gas" so prevalent in dental offices nationwide. Instead, she received shots to numb the area. It took one whole hour to get her numb. Apparently they had to insert an IV-type tube into the area just to numb her! The three minute extraction seems to have had some good results.

For example, I have been blessed with the opportunity to care for my entire family! Hannah and Ben are old enough to be extremely helpful so I figured this was no problem. It would be no problem, if I were Bekah. But I am not.

She had wisely planned to have a rather simply dinner: potato soup. Not only is it fairly healthy and simple to make, but I love it, providing more motivation as I tried to reconstruct this palatable masterpiece. She graciously pulled up the recipe on her Ipod and off I went! With a preparation time of 45 minutes, the meal would be ready around 5:30p, a great time for dinner!

I read through the instructions to get an overview. The author must have made some major assumptions here. Apparently, the time to find all the ingredients and measuring utensils is not included in the preparation time. So, twenty five minutes later I had assembled all of the ingredients and was ready to measure, mix, and melt as necessary!

The actual cooking proceeded forward without too many problems. Having been instructed by Bekah once before, I was somewhat familiar with the process. However, I don't remember having to work over Phoebe. Our youngest daughter has the sneakiness of Ben combined with the jabber-ability of Hannah. Being focused on the instructions and ingredients, I would not notice her crawl into position between me and the oven. The next thing I know, I am trying to reach over her to add or measure ingredients! How was I supposed to care for Phoebe and cook at the same time? I underestimated the sneakiness!

While this was going on, Hannah would come in with questions about reading. She is doing a fabulous job with her reading so we want to encourage her. However, it is tough to cook, not step on Phoebe, and read Hannah's books all at the same time! How does Bekah do it? On top of that, Ben would come into the kitchen from time to time reminding me that he is hungry. The lesson: not only is daddy a slow cooker, he cannot multitask to save his life!

After beginning dinner preparations at 4:30p, we finally settled down to eat around 6:10p! What a night! Praise God for Bekah, my wife! Where would we be without our wives and mothers! I am glad mommy can stay home and care for the kids. I assume the kids are glad too! We will see how Tuesday goes!

Jesus Christ our Hope

2010-03-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

oh blessed hope, to Calvary

thou art forever tied,

resting in the Savior who

suffered, bled, and died.

creation's wrath could not impair

the hopeful path Thou trod,

when on the tree Thou did assuage

the very wrath of God!

offended God, eternal rage

His unrelenting wrath,

was placated, yes satisfied

by Christ on my behalf.

but useless was my slate wiped clean

if Christ stayed in the grave,

now forever more He lives!

and I with Him, His slave!

since the Father doth approve

of all work of the Son,

I have grace through granted faith

His love forever won!

though this pilgrimage doth seem

a hard and vicious road,

now justified I have this hope

to onward in me goad.

now rejoicing in the hope

of the glory of God,

His Spirit doth in me reside

and through all trials doth prod.

plodding onward to the day

when hope shall realize,

faith shall be sight, love purified

when Christ besets my eyes!

Hope in Trials

2010-03-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

When trials buffet life, we can lose sight of Christ. He is the One Who is our hope, enabling joy amidst suffering. Without hope, we become discouraged, fettered in doubt. Hope motivates. Hope renewed refreshes the weary soul. May your eyes be fixed on Our Hope today!

Oh blessed Hope! My faithful steed

through tests of faith doth bear,

My joy in trials, completeness seek,

and shall present me there.

On endurance cast thine eye

looking to thy end,

when complete in Christ I'll rest

as is thy faithful trend.

Arriving at thy heavenly goal

surveying life I'll see,

Through momentary light affliction

thou hast shouldered me.

For the weight of glory I

prepared shall realize,

these momentary trials forgot

when Christ besets my eyes.

So come disaster, scorn, and shame

perfection be Thy grant,

"I shall follow Way, Truth, Life"

forever be my chant.

Unmooring ties to friend and foe

and loved ones shouldst Thou call,

Thy hopeful winds shall forceful drive

my faith-sails to Thine hall.

Mine eye on heaven, the home of Christ,

with joyful soul shall I,

endure what suffering Thou deem best

and ever homeward fly.

Then docking in Thy heavenly port

forsaking bowel and bile,

gazing on Thy shining face

shall make my wait worth while.

Days of Grace

2010-02-13T20:30:00.000-08:00

Friday January 29, 2010, was a day different from most. We were coming home from a week of feasting on the Word of God! I collected my thoughts as we exited the Double K Ranch. Bekah had begun our taxes earlier in the week and it looked as though we were receiving a substantial refund. Unbelievable considering we paid no federal taxes last year! As we began the journey home, I thought, "It is just another reason to praise God for children! Without them, we could not take advantage of the 'child tax credit'!"

God had blessed us with three wonderful children and we were praying for a second son to keep our family symmetrically gendered. As I floored the pedal, causing the luggage-laden minibus to inch closer to the speed limit, my cell phone rang. Glancing at the phone, I wondered why God would have my wife calling from her mom's cell phone just as I was entering the interstate. Needless-to-say, I don't believe in coincidence.

"Hello, this is Curtis," I boomed after answering the call. Expecting to hear Bekah's voice, I thought about her normal frustration with wireless headsets and freeway driving. "Hi Curtis," exclaimed my mother-in-law. "Why is she calling me," I thought. She is faithful to call on my birthday and anniversary, but rarely am I graced with this blessing the rest of the year. "I wanted to update you on Randy," she followed.

An update on Randy. "Today is the day" I said to myself, remembering that his PETSCAN results were to be unveiled today. It was about time too. It had been six months since I had heard the news of Randy's throat cancer. And ten months since he had lost his job. Perhaps it was not the ideal scenario for fighting cancer - laid off after almost a decade of faithful service. Then again, is there an ideal scenario?

I thought of the battle one young man in our church waged against tongue cancer, eventually meeting his Maker in an unimaginable way. By the grace of God Randy's cancer was not as belligerent as Andrew's. Randy had been told there was an eighty percent chance this (radiation therapy and chemotherapy) would be the only treatment he would need! Little did we know what lie ahead.

The seven weeks of treatment began with much confidence and enthusiasm, thinking Randy would be the anomaly frequently heard of and more often hoped for when facing such a devastating illness. The seven weeks ended with an eye-opening awkwardness as the man we all love lived like a zombi. The treatments came and went, as did most of the symptoms. Even on this beautiful Friday morning, Randy could taste a few things, though his saliva glands seemed to be more of a leaky garden hose than a fire hydrant.

I chuckled as I recalled our latest family day. After visiting all of our furry friends at the Woodland Park Zoo, the day rose to crescendo at our rib house of choice! Forgetting what a chore it would be to eat meat with no saliva, we dragged the entire family to Famous Dave's Barbecue.

There are some moments in life when a person's selfishness is manifest before their eyes. It was one of those moments for me. I cannot explain the shame I felt (I suggested we go to Famous Dave's) as I watched Randy try to polish off his half of the ribs, brisket, and chicken. He looked like a baby bird in its nest, scarfing down whatever its mother was shoving down its throat. The water glass was his best friend. Eventually, the waitress just brought a pitcher. I don't think I have ever seen him so determined to succeed!

And succeed he did! His strength was returning. The taste buds were responding, though not as accurately as the pretreatment days. While his retarded saliva production turned fudge into paste, a few extra cups of water with each meal made eating manageable. God had brought him through! We were thankful!

"Randy is cancer-free," Debbie exclaimed! "the PETSCAN shows no cancer in his body!" His exuberant bride glowed even over my cell phone! I thanked God. He did not have to give Randy more life. He did not have to give my wife more time with her dad. He did not have to give my children more time with Papa. This day was a Day of Grace!

The day was not over, however!

I arrived home around the usual time. I had hoped to sneak out earlier, but responsibilities required attention. We decided to celebrate my return from the week long sojourn with dinner at Denny's! I could already taste the buffalo chicken sandwich I enjoy almost every time we dine there!

When we returned home, I decided to catch up on some football news while Bekah showered. However, my mind was not entirely on football. In August we had begun praying for our fourth child. Wall street was pretty excited to hear this because every time we start trying for a baby, the companies who produce pregnancy tests see a marked increase in sales due to my wife taking so many of them. I guess making babies is good for the economy!

In December I asked Bekah to take no more tests until February. With February being only two full days away, I conceded to her request to take a test. She had waited patiently. With only two days until the greatest month of the year, why not? Randy was cancer free. The finances looked good. Why not take the test?

Suddenly I heard Bekah speak from the bathroom, "Curtis, could you come in here?" What in the world did she need? Was the drain clogged again? "Just a moment, honey," I replied. Upon entering the lavatory she said, "Can you look at this?" I took the instrument from her and replied, "It looks like a pregnancy test." "Ha ha," she responded sarcastically. As I looked closer, the reading was a bit weird. Following a detailed examination of the instructions, we agreed -- Positive! The Lord had given us another baby!

The following week afforded opportunity to pause, ponder, and reflect. God had enabled us to cast off the bad debt we had accumulated. He had granted the continuing of the life of my father-in-law. He had granted the conceiving of life to my wife. Our finances were accounted for, our father was conserved, and our family continued! God had painted all of this blessing on the backdrop of our family being reunited! It was one of the best days of my life!

The Power of the Key

2010-02-09T22:02:00.000-08:00

Recently, Pastor Sean led our ministry through the Pilgrim's Progress. I was less than enthusiastic at first, but came to realize the value of John Bunyan's finest work. My thoughts have been drifting to Christian and Hopeful's stay at Doubting Castle. After being captured by Giant Despair, they were imprisoned, mercilessly beaten, tempted to suicide, and threatened with death. Having encouraged his prisoners to kill themselves, Giant Despair returns to find them alive and resistant to his suggestion. He then shows them the skeletal remains of previous victims, exits the dungeon in a fit of rage, and vows to return at sunrise and finish what he had started. During the evening, Christian and Hopeful discussed their options, facing certain death. Finally, about midnight, they began to pray. In fact, they prayed almost until morning! At this time Christian remembers the "key of promise" he had in his pocket. Their means of escape lie hidden on his person the entire time! Had he only remembered the "key of promise" sooner, they could have escaped Doubting Castle, forgoing the tortures of their nefarious captor. The key unlocked the door to the dungeon, as well as any and every door needing opened on their way to freedom. Oh how Christian abused himself over his forgetfulness.

The message is unmistakably clear. As Christians we possess the promises of God which release us from doubt and despair to experience the joyous freedom of the Pilgrim life! Yet two forms of unbelief hinder our use of these promises: Prayerlessness and forgetfulness. More to come.....

The Able Word

2009-07-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

God is the original heart surgeon. He alone can do surgery that no one else can do -- He can make a dead heart alive! His primary tool is His Word. James describes God's Word as

"...the word implanted, which is able to save your souls." (James 1:21)

James could not make it more obvious that we are not our own source of truth! Truth comes from outside us. Seeking answers from within, from our own heart, is the epitome of foolishness because man's heart is shackled in sin. Even once unfettered our hearts tend to drift toward sin. Is it any wonder, then, that faithfulness to God's Word, that is, the daily pursuit of Christ in His Word, is so difficult? In his commentary on James 1:21, John Calvin writes,

"It (the phrase 'which is able to save') is then a sharp goad to chastise our idleness, when he says that the word which we are wont to hear so negligently, is the means of our salvation...for James speaks of the word which by faith penetrates into the hearts of men..." (p. 296)

Regarding our desire for the Word of God, Peter writes,

"...like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation..." (1 Peter 2:2)

The Word of God is His primary instrument for making us like Christ. This very knowledge should motivate us to pursue Him, knowing His Word. It will not penetrate into our hearts if it doesn't grace our eyes! Sadly, many of us would rather sleep or be entertained. When will we learn that the dirty cisterns of self-indulgence will NEVER satisfy? Surely Proverbs 6:9-11 applies not only to the physical world, but also to the realm of the spiritual:

"How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest" -- your poverty will come in like a vagabond and your need like an armed man." (Proverbs 6:9-11)

Surely our spiritual sloth has swayed us to sleep! Awake, O Sleeper! Take hold of the Sword of the Spirit and know The Sovereign who died to perfect you, His wayward bride! Let not the business of this world, nor its tiresome trappings, nor its mesmerizing entertainment breed spiritual slackness!

In order to assist your longing for the pure milk of God's Word, please listen to the following message by Steve Lawson entitled, Blessed Purity, from the 2009 Resolved Conference.

A Decent Proposal

2009-07-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

I had the unspeakable privilege of witnessing a proposal unlike any other, save one. A young man in our church asked a young woman in our church to spend the rest of her life with him! While most people might consider the proposal a private moment, this young man chose to share it with some friends. The young lady was surprised and overjoyed!

The two had known each other for over a decade, waiting for God to unfold His plan. The road and driveway were lined with candles, casting an intimate ambiance on the evening. As she slowly navigated the driveway, her mind was submerged in wonder and awe. She curiously exited her vehicle in utter amazement. Petals peppered the gravel drive as she cautiously perambulated toward him. He waited patiently in a petal-outlined heart, excitement coursing through his veins, beckoning her to join him. She stood before him as he knelt, proclaiming his love, asking for her hand in marriage! The proposal was eighteen months in the making, forever etched in their (and our) hearts and minds. In order to complete this significant milestone, the timeless classic “I Can’t Fight This Feeling” by REO Lovewagon filled the evening air.

While this proposal was amazing, it pales in comparison to God’s proposal to His elect. This young lady loves this young man, but as unbelieving sinners, we hate God, the result of being dead in our sins. In His glorious mercy He changed our hearts so that we could, and would, love Him! Loving God is the result of being made alive in Christ.

What a change! He reversed our disposition toward Him, and His disposition towards us, one hundred and eighty degrees! We did not look within ourselves or to any external source outside of the Triune God. God imputed the wrath and punishment we had earned to His Perfect Son, the second Person of the Trinity. God Himself suffered and died for our sins so that we could be His Bride!

God’s proposal to us is our salvation. Unlike human marriage propositions, His include the means necessary to say ‘yes’. When He asks us to be His Bride forever, He gives us the ability to answer - faith. Our faith in Christ, given to us by God, is the ‘yes’ of the bride-to-be.

With the proposal completed, the engagement has begun. No engagement is complete without signifying the commitment. Our tradition is a diamond engagement ring. But God gives us His Holy Spirit; that is, He gives us Himself! He is the guarantee of our eternal union with Him. The Holy Spirit is our engagement ring! If He gives us Himself as a down payment, imagine what heaven will be like!

During our engagement, we eagerly await the Wedding Day! When that day comes, we will be ready to be united with the Bridegroom. But currently, we are not ready. We are in need of perfecting. The Lord has left us here, giving us trials for the purpose of perfecting us. He has not left us alone. He has given us His Spirit, the One who completes us through trials. Once perfected, we will be ready to meet Him! When we do, He will ensure that His Bride is eternally united with Him!

What a beautiful story! In eternity past The Eternal God purposed to create a perfect Bride for His Perfect Son. When His creation rebelled, He acted to atone for the sin of the Bride. The Bridegroom sacrificed His life for His Bride. Emulating His example, Christian men are to sacrifice their lives for their bride and family. This is the very promise God made to us at salvation. It is the promise this young man made to his soon-to-be-bride.

Dominion Taking

2009-03-01T15:25:00.000-08:00

Now this is what I call taking dominion! You can read more here.

Baby Pictures

2009-02-20T21:56:00.000-08:00

There has been some debate as to who Phoebe Elizabeth resembles. Any ideas?

Hannah Grace

From TruThseeker

Benjamin Martin

From TruThseeker

Phoebe Elizabeth

From Phoebe Elizabeth

Well, one thing is for certain, there is some resemblance between these two:

From TruThseeker

Both have cool glasses! Phoebe reminds me of the fly. She would definitely be my daughter; but that is another story.

De Ja Vu

2009-02-19T09:41:00.000-08:00

We recently had a new birth in our family. Phoebe Elizabeth was born on February 13, 2009. Being 20 days early, we were concerned about a variety of complications. Monday's doctor's appointment seemed promising. Her weight was down but she was figuring out how to nurse. Wednesday's appointment resulted in a a slightly different ending. Phoebe's jaundice level was at 24. The high range is between 20 and 30. In extreme cases, high jaundice levels can lead to brain damage, but Phoebe's condition was caught in plenty of time. However, she was dehydrated so the nurses had problems inserting the IV. Consequently, they had to insert the IV in her scalp. It kind of looks like a tierra from this angle. She is quite the trooper! Normally, when bilirubin levels are as high as Phoebe's, lethargy is prominent. However, my daughter was quite vocal when poked and prodded. In fact, when I first came into her room, one woman was holding down one hand while another man was holding her legs! I was excited to see such spirit in my young one! Of course, that could mean that she is going to be a very spirited and angry young lady. However, I would rather try to steer a running horse than try to motivate a dead one.
While the IV in the scalp looks horrible, it really is not that bad. The nurse simply added a lot of tape to ensure my little fighter would not pull it out. Phoebe barely made a peep when the nurse stuck her.

Our family is no stranger to the NICU. Benjamin's first two weeks of life were spent with wires and tubes and fluorescent lights. You can relive his progress on one of my first blogs. It was actually encouraging to reread that blog, thinking of all of the work the Lord has done in our family. Ben was fighting for his life that first weekend. Christ Jesus was gracious to give him more than simply those first two weeks. I still remember the first time Bek was able to hold and feed him. Now my little sword-fighting, car-loving man is three and a half! What a gift from God! Hannah had a much easier beginning and is just as much of a blessing! I have enjoyed rehashing some of the memories via the plethora of pictures we have stored.

Finally Finished!

2009-02-14T11:04:00.000-08:00

While I was at the 09SR, my wife called to tell me something important. She said that something had arrived in the mail. To my excitement it was the fruition of close to sixteen years of work. Now you might be thinking that sixteen years of study would produce a doctorate. However, such is not the case! While I had originally planned to finish my civil engineering degree in about five years, The Lord had other plans! After driving me to my knees with a mist of undisciplined poverty, He demonstrated my total lack of understanding. Education, ironically, played an instrumental role helping me recognize my need for Jesus Christ! To make a long story short, one enlistment, a family, and two children later, The Lord God has blessed me with a Bachelor's of Science in Business with an emphasis in Management and Leadership! As you can see, this is no normal B.S. My B.S. has emphasis! After finishing the sixteen year plan, it should emphasize something. As I take dominion over the specific area of responsibility The Lord has given, it is comforting to know He will use this B.S. for His glory!

