For His Glory

2010-09-12T16:28:00.004-05:00

On Homosexuality, A Response

2010-08-10T14:48:00.006-05:00

With the recent development regarding California's proposition 8 I have been in many conversations with regard to homosexuality and my faith, and homosexuality in society. In these conversations I have heard one consistent theme in defense of homosexual people and their "rights". That argument is this: homosexuals were born into this, it is not their choosing.

Here is my response:

In the following article I will endeavor to show that homosexuality is not natural and that I disagree with the proposition that human beings are born homosexual. I will base this conclusion on three main arguments. First, because scripture, as the ultimate authority, says that they are not. Second, because it leads to the destruction of the species and third, because it cannot be shown to be anything other than a choice.

First, we will address the issue from scripture. Scripture says very clearly that homosexuality is a sin and an abomination before the Lord, the participants of which will spend an eternity in Hell. Since I am aware that most people do not hold a sovereignty view of scripture I will not go any deeper into this argument. Those who do agree with the sovereignty of scripture already understand the basis of this point so I do not need to unpack it any further.

Second, not everyone agrees that scripture is the ultimate authority and thereby dismiss its teachings. If this is the case then you surely dismiss its teachings on all subjects, including creation and life in general. Your only recourse is to believe in the theory of evolution as a naturalist way of logically deciding issues regarding birth, life, death, creation and all that is in between, one of which would be homosexuality. Evolution is a global belief that necessarily shapes all that you believe, the same way that scripture globally shapes all that I believe, so for those who do not agree with scripture I will argue my point from the evolutionist’s perspective. The fundamental rule of evolution is the “advancement of the species”. All evolutionary scholars accept this as the key point of evolutionary theory. This ruling states that the changes made through evolution are for the purpose of bettering a species, whether that be to better adapt to an environment or to better hunt a specific type of prey that is more prominent is a certain region, or even if it is simply for defensive measures like better camouflage or faster speed. The point is that all the evolving serves the purpose of bettering a species. Homosexuality defies this one fundamental rule. Homosexuality destroys the species and would do so in one single generation. If all creatures of a species were homosexual there would be no following generation. This is definitely not an advance for the species.

There is also the natural, physical incompatibility argument from the evolutionist. Reproductive organs serve the foremost purpose of reproduction. While they do offer pleasure, this is for the purpose of motivating the act of reproduction; pleasure is not the purpose or central focus of those organs. So it follows that if reproductive organs serve the main purpose of reproduction and since it requires two different parties to effect reproduction, that the reproductive organ of party “A” would be compatible with the reproductive organ of party “B”. This is confirmed in the human species by the successful reproduction between a man and a woman wherein the reproductive organ of a man is completely compatible with the reproductive organ of a woman. Any act that puts these organs into a use that is incompatible with their design would be considered unnatural (where unnatural means “not the natural or intended use”). Since the reproductive organ of a man isn’t compatible with the reproductive organ of another man, this use can be logically considered unnatural and against evolutionary theory.

Third and finally, I believe that since homosexuality goes against both scripture’s teachings and the theory of evolution, that it cannot be a state into which they are born, as they claim. It is, and always has been, a choice made willingly by the homosexual person. I would argue this because every state into which a person is born can be clearly defined in the study of genetics. You can see genetically why someone has brown hair, or why someone is black or white, or why someone has green eyes versus blue. Yet there is not genetic evidence of a person’s sexuality. You can examine the genetic basis of both a heterosexual and homosexual and cannot distinguish the one from the other. This clearly refutes the claim that homosexuals were born as homosexuals. Genetically you can tell a boy from a girl, which is to determine their sexuality, but beyond that, there is no evidence.

You might instead propose that rather than homosexuality being a genetic state into which they were born, it is a condition of the body, much like an illness such as nerve damage, or cancer, etc, a condition which they cannot overcome. As with the previous argument concerning the state of a homosexual person’s birth, this “condition” cannot be shown to exist. Other conditions under which we are born are clearly evident, i.e. you can see a cancer cell, you can see damaged nerves, yet you cannot see any basis for a homosexual “condition”.

Note- I do agree that homosexuality is a condition, but rather than being a physical condition into which we are born I believe that it is a condition of the soul. As spoken of in Romans 1 and 2, this is a condition of the soul born out of idolatry, in which we chose to worship the creature rather than the creator and have therefore been given over to defilement through our fleshly desires, to our own destruction.

I believe that the claim by homosexuals that they are born as homosexuals is the product of persecution. Homosexuals have been persecuted for their actions, many times in horrendous and inappropriate ways. I ask myself, “what would I do, or what do I do, when people criticize, condemn and persecute me?” If I am honest with myself I must admit that I would try to shift blame. You would have no right or reason to persecute me if that for which I am being persecuted is outside of my control. If I can convince you that I had no say in the matter you must direct your persecution elsewhere. I believe that this is the basis from which homosexuals claim that they were born homosexual. It is their effort to relieve themselves from persecution.

Therefore, I feel that the above stated evidence leaves only one conclusion, that in spite of your worldview, and despite your desire or opinion of homosexuals as people, the act of homosexuality, and it as a lifestyle, are unnatural. Logically, and based on the evidences seen in science and genetics and cell research, and based on religious teachings, etc. there can be no other explanation except that those who live a homosexual life have chosen to do so.

That said, I do not agree with the persecution of homosexuals and it is not the purpose of this article to malign or defame them as people. In my belief, homosexuality is a sin and is the product of sin and they are no more guilty or worthy of temporal persecution than any other sinner, of which I am one. But as with all sin and the condition of the sinner, there is relief. As I have been redeemed from my sin, so also any other person, including the homosexual, can be redeemed as well. Through the sacrifice of Christ, payment for our sins has been made and provision has been given to us to help us overcome a life ruled by sin, this provision is the Holy Spirit and His work in our life to help renew us into the image of Christ. My desire would be that homosexuals recognize that they have chosen this life, that they are not bound to it in the same way that a person is bound to having blue eyes and that they can choose not to be, they can choose to be redeemed and change their lifestyle.

On Faith

2010-07-29T16:54:00.008-05:00

On Faith, denouncing the anthropological view of faith, as constructed by man for his own glory and reviving the biblical model of faith that relies on God and gives Him the glory.

What is faith? Faith is a philosophical construct representing the work of God in our lives. It is the term used to represent the all-encompassing work of God in our lives. If we think of it in terms of logic we would say that it is the “unsubstance” or “idea” we hold that represents all that God worked in us, therefore it necessarily flows from God, is under His control (in reference to when and how and how much faith we have) and is purposed for His purposes (which Scripture says is His glory) and is therefore outside the control of man.

When we say that faith is the “unsubstance” or “idea” we are describing it in terms of human logic. Let us say that a bottle of water sits on the table in front of us. This bottle is a substance to be perceived. It has mass and is composed of collected, formed matter. It has essential attributes and defining properties. Now let us remove the bottle of water. After it is gone we are able, if necessary, to recall the image of the water bottle. This recollection in our mind is the idea of the bottle, an idea which has no substance. It is wholly without mass or matter, so we refer to it as an unsubstance, yet it still has essential attributes and properties, which can be referred to in our mind, within, or concerning, the idea.

So I propose that faith is not a “thing” to be had or held or claimed. It is a representation. It is the comprehensive definition, or idea we hold that refers to all of the work of God in our lives and in creation. It has no substance, and is therefore an “unsubstance”. “But faith is belief,” you might say. What is belief? Is it not a philosophical construct in and of itself? Belief is the idea we use to represent the position we take due to some impacting outside force or concept. It is “confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof”. It is vague. It is a term we have interchanged with faith because the “confidence” exhibited by belief is what is at the heart of faith.

