The Realm of my Imagination

Lessons from Nineveh

2009-08-16T13:58:00.000-07:00

The sermon text from the last two weeks has been taken from Jonah chapters 2 and 3, and a couple of things really stuck out about those passages in regard to content and application today.

Firstly, if we look at verse 8 of chapter 2 it reads, “ Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own Mercy." Note how the word "Mercy" is capitalized. The emphasis here is on God and His Majesty and right to be served as the Living and True God, communicated through the use of one of His attributes. When we serve idols, as we all have a tendency to do, we are forsaking our own Mercy...the Mercy that can only be granted by a Gracious and Holy God.

Secondly, pastor pointed out the speed with which the city was converted. Look with me at the begining of Jonah chapter 3 (emphasis mine),

"Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. ⁴ And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

⁵ So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them."

See the speed with which the Lord called His own? He had prepared a great work for Nineveh, and had tendered the soil beforehand. It did not take long for that seed to take root once it was spread by the messenger of the Lord. A city that would take three days to travel within from end to end was convicted in one by the power of the Spirit and means of word of mouth communication. A message that would doubtless seem outlandish and even laughable to a city such as Nineveh, known Scripturally for it's own wickedness and violence.

Thirdly, and finally, look with me at verses 6 through 9 (emphasis mine),
"⁶ Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. ⁷ And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. ⁸ But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. ⁹ Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?"

Note here the fact that the fast (from both food and water, no less!) was decreed by none other than the king of Nineveh as a state ordinance. He himself decreed that the people would fast, and made it lawful to do so. This begs the question of whether or not state sponsored institutions are a Biblically supported concept. I do not move to either argue for or against such a concept, I merely wonder aloud and leave the discussion to you my readers below, should you be so inclined.

Why We're Here

2009-07-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

I had a very meaningful talk with my dad the other night about something that has been troubling me for quite a while. To preface what is to come, please allow me to start by saying (don't you love how I start backpedaling before I ever say anything at all? lol) that I am soundly convinced of the validity and truth of reformed doctrine and practice concerning worship and theology, but I have noticed an interesting trend in the reformed church of late that bothers me greatly. I have noticed that we seem to be for the most part a comfortable small body of intellectuals with lots of head knowledge about Scripture and theology, who come week to week to get our fill of edification from the pastor then come back the next week ready to repeat the process. This in and of itself is not a problem so long as we remember that knowledge for its own sake saves no one, but rather what I do find troubling is the "comfortable" aspect.

This past year I have had the blessing of working with several brothers and sisters from different parts of the Kingdom than my own. This has been a wonderful experience from which I have learned a lot. One such thing that I have learned is that our co-laborers from other camps (particularly the pentecostal church) have a zeal that is simply not seen in our own body to a large extent. Let me tell you, those guys can recruit!

And that's where my dad and I's conversation comes in to play, because you see brothers and sisters I have also taken notice of how richly God seems to be blessing other parts of the Kingdom, while our little RP district remains as it always has and nobody really seems to desire or really expect that to change.

I would like to encourage us as a body to resist the temptation to adopt a "what will be, will be" outlook on evangelism despite our views on predestination and election. We have been incredibly blessed with men whom God has seen fit to raise up to shepherd us with the truth of His Word yet we do little to invite others in. If indeed we have been given so great a gift, should we not desire to share it with all that we encounter? Let us remember how short a time we have been given in which to do much work and then let us set to that work with joyful hearts as stewards of the time we have!

I would even go so far as to ask you to share an account of somebody that you have witnessed to this very week be it outspoken or subtle. Please encourege your weaker brother (me!) with news of the spread of the Gospel to a dying and thirsty world and give me hope that we have not forgotten our comission!

Wild Thing

2009-04-03T22:50:00.000-07:00

Gen 1:28-30

^"28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

²⁹ Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so."

Over the last week I have had the unique opportunity to take full advantage of the dominion that God has given man over the created world. My friends and I for spring break packed up and shipped out to a remote place known as Virgin Falls. It is a secluded little area in eastern Tennessee. We hiked back through the sticks for four miles along a path that I'm not entirely certain a llama could have negotiated successfully through some of the most breathtaking landscape I have ever had the privilege of viewing.