Regardless of the degree, we are all just beggars seeking grace. My personal trek through academia has served to explicitly illustrate this truth. All of the supposed wisdom of man can do nothing to change the heart. God alone can make the spiritually dead alive! He does so for the glory of His Name! May His Name be praised forever!

New Birth

2009-02-14T10:47:00.001-08:00

I realize it has been a while since I have blogged. During the end of December, I was preoccupied with a snow storm that hit Western Washington. January = Snow Retreat, so my focus was on the Lord's work at the 09SR. While the first part of February was supposed to have me focusing my attention on a wedding, the Lord had other plans! Namely, God decided that it was time for Phoebe Elizabeth Wentling to bless our family (and hopefully others) with presence!

Here is Phoebe and daddy in x-ray vision:

Here is a pencil sketched version of Phoebe and dad:

I think you can really see the resemblance here!

Finally, in case you have not seen my wife's facebook page, here is Phoebe and daddy in their first photobooth picture together:

We cannot thank The King enough for graciously giving us another beautiful girl! May His Name be praised for His glorious gift!

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-22T09:56:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I love the snow! This past week has given me the opportunity to thank the Lord for His gracious provision of snow! The past couple nights, Bek and I have been monitoring the accumulation on our front sidewalk. For some reason she is captivated by the total amount gracing Western Washington. So long as she is not driving in it, she finds it exciting.

I have noticed a few things about the snow. First, there seems to be nothing so peaceful as undisturbed snow! Check out your lawn before anyone has disturbed it! It looks content and comforted, blanketed by the fluffy white stuff!

There seems to be no earthly peacefulness that can match the peacefulness of falling snow. You need to test this sometime. When the snow is falling, it as if the world stops. Living adjacent to the only freeway in our area, you would think the vehicular noise would still flood our streets. The opposite is true. It is as if the falling snow insulates our home from those sonic invaders. I suppose man's fear of driving in the snow helps out a little too.

The falling snow almost lights up the sky! Have you ever noticed how light the sky seems as the snow is falling at night? I am sure this has to do with the shopping complex across the street. All of the parking lot lighting illuminates the sky. When the snow is falling, the ambient light is turned up enough to provide a peaceful atmosphere.

What a blessing! I mean, if the weather is going to be cold, we might as well embrace this herald of peace!

In The Beginning

2008-09-30T22:58:00.000-07:00

Many people view fall as an ending -- the end of summer, the end of baseball season, the end of warm sunny days, the end of the vacation season, etc. However, fall marks many significant beginnings in my life. For example, it is the time when my beloved Michigan Wolverines awake from their off-season slumber for an adrenaline-filled dogfight in pursuit of the national title. Students return from their sleep-laden summer to rouse the cognitive juices amassed in their minds. Our Youth Ministry, One28, officially begins the ministry season. This year even marked the opening of our church's new restrooms!

As providence would have it, the beginning of our ministry year signaled the beginning of a new book! Our Undershepherd officially began teaching through the Book of Beginnings! Although he teased us with three weeks of introduction, this past Sunday he finally reached the first two verses! What a delight to ponder The Creator!

Just meditating on

"In the beginning God..."

is enough to fill the rest of my life! When you add

"created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters"

your brain accelerates towards explosion. So, to assist you in increasing your amazement, and consequently quickening your mental detonation, click here. I highly recommend you watch the short video immediately after the third paragraph. Utterly Amazing! We have NO IDEA the depths of the mind of The King! Surely we are a vapor and dust on the scales. Yet He created all of this to show off His glory to us! And we can barely scratch the surface! Just kill me now so I can be with Him! I am getting pretty excited about living in the presence of the Holy One!

Don't forget to check out the 9 pictures near the end of his post!

Thoughts on Joy

2008-09-16T23:53:00.000-07:00

It has been a few months since my last post. The summers are always my busiest time. In addition to an already busy season, our family, together with my wife's parents, vacationed for 17 days! Our trip to visit my parents and some other parts of the country was half a month well spent. When we were six hours from home, my father-in-law's van blew two head gaskets in La Grande, Oregon! While not out first choice in spontaneity, the temporary set back was fuel to the fire of joy! I mean, it was not my van that was in need of repair. It was definitely easier for me than for Papa! However, it was an opportunity for the Lord to provide via the time of one of my best friends. I would link to his blog, but he rarely posts! Haha! Now that is the pot calling the kettle black! Anyway, it turned out to be a rather joyous ocasion, as far as I can remember.

The summer was effectively shortened by two and a half weeks! I am still reeling from the effects at work. I do see it as an answer to prayer, though. The Lord enabled me to work with focus and diligence. Through His great grace the effort has carried over into the school year. He has also brought about much joy!

The Lord has taught me much regarding joy in the last three years. His word is replete with joy-laden commands. The Solomonic writing of Ecclesiastes teaches us to Enjoy The Process. After all, life is hard and then you die. You might as well rejoice in what you have been given! Pretty sound advice from the wisest man who ever lived! It sure beats bitterness from dwelling on your circumstances.

Then there is the guy named Paul. I mean, what is his deal? He was flogged and beaten how many times? He was shipwrecked and left for dead! Yet he commands us to rejoice always. In case you don't think he is serious, he says it again -- Rejoice! Pretty sound advice from probably the most Christ-like Christian who ever lived.

I confess I am intrigued by James. Here we have the brother of Jesus. Perhaps no man spent more time with the Son of God than James. It is believed that Jesus began his public ministry in His thirtieth year. Assuming James was born before Christ was five, James would have spent twenty-five years of his life with the Messiah! Imagine, for a moment, what it was like being the second boy behind Jesus.

Can you imagine Joseph disciplining James for some disobedience. Perhaps he would say, "James, why can't you be more like your Brother, Jesus? He didn't disobey me. Why can't you be more like your Brother?" If James had a rebellious whit, he might have replied along the lines of, "Father, He is the Son of God! He never sins! How can I be like Him? You know, Dad, you could learn a lot from Him too."

After the death and resurrection of Christ, James became a leader in the Jerusalem Church. Paul spent some time with him when he visited Jerusalem. In fact, James seems to be the one providing leadership in Acts 15, where Paul and Barnabas were seeking instruction regarding questions of the Gentiles.

After some time, James writes a letter to the believers scattered thoughout the Roman Empire. The believers to whom he writes were experiencing hardship and persecution. The very first thing he writes to those suffering away from their home: Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials! WHAT? Has he lost his mind? I don't know about you, but that is about the last thing I want to hear. Please, give me relief. Give me a strategy for defending myself. But to consider it all joy? Don't you just want to say, "James, where did that come from?"

I believe James would calmly reply, "It came from the Messiah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It came from Jesus -- my Master and my Brother!" After all, it was Christ, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God! Jesus is our example of enjoying the process! It is He who enables us to joy in Him in spite of our circumstances.

We have the command from Soloman. We have the command from Paul and James. We also have the example from Jesus. So why don't we have more joy? The answer is found starting at the beginning of Hebrews 12:2 -- Looking to Jesus. When our focus is on the Father's Beloved Son, joy will be a byproduct of our obedience. Regardless of life's trials, The Lord is waiting, providing joy for those who seek Him.

A New Body

2008-07-17T08:23:00.000-07:00

As I was reading from Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, I came to a section talking about the resurrection. On page 998, Calvin talks about the New Body believers will gain after they are resurrected. Admittedly, I believed that the new body was completely different from the old, but tied to the same soul. My understanding of the resurrection would have been analogous to taking off one suit and replacing it with a new suit. Though the suits (my physical body) changed, my body (my soul) is still the same.

In the section entitled: Resurrection of that body in which we have been clothed in this life, Calvin exposes my error. He writes:

"Equally monstrous is the error of those who imagine that the souls will not receive the same bodies with which they are now clothed but will be furnished with new and different ones."

After quoting 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Calvin writes:

"...it would be utterly absurd that the bodies which God has dedicated to Himself as temples (1 Corinthians 3:16) should fall away into filth without hope of resurrection!"

So, God is not going to give me a body I have never had before. He is going to perfect my existing one! My old body, this bulging, decaying, aching temple will be refurbished and restored! My body was conceived in sin, born of flesh, enchained to evil. It is being changed from the inside out, warring within itself with a defeated foe, destined for death. Upon death it will be awaiting resurrection. Once resurrected, it will be purified, whole, complete -- ready to live in the presence of Christ! He is not going to give me a new suit. He is going to mend and wash the old one in a way that inexplicably reveals His Glory!

My ever-inquisitive mind asked the question: Why? Why would God choose to fix the old body instead of simply giving me a new one? God is most glorified by creating man, ordaining man's affair with sin, then purifying that sinful man through the death and resurrection of His Perfect Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

If we received a completely new body, Christ's Perfect Sacrifice would not have been required to save the old one. It could simply be discarded. Also, if we received a new sinless body to complement our souls, this would assume that our souls were not sinful. However, sin penetrates to the core of who we are. It permeates into our souls as well as through our flesh.

Why does perfecting a tainted vessel bring God more glory than creating a new one? The answer lies in displaying His Greatness. Salvation describes God's total Sovereignty over all opponents, especially over sin! By changing our hearts and perfecting our bodies, God displays not only His creative power, but also His saving power! Someday we will experience His glorifying power! May that day come quickly!

Jesus Thank You

2008-04-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

Sunday night at church we sang the following lyrics. It is a joy to have them dwelling in my thoughts today.

Your Blood has washed away my sin
Jesus thank You
The Wrath of God completely satisfied
Jesus thank You
Once Your enemy
Now seated at Your table
Jesus thank You

Lover of my soul
I want to live for You
Lover of my soul
I want to live for You

As I am singing these lyrics with all my heart today, Andrew Mark is making a life-threatening decision. His cancer is killing him. It may be that The Lord is in the process of taking his slave home. It may be that The Lord will bring eternal glory to Himself by healing Andrew completely, giving him a whole new throat. It may be some combination in between. Regardless of the outcome, praise be to God for His Eternal Plan, providing the righteousness of Christ to Andrew and all of the Elect! I am overwhelmed with gratitude to my Master for His gracious gift of righteousness, yet weeping in my heart for the Marks.

Please pray for Andrew, Grace, A.J., and Gracie as they face their toughest decision to date. Only those who have endure such a trial can remotely understand what they are facing. Yet we can communicate the Love of Christ to them during this time through prayer, email, etc. Please be faithful to pray for the Marks. As they have been a blessing to Grace Bible Church, they continue to be a blessing to their body of believers in Minnesota.

The Anger of Man

2008-04-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 15:1 reads:

A soft answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.

I have always tried to apply this verse when dealing with authority or when dealing with "customers." If I am getting chewed out by a boss, I must respond with a soft answer to turn away his wrath. If I am responding to a customer who is irate, my soft answer will calm the offended party. I have even been the offended party and can describe an occasion when one of the Elders in our church diffused my anger with one sentence. It was an amazing example of godliness on his part, one which I hope to emulate daily. Without a doubt, this application is correct, but it is not complete. Please let me explain.

One major goal I have in rearing my children is to win their heart. One of my greatest concerns as a father is that my children will live their teenage years filled with the anger and rage of my youth. I hated Christ and all who were His. This was the reality of my youth. However, I have observed the reality of fathers with unbelieving sons who loved and were close to their dad. I cannot save my children, but I can live a life that communicates my love for them.

But how do I do that? What are some practical steps I can apply to achieve this reality? I believe Proverbs 15:1 answers one facet of this question. When my son disobeys, I must apply this verse. If I respond in anger, my harsh word stirs up anger in him. When my daughter has been asking questions for five minutes straight and will not permit my concentration, I must apply this verse. If I respond with a soft answer, her wrath is turned away. When my wife questions me while reading, diverting my concentration, how will I respond? A soft answer turns away her wrath, but my harsh word stirs up the anger in her soul.

As the head of my home, as a discipler, and as a leader, my words can either turn away the wrath of others or stir up the dregs of their heart. James advises me to use the soft answer. May the Lord, my Master, enable me to speak for His glory.

ETP or Else!

2008-04-20T22:37:00.000-07:00

In Ecclesiastes 11:9-10, Solomon provides provocative council for his primary audience -- young people. He commands us to rejoice, to follow the impulses of our heart. He requires the young person to "follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes." He wisely instructs us to enjoy life, fulfilling our desires. Initially we think, "Yes! This is the command I have been looking for!" What a typical response for young people who are looking for someone to tell them what they want to hear.

Solomon, however, follows this command with a warning, "know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things." We are to remember that judgment is coming! Pastor Higgins made a keen observation. He pointed out that the warning of judgment immediately followed the command to rejoice in life. Why would God, writing through Solomon, instruct us to enjoy life then warn us of pending judgment if we do not?

The answer is invigorating! The solution is astonishing! The panacea is humbling! His conclusion: we are commanded to enjoy life because God's Glory depends upon it!

I still remember when the weight of this biblical truth moored to my understanding. It was devastating! If God's glory depends upon my enjoyment of Him, then I had not, at that point in my Christian life, glorified Him a SINGLE DAY! I had been a Christian for about seven years. My understanding was fed from John Piper's book "When I Don't Desire God." God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. My enjoyment of Christ brings God the most glory because I enjoy what I love. God is the only one deserving all of my enjoyment and therefore all of my love. Then, He overflows my cup so that His love abounds to others.

I am thankful to God for Solomon and his wise council. May God be enjoyed and loved by all His creation!

The Cross of Christ

2008-04-15T05:36:00.000-07:00

C.J. Mahaney has posted an excerpt from a book by J.I. Packer and Mark Dever. The cited blurb is quite thought provoking, energizing the soul in hope of some day reading it! You can enjoy the quote here.

Holiness

2008-04-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was listening to a message by R. C. Sproul on the Holiness of God. During the sermon, he mentioned that most Christians describe God's Holiness as purity. We value things that are completely pure. Pure gold, for example, is more valuable than an alloy. As humans, we tend to think of God as the pure gold and ourselves as the alloy. While it is true that God is pure, purity is not the essential meaning of holiness.

Sproul says that the idea conveyed by the word 'holy' is being different or set apart. It is the idea that God is unlike us. When Scripture teaches that God is holy, It means that God is different from us. He is unlike us. Yes, God is pure, perfect, whole, complete, and innocent. But the most basic contrast is His incongruity. He is different from us. He is God.

This morning, Pastor Zimmer briefly read through Hebrews 12. Although this is a familiar passage, today verse 10 struck me anew. The final phrase in verse 10 reads "so that we may share in His holiness." The subject of this passage is God's discipline. In eight English words the author spells out the purpose for God's disciplining us. He disciplines us "so that we may share in His holiness!" Applying the definition of holiness conveyed by R.C. Sproul, this means that God is disciplining us so that we may share in His 'differentness.'

I am pretty excited about this because it means that He is in the process of making me like Himself, that is unlike myself! He is making me different than what I am. He is making me into what He is. There is a change at work. Just as people know there is something different about God, people should know that there is something different about me!

I think this "difference" is evidenced by Spiritual fruit. People will know what kind of tree I am by the fruit produced. The fruit produced by a Christian is different, unlike that of the world. It stands out. So any Spiritual fruit produced in my life by the Holy Spirit is evidence of God making me different than what I am, due to the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Because of the work of Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, every Christian is partaking in holiness -- becoming unlike who you were and more like who God is! The Creator uncreated who I was and is creating me like who He is!

May we live consistent with His Truth!

Request for Prayer

2008-04-12T00:16:00.000-07:00

My friend Mike is a Youth Pastor in the Houston area. One of his students fell from a tree and broke 2 vertebrae and both arms. His name is Andrew. Here is the church website. Please pray for Andrew. Feel free to stop by and offer some encouragement. It sounds like Andrew could be in for an uphill battle, and he is not even out of the woods yet.

Encouragement

2008-03-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

Well, this has been an encouraging week for me. Many of my close friends probably feel the same way. How else are we supposed to feel when we see the work of God so vividly? I am still somewhat awestruck and speechless when I think about how it began. Chuck, Teresa, and Grant stopped by the school today! He is looking so good! He looks much better without the tube down his throat! I am overwhelmed with joy at the work of God! He is indeed good.

I really wish words could capture our feelings! My soul feels like an eruption of praise! What a wonderful work of God!

Well, I have also been encouraged by a song entitled Beautiful, Scandalous Night:

Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified

Follow Christ to the holy mountain
Sinner sorry and wrecked by the fall
Cleanse your heart and your soul
In the fountain that flowed
For you and for me and for all

CHORUS:
At the wonderful, tragic, mysterious tree
On that beautiful, scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful, scandalous night

On the hillside, you will be delivered
At the foot of the cross justified
And your spirit restored
By the river that poured
From our blessed Savior's side

I have been listening to the album "Give Yourself Away" by the Robbie Seay Band. You can listen to a couple of tracks from the album here. On the website there is a link to the album if you like what you hear. I really dig the song "New Day." It is a nice little jingle. "Rise" is a pretty good tune as well! I hope you enjoy them!

I love Robbie's version of Beautiful Scandalous Night! He has this knack for taking songs of Scriptural Truth and playing them in a way that touches the soul. I would highly recommend you spend the money for that song at least. It is available at the itunes music store.

Here is a link to the original writers of the song. They have two versions available on the site. I prefer Robbie's, but I have also listened to that song alone for about 8 hours.

I hope the Lord uses it to encourage and motivate you as much as He did me!

The Foolishness of Man

2008-03-27T08:53:00.000-07:00

This past Resurrection Sunday, our Pastor preached a fabulous message on The Foolishness of The Cross. You can listen to it here. Al Mohler posted an interestingly laughable display of human wisdom that complements John Zimmer's sermon well.

I would encourage all to read his post. It is a spiritual smoothie of laughter, sadness, and disgust. What else can the spiritually dead do with God? They cannot discern the truth. The following paragraph written by Al Mohler is important:

Count on this study to gain a great deal of media attention. "Explaining Religion" is yet more evidence that naturalism just doesn't work as a worldview. The "natural" order is just not self-explanatory. Do we really believe that morality is just a matter of brain chemistry? If so, why lock up criminals? Thankfully, most people have sufficient sense to realize that a biochemical explanation of morality means the end of personal responsibility. Want to live in that world?