Faith in its simplest form is the recognition of the work of God on our behalf (a recognition that can only be had due to the work of God, through the Holy Spirit, in our lives. This recognition cannot be had in and of ourselves, apart from God). This recognition is enabling. The past work of God in our lives enables the future work of God in our lives, this is how He ordained it. When scripture says, “have faith,” it is saying, “rely on the past work of God in your life, recognize what He did in the past and know that He will do more” (a knowledge that flows from His past work, and therefore from Him, still not of ourselves).

What have we done to the idea of faith to bring it to its present state? We have turned faith into an object to be acquired, an item that is quantifiable and able to be hoarded. We use terms like “have” more faith, or “grow” your faith, when in all reality all we have the power to do is reside in the grace of the Father in His previous work in our life, which in and of itself enables His further work, which is what most people refer to as having more faith. But this is where the concept of faith falters, for this act of recognition enabling the future work of God comes from God and resides in God, not in us. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9, therefore we cannot “have” more faith or “grow” faith, we simply receive faith, and use it.

What of the amount of faith that we have? Scripture teaches us that the amount of faith is not the key issue, but simply the having of it at all. In Matthew 17:20, “²⁰ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief;^[^a^] for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” What is a mustard seed in this illustration if not the smallest item of relevance that He could use to speak of the power of faith? We as people speak in terms of how much faith it must take; all the while Christ speaks in terms of simply having faith. The mustard seed in this illustration is Christ’s way of saying that you don’t need much at all, He is saying that little is necessary. It is not the amount of faith that is important, because as I have already said, faith is not a substance and is therefore not quantifiable (some may object here and refer to Hebrews 11:1, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" and argue that it is "substance". This passage uses the term "substance" philosophically to define the "foundation" of hope, I refer to the term "substance" materially in its use regarding the "physical properties pertaining to matter" and as such the two ideas are not in conflict), it is merely an idea, which you have or have not received. That is not to say that the idea does not drive you to greater and greater works to the glory of God, or to say that you cannot rely more and more fully each day on the idea, on the past works of God in your life, it is merely to say that we cannot quantify the idea or it’s presence in our life. All we can say is that it is present and we are relying on it. The statement “have more faith” merely means to rely more fully on faith, to walk in a more complete reliance to it. What about Matthew 8:26 where Christ asks the disciples, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Doesn’t this mean that we must have more faith? According to the hermeneutic principle the “analogy of faith”, we interpret scripture with faith that all of scripture is in agreement and never contradicts itself. That said, Christ says in Mt 8:36, “you of little faith” in regards to their fear, yet in Mt. 17:20 Christ says, “if you have faith of a mustard seed…and nothing will be impossible.” In one verse Christ says that with even the smallest amount of faith you can do anything, but in the next he reprimands the disciples having “little” faith. If we take the meaning of Christ’s words to refer to the amount of faith you “have” then these verses contradict each other, which goes against the analogy of faith I described earlier. What we must do is find an interpretation of these verses that keeps them in agreement with each other and in agreement with the whole of scripture. I propose that Christ is not talking about the amount of faith you have but the amount in which you exercise faith. In Mt. 17:20 Christ is saying that you need only have faith, period. In Mt. 8:26 Christ is reprimanding the disciples for not exercising their faith, not because they have to little. If we adopt this interpretation then we will maintain the unity of these verses and their agreement with the rest of scripture. To back up my interpretation further I will look at Mt. 14:31, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Here Christ connects the two concepts for us. In Christ’s words, “you of little faith” He makes clear that faith was present in Peter. At the same time, by His words, “Why did you doubt?” He makes clear that it was not an issue of too little faith but an issue regarding the lack of exercising said faith. From this we can surmise that faith is not something you have more or less of, it is something you have or have not, and then if you have, it is something you exercise or do not.

Why have we done this to the concept of faith? Two main reasons stand out to me for the creation of this false concept of faith. First, we did this to offer God a scapegoat. As the world cries out for a loving God and as we cry out for a loving God to relieve us from our suffering and shame, when He doesn’t, we can blame it on a lack of faith. Instead of wrestling with the soul shaking concepts of the sovereignty of God and His purposes in receiving glory, we simply blame it on a lack of faith in the person, thereby letting God off of the hook. The second reason we have done this is to retain control. With the false concept of faith it is up to us to “have” and “grow” our faith. We are in control of our spiritual walk. We decide without needing to rely helplessly on the “gift” of God. We did this because deep down, when God didn’t heal and didn’t relieve the suffering and we wrote it off as a lack of faith, we began to question God, having a basic knowledge of His sovereignty, and we asked ourselves, “is He really a loving God”, and we became afraid to let go of the control, just in case He is not. We fail to trust Him fully. We fail to look away from our desires and focus on His, once again showing our inability to “have” faith as the modern world has defined it. We cannot let go of our desire for our own glory, a glory we receive by the successful "having" or "growing" of faith.

Where does faith come from? “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”, Romans 10:17. Why must faith come by hearing? Because there must be some thing, some prior work on which to rely, or if God has moved in our lives there must be some means by which we connect the work in our lives to the God in heaven. Why must hearing come from the “word of God”? In order for faith to be true, in order for our concept of God’s work to be reliable it must be premised from truth, which is defined by and dependant on the word of God. What we recognize to be the work of God and how we relate that to Him all flows from the teaching of scripture. God defines the unsubstance of faith in His word. Therefore we can premise that faith comes from God, indirectly because it is defined by Him and without Him it would have no definition, and directly because He has given it to us, or from Him we receive it.

What are the implications of this concept of faith? This concept of faith reassures the believer of the work of God in their life. It is a sweet relief whereby we say, “thank you for this God, for I am not able”. We let go of the responsibility (one we were never able to bear in the first place) and allow God to have control. We recognize His work (which is faith) and His sovereignty, letting that become the framework, from which all else in our life flows, which in turn magnifies His glory (which scripture says is the purpose of faith). It forces us to reconcile our understanding of God with His sovereignty as Scripture explains it, because it removes the scapegoat. This causes us to formulate a new understanding of a “loving God” that is in complete agreement with a God who doesn’t always heal, which is the actual God of scripture.

This concept of faith as an “unsubstance” or perceived idea of all God has done in our lives requires complete and total dependence on Him, a dying to the flesh and living to the Lord.

²⁰ For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹ What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. ²² But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:20-23

²⁴ And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Galatians 5:24, 25

Eyes To See And Ears To Hear

2010-03-23T18:06:00.002-05:00

As I was reading proverbs today I read the portion in Chapter 24, verses 30-34. I couldn’t help but see the wisdom in Solomon’s actions. I know that seems obvious, he’s Solomon, of course he is wise, but I am not just talking about his teachings or his writings, I am talking about his actions in this passage, actions that brought forth wisdom and wise teaching. Read the following;

30 I went by the field of the lazy man,

And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;

31 And there it was, all overgrown with thorns;

Its surface was covered with nettles;

Its stone wall was broken down.

32 When I saw it, I considered it well;

I looked on it and received instruction:

33 A little sleep, a little slumber,

A little folding of the hands to rest;

34 So shall your poverty come like a prowler,

And your need like an armed man.

Solomon found opportunities for growth and learning from everyday situations. While walking through the land he passed by a field that was overgrown and the proverb says that he “considered it well” and “looked on it and received instruction.” He didn’t need teachers and books, he wasn’t prone to wisdom because he was a king and had all the best teachers in the land. He stopped and pondered everyday situations seeking to learn from them and draw conclusions based off of what he saw. Imagine what we could learn, not only about the world, but also about God if we would stop and listen (see Romans 1:19-20). If we could stop, pay close attention and just think on the things of the Lord we too could be wise like Solomon. We have all the same opportunities as Solomon did and even more so, because we have access to the Father directly, through the power of Christ and the gospel. This is what I want to start doing, to just stop and think about God and his glory and apply the gospel to everyday situations, that I might receive some wisdom in life that can better prepare me to glorify God.