On the course of our journey we passed four waterfalls, but by far the last one was the best. We set up camp by the mammoth-sized cascade and hunkered down for the night. Shortly after we all went to bed a huge lightning storm struck. Now mind you, we were on top of a mountain...so everything was rediculously close! Bolts of lightning flashed no more than a mile away, sometimes much much closer.

My friend Brian and I became intimately aquainted with the storm as rain gushed down from the sky in torrents and flowed freely all around and even under our tent. At one point, he slapped the floor of the tent and together we watched the water cause it to ripple out in all directions.

In the morning, soggy but otherwise unharmed, we marched up to a nearby cave and spent the rest of the day climbing around inside. For seven hours, we marveled at the expance and power of God captured in the sheer size and magnitude of the caverns. We ourselves were easily sixty feet above an underground river that determined the course of the cave, while the ceiling itself was an additional sixty feet up easily.

For the most part the floor was composed of rock, but every so often we would tread upon clay soft enough to break free and slide down the cliffs into the icy cold river. We had to be exceptionally careful and we spent a good deal of time "staging" slides for the thunderous noise that they made and the tremendously satisfying splashes.

On Monday we hiked out of the woods and headed back to Brian's house. We spent the next few days gathering some much-needed rest. On Thursday we went to Nashville and accidentally found ourselves in the midst of a storm that started dropping funnel clouds. We kept hearing reports warning us of the impending tornados, but were unable to see beyond a few feet outside of the van.

Then all at once we heard a whistling sound from outside the vehicle as the rain started to get sucked across the road very forcefully. We rounded a corner and watched as a police man traveling in the opposite direction turned his lights on and turned around to travel the wrong way back up the other side of the street. In a moment we all realized why this was so. Apearantly a few moments before a tornado had pulled apart several buildings on the street we had just turned onto. Power polls had been snapped in two, and cinder block buildings had been pulled to pieces. God had blessed us and preserved us while very clearly demonstrating His power.

Then today we gathered up Brian's paddle boat and went out to a rock quarry that has sinced turned into a very placid lake beside a horse trail and paddled around for the afternoon. Of course, this too became boring after a while, so my friend Jonathan and I scaled two of the cliff's barefooted and threw rocks down toward the paddle boats to attempt to splash those aboard.

At one point, a very large section of rock broke free of the cliff and nearly landed on Jon's bare foot, but by God's grace he was able to deflect it with his knee.

So all in all it has been a very grand week, and I have learned a lot about what it is to assume my duties as a man and conquer the creation. I really feel that that it is big part of what it is to be a man in God's kingdom, and would very much like to do things like that more often. There is so much to be learned about the kingdom of CHrist from the lessons of the wild and there is yet more to be learned about His diety from what can be seen in the benchmark that is His created order.

The Biblical Importance of the Regulative Principle of Worship

2009-01-18T16:24:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks, I have taken up reading the book published by my father of the title Worship from Genesis to Revelation. The book has been a real inspiration, and has opened my eyes to several very key and important issues of church doctrine that seem to have gotten lost by the wayside with the passage of time. The most striking of these concepts is just how vitally important the practice of Biblical God-centered worship is.

To start, I was reminded of the passage from Exodus on the concept of building an altar.

Exodus 20:25
"And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it."

Now examine with me the underlying principle of this verse for a moment. All of Old Covenant worship pointed to the coming of Christ, God's chosen Lamb, and was a foreshadowing of elements pertaining to His incarnation. This verse then, clearly instructs the people of Israel to refrain from adding any artistic touch to what God has deemed fit for His worship. To paraphrase my dad: God wanted the stones that He made good to be used...not the ones that we attempted to make better.

There is no room for human creativity and artistry among the worship of God.

Along that note, I was also struck by that which my dad wrote about the Ark of the Covenant. I will quote the passage below, since he put it far better in a condensed paragraph than I would ever be able to summarize.