I love the line about sufficient sense. Regarding these "wise" academians, he seems to imply they would be better off without all of their "knowledge." I would whole-heartedly agree. However, this is where the world is headed. Again quoting Mohler:

"Keep your brain chemistry on alert."

Waves of Grace

2008-03-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

Last week, I was ready for Resurrection Sunday! All week I was thinking about Christ and what He was doing on what day. Palm Sunday He was entering Jerusalem. Later that week, possibly Monday, He was cleansing the temple of the money changers. Thursday night was the Last Supper and His arrest. All through the night on Friday He was on trial, being mocked, beaten, and prepared for The Cross. Around 9am on Friday, He was crucified. I remember thinking at lunch on Friday that Christ was still on The Cross. Then as school let out at 3pm, He would have cried "It is finished."

As I awoke on Saturday my thoughts were still on Christ -- He is still in the tomb, but not for long! About two and a half hours later I learned that Grant Weinberg's heart had stopped beating and he was on his way to the hospital. I was shocked. These are the kinds of things you read about. They don't happen close to home. However, The Lord has plans I know nothing about! Saturday was mostly discouraging has our church family huddled in one wing of the fourth floor, praying for the Weinbergs and providing any comfort we could. I still was thinking, "Christ is in the tomb."

Sunday came! As I awoke I began thinking about Christ and His Resurrection. I thought of Grant and the Weinbergs, praying for The Lord to intervene. It was rainy and overcast, not an ideal day to celebrate The Resurrection.

The first service brought no new reports on Grant's condition. However, at the beginning of second service, our youth pastor relayed some great news -- Grant was responding to instructions! As many people prayed for the family, love poured out from hearts through words and tears. My wife later relived through teary eyes the joyous announcement from Chuck, "Grant is moving," or something close.

Our afternoon was spend with family, savoring the tantalizing feast my wife's parents had prepared. After some of the best potato casserole mankind has ever known, I read about how Grant's breathing tube had been removed! What an answer to prayer!

Upon arriving at church, I was blessed to be able to witness two baptisms. What an awesome testimony to God's work and His glory! He changes lives uniquely. No one can duplicate His works! After some singing, Pastor Zimmer shared the latest on Grant! He was living on his own -- no machines! He was awake and responsive! He was pretty stinking tired, but doing far better than any expectations! What a weekend!

I have had the opportunity to read through all of Chuck's posts. Only one sentence fits:

God is Amazing!

We could spending the rest of eternity describing that sentence. Grant was dead. You only do CPR on dead people. On the day Christ was in the tomb, Grant died. Praise God for giving Grant more life!

Saturday morning was bad, especially for the Weinbergs. I was personally humbled. Our only hope was God. No one in our church family could do anything to help. God along could heal or simply work through the doctors as He saw fit.

Since then every report has been encouraging! On Saturday Grant was stabilized -- God's Grace. On Sunday he was responding -- God's Grace. The tube came out -- God's Grace. He is able to converse -- God's Grace! He is able to lift his appendages -- God's Grace! He cannot not remember what day it is -- God's Grace (he doesn't want to know how much school work he will have to make up!) My heart is filled to joyous overflowing -- God's Grace. I have again been reminded of the value of life -- God's Grace. I have seen firsthand how God answers the prayers of His people -- God's Grace. I have seen the very hand of God at work in people's lives -- God's Grace. My love for my wife and kids has multiplied -- God's Grace.

The list is endless, but I will stop there. The list is simply from my small perspective and describes nothing of what God is doing in the lives of the Weinbergs! I am sure their joy is exponentially greater than mine!

God takes one supposed tragedy and creates a fountain of joy, bringing glory to Himself for His mighty hand! The road ahead is a difficult one for Grant and the Weinbergs, but the endless joy of the Lord will see them through!

God's Grace & Grant

2008-03-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

The last 48 hours have been amazing. The intense journey on which the Lord has taken the Weinbergs has brought about some timely reflection on God, His Sovereignty, His plans, and His goodness. It has also been an outstanding opportunity to reflect on their son Grant. God’s plan can be so unexpected. Just Friday night I said goodbye to him as they were leaving church. We shook hands and even did some cool handshake. I gave him a pat on the side of his arm, my patented way of showing some affection. Then on Saturday morning I was informed he was in the hospital. Brutal, completely brutal!

Well, Grant’s ordeal has caused me to remember what it is I like so much about him. I spent some time with him when he was in junior high. It is always a bit frustrating when one of your eighth graders is taller than you, jumps higher than you, throws harder than you (especially in dodge ball), and is an all around better athlete. I mean, the kid was only fourteen years old and he was blocking all of my shots! He was one of the more quiet guys; but when he spoke, he added some good thoughts. His words confirmed what we suspected – Grant was thinking!

As he has matured over the last three years, he has been a joy to watch. He became interested in running the One28 sound system and has developed into a rock of consistency. He is faithful and dependable. The last two or three times we have spoke, Grant has had such a beautiful spirit about him. I can tell he is maturing. Where I used to have to carry the conversation, Grant is now in the habit of returning questions and comments as we share a good chuckle. He has a smile that puts you at ease. His smile is warming and encouraging, enabling you to feel at home wherever you are.

At times I have wondered exactly what this young man is made of. Well, it seems that the Lord has put His refining work on display in Grant’s life. This young man is a fighter! In less than 48 hours he has showed us all what he is made of! I pray the Lord would continue His refining work to completion, using Grant to advance His Kingdom and amplify His Glory!

Grant on Saturday
Grant on Sunday

In light of Crucifixion Friday and Resurrection Sunday, Grant's weekend has given me much to think about. Nothing is so sobering as tragic events where a life is in jeopardy. Without Christ giving peace, hope, and joy, how would could anyone get through such events? Praise Christ for His work on the Cross for all who believe!

The Simplicity of Sin

2008-03-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

Today is a good day! It is the anniversary celebration of the death of The Lord and Master Jesus Christ. It is Good Friday. As I was meditating on this day, the cause of Christ's death rushed to the forefront of my mind -- sin. Perhaps sin is not the ultimate cause for The Crucifixion. God's glory is the ultimate end and the reason God sent His Son to become sin for us.

Yet sin is part of the reason Christ died. He is the atoning sacrifice for all who believe. The unbeliever has no sacrifice with which to satisfy God's unrelenting wrath. Without proper propitiation, the condemned unbeliever will pay for his or her sins in hell for eternity. Yet the very Son of God became our sacrifice, assuaging the wrath and condemnation of The Father, providing righteousness leading to eternal life for all who believe.

I was struck this morning with the simplicity of the sin. Simply put, the greatest command in Scripture is love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind, and all of your strength. If you have ever failed to obey this command, you have sinned against The Creator! Such an offense has eternal consequences. One sin, the sin of Adam, was enough to provide eternal, spiritual death to all of humanity! Because Adam's sin plagued his posterity, each of us are born sinful. We do not have to wrestle with the question of whether or not we have ever sinned against God. We were offensive to Him when we were conceived. Since then, every succeeding moment of our lives has provided God with the stench of sin in His nostrils.

Just as sin is simple, so is The Solution. God ordained that His Son, incarnated in human flesh, would die as the perfect, perspicuous, and perpetual sacrifice, atoning for all the sins of all who would ever believe! Today is the day we celebrate that death. Today is the day we thank God for His Grace in the salvific work of His Son.

Master and Lord

2008-03-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

I recently attended the Shepherd’s Conference. It is impossible to describe the level of excellence of the Shepherd’s Conference. We were served as much as six hours of preaching on any given day! And that does not even include the worship in song!

John MacArthur preached an outstanding sermon on the word “doulos” or slave. He said the only thing ‘doulos’ can mean is slave, although almost every Bible translates it servant, bond-servant, or bond-slave. It is tough to understand the significance, having never participated in slavery. However, the principle in question is one that effects us all every day of our lives. It is the principle of submission.

MacArthur pointed out that much of Scripture is “slave talk.” We are slaves of Christ, not simply servants. While a servant is paid for services rendered, a slave is owned. He is property of the Master. As Christians, we need to know our place.

While it is essential to think of ourselves as slaves, it is more important to think of Christ as Master and Lord. While no Christian should deny Christ as Lord, it seems as though familiarity with God and the Gospel has taken the edge off of this term. Because ‘Master’ is a term less frequented, it still connotes all of the ideas of slavery. It eliminates any idea of will on the part of the slave, bowing him before the Master and Lord.

I confess I have used the term Lord with far too much familiarity. Our (and my) sinful nature wants to have the lines of authority blurred. We prefer Jesus to be our friend. After all, in John 15:12-17 Jesus called us His friends. But we are slaves; and HE OWNS US! He has been gracious enough to share Himself with us, but that does not change His position. He is our Master.

The greatest result of this truth is humility. What great pride we muster if we say we work for the Master. But how many people would say, “HE OWNS ME?” It is humiliating to the unbeliever. A fallen creature does not want to be owned. After all, we have free will don’t we?

The fact of our fallen state aids the argument dramatically. We are not holy, the Master is. He is infinitely greater than the sum total of all humanity. Mankind in his pomp is but fodder compared to our Master; and that is even a stretch. For all of the mathematicians, think of a number line centered around zero. Using it to compare God’s holiness to man’s holiness, we would place God at infinity, the ever-increasing right. Man however would not simply be at zero. He would be at negative infinity, the ever-decreasing left. Sin corrupts us to such an extent. He is holy, we are defiled.

Another pride-crushing truth is that we are created. The Master made us! He has the ultimate authority to do whatever He wants. We are created beings who must obey. If we do not obey, we will be punished. He is holy therefore it is right for Him to punish disobedience.

Examine for a moment what the Master actually did. He created man to worship Him. Man rebels, introducing sin to all of creation. Instead of wiping out creation the Master chooses to send His only Son to die as a propitiation for our sins. For all who believe, Christ’s death purchases us from the slave market and places us in His care. He owns us. What humility this should bring. The Inquisitor wrote:

"It strips us of any sense of credit or glory that we would covet for our salvation. It lends us a proper perspective as to where we ought to be focused. Christ is LORD. We are slaves. If we are to be good slaves, then we must know and do the will of our Master."

As if His purchasing sacrifice was not enough, the Master then shares His will with us through His Word, calling us His friends! We are mutinous mercenaries serving Satan when Christ saves us. He then calls us, not slaves, but friends! It is unfair - to Him. We deserve death, but He gives His Grace, that is His unmerited undeserved favor, to His slaves! What a glorious God!

He is Master and Lord!

Reflections

2008-03-08T22:20:00.000-08:00

I sit here in North Hollywood, California. I have been bountifully blessed to have enjoyed solid biblical teaching, teaching that explains the Word of God, for three days. I am anticipating two more excellent sermons tomorrow. I cannot express the depth of gratitude to my Lord for how He has provided for me this week. From the beginning of the trip until the end I find myself drowning in God's Grace. I am eternally thankful to Him and to all of those whom He uses to make this trip possible! I am not able to communicate the profound gratitude filling my soul.

While my extreme thankfulness is heavy on my heart, there is something else that continues to haunt my thoughts. While listening to a session on how a pastor should prepare his heart for studying a sermon, the Lord was again faithful to convict me of feeble, bland, sterile affections for Him. I remember the first three months of 2007 quite vividly. The Lord blessed me with inexplicable joy for over three months! It was indescribable! It is as if I were more concerned with the joy given than the Joy-Giver. Looking back on those wonderful months, the results were obvious. People saw Christ overflowing from my heart. I wonder where the joy is now.

Don't get me wrong, life is a continual blessing. I see the Lord's hand in every facet of my being. Yet, I am not satisfied that I know Him as He commands. During this particular session, the Lord used His Sword to cut deep into the center of my heart, revealing the selfishness, jealousy, and odiously revolting sin that daily barrages my heart. It is encamped outside my heart's walls, daily waging war against me to capture and enslave me. Praise God that He has purchased me from the slave market, enlisting me to obey Him, fighting for His glory. While His truths are reassuring, I cannot escape the knowledge that my Master and Lord has much more waiting for me. He is pleading for me to know Him, sometimes gently and other times tenaciously.

I have recently been taught about the importance of continually filling my mind with things that focus my thinking on Christ. As I fill the reservoir of my mind with thoughts of His glorious majesty, the overflow of my life will be the life-giving water He supplies. I will be a vessel made for His glory!

Yet that reservoir is so suspicious. It shimmers in the sunlight, reflecting the clear blue skies and brilliant sun of a perfect day! As I look through that reflection I notice some scary things. Sin still contaminates the depths of that reservoir. A slimy muck seems to line the entire floor. Some areas even seem overgrown with weeds. It is not a reservoir from which I would want to drink. I cannot understand why the Lord would waste time on it. He has worked so long to teach me how to care for this reservoir and yet this is how I care for it.

Praise God for His love, mercy, and grace! Praise God for His Son who bore the wrath for my sin and gave me His righteousness in return. Someday that reservoir will reflect Him. The sooner the better.

Unbelief

2008-01-03T22:56:00.000-08:00

I continue to be amazed at the power given to sin over me ( and all humanity). It seems that just one sin directs my living off of the straight and narrow, wandering aimlessly through the wilderness of thirsty life, refusing to drink the satisfying water of the Living Fountain. Rather, I simulate that thirst-quenching soul-satisfier at the dry dusty cisterns life has to offer.

The symptoms of this cancerous plight are obvious. I have little desire for things of the Lord. I would still rather be around the people of God, but I do not want much interaction. I converse just enough to keep everyone at a distance, revealing enough information to move the other person on to someone else. I think the most revealing thing, though, is the lack of "inspiration."

This lack of "inspiration" reveals itself in some of the ways listed above. Where I notice it the most is in my bible reading and prayer. While reading scripture, nothing stands out. Distractions are frequent; and I struggle to keep my mind focused on the text.

During prayer, the drought is revealed in mechanical praises and requests. There is little passion. There are frequent pauses to ponder things that never happen. (That is just stupid!)

While doing some extra-biblical reading today, the author was talking about unbelief. He says:

Here, then, is the proper reward and penalty of unbelief: so to tremble as to turn aside from God when one does not open the door for himself by faith. But, on the other hand, believers whom the weight of temptation bends down and almost crushes constantly rise up, although not without difficulty and trouble. And because they are aware of their own weak-mindedness, they pray with the prophet, "Take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth" (Psalm 119:43). By these words we are taught that they sometimes become dumb as if their faith had been laid low; yet they do not fail or turn their backs, but persevere in their struggle. And by prayer they spur on their sluggishness, lest at least, out of self-indulgence they become benumbed.

This paragraph seemed to be an illustration of my struggles with sin. When life seems like a desert, I am struggling with unbelief. I suppose unbelief is the root of sin. I mean, look at Adam and Eve. Unbelief led to The Fall. But Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.

So, if the problem is unbelief, the solution is believing (Yes, I used the problem solving logic of my nuclear training to make that connection - ha ha!). It should go without saying that I am referring to belief in Jesus Christ. The approach to sin must then be what God has determined is the solution. I must confess and repent of my unbelief, pray for Christ to strengthen my faith, and set my mind on what is true. I am again reminded that knowledge of God is required for strengthened faith.

Well, I guess this turned into another blogpost on bible study and prayer. Isn't it interesting how the Lord makes things so simple!

Decisions, Decisions

2007-10-17T09:16:00.000-07:00

After seeing this, I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or puke. Perhaps a combination of all three is in order. Please answer this question: As a church, where has our discernment gone?

The Sovereignty of God

2007-10-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

The Original Pyro maniac provided a 'must-read' for every Christian. I admit I always love discussing the Sovereignty of God, providing the discussers are respectful to the Almighty. For anyone serious about their pursuit of Christ, this is a life-producing banquet for your soul!

Legacies

2007-09-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

Tonight at church, we had the opportunity to celebrate one of God's gifts to our church. The gift is one of our elders and his family. Hearing about how God has used this man made this a wonderful evening! I think he would definitely qualify as a great man. However, what strikes me as most compelling is the legacy he is leaving. His family is top notch. All seven members have characteristics that make them great people. It is astounding to see how God has used Tim to lead his family in excellence.

While there are so many things that could be said, I think the most important one is this: He has taught his family to pursue Christ and disciple others. Another great man helped me to realize that teaching your children is not enough. You have to teach them to teach others, especially their own children. The Bible calls this discipleship, equipping others to pursue Christ and to use their Spiritual giftedness. God's glory is at stake in the lives of our grandchildren. If we do not teach our children to teach their children to pursue Christ and disciple others, another generation will live without knowing the joy that is found in Christ! When we enjoy Him, He is most glorified. There is no doubt in my mind that Tim's children understand this.

Many men leave a legacy to be remembered. Few men leave a legacy and children who leave a legacy that is worth remembering. My guess is that Tim is one of those men. Praise God for His work in Tim's life! The world is a better place with him in it.

Thoughts on God

2007-09-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been an eventful weekend. Hannah was sick Friday night. She vomited well into the night. It was her first bout with the flu so she was kind of scared. She came through very well, though, and is doing fine. Then Bekah caught the bug on Saturday. She vomited a time or two, but not as bad as Hannah. Then, Saturday night, Benjamin caught the bug. He too was up until about 2am vomiting. It is quite impressive to see a toddler's whole body shake as he dry heaves. The poor guy didn't sleep too well.

Three down and one to go! The bug hit me on Sunday night at church. I could feel the churning in my stomach at about 7pm. However, I did not vomit until about 9:45pm. I think the worst part is when your body is beginning the process. I could feel a dull ache in my stomach, but I did not puke until about five minutes later. That five minutes was horrible. Thankfully, it only happened about five or six times that night. By about 2am I was finished vomiting. It was not what I consider fun. Then their is the achy and weak feeling. It still has not completely gone away.

While it was a rough weekend for our family, it was nothing compared to John Piper's weekend. You can read about it here. I cannot imagine the pain they are feeling. I often wonder what it would be like to endure such tragedy. Then I just thank the Lord that He has not seen fit to put me through such a thing.

My under-shepherd sent an email regarding Piper's tragedy. He also talked about the baptism we witnessed Sunday night. It was a testimony of a life transformed, a recounting of God's work from death to life. In Sharon's baptism we see the need for our Savior. In the death of Piper's granddaughter, we also see the need for our Savior.

While it may be difficult to understand, we can rest in the knowledge that God is righteous. Because God is righteous, all of His works are righteous. His righteous works declare the glory of His Name. What a glorious name it is. While we cannot know God's purpose in the death of a baby, we do know that He allowed it. Therefore, He must have a purpose in it. Knowing God is at work in every situation is comforting. It humbles me to think of the Pipers and this tragedy. It is encouraging to know that the Righteous God is at work in even the most incomprehensible of circumstances.