Father I praise you for your ultimate wisdom and I thank you that you pass it on to us so freely. Help me to begin to stop and think on you and your glory and help me to begin to apply the gospel to everyday situations so I can see you at work in the world more fully, and also so that I can bring you greater glory. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear as I live in the world around me. In Jesus mighty name, amen.

Would you wear the mark?

2009-11-16T21:27:00.006-06:00

I have been hearing a lot about the mark of the beast lately, read some articles and seen some youtube videos, etc. I just wanted to weigh in on this. The main thing I have been seeing is just conjecture as to what it will be and a bunch of fear-mongering that, for the life of me, I cannot see how it would be edifying to the church. Doesn’t 1 Timothy 1:4 say, “nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.”? All the conjecture and fear-mongering is upsetting. The majority believes that the mark of the beast is going to be a computer chip placed in the hand or the forehead as mandated by government. Let’s look at this for a second, what does scripture say?

In Romans 13:1-6 Paul says, “ ¹ Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. ⁴ For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. ⁵ Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing.”

In 1 Peter 2:13-17 Peter says, “¹³ Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. ¹⁵ For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— ¹⁶ as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. ¹⁷ Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”

These scriptures say that we must submit to and obey our governing authorities, and that God Himself placed them there. To rebel against them is to rebel against God. The only exception to this rule would be if what they required us to do contradicted the teachings of God as seen in scripture or required us to place our allegiance in another as God. So, let’s just suppose that the government did one day require that you have an identification chip placed under the skin on your hand or forehead. What do you do? The first thing you should do is ask, “Does this requirement contradict the clear teachings of scripture?” No, I have read the Bible many times, cover to cover, and have never read any prohibition on microchips. Next we ask, “Does this requirement force me to place my allegiance on another as God?” No. We have pledged our allegiance to our country as it pertains to obedience and service, which is what God has commanded, but that is different than pledging our allegiance through worship, which is to God alone, and which is not affected by our simple obedience of following a lawful order to put a chip in our hand or forehead. If this scenario ever did come about, you should obey the government. I assure that the mark of the beast will not be a subtle event. The sin concerning the mark of the beast is that you wear this mark as a pledge of your allegiance to the beast. You will be very aware that you have pledged your allegiance to another as God.

Note- John saw a revelation, meaning that he viewed all that he wrote about. How did he see a microchip under the skin on the hand or forehead? It would make more sense that the mark of the beast was a more literal and visual mark pledging your allegiance to the beast.

So what is the problem with all of these people pushing this microchip doctrine of the mark of the beast? 1 Timothy 1:3-7, “³ As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, ⁴ nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. ⁵ Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, ⁶ from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, ⁷ desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.” These people try to teach what they do not understand and are causing fear and confusion. And what will be the affects of their false doctrine? If the government ever did require the implanting of a microchip, Christians by the masses would rebel against their God appointed governing authorities, in clear disobedience to scripture, afraid that they would be sinning to obey. When, in reality, they would be sinning by their disobedience. There is much more in scripture that we should focus on, and I would like to point out that the point of the book of Revelation was encouragement, not fear. What we learn from Revelation is that Christ is the Lamb, the King, the Husband, the Warrior, etc., and that we win. We have nothing to fear, no matter what the mark of the beast really ends up being, if we just obey Him, serve the Lord and obey His commands, we will partake of His glory. Don’t fall into the trap of fear and worry based on the comments of men who do not know what they are talking about. (For every commentator on the book of Revelation you have a different understanding of what it all means. What this means to us is that parts of Revelation are unclear and while we should know our Bibles, we do not build doctrine off of that which is unclear. “The just shall live by faith.”)

I did come across something regarding the mark of the beast that is interesting. The link is below. I do not know if he is correct, and am not agreeing with his teaching because I have not personally looked at the different codex’s to verify his statements, but it seems to be the most balanced scripturally, and historically. You decide, I do not want to be a fellow fear-monger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtquNNEO7Fw

How glad are you?

2009-11-10T21:15:00.001-06:00

I want to look at two verses today, both from within my daily reading, first is Colossians 3:1,2 and second is Psalm 4:7. Let me quote them both;

Colossians 3:1,2 “¹If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, Where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. ²Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Psalm 4:7 “You have put gladness in my heart, more than in the season that their grain and wine increased.”

As I meditated on these two verses I saw the deep relationship between them. I see these verses as root and fruit. Let me explain. Paul says that we should have our minds on the things of God, from above, not on the things of the earth. David says that God has brought him gladness, more than he received from earthly abundance. I think that Paul’s command is the root of David’s gladness. If you can cultivate in your life, or to be theologically correct, if you can submit to the sanctification of the Holy Spirit in your life to the point where your mind is not on earthly thing but on Godly things, then you will be able to say, with David, “you have put gladness in my heart, oh Lord.” Let’s look more deeply at David’s praise to God. Grain and wine was a livelihood to the Israelites. If the harvest of grapes and grain didn’t come in you very well might die, but if it came in, and came in abundantly, then not only would you live, you would have extra to sell, then you could acquire some wealth, some extra animals or clothes, etc. As king, David would have benefitted from this more than anyone else because he received a piece of all that was harvested. Imagine the amount a single man might gain from an abundant harvest, now multiply that times the entire nation of Israel and you may get a glimpse of what David speaks of in his praise to God. God brings him more gladness than all the abundance of the earth. This can only come from a heart truly dedicated to the things of the Lord, a heart and mind and life that are truly set on God and things from above. We should be seeking God and all that he is with every ounce of strength that we can muster, we should be pleading with God to bring our minds and our hearts and our lives to bear on things from above, on Godly things, so that we can cry out in praise with David, ‘Oh Lord, you bring me more gladness than earthly wealth or any earthly thing!”

I praise you Father, in heaven above, for your incredible mercy and grace. I ask that you would sanctify me through the Power of Christ at work in the Holy Spirit that my life would reflect you. Help me in all that I am to keep my eyes on you and to desire Godly things not earthly things. Give me a perspective of truth that will help me to see the nature of all earthly things, that they are temporal and will not last and help me also to see the nature of all that you are, eternal and timeless. Help me to always, in everything that I do, bring you glory. In Jesus powerful name I pray, Amen.

My way or the highway

2009-10-26T16:00:00.004-05:00

As I meditated on 2 Kings 5 my spirit gave warning, or should I say, received warning, from the text. Too many times we do just as Naaman did, we risk missing the blessings of God because they did not come in the form or manner that we had expected, and therefore we do not believe it is God. Naaman came all the way from Syria to be healed in a miraculous way, but when Elisha told him to simply go and wash in the Jordan 7 times, he was angered. He tried to leave, but his servants convinced him to at least obey. As we see in the story, God was in the command of Elisha and Naaman was cleansed through washing in the Jordan. Once more, in the first century, the Jews missed the coming of the long awaited Messiah because He didn’t come in the manner that they had expected. They expected a warrior king to come and set them free, but instead they received a humble servant, come to die a cursed death on the cross for their sins. What scares me most is to think about what I would have done if I had lived in the first century. Would I have been like the Jews and missed the Christ because He was not what I expected or would I have been one of the few that did receive Him? This is a question to which I will never know the answer, but unfortunately the odds say that it is more likely that I would have responded as the Jews did, and rejected Him.

What can we do? How do we protect ourselves from missing God or His work because it is not in the form or manner in which we expect? My thoughts are this, instead of reading God’s word and trying to formulate what God’s plan is from it, in a sense trying to deductively construct His plan, let’s just wait on the Lord and as we see His plan unfold we can prayerfully weigh it against scripture, knowing that God will never contradict Himself or His revealed will. I think this is the answer because we do not have God’s wisdom and because God never tells us that He has revealed everything to us in His Word. This means that if we are trying to deductively construct what His plan is that we will have holes where He did not reveal. The Jews and their response to Christ gives evidence of this. They deductively constructed the coming of the Messiah from scripture, yet because they didn’t have God’s wisdom or all the information, they got it wrong, and therefore rejected the Messiah and murdered Him (all of this according to God’s will, of course). Instead, if they had waited on the Lord and taken the claims of Christ to the Scriptures, weighed them against God’s revealed will, they would have seen Jesus as the Messiah. They would have received Him. We know this because Jesus is everywhere in the Old Testament, Romans, Galatians and Hebrews give great evidence to this. Instead of trying to figure it all out and have every detail planned, trying to say that we know and understand what God’s will and plan are, let’s just admit that we are finite and that God is infinite and that we can never fully know or understand His will. Let’s wait on the Lord and as His will and plan are revealed we can prayerfully weigh them against scripture, knowing that God will never contradict Himself and never go against His own revealed will. Then we can pray and expect that we will not miss God or His work or His blessings because they did not come in the form or manner that we expected. How about we put our pride and ourselves down, lay them at the feet of God and simply receive Him, as He is, not as we want Him to be, in His time, in His way.

(Note- When I speak of deductively constructing God’s will from His Word I am not talking about formulating theology. We should and we must systematically approach God’s Word in an effort to understand theology so that we can adequately relate the teachings of Scripture to our lives and so that we can adequately teach them to others. I am referring to making a literal timeline of events for God in determining what must happen, when it must happen and how it must happen in order for us to believe that it is God, which you can clearly see has problems attached to it)

The Angels can't save you.

2009-10-23T10:09:00.005-05:00

I want to meditate on Colossians 2:18,19. As I read Colossians 2:18,19 I catch a glimpse of a condition that I think affects 90% of Christians today, a false Christianity. Let me quote the verse,

“¹⁸Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, ¹⁹and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.”

I see several things, but the main thing is the false Christianity that comes from "churchgoing". Since Christianity has been the state religion of the US for the last 100 years many people attend because that is what they are “supposed to do.” This has led to a huge misunderstanding of what it really means to be a Christian, a true follower of Christ. This has led to ‘false humility and worship of angels’ as well as not ‘holding fast to the Head,’ which is Christ. People hold on to their rituals and habits and what they see as ‘keeping up appearances’ and thereby fall into a false Christianity. ‘False humility’ is the show that people put on, the façade they wear. ‘Worship of angels’ is the result of distractions in their relationship with Christ whereby something else takes the place of Christ in their worship. We get caught up in what we know and in what we think and get separated from Christ, the head. This is most readily seen in the mega-church and their programs, although this is not the only place that this can be seen. People substitute true Christianity for the appearance of Christianity by attending every meeting, serving on every board, and going to every function. The horrible thing is that most of the time they don’t even realize it. Doing those things isn’t bad, they become bad when they are done while not ‘holding fast to the Head.’ When these things become substitutes for a true relationship with Christ they become ‘false humility and worship of angels’, and can "cheat you of your reward". When these programs take the place of a consistent quiet time or they take the place of prayer they have disconnected from the Head, from Christ. The product of this is a modern day Pharisee, people who honor God with their lips while their hearts are from him. We need to be careful in everything that we are not led astray from the real focus of our worship and our service, the Head, Jesus Christ. The "angels" can't save us. We need to maintain our focus on Christ that our work might not be in vain. Reality check!

I praise you Father for your glorious work in the lives of men through your son Christ Jesus. You have given meaning to our lives and provided us a way back into your courts and into your presence. Help us to always maintain the correct focus in our lives, a focus on you and on Jesus. Let all that we do be for your glory and not our own, that your kingdom may be enlarged on this earth and your name praised. In Jesus name I pray, amen.

Wisdom and Folly

2009-10-19T16:35:00.003-05:00

In my readings today I read Proverbs 18:2, which says, “A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart.” I thought this was a very telling observation of a fool and a wise man. As Solomon sees things a wise man will listen and desire to understand what is being said to him, or what is happening to him. (A side note about understanding. We can learn and gain understanding not just from people teaching us or from reading books, but also from circumstances and events as well. God seeks to teach us and sanctify us by events and circumstances just as much as he does from the mouth of other people.) Whereas a fool, while he may look like he is listening, is not actually paying attention. He is not concerned with understanding what is being said or what is happening, he is only concerned with how he will respond, what he will say next and how he feels. Which of the two men/people are you? Do you listen and seek understanding, in all things, or do you simply listen superficially, waiting for your chance to speak and give your opinion? I pray that God will mold you into the former and crush any resemblance in you to the latter.

Father I thank you for insight into the condition of man. I thank you for opening up my sins and flaws and showing them to me. Help me now to move forward with this knowledge in a way that brings you glory. Help me to be a wise man and seek to understand all things and to find you in them and help me to be humble, to crush my own desire to speak and say what I feel. What I feel is inconsequential if I do not fully understand your purposes in what I am feeling. May you always be my focus and my life’s greatest joy. In your name Lord Jesus I ask these things, amen.

That wasn't part of the plan

2009-10-16T20:48:00.004-05:00

My reading in Proverbs brought me to 19:21, which reads, “There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel– that will stand.” I want to just take a minute and think about the truth of this proverb. Many times each of the individual proverbs are read over with only a glancing view to the reality of their truth, I want to make sure not to do that with this proverb. I think that God offered Solomon a unique look into the heart of man and the sovereignty of God when he wrote this proverb. Something that the Bible tells us about men, and the way God created them, was that they are to be cultivators and managers, we were commanded by God to subdue and steward over the earth. So it is natural for us to plan and prepare and try to manage in ways to make this instinctual desire come to be. This is a fact that brings glory to God; we should not try to subdue these desires, we should let them glorify God. The problem that we see revealed in this proverb is not our desire to plan and manage and cultivate, the problem is when we do so out of our sinful nature. When God created us and built these instincts into us as a race He did so in view of His righteous and pure creation, but then due to Adam’s sin and rebellion against God all that was lost. We now have the same desires that God gave us for the purpose of stewarding and subduing the earth for God’s glory, yet we use them for our own glory. We plan and prepare and cultivate in ways that fulfill our own desires, which take the glory from God and gives it to us. Solomon cues in on this and offers some wisdom to us, he says that our plans are many but only God’s plans have any lasting value. To follow our own plans will only end in destruction and death. God’s plans are righteous and everlasting, so much so that to follow any plan other than God’s is futile. We can all speak to the validity of Solomon’s statement. We have all had our best-laid plans blown away with the wind. We have all seen hours, days and months of planning and preparing get thrown out like an old newspaper, worthless the day after it is printed. In our hearts we know this is true.

Now we face the real issue, due to our rebellious hearts and sinful nature we cannot follow God’s plan. All we see is our own glory; we can’t look to God’s. How do we overcome this? We don’t, we can’t, but God can, and did. Through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, righteousness has been imputed to us and we can now look to the glory of God. Through the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit we can look away from our glory and give glory to God. We can put down our plans and take up the plans of God.

As I meditate on this passage three questions come to mind. 1. What plans do you have in your life that are your own and that aren’t God’s? To these I would say, they will amount to nothing so place no weight on them because they will crumble. 2. Do you know Jesus as your personal savior? He is the only way that you can take up God’s plans and make your plans line up with His. He is the only way that you can have anything that will stand. 3. Do you now what God’s plan for you is, or even for life in general? Find out what God’s plan for your life is, this way you can begin to glorify him. The real question is this, do you want your life’s efforts to be a part of something futile or do you want them to be a part of something that will stand?

Father I praise you for the men that you have sent before us to pass on your words. I thank you for scripture and for the obedience of men like Solomon to pass on to us your very words. As I read your word and you reveal truth to me help me to apply it my life and stand on your teachings. Make my life a reflection of you, through Christ. Help me to pass on all the truth that you reveal to me that I can be seen as faithful in your eyes. May your plans be my life’s plans and may I always seek to give you glory. In Jesus name I pray, amen.