Real Men 1.2

2007-09-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

Well, some things in life make you look stupid. My last blog offered me an opportunity for that! It is times like these that really devalue some of the great things in life. So, after listening to the sermon Men at Work, I blogged about Real Men. The preacher listed three main points for men to remind them of their calling before God. He used the letters I.R.S. to help us remember what separates men from effeminate men. 'Initiative', 'Responsibility', and 'Sacrifice.'

Well, somewhere in the TruThseeker translation, the 'Sacrifice' became Service. Now, while service is admirable and required, right and true, it was not the point given by the preacher. Thankfully, the preacher alerted me to this unspeakable blunder, correcting some grammatical anomalies in the process. To 'Da Preacha': Thank You.

However, I must write about 'Sacrifice.' One key to being a real man, that is, a godly man, is sacrifice. It is the most unbelievable of callings. God makes man. As man traverses life, he takes a wife and makes a family. Being the God-ordained head of the house, the man must sacrifice his own life, his wants, his desires, for the family. He cannot simply charge forward, living life with no regard for their well-being. He must care for, nurture, and love them. Love takes sacrifice.

Our great example, illustrate the preacher, is found in The Lord Jesus Christ. He creates man, who in turn chooses to disobey his Creator. Christ then sets aside His glory, the glory He had with the Father, and becomes a man in order to save man. Christ dies at the hands of sinful man, for His joy, for His creation, for the sins of all who believe. So, Christ sacrificed His glory and His life to provide life for His bride.

While it is true that Christ came to serve, I do enjoy the word sacrifice much more. It requires more of the one giving the sacrifice. It is a giving up of something valuable in order to give to someone else. The great ones sacrifice. The great ones do what it takes, taking initiative and assuming responsibility, sacrificing for the good of others. Christ did that, not only for our salvation, but also for the glory of God! Is there anything more worthy?

So, perhaps we can adjust the acronym. Maybe I.R.S.S. would be an appropriate reminder. However, based upon how this sermon has impacted me, I think I.R.S. would be the better way to go. I think the preacher would agree. A further audit would provide greater confirmation.

Playing for Keeps

2007-09-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

During a busy life, amidst a busy season, embedded in a hectic week, and climaxing an eventful day, a defining moment can be lost in the rigors of living. When something of significance occurs, that is, something of lasting significance, it can often be lost in the shuffle. However, there is deep value in recognizing these gold nuggets, mining them from the deep veins in the mountains in which they are hidden.

As you meditate on the idea of mining truths of worth from the mountains of life, linger for a moment over the satisfaction enjoyed upon securing said nugget of gold. While the gold has value, the personal value of a gold nugget is increased when requiring intense industrious effort to obtain. Likewise, when you recognize a valuable lesson from the trials of life, a truth to set your heart upon, its value increases.

Last night was a reminder to me of the value of knowing Christ. What is ultimately at stake in life? What are we created to do? We are ... to give glory to God. That is, we are alive, we exist, to glorify God. Therefore, every moment of every hour of every life is for the glory of God. What a great reminder to live like it! We must play for keeps!

Many times I hear of people who are "full of life." They seem to grab life by the horns and live life to the fullest. How much more should a child of God live to enjoy the Living Christ! We must live as if our lives, and more importantly God's glory, depended upon it! We must fight sin as if our last breath were at stake! Our life is more than mere existence, it is the battleground of eternity. As the armies of life and death collide on the frontiers of our own existence, battling for supremacy, how we live life reflects the army in which we are serving. Not only is this true, but also the intensity of our fight describes how seasoned we are as fighters. We must fight as if the battle depends on us! We must fight as if we make the difference between winning and losing, knowing that Christ is the one working through us!

The crazy thing is, Christ has already won the war! Death is a defeated foe! As a Christian, I am fighting a dieing enemy! As if that were not enough to get me excited, though I am fighting on the battle field, my home is in Heaven! I am seated in the heavenlies! As I fight, I should be longing for life at home! Can there be a better way to fight? I am fighting a dieing foe, while yearning for eternity!

Do not be deceived, the foe is strong. He will not die quietly. However, he is dieing! Our Captain has not only taught us to fight, but has also given us a Helper to fight for us! We are guaranteed victory! Therefore, let us fight joyfully, defending the Name of our God! Let us fight like we love Him with all of our being! After all, we are playing for keeps, fighting for life!

Real Men

2007-09-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity on Thursday to listen to a sermon on godly men and their work. The preacher encouraged Christian men in the church to get off their hindquarters and get busy being men (that is a TruThseeker paraphrase). Instead of relaxing on our Stratford sectionals and in our La-Z-boy recliners while spending the day watching college football and accruing unneeded fat calories, we should invest in things of the Kingdom for the glory of the Father. I must think that this issue should be very taxing to some men in the church.

In order to help men remember to work, the preacher gave the acronym I.R.S. The ‘I’ stands for Initiative. Godly men, real men, take initiative. They do not wait to be directed but rather, upon finding problems, take it upon themselves to find the solution. They do not need to be micromanaged nor babysat. They recognize that their work is, by all accounts, payable to the Father as a good work He planned beforehand.

The ‘R’ stands for responsibility. Personally I think that responsibility is the root of the ‘IRS’ tree. If godly men were not responsible, they would not take initiative. Rather, they would be ungodly men, seeking the satisfaction of self, waging war against the dual threat of boredom and a sore buttocks. As they levy the tax of entertainment against the laziness of their slothful day, they are storing up judgment for themselves which is, by all accounts, receivable upon the glorious coming of the Lord.

The preacher is talking to Christians, not to unbelievers. However, this magnifies the atrocity. It uncovers how we, children of God, have embezzled His glory and invested it in the god of Self. Instead, we should admit that we have sinned on a cosmic level. We should seek repentance in Christ and live by the Spirit.

Having done that, we have arrived at the ‘S’ – Service! There is perhaps no better fruit of Spiritual immaturity than lack of service. If God prepared for us good works that we should walk in them, then we should walk in them! What does it say about the church when men, the God-ordained leaders, will not obey their Savior?

What example have we set for the next generation? We have young men who will spend hours exercising their thumbs on video game control pads, but will not even work hard enough to sweat when a service opportunity arises. In fact, they will not even notice the opportunity! We have young men who do not know how to work! We have invested our assets in ourselves and the return on that investment is the bankruptcy of our youths.

The Vanity of Exercise

2007-09-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday our youth pastor was teaching us about how stupid it is to worry when God has promised to care for all of our needs. You can listen to that greatness here. He mentioned Psalm 90:10 which reads:

10 The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span [1] is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.

He also pointed out that all of our worrying about our life has yield an average age of death of 76 years! So, assuming that we use 70 years for an average length of life at the time of David's writing of this Psalm and if we assume it was written about the year 1000 BC, we can find the rate at which our life is increasing. Life expectancy has skyrocketed 6 years in the last 3000 years! That translates into 2 more years of life in every millennium!

I suppose we cannot relate to the actual length of time in 1000 years. So, let me translate this into something more understandable. All of our exercising gives us 17 hours 31 minutes and 12 seconds of more life every year! That is 2 minutes and 53 seconds of more life every day! Now this is ironic! A person will work out for 30 - 60 minutes multiple times per week in order to gain 2 minutes and 53 seconds more of life per day? What is wrong with this picture?

So the average human being will gain 55 days, 11 hours, 31 minutes, and 12 seconds of life over an average lifespan if they exercise everyday. If it were up to me, I would just die early.

Now, I must give some perspective here. First of all, I am talking about longevity of life, not quality of life. Exercising definitely makes you feel better. Although, if your motivation for exercise is to live longer you may now be quite discouraged. Of course, God decides when we die so it really is a moot point.

Second, this does not take into account any other technological advantages that may lend to this life extension.

Third, exercise is also a stewardship issue. We must take care of the bodies God has so graciously given us. So, from that perspective, exercise in not in vain.

Fourth, answering a question posed earlier, the problem with this picture is sin. Not only does sin KILL, it makes the possibility we have of reversing its affects, that is saving ourselves from death, diminish all of the way to zero!! We have no hope of beating sin and surviving death apart from Christ!

While Christ is the answer to longevity of life, He is also the only Source to quality of life! He alone provides joy, the highest quality of life, because He is the source of Joy! While exercise makes you feel better, Christ actually makes you better. Exercise is deceptive, I guess, but it is beneficial.

Keeping this in mind, let us exercise to the glory of God, trusting His grace to make it valuable.

A time for blogging

2007-09-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been about 3 months since my last blog. I wanted to apologize for my laziness in posting over the summer. Although the summer has been full, it has been no excuse to cease writing out my meditations. My wife pointed out that blogging seemed to help me spiritually as I am forced to wrestle with the majesty of His Majesty. So, it is time to reenter the blogosphere. As we start this new school year, I am committed to again share my thoughts with the world! Lord willing, there will be something worth sharing. If not, thanks for humoring me!

The Pastorate

2007-05-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

In the words of Lord Farquad, "Oh, now isn't this precious?" I mockingly quote this in reference to Al Mohler's latest blog. Apparently, a United Methodist woman pastor has had a sex change to become a man! Who needs to cut passages out of their bible anymore so they don't have to obey? Now we can literally change ourselves to meet God's standard.

Consider the following marketing ploy: "Are you a female wanting to pastor a church? Are you currently a female pastor wanting to be more aligned with the Word of God? Have we got the surgery for you! For just ten easy installments of $999.99, you too can become a man! That's right! You can change your appearance to look more biblical! Are you tired of congregation members confronting you on your sin? Are you tired of suppressing your conscience every time you read the Pastoral epistles, 1 Corinthians, or any passage that teaches about God's design for male leadership in His Church? Look no further than our sex change operation!"

How ludicrous is this? Mohler's article is gold! Consider the following paragraphs:

There can be no question that some persons suffer excruciating gender confusions. But the answer to this must be the embrace of birth gender as a central dimension of God's will for the individual. Christians must understand that gender --the sex of an individual -- is a part of God's glory in creation. God's own verdict on the creation of humanity as male and female, both made in His image, was that is was "very good." The transgender temptation is a repudiation of God's own verdict on His creation and His plan for humanity.

The emergence of this phenomenon is a direct consequence of the massive social, moral, legal, and ideological shifts that mark our times. The concept of autonomous individualism has led persons to believe that each of us holds the protean ability to create and re-create ourselves into whatever or whomever we wish -- and that no one outside the autonomous self has any right to set limits on this self-definition and transformation. The therapeutic revolution has deluded modern Americans into thinking that patterns of basic rebellion against God are means of self-liberation and therapy. The law has been transformed into an instrument of social revolution, even as many legal authorities claim that traditional definitions of marriage, sexuality, and gender are artifacts of an oppressive and patriarchal age.

So God calls His creation very good in their God-given gender and society uses it as a fuel for rebellion. The only thing worse would be the church that He created embracing that kind of thinking. Well, that day is here; and it is sad.

May the Lord bring us some severe persecution to purify His Bride!

Freedom?

2007-05-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about Freedom lately. I think we have a misconception in our culture of what freedom is. It really seems to me that in America we think that freedom is our right and/or ability to do anything we want to do. Now, this may or may not be correct, but it really seems to be the way we think. We want freedom of speech - with no limits. We want to be able to say what we want, when we want, without any consequences or repercussions. In fact, we want to be able to do what we want without any consequences either. A great example is the state of Oregon's decision to allow sexual acts be performed in public settings such as strip clubs.

Now I am all for freedom to a certain extent, but let's get some perspective here. First of all, freedom is never absolutely complete. In the same way we can never live on earth free from gravity, we are never totally free from everything. For example, the law of cause and effect states that for effect there is a cause. Each effect may in turn become a cause, producing another effect, and so on. As Christians, we believe God is the first Cause and everything flows from His existence somehow (I don't pretend to know how nor have the answers). So our freedom is never without some limits. We are always limited. As much as I would like the speed limit to be non-existent, I will never be free from it. Either it will be imposed on me by government or by nature.

Second, if we are never completely free of all limits, then it follows that we are always a slave to something. Something has authority and power over us. As humans, we hate this. Everyone has struggled with being told what to do. "Stand in this line or fill out this form and then stand in another line." The cycle never ends.

It seems that America, a land established on the basis of rebellion, has fallen upon its own sword. We fought for our freedom. We established our own constitution. We even gave ourselves a Bill of Rights - rights that every citizen should enjoy. However, with those rights came limits. We viewed those limits as some sort of slavery. We do not like limits or slavery so we fought to extend them. Look how far we have "enlarged the borders" of our freedoms. Apparently it is now right for us to murder unborn babies and elderly men and women. Oh we do it under the guise of "free choice" and "quality of life." Consider some other things our "freedom" has provided.

First, in the eyes of America, freedom has provided prosperity. We are a wealthy country! We have more money than any country in History. While that gap is closing, that prosperity was still brought about by our freedom. And, we are free to do anything to get that prosperity; or so we think.

Second, prosperity has provided choices. We have more choices than anyone in the history of the world! We can choose any product in any color, shape, or size to meet any need. What kind of car do you like? We've got that. What color? Oh, yea, we've got that. And guess what! We have financing that will put you in the car of your dreams, today!

Third, choices have brought our wants into focus. Our culture is all about us. At Burger King "You can have it your way!" You name the marketing ploy and it is all about giving you what you want. That is the driving force behind customer service. Give the customer what they want.

Fourth, our wants have brought about impatience. Why else would we need "minute rice" and microwaves? Why else would we get our movies "On Demand?" I dig my Ipod, but it is just a way to get more music to my ears faster than ever before. Of course, nothing in and of itself is evil. I really like listening to sermons on my Ipod.

Also, consider what our wants and desires reveal. They reveal that we just want to stop working. We want to relax. After all, "You deserve a break today." Just sit back on your big fluffy couch, with your remote control, your bowl of popcorn, and you pop. Enjoy the next two or three hours of movies! Enjoy your football game! We provide you this opportunity to sit back and enjoy yourself. After all, you have earned it!

Freedom has brought about our way of life. Now don't get me wrong, I think freedom is good and I would not want to live in a different country. But, let us consider some of the results. We are an obese society. We are a lazy society. We are less intelligent. We are irresponsible. We are compromisers. We avoid pain at all costs. We do not stand up for truth. We do not even acknowledge truth! How lazy is that? Consider the military in Al Mohler's blog.

In my opinion, these results of our freedom are the sword America is falling on. In fact, we may just be in the dieing process. I am afraid for my children and grandchildren. They are going to pay the price for my generation. I pray God will prepare them for what they face. However, the Bible gives us the indication that they will not be prepared.

So back to freedom for a moment. This is the whole point of this blog. From a Christian perspective, we are never free in this world. We are either slaves of sin or slaves of Christ. If you are a slave of sin, then you probably feel free in this life. If you are a slave of Christ, you probably feel in bondage in this life. In fact, as a Christian our job is to work for Christ. There is no rest for us in this life! We will rest when we get to heaven! Though we are God's children now, we will not realize some of those benefits until we are taken from this life. So now we work as slaves of righteousness, knowing that we are sons and daughters of God. Someday we will live as sons and daughters of God, resting completely in Him.

So why do we look to rest and be entertained? We have the King's work to do! Let us live Hebrews 12:1. Let us labor, striving according to His power (Colossians 1:29)! Let us find rest for our souls in Christ alone! We are slaves of the King. Let us do His bidding until the day our faith is realized!

Dealing with Trials

2007-05-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

I recently had the privilege of preaching from James 1:2-4. After receiving much encouragement in various forms and from numerous people, I have decided to blog through the sermon. My aim is to glorify our God and Father along with His Son, edify any who may read this blog, and hopefully mature in my own faith. Eventually I even hope to have some sermon notes on our ministry's website. So here we go with some introductory thoughts...

The complete paragraph begins in chapter 1 verse 2 and extends all the way to verse 12. It covers three main points and a conclusion:

1. Joy in Trials (1:2-4)
2. Wisdom in Trials (1:5-8)
3. An illustration (1:9-11)
4. Conclusion (1:12)

I suppose you can isolate each of these points to study them independently. In fact, you pretty much have to do that just to study the passage. However, to apply these points independently of each other takes away much of their power. While many people understand wisdom in trials to be simply a passage on wisdom, it is much more powerful to realize that the passage on wisdom logically follows the passage on joy. In fact, it helps to explain what you are to do if you are not finding joy during the trials of life! To not understand the relationship between these paragraphs is to limit the power and scope of Scripture; as well as misinterpreting the message God intended for us to hear.

I am going after this passage in a specific way. I want to learn what God is trying to teach us. He is the Author. He has a message He is trying to communicate. I want to find out what that message is. If we can understand the text the way one of the original readers would have understood it, we can then appropriately apply it to our lives.

You can read the passage here. Let me now give you a little bit of history regarding my intimacy with this passage. It all started about this time last year. Perhaps we were into July of 2006. We had just received a new class of seventh graders into our ministry. The Newecho and I had decided to ask our small group what book of the bible they wanted to work on memorizing. After some discussion, we decide on the book of James.

I did pretty well at memorizing the passages. Then something happened around January. I actually started to think about what I had memorized. I was meditating on Scripture! Now everyone knows that we are to do this, but who actually does it? Of those who do it, who actually does it effectively? Well, for whatever reason, this meditation was effective. I cannot describe what joy and peace filled my soul! I suppose if I could describe it, it would not be the peace that passes understanding.

I became fixated on these phrases. I could not get them out of my head! It was as if the Spirit of God had fastened my thinking to them. Sure I could do other stuff for awhile, but at virtually ever break I found myself thinking about these verses again! And it was not just the first twelve verses! This happened with every verse in the first chapter! I literally spent two or three months living joyfully! Now we did have some pretty big spiritual events during that time. But rather than create the joy, these events merely served to prolong it!

Honestly, there was another change! I was really looking to Christ and away from my sin. I had made a resolution to be faithful to read my bible and pray. I had a plan to fulfill that resolution. The Lord blessed that. When I focused on Christ, I was not even thinking about sinning! I was too lost in the wonder of God's Word to waste time with something so odious! Now, I still sinned. But the desire to sin and the lure of sin were almost non-existent! What a wonderful time it was!

My wife remembers the day I lost that joy. I have been fighting for it since then. However, the formula still holds true. When I am faithful to spend time with Him, I seem to have more patience. I seem to have more strength. I definitely have more joy! Joy, that bubbling happiness that finds its spring in Christ, is worth the fight because joy's Source is worth fighting for!

I hope that this mini-series on James 1 leads you to greater joy, depending on Christ for your complete satisfaction.

Milestones and memories

2007-05-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

You will probably never guess what happened on May 16, 1997. I doubt that it is a day most people would remember. It was a Friday, a normal Friday. Some people went to work, while others stayed home. Some went to school while others went to the beach. It was similar to any other day. The sun shone bright in Orlando, Florida. Another class was graduating from the NNPTC - Naval Nuclear Power Training Command. The parents and instructors gathered on the lawn for the ceremony. It was just another routine day.

But there was something less routine happening about four hours west of Orlando in Tampa. This event even impacted some of the sailors. A group of about ten to twenty sailors were participating in this event. One of the graduating sailors was even bringing his dad, which was fairly remarkable considering their relationship over the previous ten years. So, off this group went. The sailor and his dad drove separate from the group. They caught up with the guys the next day. It was an event one particular sailor would remember for a lifetime, or at least for the next ten years.

Not only was this a significant event, but also it was held at a significant place - Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida. It is the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for all of you professional football fans.

It was a significant event in another way. It was an all male event. This event was only for men. An event where men would gather to be encouraged by other men. What a time it was.

Looking back, the most significant part of this event was the reason for the event. These men were gathering to worship God. They were not just gathering to worship any god, but rather they were worshiping the one true God. He is the God testified to and described by the Bible. In fact, the Bible is God's Word!

So this young man, his dad, and some of his sailor friends were gathering with thousands of other men to worship God. Ironically, this man did not know God. His father knew God, but he himself did not know nor had ever known God. God, however, had special plans for this young man that night.

As the young man and his father walked into the stadium to find their seats, they were welcomed by the staple cheer at these events. One side of the stadium would yell, "We love Jesus yes we do. We love Jesus. How about you?" The opposite side would respond with the same rhyme. As this cheese-fest continued, the young man and his father progressed to their seats, mildly amused at such Christian zeal.

The music was unlike anything this young man had ever seen. While growing up in a mildly conservative Christian church, he had been exposed to average voices with average fervency. However, this Friday night was another story altogether. The music was loud. The songs were upbeat. The worship team even had a guitar and drums! There were new unfamiliar choruses as well as old classics. In fact, one of the staple songs for that years event was "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" by Martin Luther. It was a version he would never forget. In addition to the music, there was a lot of charismata. Hands were waving. Men were crying. Apparently the Spirit was a movin'. Since this young man did not know God, he just figured they were very passionate and that someday he would be able to worship with such intensity.

As the night wore on, some supposedly important men were saying some supposedly important stuff. Ten years later this young man remembers none of that. He just remembers the alter call. He was standing near the isle. His father was to his right, standing between him and the stage. At the invitation to come forward and believe in Jesus, the young man quietly headed toward the stage. As he exited the aluminum seat and proceeded to descend the cement stairs, he looked back at his dad. His dad was looking the other way and did not notice his son's movement. A small feeling of sadness invaded the young man's heart as he made his way down the field. Having dreamed of someday patrolling the gridiron, he never envisioned he would traverse the grass in this manner. As he neared the other end of the stadium, some stranger he would never see again yet never forget wrapped his arm around the young man. This compassionate man stated that this was the best decision he could ever make. The young man agreed and they continued together towards the stage.

As they walked, the young sailor felt a sort of loneliness. He had never done this before. He was all alone, seeking the forgiveness of the Sovereign God. Little did he know what his life would become!

Peering about the field, there were strange things happening. Some men were praying. Some were crying. Another man was lying there comatose. A second man was trying to support the statue-like figure, as if he could help in some way. The rest of the setting has been forgotten. As he began to pray, something happened. He felt as if a waterfall had cleansed him. He was clean! He was clean! The dirt was gone! The stain was no more! He could not describe what he felt! He knew he was different (though no one had ever really explained it that way to him). He was a changed man! But what does that mean? He just wanted to be saved from his sin. Indeed he was saved that night; and what that means is still being determined.

As he walked back to his seat, the young man really did not know what to think. He was excited to tell his dad, however he was a bit shy at the same time. Needless-to-say his dad was overjoyed. As they returned to the hotel room that night, his dad dialed mom and grandma! Both were overjoyed as they heard the news of God's work in this young man's life.

So here we are today. Ten years later. A different time zone. A different climate. A different life, but the same God. Today is a re-birthday! It is the celebration of this man's regeneration, graciously granted by the Sovereign God, who had planned from eternity past to save this young man at that specific point in time.

If you have not figured it out, that young man was me. A sailor studying to learn his job. A son struggling to please his father. A man searching to find a wife. A sinner working to save his life. The event was Promise Keepers. While not my 'para-church of choice' these days, I do appreciate the Lord's work through that event.

All of these things God used to draw me to Himself. Many times I feel as though I have been to hell and back in the last ten years. I have traveled the western hemisphere. I have been married. I have been divorced. I have been remarried. I have been given two children. I have become a Calvinist. I have battled with sin, striving to know Christ. Many have gone through far worse. Yet, it doesn't matter. Here is why.

In America we celebrate people. Because we are human we get it all wrong. At weddings we celebrate the bride. At funerals we remember the dead. At births we celebrate the baby. All of these things have their place and I do not mean to minimize any of them.

But let's consider God. At the great wedding He throws for His Son, no one will be celebrating the bride. At His death on the cross, God raised Him from the dead. While the salvation of a sinner is celebrated in the heavens, the intent is to glorify the One who gave the new life. As my wife said, we should be celebrating the giver of life more than the life itself.

So today, my ten year re-birthday, I want to celebrate God. The other stuff listed above doesn't matter because it is just the color that accentuates the picture. The glory of the Artist is at stake here! There would be no picture without the Artist! There would be no salvation without the God who saves! While it is appropriate to ponder the past and remember from where I have come, it is inappropriate to do so independent of the point of view of the Redeemer. He is the reason my life was changed. He is the reason my life will mature to Christ-likeness.

I have only been a Christian for ten years. That is slightly over thirty percent of my life. I eagerly anticipate the day when I have lived longer as a Christian than I did as a pagan. That day will be May 16, 2020. I will be able to say I have lived knowing Christ for the majority of my life! And He will still get all of the glory!

Hath Not the Potter

2007-05-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

I have been doing much thinking lately on the Sovereignty of God. I love to contemplate what His Sovereignty is and to what extent it reaches. While I will never fully understand the depth of our great God, I want to try.

The past few months has afforded the opportunity to dwell upon God's Sovereignty in much detail. As we have specifically looked at His Sovereignty in Salvation, the light of the gospel has shown forth and divine truth has been proclaimed. Our specific topic has been Calvinism. Spurgeon called Calvinism a "nickname for the gospel." It does indeed summarize Scriptural truth accurately. In contrast, we have learned about Calvinism's arch rival Arminianism. As the man-centeredness of Arminianism has been exposed, Romans 9:6-23 has become clear to me. There is one phrase I cannot shake from my thoughts in Romans 9:21:

"Or does not the potter have a right over the clay..."

Do we even contemplate the Potter's right any more? I mean, the Potter created the pots. Why do we question His work? Why do we question how He made the pots? Why do we cringe at His creating a specific pot for His specific purpose to bring Himself glory? Does this show us anything about ourselves other than our sinfulness?

When we say things such as "my God is not like that..." or "my God would do this...," are we not just questioning the Potter and attempting to limit His right? Who are we to try to change the Word of the Potter to fit our thinking?

Let me see if I can put this into perspective. God is holy. He is perfect, pure, whole, and complete. He needs nothing. No created thing can add to Him. He is completely righteous and totally just. He is loving, gracious, and merciful. He is faithful and forgiving. We even know that His anger, wrath, and condemnation are in line with His character, which is holy! He says in Isaiah 48:11,

"For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; for how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another."

Paul explicitly explains in Romans 9, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, how Salvation is God's choice, independent of individual effort. In fact, God Himself proclaimed His glory to Moses in Exodus 33:19, describing His goodness as His choice to "...be gracious to whom He will be gracious and to show compassion on whom He will show compassion." In other words, it is God's glory to choose to whom He will be gracious. This implies that the recipients are not worthy of His graciousness. If they were, He would not be glorified by choosing to be gracious and compassionate to them.

But our culture chafes against this. We agree that God is all of those things. As evangelicals we proclaim that God is at work in our Salvation. Yet some churches teach that our will must be included in our salvation. They proclaim that our God cannot work in us if we don't allow Him. They try to steal some of His Glory! However, He will not give His glory to another.

This brings me back to Romans 9:21. "Does not the Potter have a right over the clay...?" Does not the Potter have THE right, period? Who are we to question Him? We believe He is holy, righteous, just, loving, gracious, merciful, compassionate, etc. Yet we don't trust His word that His choice in the Salvation He provides is a reflection of His character? Why do we have to "protect" God from this? Are we afraid that He cannot defend Himself? Do we just forget that He created all that exists out of nothing? Yet we are concerned that He has not dealt righteously with His creation and with sin? No wonder the church in America is in such a pitiful state today.

We need to trust God at His word. We need to submit to Him and His word, not try to explain away things we don't understand. We need to rejoice in His Sovereign choice in salvation, knowing that it is a reflection of His perfect, holy nature. What glory is ascribed to God when we trust and obey!

Virginia Tech Massacre

2007-04-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been almost two weeks since the Va. Tech Massacre. I have been thinking a lot about the shooter, the victims, and the Sovereignty of God. I have read some articles and watched some interviews. Also, I have been reading about God's Sovereignty over all things. If you throw all this into a blender along with the words of Christ, you get a pretty good idea about why things happen, including this horrible incident. In light of such an event, I think that is the question most people ask. "Why did this happen? What caused this young man to murder so many people?" The answer is found in the words of Christ. He explains this so explicitly that a person would have to work hard to misunderstand it. The answer is found in Mark 7:20-23:

"And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.""

Christ states specifically that the source of evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds is the heart. When a person has an evil heart, evil results. All thoughts, words, and deeds are evil, reflecting the heart. There is no mention of choice or free will in Christ's words. Undoubtedly, the person who commits such evil actions is choosing to do it. But we must realize that the choosing or willingness to sin in such evil ways comes between the evil heart (which is the beginning or source of the problem) and the evil thought, word, or deed (which is the end or result of the problem).

In other words, we do not first choose sin, then get an evil heart, and then perform evil thoughts, words, and deeds. We have the evil heart first which effects our choices. The significance of this evil, corrupt, God-hating heart is that it identifies our loves. The evil heart loves evil and is a slave to it. The evil heart knows nothing of pleasing God because all of its loves are consumed with pleasing itself. We can see that the evil heart is selfish and the antithesis of love. It is the enemy of God!

So why did the Va. Tech Massacre happen? Simply put, the murderer had an evil heart and his evil heart spewed forth some heinous thoughts. Those thoughts gave birth to the horrific event we will always remember. It was not society's fault. It was not the school's fault. It was not the fault of the student body. They did not pull the trigger. We cannot even place the blame on the guns he used. The shooter is the one to blame. His actions were simply an overflow of his evil heart.

God holds us responsible for our hearts. God holds this young man responsible for his own heart. Recompense will be justly paid because God is the judge and always judges righteously. Though we mourn all who are effected, and though we pray for the Hokie nation, we rest assured of the Sovereignty of God, knowing that He prevented this from being as bad as it could have been as well as rightly repaying the evil that has been achieved.

Praise be to His Holy Name, for He alone could provide such comfort in light of such tragedy!

Bread

2007-04-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

Here is an appetizer for those of you reading through the OT:

While it is not manna from heaven, it does supply some food for thought, giving you something to chew on. If anyone expresses a 'spelt need' to see some 'spelt' bread, I can supply a picture of a loaf of that too! This is not to be confused with the Bread of Life, but is to be consumed with much thanksgiving. Plus, it tastes pretty good!

The Fruit reveals the Soil

2007-04-10T07:50:00.000-07:00

This morning I read from Mark 4:1-20. In this passage, Jesus gives the parable of the sower. I noticed something this morning that I had missed before. When describing the seed that fell on rocky ground, Jesus says that the seed

"did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away."

Notice the similarities between this seed and the seed sown on good soil. The seed sown on rocky soil springs up and appears to grow! In the beginning the seed sown on rocky soil looks like it will last, persevere, endure. It looks just like the good seed! Jesus goes on to unveil the deception for us. He says that it withers when scorched by the sun because it has no root. In His explanation of the parable, Jesus specifically states that this seed refers to the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy -- this seed immediately springs up. However when the scorching sun arrives -- that is when affliction or persecution come -- because of the word, they fall away.

The difference between an unbeliever who appears to be saved and a believer who is actually saved is their response to the persecution that the word of God brings! In other words, we do not know what kind of soil the seed landed on until we see the produce of the plant -- that is, until we see the fruit! How we respond to negative responses to the word of God reveals what kind of soil we were planted in -- that is, affliction and persecution because of the word of God reveal our hearts love! The soil is the type of heart we have.

May God grant us affliction and persecution because of His word so that He might bring forth fruit from the seed He has sown!

Good Friday and the Sovereignty of God

2007-04-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

I have not posted in a week and a half. I feel as though I am about to burst! I have been listening to sermons on Christ's Righteousness this week. Combining those things with the celebration of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, I must attempt to communicate what is on my heart.

2 Corinthians 5:21 is my favorite verse in Scripture. It has all the elements of greatness: God's Sovereignty, Christ's Death and Resurrection, the benefactors of His grace, Justification by faith alone in Christ alone, the Imputation of Christ's Atoning work. I am sure there are even more elements to this verse. I cannot conceive packing more punch with one verse. Meditating on this verse this morning, the morning of Crucifixion Friday, has brought me great joy.

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

The point I would like to begin with is: "...Him who knew no sin..." Christ knew no sin! He is not a sinner like we are. He is perfect, pure, whole, complete. He is sinless, unsoiled, unstained, spotless. He is holy! He was 100% human, but his human nature was not sinful. The only comparison we can make to this is Adam and Eve before the fall. Adam and Eve were 100% human without a sinful nature. Likewise Christ was completely human, but with a holy nature. In fact, there was no possibility of Him sinning, whatsoever! He could not sin because His nature was holy. A created human with a perfect nature may have the ability to sin. But God incarnated in human flesh has a holy nature and cannot sin. A holy nature cannot be tempted by evil. This is not to say He did not experience the heat of temptation. To paraphrase Phil Johnson, pure gold heated to a white hot flame does not change the gold. However, the purity of the gold does not diminish the heat of the flame. The gold still feels the white hot heat, but cannot be changed into anything else because it is pure. Christ felt the entire burden of sin's temptation, but never succumbed to it. He was truly tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin! What a great High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses!

Have you ever contemplated the extent of Christ's death? He died so that every person who believes in Him will not have to die a spiritual death! His death paid the price of sin, the price which God demands, for all believers. He did not pay the penalty for unbelievers. If Christ paid for the sin of unbelievers and then they paid for their own sin in hell, God would be requiring two payments for their sin. Christ's payment would not have been sufficient for their sin because they are still in hell paying for their sin. We know that no human can adequately pay the price for their sin. For this reason unbelievers must suffer in hell for all eternity. Why would Christ's death be sufficient for believers and not for unbelievers? The only reason is that His death was for believers alone, in order to purchase and obtain salvation for the elect! The temporal and finite cannot never satisfy the eternal and infinite. Only Christ can satisfy God's requirement for sin. In fact, He did for believers in a few hours what will take all the unbelievers in history all of eternity to do -- pay for their sins! Only God in human flesh could accomplish such great things!

I alluded to this in the previous paragraph: "...to be sin on our behalf..." God made Christ to be sin on our behalf. That is, God imputed or transferred our sin to Christ and transferred His righteousness to us! Christ did not become a sinner on the cross, but bore the penalty for all the sins of all who believe! He did this so that we might become "the righteousness of God in Him." To paraphrase John MacArthur, God treated Christ as if He had committed all of the sin of all who would ever believe, so that He might treat all believers as though they lived the righteous life of Christ. Justification by imputation is the heart of the gospel! It is the goal of the Atonement! The perfect Lamb of God is the Sufficient Satisfying Sacrifice for sins!

Perhaps an even more mind boggling phrase of 2 Corinthians 5:21 is the one at the beginning, "He made Him..." Paul is saying that God made Christ to be sin on our behalf. God was the one inflicting Christ, through the hands of sinful men. The Crucifixion did not catch God by surprise and it was not even plan B. Rather, as Acts 2:23 states, the Crucifixion was predetermined and planned by God! God had planned to subject His own Son to this painful death! Isaiah 53:10 states that "The Lord was pleased to crush Him..."(NASB) God ultimately found pleasure in the death of His Son. The Crucifixion was a means to bring more glory to God, showing off His endless love, grace, mercy...showing off His Holy Name! All of God is glorified in the cross of Christ!

So today we remember His death! I imagine tomorrow will be a thunderstorm of emotion. There will be much sorrow over Christ's Death, yet much joy looking forward to His Resurrection! In fact, the Resurrection takes the sting out of death, even to some extent the Death of Christ! Knowing that His Death was for God's glory and our good does provide some comfort to the gnawing emptiness in my stomach. Yet I cannot wait for the celebration of His Resurrection this Sunday. Sunday is the day we proclaim, "He is not here! He is risen!"

May the God of grace be glorified in the celebration of His Cross and His Resurrection! May the glory of God shame anyone who seeks to refocus or denounce this celebration, storing up wrath against them for the day of His judgment.

Parenting and the Sovereignty of God

2007-03-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

A lot of life has been lived since my last post. God is faithful to keep life hard enough that we must depend on Him while not overwhelming us. Last Thursday Ben had a minor outpatient surgery to correct a hereditary birth defect. The surgery went quite well. Being parents we were somewhat concerned about the anesthesia as well as the fact that our 1 1/2 year old son was in surgery. However, God graciously granted smooth sailing through this minor stint of rough waters. Little did we know that the surgery was the easy part!

Sunday Bek and I were required to remove the bandages covering the wound. The doctor gave very specific instructions, assuring us that said instructions would aid the bandage removal. While he was right, he forgot to emphasize Ben's protest to such a procedure! I learned a couple of things over the course of that hour.