Christ's Wingman

2009-10-16T07:40:00.003-05:00

Why is it that we must share the gospel for people to come to a saving knowledge of Christ? This is a question many Calvinists ask. Isn’t God sovereign? Can’t God just fill them with the Holy Spirit and they be saved? Why do we have to take part? I was reading in John 16 today and came across a verse that answers this question from one perspective (I believe that there are other reasons as well, this is just one of them). John 16:14 says, speaking of the Holy Spirit, “He will glorify me, for he will take of what is mine and declare it.” The Holy Spirit’s main purpose is to glorify Christ. His work in salvation, through regeneration, faith and conviction of sin, is all purposed to glorify Christ. So it makes sense to say that if the Holy Spirit is here to glorify Christ then Christ must come first, otherwise the Holy Spirit has nothing to glorify. We see this in the life and work of Christ, he came and ministered and it wasn’t until after he left that the Holy Spirit came (in the fullness prophesied). He came after Christ. It is kind of like a kite with its tail, the tail can only go where the kite has already gone because it, the tail, is in existence for the kite. The same is true of salvation. The Holy Spirit follows behind Christ to glorify Him, so we must spread Christ to others before the Holy Spirit can come behind and do his work. If Christ has not been to a place first, through evangelism, then the Holy Spirit will not be there either, and we know from scripture that without the Holy Spirit there is no regeneration, no faith and no conviction of sin. This is why we must take part in evangelism and why we must spread the gospel in order for people to be saved. If people do not hear the gospel and do not know of Christ then the Holy Spirit has nothing in their life to glorify, i.e. Christ is not their to be glorified. This results in no Holy Spirit and therefore no salvation.

Father I give you praise and glorify your name because you are perfect and righteous and holy. You are the all that we need in life, your word is more precious than silver and even fine gold. You have given us your Son to bear our punishment and have given us your Spirit to follow behind and provide us with the tools necessary to be saved, and to glorify you as He glorifies you. Thank you for your provision of life, and it eternally. In Christ Jesus I pray, Amen.

A loss for words

2009-10-15T11:46:00.001-05:00

I would like to write about Christ’s work on the cross, or more specifically his sacrifice of dying, what he went through, and all of his glory in sacrifice. But I cannot, because I do not have enough talent or skill in God’s gift of words to even attempt this endeavor. I do not even know where to begin to try and give God in Christ glory by speaking about his sacrificial death, I am overwhelmed at the mere thought of it. What I will say is this, human words cannot describe the pain of Christ on the cross, nor can they describe the gifts he gave by dying, nor can they describe the glory he received for his obedience. As I worship in Spirit and truth may the Spirit speak on my behalf and give God in Christ the glory in all the ways that I cannot.

Father, I thank you and praise you for your plan to redeem your children. Jesus, I thank you also for your obedience to the Father and for your willingness to die. As I ponder the redemptive work of the cross and all it contains I am overwhelmed, I am speechless before your glory. May I always praise you, even in my lack of words. Amen.

Deception, mockery and the faithful

2009-10-14T10:08:00.002-05:00

I read an encouraging, yet sobering, word this morning in my scripture readings. The verses were Galatians 6:7,8, which says, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, the he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” I know that sometimes things seem unfair. We always hear about how God’s will prevails and the evil are punished. In reality it seems that Christians, the faithful few, are walked on and that everyone who seeks his own, and not God, prospers. This verse gives us encouragement in this area. It begins so powerfully with the words “Do not be deceived.” Why does it start this way? Because these thoughts of unfair treatment, that God will not come through on his word, or that things aren’t happening the way God said that they would, are deceptions and are from Satan. His goal is to get you to lose faith in God and no longer trust him to do what he says. Paul exhorts us in a powerful way, “Do not be deceived.” He then says, “God will not be mocked.” Let me explain this. When people think that the words of God will not come to pass they undermine God’s sovereignty, and then when they act accordingly, as if God’s words will not come true, they functionally mock him. For man to go on in his life and sow to his flesh thinking that he knows best and that all the warnings from God will not come to pass is to mock God. And let me say this as a side note; even when men do not know the specific revelation of God through Christ they still have the general revelation of creation and also the Law written on their hearts, both of which testify of God. This makes their disobedience and rebellion mockery, something that God will not tolerate, for he will not allow his glory to be undermined. Paul then comes back and summarizes what scriptures teach multiple times in many places, “What a man sows, that he will also reap.” Which he explains even further by saying, “For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” Paul uses an agricultural illustration but is in no way talking about harvests, he is talking about eternal life. His whole statement is one with an eye toward eternity. The promise wasn’t for our prosperity in this life and evil’s punishment in this life but for reward and justice in eternity. We can be sure that even though we feel that things are unfair and that evil men and women prevail all around us, this is only temporary. We should never let ourselves be deceived into believing Satan’s lies. Although it may seem like things aren’t happening God’s way, that is only from our perspective, a perspective that is fallible and narrow. God sees all of time and knows what happens in eternity. His promises of justice may or may not pertain, in each specific case, to situations in this life, but we know without a doubt that they pertain to eternity. We also should heed Paul’s implied warning, sow to the Spirit or we shall receive death! This passage can be encouraging when we feel that evil is succeeding all around us, but it can also be quite sobering when we take stock of our lives. What have we been sowing to, the flesh, or the Spirit? What should we expect in eternity, corruption or eternal life? These are very important questions that we should ask ourselves on a regular basis. We do not want to find out too late that we have been sowing to the flesh. Let us always remember, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked.” Trust in the sovereignty of God and know that his will cannot be thwarted.

Father, I praise you for your everlasting strength, for your sovereignty which cannot be undone or outdone, and for your justice, the mighty show of your love. Continue to encourage me when I see evil running rampant all around and keep my eyes soberly on my own life, looking to what I have sown. Help me always to sow to the Spirit and not the flesh that I may receive eternal life in your presence and your glory. In Jesus name I ask these things. Amen.

A Daily Offering

2009-10-13T10:39:00.001-05:00

I was reading in Exodus 8 this morning and came to verses 38-46 which discuss the daily offerings to the Lord. As I was reading it I began to draw a parallel between the daily offerings of the old covenant and those of the new covenant. Many people think that ‘offerings’ went away when Christ fulfilled the old covenant and ushered in the new, but that is not correct. Required sacrifices, for atonement, went away, because Christ became that atoning sacrifice, once for all time, but offerings still stand to this day. Offerings under the new covenant just look different. What are offerings under the new covenant, what do they look like? One offering is time given to the Lord daily. Time spent in the Word of God, in reading, meditation and prayer. I will show you how these activities parallel the offerings of the old covenant and how they serve the same purposes. I want to look now at the similarities in the offerings. First, old covenant (OC) daily offerings were made at the tabernacle of meeting (Ex 29:42) that later became the Temple of the Lord. Under the new covenant (NC) there is no longer a need for the Temple as it stood traditionally, because we are now the temples of the Lord (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19) so the offerings are made in our bodies, through our devotion to God in the actions mentioned above. Second, in response to the daily offerings in the temple God says, “There I will meet with the children of Israel” (Ex 29:43). This same purpose holds true in the daily NC offerings, it is here that the Lord meets with us, in our reading of the Word, meditation and prayer. This is where we can come face to face with God. Third, through this presence of God, in response to the daily OC offerings God said that he would sanctify the temple by His glory (Ex 29:43). In the same way, under the offerings of the NC we (the new temples) are brought into the presence of God and sanctified by his glory. If we do not offer this to God we will not be sanctified. Fourth, in response to these offerings God said that he would dwell among his people and they would know that he was their God (Ex 29:45-46). Under the NC, the only way to consistently hear from God and open up your life, open up the doors to your ‘temple’, your heart, for God to dwell among you, is through the daily offering of reading God’s Word, meditating on it and praying to him. Finally, the OC offerings were done twice a day, in the morning and in the evening (Ex 29:39). This was done as a reminder, first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening, that God was first, and that they served the one true God. This principle is extremely important under the new covenant. Since we no longer have a physical ‘temple’ to go to we are very easily distracted in our worship and dedication. Without daily reminders of what is important and who we serve we are led astray and fall quickly into temptation. Israel proves this over and over again in the Old Testament by their consistent apostasy and they had a temple to worship in. This daily offering, twice a day, serves to keep our eyes on God and preserve us in the long run, not to mention it gives God the glory and priority in our lives. So to summarize, OC offerings were made in the temple, in response to these offerings God said that he would meet with his people, sanctify the temple, dwell among his people and make Himself known to them. This was done twice a day as a reminder of the God that they served. What does this mean for us? If we want God to meet with us, sanctify us and dwell with us, in our hearts, the temple, and make himself known to us, we must make daily offerings to him as Israel did. Ours will be in our bodies, the new temple, and will be in the form of reading God’s Word, meditation and prayer. These offerings should be daily, twice a day, to keep us focused on God and in remembrance of him in all of our life. Morning and evening may God receive the glory.