First of all, for 1 1/2 years old, my son is quite strong! It literally took both of my arms to subdue his arms and legs! I am quite impressed with the fight his little body put up!

Second, and most importantly, I learned a little bit more about how great our God is. Removing those bandages was painful for Ben. Hurting my son was a very difficult thing to do. Bek was actually crying during and after this process. It is a difficult thing to look your infant son in the eyes as you are holding him down so his mother can do something that is painful. While I knew I was hurting him, I knew it was for his good. What I was doing was painful in the moment, but would bring more enjoyment to his life in the future. If I stop at this point in the lesson, we would all recognize the importance; yet the true significance would be lost. The point of the account is that I caused my son pain for his own good. Taking this principle back to its Source provides some eye-opening truths.

Scripture records some interesting accounts of this principle. For instance, Psalm 119:75 clearly states that the Lord afflicts in faithfulness. Some other passages that reiterate God's sovereign control behind all things good or bad are Psalm 119:67, 71; Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 45:7; and Lamentations 3:37-38. While this is encouraging, does it really teach us that God knows what it is like to inflict pain on His own children? I mean we are His creation, but it seems as though we are a bit further from Him than His own Son. As His providence would dictate, there are passages that give some light upon God's feelings towards the suffering of His Son. Take for instance Isaiah 53:4 which teaches us that Christ was 'smitten of God.' Isaiah 53:10 reiterates this point, emphasizing that 'the Lord was pleased to crush Him.' I don't think God was completely joyful while Christ suffered and died. Matthew 27:45-54 describes some of the circumstances surrounding Christ's death. There was darkness. The earth shook and rocks were split. Bodies were raised to life. The veil was torn. It seems as though some of these things were not the result of the Father rejoicing over the Son's death. Even the Son's very death was the penalty for sin; sin which enrages the Father. While Christ's death did please His Father, it seems as though there was some divine grief over this murder of Deity. Yet the Father planned this for His glory and therefore for our good!

As I sat through two sermons on Sunday morning, I wrestled with this question: "Do I love my own son enough to do what is best for Him even though it may hurt him?" I came to the conclusion that I did not. I prayed asking the Lord to help my wife and I do what was best for our son. Praise God that He answers prayer! When we rely on Him, He provides! To His glory, He provided the love necessary to do what was best for our son! This episode in our life is just an example of how God did what was best for His Son. Christ's death and resurrection brought Him the most glory - and the most glory is what is best for His Son! In His providence, Christ's glory brings us life! What a mighty God we serve!

Signs and Sovereignty of God

2007-03-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I typically don't blog except for Mondays. However, this morning's events have been so exceptional that I will take exception to that guideline for the purpose of bringing glory to God. Anyone thinking this post has to do with 'sign gifts' will be moderately disappointed.

Tomorrow there is a 'Science Fair' at school. As part of the decoration for this event it is my job to hang the 'Science Fair' sign above the stage. I received the request last week and have been mulling the process over in my head for a few days. It is a blue canvass sign about 10-12 feet long and probably 2 feet high. I wanted to suspend it above the stage, displaying its contents for everyone who walked into the gym. I figured I would use the scissor lift to hang some cables and then attach the sign. It seemed simple enough. I figured it would take about an hour. After having charged the lift, I was ready to go!

Well, as soon as I set the lift in motion, some sparks flew out of the battery cabinet and I lost all power on the lift. The problem this poses is almost insurmountable. The points from which I would hang the cables were close to 20 feet above the floor! Now I would have to use a ladder. The ladder I wanted to use only reaches about 17 feet high. I knew this would be a major challenge, but this sign needed to be hung. So, I carried the ladder down to the gym and began work. As I hung the cables, it quickly became evident that they were too long. The sign would have hung too low. I went with the shorter cables. If I had the scissor lift to work off of, they would have been close to perfect. However, using the ladder was going to make this too hard for one man. After trying another variation with the cables, I pretty much gave up that idea. Because I had a prior engagement last night and needed to get home, I decided to come in early and hang the sign with twine. While this is not the most professional way to hang our sign, it seemed like the best option given the circumstances.

As I drove in this morning, my mind volleyed back and forth between prayer and the procedure I was going to apply. As I parked the van, I just stopped and prayed something to the effect of: "Lord, you have shown me in the last 12 hours how incapable and inept I am. Please help me to hang this sign as safely, quickly, and accurately as possible. I cannot do it alone as You proved yesterday. Please help me do it." Having completed my prayer, I went to work. I had a lot of the materials pre-staged so I began by cutting the twine to a length I thought would work. After attaching the twine to the four corners of the sign, I ascended the ladder. After inserting the twine through the eye bolt and pulling the twine to the length I thought was appropriate, I descended the ladder to hand the other side. I figured I would have to move back and forth between these two sides in order to center the banner over the stage. Having stationed the ladder below the second eye bolt, I ascended the ladder, threading the twine through the bolt. At this point I was able to raise the sign to the desired height, hoping that it was centered and level. I tied off the twine and descended the ladder, walking toward center court to check. What happened next was unbelievable, and a true testimony to our Lord.

The sign was almost dead center! The sign was level! There are 10 rivets in the top of the sign. The center of the banner would hang over the half court line. To my amazement the sign was hanging dead center! I mean if it was off, it was only off by less than an inch in either direction! It was so centered that I could not tell if it was off-centered! Not only that, but the sign was level! It looked perfectly level to me! I was awestruck at this! If you have never hung a sign before, you may not realize that there is a bit of an art to it. It is not just as simple as tying some rope to the end of the sign. You have to make sure it is hung so that the sign is flat, level, and centered. Now, this sign does have a wrinkle through it because I could not reach a point high enough to compensate for that. However, it is centered and level!

Now, the point is that God is sovereign over signs and that He answers what seem to be petty prayers! The Lord is concerned with every detail of life, no matter how minute! What seems to be trivial to us, can bring God glory and strengthen our faith! If I can bring such a small request to God and He will answer it, imagine what He will do with requests of a spiritual nature, providing it is in accordance with His will! Ponder for a moment, the glory God receives when we pray consistently and continually! Let your cogitation become a continual prayer throughout the day. Make constant communication with God your way of thinking. After all, He knows our hearts and our thoughts. We may as well think as though we are talking with God; not taking for granted this infinite privilege nor minimizing the prayer itself. Rather, let us pray continually, constantly depending on Christ for all our solutions. God is concerned with anything that brings Him glory. If that is as simple as twine and signs, then we should seek His will in it so that He will receive all of the glory He deserves!

Complaining and the Sovereignty of God

2007-03-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

As I was working last week, I found myself complaining. As I continued to think about my complaining, the Lord reminded me of Philippians 2:14-15 where He commands us through Paul not grumble or dispute. Grumbling means 'an emotional rejection of God's providence.' (Thank you, John MacArthur) So, my complaining was essentially directed toward God's Sovereign plan. According to James 1:2-4 He had provided a trial. During this trial I should have joyfully thanked God for the opportunity to trust Him during something I did not like or want to do. Instead, I complained. Although I was only thinking the complaint to myself, the Lord knows my heart. I am convinced He was grieved at this sin. It is simply another example of unbelief.

As I continued my reading through the Pentateuch last week, the plan took me through Deuteronomy 6. I love this chapter! It is one of the most convicting chapters I have ever read. It scares the fear of God into me! Moses repeats over and over that God's commands and statutes are to be taught from one generation to the next. Moses taught one generation who taught their children, who taught their children, etc. The problem is that the Lord's commands and statutes were not taught as time progressed. Someone did not communicate God's standard, God's exact truth, God's requirement for righteousness.

Maybe you are thinking, "So, what! Christ died for us. It is different now." Well, first, the word of the Lord will never pass away. So, we still must teach God's word. Second, I am responsible to teach my children! I am responsible to teach my children to love the Lord with all their heart! That is pretty scary. If you have ever tried to teach someone anything, you will know that this is not simple. If that were not sufficient to drive me to my knees, I am also responsible to teach my children why they need to teach their children God's word! Therefore, the lives of my grandchildren are on the line. If I do not uphold God's word in my generation, teaching it to my children of the next generation, they will not be able to teach their children to obey God's word.

So what does this have to do with complaining? Well, if I am sinning when no one else is around, not trusting in God's Sovereignty over my work, I will probably do the same when I am at home with my family. I will then be teaching my children to disobey God's word rather than teaching them to obey God's word! I will be teaching them unbelief! The burden this brings is crippling! Regardless of my previous ancestry, my descendants are depending heavily on how I raise and teach my children. God's glory is at stake!

I cannot describe how heavy this burden is. Seriously, it impacts my breathing. Praise God it is heavy enough to drive us to our knees. Let us not resist praying for God's grace in teaching our children and this generation. It is Christ's Great Commission. It is God's command to us. It is for His glory. We need to seek His help to achieve His goals His way. Let us pray as if God's glory depended on it!

Jealousy & the Sovereignty of God

2007-03-14T08:09:00.000-07:00

As I was thinking and praying this morning, I was seeking forgiveness for a recent battle with jealousy. My thoughts began to drift toward a sermon I recently heard from Matthew 8:23-27. The paragraph is pretty straight forward and the pastor had time to talk about Jesus' response to the situation. While being in the midst of a tumultuous storm, Jesus was asleep! His faith in God's Sovereignty was so great that He could sleep through a violent storm! Keep in mind that He was in a fishing boat!

As I was thinking about jealousy, this point in the sermon returned to my mind. It quickly became obvious that in my jealousy during a specific situation, I was not trusting in God's Sovereignty! When I become jealous, coveting what someone else has been given, I am effectually telling The Lord that I do not trust His decision and His providence! I am also saying that I do not appreciate what He has given and that I would rather have what He has deemed appropriate for someone else. My response should always be thanksgiving for how He has blessed others as well as His blessings on my life.

Let us all pray that we will confess our sins to Him in a timely manner, seeking forgiveness for our lack of faith. While I suppose every sin stems from unbelief, this one hit particularly close to home. I am grateful to The Lord for His promise to perfect us until He calls us home!

SC07 - Day 1

2007-03-07T07:28:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are! After arriving in L.A. yesterday afternoon, we enjoyed perusing the campus of Grace Community Church! We were even able to take a tour of the 'Citadel'! The Citadel is the armed fortress where many of Grace Community's pastors have their offices! It was pretty cool to be behind those walls for the first time. The novelty wore off pretty quick, however. It is only a building! We did see Chris and Izumi Martin! They seem to be loving Christ and doing well. Izumi was trying to convince us of our need for sushi. Chuck bought into that pretty quick! No one else was convinced. I will try it if the opportunity presents itself!

We also saw Adam and Renee Baily! They are doing well and enjoying the Shepherd's Conference from a pastor's perspective. They have been key members of the Shepherd's Conference staff for the last few years. We also saw Nate Busenitz. He is doing well and ensured us that Beth and the kids would be around on Sunday. They must not be fighting the sicknesses we have been fighting!

We had a great trip down. Tuesday morning we enjoyed some awesome worship music by PCD, Chris Tomlin, and an assortment of other artists. I must say, however, that I am looking forward to our first session today! The worship in song is always outstanding, bring much glory to the only One deserving of all praise! I am excited to grow in knowledge and understanding of Christ this week, knowing that my joy in Him will increase to His glory!

Moses, James, and faith

2007-03-05T12:40:00.000-08:00

This morning as I was reading in Numbers 11, I found verses 10-35 quite applicable. While this should be no surprise to any Christian, it is always exhilarating to have the Holy Spirit awaken us to His truths! In verse 10 Moses comes to the Lord with some concerns. I read this passage with a whiny and complaining tone. MacArthur seems to believe Moses had a tone of confession. After thinking that over, it makes sense that Moses would come to God that way. He seems frustrated with this stiff-necked people. He seems exhausted and overwhelmed. He probably had a bit of a whiny tone, but not as much as I had implied.

Moses expresses his concern to the Lord. The Righteous One then solves Moses' problem by appointing seventy elders to assist Moses with his work. The Lord promises to supply enough meat to feed the Israelites for a whole month. Moses points out that there are "600,000 on foo t." Moses then wavers in his faith. He actually questioned whether or not God could feed the Israelites for one month without slaughtering their livestock. The Lord's response in verse 23 is startling:

"Is the Lord's power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not."

The Lord then proceeds to fulfill His promise so that the Israelites ate until the quail came

"out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you."

The craving of the Israelites quickly turned to loathing. We also see that their greed or covetousness for meat was sinful and offensive to the Lord. In fact, He began to wipe them out because of it!

As I read the Lord's reply to Moses' doubt in verse 23, my thoughts ran to Job. It really sounds as if the Lord is talking to Job! Moses was delivered out of Egypt by the very hand of God! He talked with God on the mountain. He even saw God's back! God revealed His glory to Moses! Now Moses was doubting the power of God to supply meat for a month? Moses had just finished instituting the Law of God with all its required sacrifices. The Lord required these sacrifices! Would He not provide for the animals to sacrifice? From our point of view Moses' unbelief is ridiculous.

But are we that much different? We pray telling God what an awesome God He is. We speak of His glory and is power and might. We insist that when other people are in trials they must consider it all joy! We remind them of Romans 8:28. We might even pray that God would bring trials to mature us and bring Him glory! Then, when God is faithful and gracious enough to bring the trial, we question Him! We complain! We mope and whine! We waver in unbelief! We ask where is God? We forget about His word and His promises!

James tells us to ask in faith. He is not just talking about not praying. It would take at least another sermon, if not a blog series, to hammer that truth home. James is saying that if, while we are asking, we do not unwaveringly, steadfastly believe that God will answer our prayer, we are double-minded and unstable! A prayer with any unbelief does not bring God the glory due His name! It shows Him that we do not really believe what He says about Himself! It reveals that we do not believe He has accomplished all that He has done! Such a mindset is an offense to God and reveals our weakness! He never needs to prove Himself to us. Our unbelief is merely fruit of our sin. Yet He so graciously continues to love us and intercede for us!

I pray that we would never be found doubting the power of God. Our world berates us with an endless onslaught of deceit. As we take every thought captive and hold it up to the infallible, inerrant, inspired word of God, I pray that we will find confidence in Him and His word!

A Tale of Two Children

2007-03-05T09:44:00.000-08:00

My last post was a tribute to the Lord's care of my family. Since my last post, my children have worked together to produce copious amounts of laughter and joy in my life. It all started last week. Bekah has been diligently teaching Hannah to use the potty. While potty training is essential, it is also quite difficult. Some of the "fruits" of her labor were produced on Friday. Hannah finally went "pooh pooh" in the potty! While this brought much joy to our family, it did not provide the laughter which I am referring to. On with the story!

Friday evening we invited the Bowers' over for dinner. Bek had slaved all day long to prepare a delicious meal. In addition, she was baby-sitting for four neighborhood girls and potty-training. Oh yea, that is all on top of the typical home-manger and motherly duties. Before dinner we were all talking on the couch. Bek sees Hannah run into our room. Hannah was naked because this helps her recognize when she needs to go potty. So Bekah calls out to Hannah, "Hannah, do you need to go pooh pooh?" She responds in some cluster of Hannah-neese that no one understood. So Bekah goes to investigate a bit further. Upon entering the bathroom she notices a brown ball of pooh on the floor. Being a gracious and loving mother, she encourages Hannah and goes about cleaning her up. For some reason I had arisen from the couch and walked toward the front door. Turning around to go assist Bek I saw my wonderful son walking out of the hallway. He had a big grin on his face and was holding something with both hands! Upon further investigation of this brown ball I ascertained that he was in fact holding a large ball of pooh! It was quite a bit larger than the pooh ball Bekah had noticed. I have no idea how Hannah passed that in silence! (ouch!) Instantly I grabbed Ben's hands to hold them apart. I have to admit becoming a bit frazzled at this point, not knowing what I should do! As I am looking down at my son, I noticed some brown spots on his face. Actually, they were around his mouth! I assumed that he had not eaten any chocolate chip cookies in the last ten minutes and decided that he had become somewhat intimate with the big pooh ball. As any fifteen month old boy does when he gets his hand on something, Ben had at least kissed, if not tasted his sister's pooh. While still holding Ben's wrists, the horrors of this thought overran my feeble mind! The panic grew! As the Bowers were laughing hysterically, working off the dessert they would later enjoy, I transported my son to the baby wipes and proceeded to clean him up! Sure enough and true to form, he began kissing the baby wipes too!

As I am sure you can imagine, the whole situation stunk! Normally this would be a story reserved for the men's room, seeing how this whole post went to pot. How ironic that the evening's main course was 'pot roast!' So I lit some candles and we continued with a wonderful evening, successfully wiping away the event from our minds.

Thank you, Lord, for children!

Progress

2007-03-01T07:34:00.000-08:00

Well, you can never be too thankful to God for His work in your life. It is again time to express some of that thanks! So, today I would like to give some examples of the progress He has given our family.

Hannah Grace is on the left and Benjamin Martin is on the right. Both photos are taken within minutes of their respective births. Hannah looks much like her great grandma Fader while Ben looks much like his grandma Wentling!

Now we always expect our children to grow up normal. Hannah's life has been pretty normal to date.
I believe this is Hannah's first trip to Idaho. We were telling great grandpa Fader how Hannah was always so serious and didn't responded too much to people. Well, the first day Bek and Hannah were there Hannah was crying because she did not want to take her nap. Great grandpa Fader went in and brought her out to be with everyone. From that point on she was a new Hannah! As you can see, she had a great time with great grandpa!

The Lord has enabled Hannah to grow and mature over the last two and a half years.

As you can see, mama picked out a very nice dress for Hannah's trip home from the hospital. If we would have been pulled over by a law enforcement officer, he would have been very impressed!

Here is my little angel sleeping peacefully with her hands under her cheek! What a cutie!

Within her first year, Hannah and daddy went to see Derek Webb live in concert in the metropolis that is Marysville! As you can see, as long as she has her bottle, Hannah is content!

Here is Hannah Grace at her first birthday party! Boy she loved that cake! Ironically, this is one of her messier moments. She is quite clean to her daddy's delight!

The Lord has blessed us with this little one! She can already count to twenty ten (thirty). She is able to identify her numbers and letters. Also, she is learning to use the potty, though she is quite reluctant at this point.

Thank you, Lord, for Hannah Grace!

Then there is my son, Benjamin! His life started out a wee bit different to say the least!

When he was born, his lungs were underdeveloped. Below you can see his breathing tube and the IVs they inserted into his belly button. OUCH! He was on morphine during most of this. I imagine he was resting pretty well!

We have to thank God for His gracious gift of technology. I am convinced that thirty to fifty years ago Ben would have died. A few hours after his birth he was only getting fifty percent of the oxygen he needed and was not able to eat.

I imagine this is kind of a cool picture! No that is not some kind of revolutionary photo lens on my wife's camera. He needed to be under the blue light because of jaundice. Can you see the cool shades? If I remember correctly, Ben was actually shaking during this time. I think it was in response to coming off of the morphine.

As I pointed out, technology is an amazing gift from God! On the right is Ben somewhere around a week after his birth. All that is left is the feeding tube! He still had not learned to nurse. I think the bottle came first for him.

These picture are actually the first time mommy is able to hold Ben after his birth! Both picture are truly worth 1000 words and are priceless. Somewhere I have a video of that event. I hope to post it someday, after I figure out how to post videos.

Here is a picture of Ben at home!

He is doing great these days! He likes to wrestle and dive off the couch! He loves his sister and his mommy! Most of the ladies at church say he looks like a little man! Maybe I should call him 'mini-me'. Maybe not.

It is difficult to express appropriate thanks to Christ for His gracious gift of life! Nevertheless, this post is a tribute to His power and a shout of praise and thanksgiving for His kindness! It would be wrong of me to end this post without giving proper tribute to the one who actually feels most of the responsibility for raising these two blessings! To my beautiful and wonder wife: Thank you, my love!

Doers of the Word

2007-02-28T07:47:00.000-08:00

The last two days I have been working at memorizing James 1:18-24. The Lord has again proven faithful! The psalmist asks Him in Psalm 119:18 to "open me eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law." I believe I have seen some of these wonderful things this morning and would like to write them down, hoping that Psalm 119:11 will be the final outcome!

First is the ASSUMPTION found in verse 18 and subtly reiterated in verse 21. The assumption is the sovereignty of God! James tells us that He (the Father of Lights in 1:17) brought us forth in the exercise of His will! What a glorious truth this is! We were regenerated by God in order to fulfill His desire! It was God's desire that we be born again. Therefore, He saved us! MacArthur writes,

this "is not just a wish, but an active expression of God's will, which He always has the power to accomplish."

There are two modifying clauses describing this regeneration. First, we were regenerated

"by the word of truth."

It is God's word that brings spiritual life. We do not need to go to another source nor do we need to direct others elsewhere. We do not need to convince people to believe and we do not need to move them or influence them to make a decision. We simply need to preach the Word of God! It is so simple, yet so profound! James hints at this in verse 21: when he writes,

"receive the word implanted."

We did not plant the word in ourselves. This passive verb reminds us that the Lord is the planter! Second, we see that we are saved for a purpose. Christians are intended to be first fruits the Lord's creation. The work of our Lord does not end with salvation, but continues to produce the kind of fruit He desires! What a great promise!

Second, we see the ATTITUDE found in verse 19:

"...be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger."

In other words, be teachable! As Christians, when we hear the Word of God preached to us, we must not get angry! We must not even seek to repeat it or talk about it too quickly! Rather, we must listen! We must be prepared to obey Scripture! As the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, we must be ready to act on those convictions! The Word of God has not been communicated to us so that we can talk about how great it is, while continuing on in our sin! We are to come ready to act on what is taught! Ignoring this responsibility leads to pew potatoism. In other words, we just sit there being useless. Come to church prepared to respond to what the Lord has to teach you!

Third, James gives us a COMMAND. Verse 21 commands us to

"receive the word planted."

The command is definitely related to the attitude. If we come prepared to receive the word of God, then receive it! Don't put all of that preparation aside, forgetting to act! Do not wait for the conviction to leave! Receive the word, that is, act on it! What a waste of the time to listen to the preaching and teaching of God's Holy Word and then fail to respond! James even gives some some pointers to help us respond. First,

put aside all filthiness and whatever remains of wickedness.

MacArthur describes it as putting off dirty clothes. The dirty clothes would be moral vice (filth) and evil desire (wickedness). In other words, confess to God and repent of any sin or evil desire prior to acting on God's word. Quite possibly this may require an alteration of your Saturday night and Sunday morning schedule! We act on God's Word by putting off these things. Next we see another pointer intended to assist our acting upon God's word. The phrase

"in humility"

further defines how we prepare to respond to God. If we confess and repent of our sins, we should be in a humble position, knowing that the God of the universe has forgiven us and provide atonement for us. Is anything more humbling than this? While the "putting off" and coming "in humility" should be obvious, James reminds us to do these things. The intent is to act!

The last point is a CHALLENGE. In verse 22 James challenges the believer to

"prove yourselves doers of the word."

He has already given us the assumption, the attitude, and the command. Not it is time to challenge believers to action. He teaches us that doers are different than hears. Hearers delude themselves. MacArthur writes that this word was used to refer to a mathematical miscalculation. Further he states,

"Professing Christians who are content with only hearing the Word have made a serious spiritual miscalculation."

Do you know what is scary? Hearers think they are doers! They think that they are acting upon God's Word, yet they are simply glossing over its application, forfeiting glorious communion with Christ! Hearers sometimes manifest this trait in a lack of joy. Because they are ultimately not obeying the Word, they are missing out on the manifold blessings of God promised to the obedient. The doers must pray for and attempt to hold accountable the hearers, constantly examining themselves to ensure that they are in fact doers! Oh how the hearers can hate this! Never-the-less, James challenges all believers to prove themselves doers of the Word! What a great prayer and challenge for us all!

Joy in Trials (cont.)

2007-02-26T13:14:00.000-08:00

As much as I love James 1:2-4, I have become convinced that it is eternally attached to verses 5-8. After reading and meditating on both sections, I think I understand the relationship between both passages.

Verses 2-4 give us the proper perspective on trials. We are to understand them in light of God's work in our lives. We are not to focus on the trial, but to keep in mind God's work to perfect us. Verses 5-8 give us the Person who will teach us the proper perspective on trials. These verses give us the Source of understanding the trial. We are simply told to ask God! Of course, we must ask in faith without any doubting, but we must still ask! What a great way to jump start your prayer life! Ask God to give you His perspective on each and every trial you undergo! Of course, this means He will have to bring trials in order to teach you the correct perspective. But this for His glory and instrumental in His perfecting of us. So, buck up; and enjoy the trials! Enjoy the highs and lows, the rejoicing and the sorrow! May God be glorified through our trials!

By the way, I will be expecting someone to keep me accountable to this command during my next trial! Thanks in advance!

Joy in Trials

2007-02-26T08:33:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about James 1:2-4 since our small group yesterday! James writes,

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials..."

Isn't it interesting how we respond to trials? When something difficult crosses our path, we often look for a way around the obstacle. Yet Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:13 a few interesting things concerning trials or temptations.

First, they are common to man. Don't ever allow yourself to think that no one has ever navigated successfully the trials you are in! This is a deceitful lie of Satan. Isolation destroys you and allows sin to have its way with you. Find someone who has been where you are and seek their accountability!

Second, we see that God is faithful! DUH! If He is unchanging and constant - the only constant that we know - then it just follows that He is faithful! Do you want to know what faithfulness is? Think of all the times you made an appointment and were late. Think of all the plans (resolutions) you made and failed to follow through on. Think of all the times you were just plain inadequate. God is the infinite opposite of all of that.

Third, we see that God will not allow you to be tested beyond your ability! In other words, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SIN!! See Romans 6 for a great reference to that! Don't ever be tempted to think that as a Christian you have no choice but to sin! If the Holy Spirit is living in you, there is the hope of victory! If you are not walking in the Spirit but are relying on your own strength to obey, you will fail. But if you are relying on Christ for His strength to live your life righteously, He will be your victory! Colossians 2:15 talks about the complete victory Christ brings!

Lastly, we see that God will provide a way of escape, that we will be able to endure it! Now, I think we forget to meditate on that last part. We love the way of escape! We long for the day when there will be no more struggle! We crave and yearn for Christ to do away with the war that is being waged withing us. The end of the verse, however, helps us understand this way of escape. The way of escape enables us to endure the trial! Paul does not guarantee that we will be removed from the trial, but that we will be able to endure!

This is so practical! When I am tempted to be angry with my children for their disobedience, I can trust that the Lord will provide a way of escape that will allow me continue dealing with my children. How ridiculous to think that the Lord would remove me from that situation when what my children need is a parent to teach them to do what is right when they are doing what is wrong! If they see me run from the sin of anger, that is what they will learn to do. But if they see me endure it, they will learn to face their problems. As they mature, by the grace of God, they will see that they cannot be victorious over their sins and trials without Christ. They will see that the way of Christ is to endure, trusting in Him to be their victory! Thus Christ is glorified!

Now, why did I not continue with James 1? Didn't I start there? Well, I think that James 1 and 1 Corinthians 10:13 are parallel perspectives. Not only should I seek Christ's assistance in enduring trials, but James says that I should consider these trials ALL JOY!

OK, if you are not sitting down, you need to sit for the next paragraph or so. What would the church look like it we considered our trials joy? Imagine, for a moment, that my son is disobeying. If he sees daddy set his jaw and discipline with anger, he sees one example of a Christian in a trial. What if my son sees daddy disciplining with joy? Not that daddy takes joy in inflicting pain upon his son, but that daddy is joyfully dealing with this trial. Let's say that instead of talking intensely and with a stern tone daddy is talking calmly with joyful understanding. I have to think that this will make a greater impression on him. Now, there is a time for anger. We need to be righteously angry over sin. But even this is an opportunity to express joy in Christ! Maybe the joy comes with explaining to my son why I disciplined him and what the Lord says in His word about our situation. I have to believe that joyful obedience brings about more God-glorifying Christ-exalting results than angry obedience.

As I was thinking and praying this morning for some of our church family, I thought about being in their situation and how joy would be manifest. Quite honestly on one hand, I don't want to have to be in that position. On the other hand, if Christ is glorified through our trials, then we need to pray for them. The issue is not the trials, but our response to them. Paul did not care about his trials. He cared only for the proclamation of the gospel to the glory of God!

James is careful to inform us that trials have a beneficial end! Trials produce endurance, which in turn brings perfection and completeness! In other words, trials serve to make us like Christ! We need trials to be made Christ-like! The Inquisinator touched on this yesterday morning.

"Pure gold has been boiled and scraped."

What an excellent truth! What encouragement we should take from this! We should not focus on the hardship of the trial, but on the perfection in the result!

The beauty of gold does not come without pain
The boiling and scraping bring much gain
Refining and purifying come with fire
A perfect product the smith's desire.

With the ultimate end in mind, we should not run from trouble (unless commanded!) as the world and its effeminate males. Rather, let us face trials and sin with the Sword of the Spirit, trusting Christ and His word to bring about a God-glorifying victory!

The Holiness of God

2007-02-21T07:55:00.000-08:00

I reflect weekly (and perhaps weakly) on the God's holiness. I must confess I don't think I have much of a grasp on it, aside from His being set apart from His creation. I read this command in Leviticus 11:44-45 a few days ago. I believe it is the first time in Scripture where God makes this statement/command. It is interesting, worth noting, and even essential to our understanding as Christians. For how can we be holy as God is holy if we do not know what is meant when He prescribes it? Well, here are some of my thoughts as I have been thinking about God's holiness and praying.

In this passage the Lord is teaching Israel how to be set apart or different from the people of the land of Caanan. Through instructions in all of life, such as dietary laws, health laws, and procedures for offering sacrifices, God is teaching Israel how to live a life separated to Him. It is distinct from the world around them.

The lesson seems clear enough: Live separated unto God. How then is God separate, distinct, or set apart from His creation? This answer is typically answered from a "negative" perspective. In other words, we say things such as God is sinless. He is undefiled, spotless, untainted by evil. We express His holiness as things that He is not. I assume this is because we are what He is not. Therefore, we can best relate to Him through what we are; and therefore through what He is not.

However, I find it more challenging and much more rewarding to describe God's holiness in "positive" terms -- terms that actually attempt to describe Him! For example, we say "God is holy." That is a positive term expressing what He is, not what we are not. I have come up with a few others. As I stated, this has been quite challenging to date. Also, I have not used a Thesaurus to help with synonyms. Obviously, it is time to start researching some other resources to help ascribe to God the glory due His name!

God is pure
God is perfect
God is whole
God is complete

I really like the picture the words 'pure' and 'perfect' give to our Lord! 'Whole' and 'complete' require a little bit of explanation and are also appropriate. Here are some synonyms from Webster:

consecrated
devout
divine
faithful
good
sacred
virtuous

Well, I am not sure I would take all of those in the same sense as 'perfect' and 'pure,' but they definitely apply with a little clarification.

I do hope that some of the comments would include some other terms, and expressions describing the holiness of God. Also, I hope and pray that the readers would be motivated to a deeper knowledge of His holiness, expressing understanding through prayer. Communicating to God our thoughts of Him when we pray is immeasurable when bringing Him glory!

Enjoying the Process

2007-02-20T12:02:00.000-08:00

What an amazing day yesterday was! I found out on Friday that our office was closed in observance of President's Day, removing the requirement for me to be at work on Monday! I did have some things to do so I did not cancel my previously scheduled meeting. The Lord was again gracious, allowing me to finish my work quickly and return home around noon! As we were eating lunch, my wife had this crazy idea of going to Ikea. Now, I am not an advocate for spontaneity, but my wife is; so we went with the idea. As we headed south on I-5, the kids and I dozed off for a little nap. Not only is it amazing that I slept in the car, but also the nap was short and sweet! Because we went on a Monday, the traffic was less than normal. Traffic was slow on 405 in some construction zones and near our exit. I was extremely grateful to the Lord for little traffic! My wife and I were able to have good conversation without the stress due to traffic! The kids slept for most of the trip! It was a nice drive!

As we entered Ikea, the place was teeming with people! We had to park a little ways away from the entrance, but it was a nice walk. Hannah copped an attitude when I asked her if she wanted to push a cart. The Lord was again gracious, giving me control over my temper which flared up rather quickly with her petty whining. Once inside it was a veritable smörgåsbord of home furnishings. As we approached the "kiddies" section, our eyes were met with a plethora of bunk beds, the sleeping equipment that will allow us to efficiently use all of the children's bedroom space. The children enjoyed running around and playing on the beds. Next we visited a play area. Hannah and Ben enjoyed this as well, running from toy to toy, climbing in and out of tents, and crawling through long tubes! It was a lot of fun! It was challenging to keep from purchasing some of their quality furniture at such great prices. However, we only had the Camry and I did not want to walk home carrying a bunk bed!

Our last stop was the Burger King located just down the road from Ikea! The kids had fun playing on the play toy and messing their pants. Bek and I had fun changing the diapers and watching the kids! What a great time!

I guess Burger King was not our last stop because we went to Bek's parent's house so I could do some homework. The kids again enjoyed spending time with Papa and watching Ice Age II. On the way there Bek and I were able to spend some time sharing some of the things for which we were thankful. It was a great day!

As I have learned from Soloman, the sanctification process is definitely enjoyable when Christ is the focus. When He is out of focus, there is no joy. I thoroughly enjoy rejoicing in Christ throughout all of life! I have been fighting hard to retain joy in Him this year. After a long time with little joy, it is rejuvenating to again live the joy-filled life! Joyous living is only possible through the knowledge of Jesus Christ. To Him be all of the glory!

Obeying God's Commands God's Way

2007-02-19T08:47:00.000-08:00

As I was reading in Leviticus this morning, I came across the passage dealing with the sins of Nadab and Abihu, the oldest sons of Aaron. In chapter 10 of Leviticus, we find these two men offering incense before the Lord. Verse one reads:

"...they offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them."

In other words, they did God's thing (offer incense) their way (strange fire). Verse two records God's response:

"And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord."

MacArthur points out that verses 8-9 may indicate the Nadab and Abihu were drunk. Scripture does not explicitly describe their sin. But we can deduce the general tenor of their sin. They did not obey God's command in the way He told them to obey it. They "obeyed" it their way, which is to say they disobeyed it. They did what God wanted them to do by offering the incense. However, they did not offer it in the way God wanted it offered. Instead, they offered strange fire. The Lord did not recognize it because it was done their way. It was sinful.

Verse three tells us why God considered it sinful.

"Then Moses said to Aaron, "It is what the Lord spoke, saying, By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored.""

So Nadab and Abihu were guilty of dishonoring God and not treating Him as holy. They did this in front of the congregation of the Israelites. Obviously, God took this very seriously. His Name and His honor and glory are to be taken seriously.

I think this passage screams to us today. The church is here to do God's thing God's way. We are not to tailor the Lord's work to the culture, as the seeker sensitive movement has done. By omitting essential doctrines such as sin and the wrath of God the church is in essence trying to do the work of the Lord, that is, the work He has commanded us to do, our own way. Some may object, pointing out the sizes of many congregations and the supposed work of the Holy Spirit. I would respond by asking how God is honored and hallowed when we don't say ALL that He has said? How does God's Name, or ALL that He is, receive glory and honor when we don't tell about ALL that He is? The book of Acts describes a man named Apollos who was,

"...a Jew...an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man...mighty in the Scriptures." (18:24)

He was teaching accurately the Old Testament Scriptures concerning Jesus. However, he was only familiar with the baptism of John. Verse 26 describes how Priscilla and Aquila taught him the way of God more accurately. He was teaching correctly about Jesus, but it was not the whole council of Scripture.

In the same way, the church in America needs to teach the whole council of God. We must not be ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God to salvation! We must do God's thing God's way. We must say what God says, no more and no less.

I thank God for a church that preaches His word according to the Scriptures. I thank God for pastors who painstakingly teach God's truth to a very fine detail. The path of truth is as narrow as gate which leads to it. Praise God for working in the lives of men to cut it straight, feeding us the very bread of life!

Some thoughts

2007-02-16T07:56:00.000-08:00

As I thought about yesterday's post on Christ and Calvinism, I did realize a few things.

God saves us. Regarding the fact of salvation, it does not matter if my theology is wrong. If God has saved me, I am saved, even if I think I had something to do with it. The true Christian will manifest Christian character and fruit even if he is not well taught. So even though the Arminian and Calvinist disagree on some of the details of salvation, they are both saved by God's grace. I am not suggesting that Arminians are not Christians.
I do whole-heartedly believe that the doctrines of grace outlined by Calvinistic theology are the best representation of what the word of God teaches.
I do think that wrong theology is sin because we are not thinking about God the way God intends for us to think about Him. When Christ said that He is 'the truth,' I take that definite article seriously. Bringing grave consequences if we are wrong, this means that we must diligently seek to know what God intended for us to understand when He gave us His word. His word is not open to subjective interpretations.