Father I thank you for insight into your word. I thank you for understanding of the principles of offering and for the revelation of yourself through your Word. Help me to be consistent in my daily offering to you and in my devotion to your glory. Come to me, meet with me here, dwell with me, make yourself known to me and sanctify me. These are my hearts desires, that I could be a temple of God, a place where you remain. Amen.

A believer and a priest walk into a bar...

2009-10-12T07:57:00.001-05:00

The reading in Exodus 28 spoke of the clothing the priests wore, mainly to separate them from the people and show them to be set apart for God’s service. It talked about what they should wear and why they should wear it. The reason their clothing was so extravagant was because it was for the service of God and his glory and the reason their clothing was so intricate was because all the different parts served to remind of some aspect of God, either in his blessings to Israel through the 12 sons or in his acting in the exodus, or of his holiness, etc. I began to draw a comparison to the work of the priest under the old covenant and the work of the Christian under the new covenant. I found that they are remarkably similar. We see that the priests were set apart by God to do his work and minister to the people, something that all Christians are called to do to this day. We see that they are to be a reflection of God’s work, God’s glory and God’s holiness, also something that all Christians are called to do. Priests interceded for the people, they served the people for God, etc. Many people relegate these tasks of the priest to the old covenant because under the new covenant there are no longer priests. Or are there? In Hebrews it is said that Jesus is our High Priest, in 1 Peter 2:5,9 Peter refers to Christians as a holy priesthood. This makes very clear that there are still priests, they just aren’t from a special lineage, they happen to be each and every one of us. The reason we do not have ‘priests’ proper any longer is due to one thing, Jesus Christ, our high priest. Upon his death on the cross we are told in Matthew 27:51 that the curtain between the Holy place and the most holy place was torn in two. This was a symbol to all who believe in Christ that they could now enter into the Holy of holies, a place that only the high priest could venture prior to this act. We can all now come into the presence of God. We no longer need a special office of priest because through Christ we all have the privileges of the priest. One of the main duties of the High priest was to enter into the Holy of holies once a year and atone for the people. This is no longer necessary, for the people have been atoned for, once for all, by Christ our high priest, and we can all now enter into the holy of holies, the presence of God. But these facts did not do away with all the other works and ministries of the priest. The other duties of the priest are still very necessary and have been passed to us, the believers in Christ, to fulfill in Christ’s absence. We must go out into the world with a missional heart to be priests of God, ministering to others on his behalf, sharing with them the grace, mercy and patience of God and the saving work of Christ. In the same way that the priests of the old covenant were to be set apart to God for service, holy in His sight, we also are to be set apart to God for service, holy in His sight. Let us not forsake this or take God’s holiness for granted. Let us honor him by fulfilling our duties as priests, for a believer and a priest are one and the same. To God be the glory.

Father I thank you for sending us a great High Priest in your Son Jesus. Through him I have been atoned for once and for all time and can now enter into your presence myself, through him. As I have been called of you and set apart for your service I ask that you would give me wisdom in fulfilling the priestly call on my life and honoring you and Christ. Strengthen me to bring you glory and serve your purposes. In Jesus name I ask these things. Amen.

Can you walk on one leg?

2009-10-11T09:20:00.005-05:00

I was having a conversation last night and the topic came up concerning the ‘Christian life’. The observation was that, in general, Christians live an unbalanced life. We tend to focus on one or two of the attributes of the basic Christian life to the neglect of the rest. I.e. Love to the neglect of godly counsel and rebuke, or the Holy Spirit to the neglect of the Word of God. I can’t help but compare our walk with God to the actual character of God (because our relationship with God is an extension of God). When we look at the attributes of God, such as his love or wrath or even his joy, we know that God is 100%, completely, each one of these attributes. God is 100% love and 100% wrath at the same time. How do we know this? We know this because for God to be more of one attribute and less of another would mean that he himself is more in one area and less in another. Or to say it in another way, this would imply that certain attributes of God are more important than others and by force of logic, that other of his attributes are less important. This cannot be, for God cannot not be anything less than complete and perfect in everything. All that he is is most important, and no part of him is less important than another. Therefore they each constitute the whole. This concept of God being 100% of each attribute is hard for us to grasp. We are accustomed to think of the ‘whole’ as the sum of its parts, each part contributing to the whole. We are not accustomed to the idea that each part, in and of itself, can constitute the whole. We can’t grasp how five different parts can each be 100% of the ‘whole’ in question. We would end up with 5 ‘wholes’ wouldn’t we? This is the difficulty that we face when trying to comprehend an infinite God with a finite mind. So how does this doctrine of God relate to the unbalanced Christian life? We have been made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) and therefore our relationship with God should follow the pattern of his attributes. Why? Because our relationship with God is fully supplied by God, through Christ, in the power of the Spirit. Being supplied by God it must therefore take on his attributes. For example, whatever God gives to his children we know is good, because God is not evil and therefore cannot give evil to his children; he gives from what he is. Our relationship with him is no different, it is a gift from him, an extension of who he is, and therefore must come from what he is, his attributes, complete in each aspect, 100% of the ‘whole’. This is to say that we should also be 100% love and 100% Godly counsel and rebuke as well as 100% filled with and led by the Spirit and also 100% obedient and submissive to the Word of God. Each of the basic requirements of the Christian life that are spoken of in scripture, faith, prayer, love, etc. (the list is too long to write exhaustively here) should be full and complete within our own walk, each constituting the whole, in and of themselves and therefore each receiving the same focus from us. When we focus on one area over another it's as if we are walking with one leg, and then we wonder why we are constantly falling down. We must model our walk after God and His character so that we may be balanced. But what about the areas that we are specially gifted or called by God? What I am speaking of in this entry is not the area of special calling placed on your life by God, but the basic Christian walk. If God has gifted you to preach then you shall focus your efforts on fulfilling that call while at the same time having a full relationship with God, equally so, if God has called you to be a missionary you will focus on relating to your people in a new culture while having a full relationship with God. I hope you can see that your calling from God goes over and above the basic Christian walk. I do not propose that we all be 100% of everything, preachers, missionaries, teachers, administrators, prophets, etc. that would be folly. But we are each called to have a full and complete relationship with God, taken from him and therefore imitating him in who he is. I know that we look at this proposition with difficulty and ask the question, “how?" We may never reach this goal, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try. Let us not forget the counsel that Christ gave to his disciples when they asked how to achieve the impossible, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27).

When people are big and God is small

2009-10-10T07:41:00.001-05:00

I was reading John 2 and at the end of that chapter I read a section of scripture, three verses long, entitled, ‘The discerner of hearts.’ These three verses tell of how many people believed in Christ during his first Passover in Jerusalem because of the great miracles that he did, but how Jesus put no weight in their belief/testimony of him because he knows what is in the heart of men. I couldn’t help but stop and think about how beneficial this example would be for all the pastors and ministers out their ‘serving’ God. As leaders we are very often put in the situation to choose between what is right, that which is commanded by God, and what is pleasing to others, namely, those we are leading. Unfortunately, all to often we make the wrong decision, myself included. And I also know that this is a sad day for a leader, when they look back at the decision just made and see that they have honored themselves above the Lord and his commands. Why did we do it? Because we sought the testimony of men, we wanted to be liked and spoken well of. In my circumstance this failing was in the place of church discipline. My elder board didn’t want to do anything; they didn’t think it was our business to interfere in someone else’s personal life. I took them to scripture to show them the evidence otherwise and the clear commands that we are to act, but they could not be convinced. In the end I did not answer the call of scripture and step out in faith and seek to rebuke this person and their actions. I went along with my elder board. The person in question went on to living in unrepentant sin and failure in the sight of God. Never again! Never again will I experience that sad day when I look back on my actions and see a focus on my own glory and not on God’s. It is not worth it. Let us all take after the example of Christ and put no weight on the testimony of men, because we know what is in their hearts, we have experienced it first hand because we ourselves have the same hearts they do. Let us seek strength through Christ in the Holy Spirit that our main focus in all of life would be to receive a great testimony from God, that in the end he would look on us and say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” To God be the glory!

"...but of God"

2009-10-09T09:10:00.002-05:00

As I was reading in John, I read verses 1:12-13, which read,

“¹²But as many as received him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name: ¹³who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

In reading this I can’t help but look towards the glory of God in predestination, in his election of the saints. I don’t know for sure that this is what this verse is referring to, but I know that this verse does lead me to think on this doctrine. As the passage says, they were born not “…of the will of man, but of God.” I can’t help but think that people, who feel that their salvation is their choice, and must be their choice, rob God of his glory in the salvation event. I think that the doctrine of free will is a doctrine that seeks to exalt man above his fallen state, and therefore gives man the glory and not God (Eph 2:8). I think that this doctrine is the attempt of our sinful and rebellious heart to retain some control or to have some semblance of power concerning our eternal destiny. I for one do not want the power to choose, as Paul says in Romans 6:21, concerning decisions made from our sinful nature, “What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.” This powerful statement from Paul is very sobering and leads me to believe that without the Holy Spirit I could never make the right choice, but only choices that lead to death. But clearly, as we see in scripture, it is God’s chief end to bring himself glory and therefore we can rest assured that anything we do, even in the salvation event, is purposed to bring God glory. As scripture says in Romans 8:7, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” We must remember that we are not able to see through our fallen nature to the glory that is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, we must first be chosen by God and be set free, regenerated, given the gift of faith, and then we can receive His glory. We must let go of our desire to be in control and let God be glorified in his work in our hearts, in his gift of faith and in his gracious and merciful choosing of his elect. We must never forget that in our salvation we were born, “¹³not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” May God receive the glory.

Father, I praise you for your gift of salvation through your Son, Jesus Christ. I ask that in all things that I do, that you receive the glory. Reprove my heart when I selfishly seek to glorify myself and redirect me back to you, help me to humbly submit to your control and complete dependence on you, that I might do all things for your glory and serve your purposes. I want to find my greatest joy in you that I might be able to bring you the most glory. Amen

Worldwide "Blasphemy Day" 2009

2009-10-08T14:39:00.011-05:00

September 30^th 2009 was the first ever “Blasphemy Day” where people who do not believe in God try to express their right to blaspheme Him. They are trying to promote a “nothing is sacred” doctrine and feel that their freedom of speech should even extend to the outright offense of others. Whether that was the intent of our forefathers when they penned the Bill of Rights, I do not know, but that isn’t what I want to discuss. The topic of Blasphemy day came up at lunch today, a brother and I were discussing it. I was told that many people were trying to commit what scripture and Christ called the “unforgiveable sin”, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. As we dove into this a little deeper I began to see a widely overlooked fact concerning blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. First, the question is often asked, as I myself have, what constitutes blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? For this we must go to Mark 3. We find Christ’s statement about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit at the end of a section of scripture that my Bible has named “A House Divided Cannot Stand”. In that passage they say that Christ has an evil spirit and that His works are the works of Satan, to which Christ replies that many blasphemies will be forgiven but not the one committed against the Holy Spirit (this is to say that once you have committed this blasphemy you are no longer redeemable). Verse 30 then goes on to say that He said this because, “they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”” Context here tells us that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is when we attribute the work of God or the Holy Spirit, to Satan, when we give the glory that was intended for God to Satan. This definition implies two things, a belief that God has worked (otherwise there is nothing to attribute to Satan) and that Satan exists (otherwise there is no one to whom you may attribute God’s works) So it would stand to reason that if you do not believe in God, His works, or in Satan, that you cannot blaspheme the Holy Spirit. This thought brings me back to the awesome holiness of God, that man, in an utterly sinful state, unbelieving toward God, yet desiring to blaspheme our understanding of Him, cannot by his own will take himself outside the reach of God’s ability to redeem him. He cannot commit the one sin that God has said is unredeemable. So we stand in a valley between two mountains, on one side, the mountain of election, that says that because of our sinful nature we cannot choose God of our own free will, and on the other side, a mountain of God’s reach, that says that we cannot of our own will remove ourselves from God’s ability to redeem us. Neither option is our choice; both are totally wrapped up in the grace of God, one requiring His grace, and the other an eternal display of it.

Many Christians have focused on the massive offense to God that was partaken of on this “Day” and have responded with bitterness and hatred (you can read about it all over the net). Unfortunately for Christ and His glory, these followers have missed the point. The blasphemers are self-appointed “enemies” to our faith, and what has Christ taught us concerning our enemies? That we should love them, as He loved us when we were His enemies. So instead of taking the position of offensive attack against these “enemies”, I believe that we should take the position of the Father, loving them, knowing that in spite of all their sinful effort, they can never move themselves beyond His ability to redeem them, and although they are “enemies” now, one day we may call them brother. (This isn't a call for tolerance. In spite of Christ's love for His enemies He never tolerated unrepentant sin, and neither should we, if we have any concern for the eternal well-being of the person in question)

(Side note- through general revelation we have all been given some belief in God even if we deny Him outwardly, whether or not that level of belief is enough to qualify you for blaspheming the Holy Spirit, I do not know. My thought is that it doesn’t, because blasphemy of the Spirit also requires a belief in Satan so that you have someone to attribute God’s works to and the knowledge of the existence of Satan isn’t present in general revelation, but only through specific revelation. Not to mention the definition of God and His glory and His works, which I believe are prerequisite to truly blaspheming the Spirit, also aren’t in the category of general revelation. )

Resolved...

2009-10-08T08:01:00.006-05:00

After having read Jonathan Edwards’ “Resolutions” I felt inspired to write my own, modern resolutions, for my life, based on God’s calling and giftings to me. Below is the list so far.

As a child of God I must set my heart and my purposes to one goal, to glorify God. Following are the resolutions in my life that I feel are necessary to achieve that end. Before I resolve to do anything, I must make mention of the widely forgotten fact in our present culture and society, that I can do nothing without Christ and the grace He has poured on me.

1. Resolved, to seek after a truly deep, personal and intimate relationship with Christ, radical holiness, above anything else. To attain to Biblical wisdom, to know God and walk in all His ways.

2. Resolved, to set the word of God, the Holy Scriptures, as written in the Old and New Testaments, as my final rule of faith and practice.

3. Resolved, not to take part in anything that will gratify my pride or my flesh, but immediately upon realizing that it does, to put it away from me for the duration of my life.