As I read Matthew 17:1-13, I could not help but notice a significant result continuing from Matthew 16. Matthew 17 teaches us about Christ's Transfiguration. It comes directly after the passage on taking up your cross and following Him. How pointed is it that the reward for taking up your cross is seeing His glory! What motivation this brings the believer to continue in faith, persevering in obedience until we see His face! Come quickly, Lord!

Christ and Calvinism

2007-02-15T12:19:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been posting for almost a week now! It is fun, at least thus far, to be a part of the cyber-world. However, it is completely unacceptable to not yet have mentioned one of my passions! I will now rectify this dilemma with some observations from this morning's reading of Matthew 16:13-28. I will encourage you to turn to Matthew and read the passage so that I don't have to type it out! Someday I will learn to link the passage so you can just click and read!

First, this is the passage where Christ asks the most important question anyone can ask:

"But who do you say that I am?"

Peter correctly answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." The importance of Peter's answer cannot be overstated! If you cannot say that Jesus is the Christ, the Lord of all and the Lord of your life, you cannot be saved; that is, you are not able to be saved. The only way of salvation is through Christ - John 14:6. Peter acknowledge Christ's deity. Someday, all creation will acknowledge it!

The second thing I want to note is in the verse 17:

"And Jesus said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.'"

As important as it is to note Peter's response, it is infinitely more important to correctly assess the source that led to it. The source of the knowledge of Christ's deity is God Himself! God the Father is the one who gives knowledge of Christ which leads to salvation! Jesus again states this true in John 6:44:

"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day."

The Father draws men to Christ. If He did not, men would not come to Christ. They would not come to Christ because they are spiritually dead. They are depraved! They are not just 'very far gone,' (as one denominational doctrine affirms), they are all the way gone! Mankind is so far gone that they are dead! There is as much hope for a spiritually dead man to come to Christ as there is for a physically dead man to jump out of his casket and dance a jig! Unbelievers are dead in their sins and cannot come to Christ. They cannot choose Christ. They have zero ability to pursue Christ. It is impossible!

Next, we must give Christ His due glory! The knowledge of Him is the truth on which He will build His church! If we are to participate in this building project, we must preach Christ! We must teach Christ! He is the True Cornerstone! What grace that He would include us in His building project!

The next paragraph, 16:21-23, describes Christ showing His disciples how He must suffer and die. It is here that Peter, the disciple who a few verses earlier acknowledged Christ's deity, rebukes Christ. The text is clear that Peter rebukes Christ for revealing His calling. Apparently Peter did not think about God's plan of salvation and how that would play out in history. Obviously, Peter did not like to hear what Christ was saying. As the incident continues, Jesus rebukes Peter saying,

"Get thee behind Me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but on man's."

Christ's response is quite alarming! Christ suggests that Peter was being influenced by Satan to thwart Christ's destiny! As John MacArthur notes, "...those who would thwart His mission were doing Satan's work." Peter thought he was furthering the kingdom, but in reality he was attempting to block the progress! How easy it is to oppose the truth!

As we continue to read Matthew 16:24-27, Christ describes following Him. He says;

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me."

John MacArthur notes,

"To them (disciples) it would have evoked a picture of a violent, degrading death. He was demanding total commitment from them -- even unto physical death -- and making this call to full surrender a part of the message they were to proclaim to others."

To follow Christ requires us to put to death our wants and desires, choosing to follow Him and do His will. He demands our all! He requires all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. He is Almighty God and He deserves nothing less than our all!

So what does this have to do with Calvinism? Well, I have been doing some reading about Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon was unwaveringly Calvinistic in his beliefs because they explained salvation correctly. It is God who has elected believers unto salvation. It is God who draws men to Christ. It is God who saves them. It is God sanctifies them. It is God who will glorify them. Humanity is nothing more than a conduit through which God brings Himself glory. God saves men for His glory. The fact that there is benefit to the person is a secondary issue. God saves men because it shows off His greatness!

Because God does everything for His glory, we know that God saves for His glory. Here is the parallel between Matthew 16:13-28. God reveals Christ. Calvinism affirms the same truth we see in Matthew 16:17. Men are dead in their sins and cannot know Christ. We cannot believe in and of ourselves! God must bring us the knowledge of Him. He does this through regeneration -- that is making a spiritually dead person spiritually alive. Believers are alive in Christ! It is not our faith that saves! It is God's grace that saves! The faith He gives is the vehicle which brings His grace, His favor!

"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Such is the claim of Scripture and such is the claim of Calvinism. Arminianism, however, claims that we must believe before we are regenerated! It claims that a spiritually dead person can respond to spiritually alive stimuli. This is wrong! Just as a dead man cannot respond to an alive one, neither can the spiritually dead respond to Christ! It is impossible. Yet Christ can give a new life! He has power over death! Arminianism reworks Ephesians 2:8 to read like the following:

"For it is by faith you have been saved through grace; and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God."

Arminianism says your faith saves you and then God's grace regenerates, justifies, and adopts you. Scripture clearly is not teaching this.

Next, just as Peter thought he was furthering the kingdom but was actually blocking its progress, Arminianism seeks to put man's will before God's will. It seeks to make 'free will' the hinge on which the door of salvation turns. It makes God respond to man. It makes the future dependent upon something other than God's will. It makes man's will the swallow which ingests the serum of salvation when it is God who injects us with the antidote for our sin! Arminianism is not furthering the kingdom, but blocking it. Now I am not saying that anyone who believes this doctrine is an unbeliever. Christ saves by grace through faith in Him, whether or not we understand what He has done. But Arminian theology leads to immature Christians and false conversions. When the church adheres to Biblical doctrines she shall regain her former strength and boldness, especially the church in America!

Finally, Calvinism takes up its cross and follows Christ. Believers who understand Calvinistic theology have put aside the ego-stroking lies of the "free will" movement and taken up the pride-wounding truth that God chooses whom He will save! The Calvinistic explanation of God's sovereignty in salvation preach total abandonment of self and total submissiveness to Christ our Lord. Calvinism preaches total commitment to Christ -- even unto death! The self-renouncing faith the bible speaks of requires complete devotion. Believing in the biblical truths of God's saving grace is part of our cross. It is God's way.

What's Your Sign?

2007-02-14T08:20:00.000-08:00

Reading this morning from Matthew 16:1-12, we find the Pharisees and Sadducees looking for a sign. MacArthur says they were looking for a sign of "astronomical proportions." Apparently they thought that if Christ could do such a thing, they would be willing to believe. Thus we see Arminianism from the view point of an unbeliever. They thought they could reason themselves into the Kingdom with the proper evidence. Why else would they say such a thing? They had earlier asked for a sign in Matthew 12:38. While the Messiah was dieing on the cross, they mockingly said in Matthew 27:42: "He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him." They were looking for proof. The proof had to be on their terms. Had Christ even granted their request, I doubt they would have loved Him. Rather, like the demons, they may have believed that He is God, hating Him all the more.

Another interesting point is that Christ does point them to a sign - the sign of Jonah. Referring to His resurrection on the third day, Christ prophetically addressed their desire for a sign. This was the second time He had referred to His resurrection as a sign. It is an interesting sign. Surely the moving of something already created, such as heavenly bodies, is amazing. But becoming alive when you are dead is on a whole new level! Obviously they did not heed Christ's warning. Rather than looking to the resurrection as a sign revealing the power of God, confirming Christ's claim to Deity, and signifying the Lord's promise of eternal life, these hard-hearted God-haters tried to devise a way to cover up His empty tomb.

In the next paragraph Christ warns his disciples about the teachings of these supposed religious leaders. Is there a more appropriate admonition for us today? While many people, even in the church, preach and teach contrary to the holy Scriptures, we must be discerning enough to recognize these liars. Beware of their 'leaven.' These deceitful liars would bind us in the chains of their lies, dragging us down to the depths of their sinful seas. As we continue to sink deeper into their death trap, we finally realize we are in bondage from their lies. Looking to Christ to free us, we barely reach the surface to breath the breath of Life before our bodies succumb to oxygen deprivation. So we tread water, gasping for the breath of Life to rejuvenate our bodies. As we catch our breath, we think of all the time wasted following these lies as we sank to the bottom of the sea.

Let us feast on the Truth of God's Word, aggressively and urgently swimming for the goal - Jesus Christ. As we swim, let us not forget that God gives us the body to swim; the Breath, Bread, and Living Water to sustain us as we swim. He gives us the desire and discipline to keep swimming as well as the motivation to swim with our all for His glory. Beware, Christian, of the deceitfulness of lies! Flee to Christ! Look only to Him and His word for your salvation! Become a sign to this generation, portraying the power of Christ in your life!

Thanksgiving in Februaruy

2007-02-13T08:43:00.000-08:00

In response to my previous post on over-filled cups, I thought I would give some personal examples of how my cup is overflowing.

First there is my wife. She is one of the greatest blessings in my life. She is the color in my life! She brings vivid imagery and much love to our family! While I am busy worrying about processes for accomplishing tasks, she is forever reminding me that relationships actually matter and that I need to spend time with my family! I immediately try to schedule in that time and plan out the method which will most effectively provide the highest quality of relationship-building time. She just laughs and tells me that watching a Michigan football game is not the correct decision! So, here is a picture of my beautiful bride, my soul-mate. To quote Sid the sloth, "She tons of fun and you(me) are no fun at all. She completes you(me)!"

Next there is my beautiful daughter, Hannah Grace! She is a lot of fun as well! I am still amazed at her beauty! God is so gracious to give such a wonderful daughter! Here are a few pictures of her.

The picture on the right is actually my first date with Hannah! We went to see Derek Webb in concert in the metropolis that is Marysville, Wa! We had a great time, or at least I did. She is pretty content as long as she has her bottle.

A little over a year ago, our son Benjamin Martin was born! He is quite a character. He doesn't talk near as much as his sister, but he is more active. He doesn't quite get the whole gravity thing yet. While he loves to climb, he has yet to realize that diving off the couch is not the best dismount. I am actually glad he is displaying these male tendencies! I pray that he will grow into a man of God! Here is my son.

He definitely looks cute in hats. Someday I will post some pictures of my children wearing their do-rags. The do-rag is daddy's trademark. They actually look quite a bit a like in the pictures I have!

Apparently he likes limes. A lime slice is what he is eating in the second picture. Actually, we have not found any foods which he won't eat. As good parents we do not allow him to eat tomatoes. That would just be wrong! His mother's corrupting influence has led them to like pineapples. I am praying for them all!

Well, while family is a huge blessing, I have one that is not biological. I came across a song entitled 'Sing to the Lord.' It is the last track on an album entitled "David: Ordinary man...extraordinary God." It is an absolutely awesome song! I would label it a tornado of praise. While I am not a fan of out-of-control worship, I do think our worship at times needs to be intense and fervent. Sometimes the singing during a church service is so lifeless. Well, this song is anything but dead! It is intense. It is biblical. It is a whirlwind of worship. I would love to hear our choir sing this. It would be a great song for our youth ministry as well! Maybe the Inquisinator will agree and add it to the portfolio. I would highly recommend everyone find it on Itunes and make the purchase. It has been instrumental in helping me focus on Christ this week!

Over-filled Cups

2007-02-13T08:17:00.000-08:00

I was reading this morning from Matthew 15:32-39. I am sure most people are somewhat familiar with Christ's feeding a large crowd. Some people might even realize that He did this on two separate occasions! But what seems to stick with me this morning is the leftovers. On this occasion seven large baskets of leftovers are picked up! In Matthew 14:13-21 there are twelve full baskets left over! In the Matthew 14 passage, the bread is a cracker like wafer and the fish is a pickled piece of fish. So we might think something the size of an appetizer or snack.

Now Christ provided enough for 5000 and 4000 people respectively! I am no chef, but that sounds like a lot of food for a lot of people! Christ provided more than enough! It makes sense that He would do that since in chapter 6: 25-34 He said He would provide. Knowing that God cannot lie, we should all trust Him to do just that. But He provided far more than enough! What an example of grace and mercy! Also, we should expect Him to provide! All things come from Christ and it is to His glory when we look to Him to supply our needs. Notice the word needs. Luxuries take our focus off of Him and put it on His gift, leading to idolatry. I am not saying luxurious items are sinful, but they can lead us to sin. Let us be content with His provisions, trusting Him to provide and sustain as He promised! Let us pray "to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think," begging Him to meet our Spiritual needs as well as all other needs. Let us be thankful for all that He provides as He deems appropriate, knowing that what He gives is in accordance with His will. Then we, with the apostle Paul, will learn to be content in all things. What joy overflows from being thankfully content!

Show me Your Glory

2007-02-12T12:31:00.000-08:00

I am reading through the book of Exodus. In chapter 33 Moses makes an interesting request of God. It is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it seems frightening to request what Moses requested; yet it is this very thing for which all Christians long. Second, this request shames me. I am not sure that I always want to ask this. What a pitiful realization about myself. Lastly, Moses' bravado encourages me to pursue the Lord, seeking forgiveness and grace.

So, what does Moses request of God? He asks God in verse 18: "I pray You, show me Your glory!" (NASB) What an amazing petition! The solicitation, however, is infinitely less amazing than the answer! The Lord follows Moses' question with the following in verse 19:

"And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.""

God replied this way for a reason. It was not just a collection of sentences. He was not just filling a void. He was describing His glory to Moses! Not only that, but He was also gracious enough to provide this account for us in His word. What glory - God communicating Himself to His creation!

Upon further examination of God's reply, we see something startling in His response. God replies to Moses' request by revealing Himself. First, He makes 'all His goodness' pass before Moses! Well, there is no 'badness' with God. Therefore, 'all of My goodness' must be all that He is. Everything about God is good. He has no evil. He cannot even desire evil. Therefore, God Himself passed before Moses.

Second, God proclaims His Name before Moses! In the Old Testament, a person's name included all that the person was or represented. They did not compartmentalize and subdivide their life the way we do today. They understood that what a person does in leisure is related to what a person does at work. Their whole life was connected. So, in response to 'all of His (My) goodness' passing before Moses, God proclaimed His own Name. God proclaimed all of Himself! What a good lesson for Christians today! Where God is there is proclamation of His name! His Name is all that He is. Therefore, proclaim all of God, not just what you think someone may like or want to hear. His glory is all that He is!

Third, the Lord explains the essence of Himself in the short phrase 'and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.' What a marvelous statement! God will give His grace to whomever He chooses and will lavish His compassion on whomever He chooses! God will do what He wants! The Lord further substantiates this truth in Isaiah 46:9-10:

"Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God , and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times thing which have not been done, saying, 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.'"

The glory of God is that He does whatever He wants! What He wants is to bring Himself all the glory! Because He is perfect, He is the most glorious and deserves all the praise and honor from all things! What is even more impressive is that He will accomplish it! Whether the salvation of believers or the condemnation of unbelievers, it is according to His pleasure. He extends mercy and compassion as He wills. What a great God we serve!

Knowing the Truth

2007-02-10T07:18:00.000-08:00

In John 14:6, Christ states: "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me."

This is an exceptional verse for many reasons. First, we are reading the words of Christ. Anytime the Creator of the universe talks, we should listen. His creative power is seen in the invention of all that we see. Furthermore, His genius is manifest in the creation of the Church (Colossians 1:15-18). As Paul states in this epistle, He is the Firstborn, the Prominent One, the One with which we have to do. In Him we live and move and exist (Acts 17:28). On Him we depend. It is to Him that our praises rise. When He speaks, we should listen.

Second, I love the fact that Christ refers to Himself as 'the Truth.' Anyone who is remotely involved with society can attest to a hatred of truth in our culture. "What is true for one person does not have to be true for everyone," they say, revealing the subjectivity of their thinking. Why does our culture pride itself in this subjectivity? Why such outright disgust for objective truth? No one disputes gravity, a law effecting all people. No one disputes that all men physically die. Yet our culture yearns to make its own truth. To the Christian who understands Scripture, the obvious answer lies in sin, and I think more specifically with the rebelliousness inherent in the sinful nature. Our country was founded on rebellion. I think that vein still provides life to the American body today. Yet Christ said, "I am the truth." I love that definite article! There is only one truth! Christ is the truth. All truth then must flow from Him. His word, then, is truth! In fact, Christ states as much in His prayer in John 17:17: "Sanctify them in truth, Your word is truth."

One problem with the church in America to day is that we have lost the essence of truth. Because of our rebellious mentality, we think that we can subjectively twist the words of God to mean what we think they mean or what we want them to mean. As John MacArthur states in his book 'Why One Way,' "the meaning of Scripture is Scripture." What he is saying is that God's truth is revealed in what He means in His word. When we understand Scripture incorrectly or out of context, we are not understanding the truth of God, but rather a lie! When we do not teach the word of God as He meant it, we are then teaching a lie! This should be horrifying to any pastor or teacher of God's word! We should be driven to diligently pursue the understanding of Scripture, begging for the Holy Spirit to teach us His truth!

So then, the focus of every Christian should be to understand what God wants to communicate to us. That is His Truth! It is an objective, life-changing, life-giving truth! It brings Him glory because it communicates Him to His creation. Just the idea of Him communicating Himself to us should drive us to our knees in humble thanksgiving and adoration of Him. How much more the actual communication of Himself to us!

Lastly, the real eye-opener may be in the last phrase of this verse: "...no one comes to the Father except through Me." I think that the majority of the church has cut this verse out of their bible. Our culture screams for tolerance of ideas, leading them to accept the fallible theory that there are more than one way to the Father. The real stupidity of this belief is that it opposes God and His word. It opposes the truth! Therefore, it must be a lie. As the church, we must fight against this lie! The only way to the Father is through Christ! Christ said there are only two roads, one broad and one narrow. The idea that there are more ways to the Father is simply the broad road leading to hell masked to look like the narrow road leading to heaven. It is a lie! No wonder since the father of lies is the deceiver. While he claims to be paving his hopeless road to life, he is actually filling it with potholes, traps, and snares, ultimately leading to death in hell. Yet Christ makes His offer: "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst (John 6:35)." He is the truth. We must pray that He will change us to live like we believe it.