4. Resolved, to do all things to the glory of God.

5. Resolved, as often as I come to some divine concept or theory, to search it out and know it’s height, width and depth, as evidenced by the Word, and not to stop, without reasonable hindrance, until I have found it.

6. Resolved, never to willingly omit anything, but for God’s glory, and to then be sure to often review my omissions.

7. Resolved, to speak and proclaim the gospel in all it’s truth and power, with out shame or apology and without mind to the sensitivities of the hearer. For hell will not bend to their sensitivities, so nor should my efforts to save them.

8. Resolved, to hold no belief that I have not searched out in scripture and to try my beliefs in the fire of conflict and argument.

9. Resolved, to live in a constant state of repentance, acting immediately upon any sin the moment it is made known to me, confessing it, forsaking it and making restitution for it.

10. Resolved, to bridle my tongue, knowing that with it the direction of my being may flow, speaking only that which tends to glorify God, to humble the sinner, and to promote holiness.

11. Resolved, to recognize my body as the vessel of my service to the Lord, realize that I can do nothing for the Lord if my body cannot keep up, and to therefore exercise the utmost temperance in what I eat, what I drink and what I do.

12. Resolved, to memorize scripture, daily, for the purpose of hiding the whole Word in my heart, seeking to be shaped and molded by its truth in my quest to bring God glory.

13. Resolved, to be elder qualified and maintain those qualifications as lined out in Timothy and Titus, so as to be fit, in God’s earthly standards, to minister in His stewardship.

14. Resolved, to always realize and have ever before my mind, the reality that I, in my salvation, was only a breath away from the eternally damned, in their sin. I have received salvation through the unmerited grace of God and by no other means. A grace that I am not worthy of, didn’t deserve, didn’t earn and cannot pay back. And knowing this, I shall never hold myself in any degree of higher esteem than the eternally damned.

15. Resolved, to fast once a week.

16. Resolved, never to give mind to the thoughts of men towards me, beyond the basis of whether I have acted toward them with integrity before God, and if found out that I did not act in total integrity, to immediately set down to repent of my sin before them in accordance with resolution #9. Resolving to this because many will speak evil of me and seek to devour my heart with grief due to the truth that I proclaim. But I shall find my strength and acceptance in the Lord and His will, not in the thoughts and intentions of man.

17. Resolved, to rely wholly and completely on God for my provision and protection. Knowing that God’s plan will never lacks God’s provision.

18. Resolved, to seek out and know the purposes that God has for me each and every day and to fulfill them to the best of my ability, even to the exhaustion and end of my body.

19. Resolved, to steward my time wisely, working toward the purposes of God, not letting even a moment pass by idly without some purpose of glorifying God.

20. Resolved, when I must counsel or reprove a fellow brother or sister in Christ, to do so in such a way as to let it be known in me that I am equally as unworthy and of no higher esteem than they, but that I speak only as the Lord, in His Word, has led me, for there own good and the furthering or their salvation, for God’s glory.

21. Resolved, to always endeavor to study divinity in all its aspects, Biblically and systematically.

22. Resolved, to always be under the authority and tutelage of another and to maintain accountability.

23. Resolved, Never to punish my children in the heat of anger. Never to punish my children without proper Biblical exhortation as to correct behavior, leading to repentance of sin in their actions.

24. Resolved, never to speak a harsh word or raise my voice, except in such instances where I know I could stand before God and receive His approval for doing such.

25. Resolved, never to leave a time of fellowship with other believers without coming before the Lord in prayer.

My goal is to read these weekly and live them daily. I would encourage you to write some of your own, based on the convictions God has laid on your heart. Together we can all live for His glory.

God...out of focus.

2009-10-07T21:20:00.008-05:00

In my devotion today I read 1 Chronicles 17, where David purposes to build God a house, but the Lord tells David no. The Lord then goes on to bless David and promise him a lineage and a great name. This chapter finishes with David in deep conversation with God, pouring his heart out to God, the Lord of his life. I was convicted by this scene, and brought to see the overall picture of David’s relationship with God. When I saw this I thought about the backwards nature of our service for the Lord today. In all of David’s life he was focused on God, on his relationship with God. When he killed Goliath, he didn’t do it for God because Goliath threatened God’s people. He killed Goliath because Goliath spoke against God; he did it to honor God. He wanted to build a temple to honor God, not for God, as if God needed it.

In our own lives I believe that we miss the main purpose of Christianity, which is to glorify God by having a relationship with Him. That was why He created Adam, that is what Adam lost when he sinned and that is what Christ restored on the cross, fellowship with God, a relationship with Him. We tend to do for God when we should be doing to God. We miss the starting point so our whole frame of reference is wrong. Don’t minister for God, don’t serve for God, first, love God, give your life to God and never lose this focus. Then, from this deep seated relationship that you have with God you will begin to minister, you will begin to serve, and your motives will be pure and God will be the Lord or your life.

My purpose in life is to glorify God, first by loving Him. This will naturally then lead to loving my neighbor, and both of these will be seen in my life by living in the fullness of the gospel.

What's in a name?

2009-10-07T10:32:00.002-05:00

I wanted to let everyone know why I chose the name that I did for this blog. Some time back I was wrestling with the question "why?" I had really been seeking God on what scripture says is the purpose for which we are to labor. I spent time in the Word, meditating, praying and seeking an answer. Some would say the reason is evangelism, others ministry to the poor, and still others to imitate Christ. Below is what the Lord revealed to me and is the reason for the title of my blog.

The chief end of God is to bring himself glory¹, therefore, my purpose is to glorify God²; this was why I was created³. My means through which to do this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of sin and the fall, instead of giving glory to God I sought to give glory to myself⁴, but through Christ's work on the cross I am now free from sin and death and able, once again, to give God glory⁵. Although my flesh is at war within me to turn and glorify myself⁶, I can have victory through Christ over my flesh and be strengthened by the Holy Spirit to give God the glory⁷.

But how do I glorify God? Glorifying God does not mean that I make God more glorious, but that I acknowledge his glory, value it above all else, and make it known. I do that by living out the first and second greatest commandments, to love God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength, with all my mind and to love my neighbor as myself⁸.

But these are very general statements, how do I specifically go about this task of bringing God glory in loving him and loving my neighbor? I believe that this is done through living in the fullness of the gospel, obedience to the five purposes of the New Testament church; to evangelize, fellowship, disciple, worship and minister/serve others.

In my observation, I feel that the greatest of these, in bringing glory to God, is evangelism, to proclaim the gospel, Christ's work on the cross, that others might be freed from their bondage to sin so that they too can glorify God. Evangelism is the only one of the five purposes that loves both God and men directly. By proclaiming Christ and his work on the cross we are showing our love for him and his work, our love for God, and by proclaiming this work to others so that they might be freed from their bondage to sin and death we are showing our love for our neighbor. Evangelism and worship love God directly, while evangelism, discipleship, fellowship and ministry/serving love men directly. We can see that evangelism is the only one of the five that shows love for both.

To conclude, this is what my focus is and these are my priorities: Glorify God, by loving God and loving our neighbor through living in the fullness of the gospel.

Note- these two ‘loves’, and their ensuing means, the five purposes, must be conducted with joy; otherwise it is all done in vain and brings no glory to God.

Footnotes

1. Isaiah 43:7, 48:9-11

2. Ex 20:1-5; 34:14; Deut 5:6-10; Jer 9:24; Isaiah 43:7; 1 Cor 1:30-31; 6:20; 10:31

3. Isaiah 43:6-7; Ephesians 1:11-12

4. Romans 1:18-25

5. Romans 8:2

6. Romans 7:15-25

7. Romans 8:2-5, 9-11

8. Deut 6:4-; Matt 22:36-40; Mk 12:28-31; Lk 10:25-28

Sometimes the heart of the matter is what's in a name?