"The centerpiece of Israel's worship was the ark of the covenant, with two angelic beings facing inward toward an empty mercy seat. It was due to this peculiar feature of Israel's religion that the heathen nations chided them saying "where is their God?" How strange this must have looked to Israel's pagan neighbors! they had gods of wood, stone, and metal, but Israel's God was an empty throne. The truth, of course, was that Israel worshiped the One authentic God, who cannot be limited by any artist's skill, but who is transcendent over the universe which He created, displaying His wisdom, power and holiness through His mighty acts of providence while all of the gods of the nations are deaf, dumb, blind, lifeless, powerless statues."

Let that soak in for a moment...no artist, no matter how skillful, should ever be prideful enough to attempt to make an image of God the Lord. Old covenant worship was meant to point toward that God...toward that same deity whom no artist was considered worthy to enshrine, and new covenant worship is done in remembrance of the acts that that perfect God accomplished on the cross. There is not room for invention in that. No one should consider him or herself worthy to undertake that calling. Only the Lord Himself, Who provided all of the necessary instruments in his Word, including the God-breathed psalms, can do that.

Do you see the seriousness of this matter? Do you see the pride involved in trying to impliment new practices or improve upon old ones? Do you see where we have gone wrong over the centuries? And do you see what we need to do to correct our folly by the grace of God?

Look at the record of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus for a moment.

Leviticus 10:1-7
"1 Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. 2 So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. 3 And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke, saying:

‘By those who come near Me
I must be regarded as holy;
And before all the people
I must be glorified.’”

So Aaron held his peace.
4 Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.” 5 So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said.
6 And Moses said to Aaron, and to Elemazar and Ithamar, his sons, “Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD has kindled. 7 You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses."

Nadab and Abihu presumed to offer an innovation to God's worship and were utterly consumed by the wrathful fire of a holy God. This is not a matter that God regards lightly.

But there is one final and interesting fact about worship that I would like to observe from reading dad's book. I made an interesting observation about the Biblical account of Cain and Able. At the moment that Adam and Eve were confronted by God, one of the first things that occurred in the newly fallen world order was that God required that an animal's blood be shed to make skin coverings for Adam and Eve. This shedding of blood was to become the normal practice of God's people whenever a sacrifice needed be made. But when we look to Cain and Able, we see something different entirely.

Able, obeying God offered the fruit of the flock. But Cain instead attempted to offer the fruit of the ground. He tried to deviate from the proscribed worship of God and offer a bloodless alternative. Now the motives for this offering are never openly stated. Some have assumed that Cain, as a farmer rather than a shepherd, would have found it more difficult to offer a choice lamb as a sacrifice. But whatever the case, he sought to avoid the shedding of blood...he was hesitant to refrain from that reality. Was hesitant...until God rejected his offering. Then all of the sudden, the motives of Cain's heart changed, and the shedding of blood didn't matter any longer. Suddenly, it was perfectly okay to shed blood, even the blood of his own brother, because of his anger. Now the standard was gone.

Do you see how important worship is, and how easily twisted and marred it can become when men try to deviate from God's prescribed methods of performing it? Do you see how personal of an issue it is in our heart of hearts, as beings created for worship (reference the Westminster Shorter Catecism question number one)? Do you see how vitally important it is in God's eyes, when his creation disobeys its created purpose? Once again readers, do you see where we need to go with prayerful supplication?

Everything is Relative...Relatively Speaking

2009-01-18T14:13:00.000-08:00

I had a startling epiphany on Saturday during breakfast/lunch (it was twelve p.m. but I was eating cereal...you decide). Renee Descarte was famous for stating "I think, therefore I am" but I realized with horror yesterday that this is not an appropriate litmus test for existence at all. Macaroni does not think, yet I know for certain that it does indeed exist. When I eat it, it fills me...I feel it doing its job.

...I am left to wonder at the implications of this revelation. What is the proof of existence then? Feeling? Feeling in and of itself doesn't make the cut either, as something like Macaroni does not feel anything. Is it the presence of matter? Well, what about voids and black holes?

Or could it possibly be as simple as the fact that the creation attests to its Creator?

"The teleological argument for God stars from the notion that the world of experience, that is, the world we experience, has an observable purpose to it and .must therefore be the result of an ultimate designer." - R.C. Sproul Defending Your Faith: An Introduction to Apologetics (pg140)

We have purpose...why? Because we were created to glorify and enjoy a holy and eternal God.

Romans 1:20-23
"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things."

An Appology of the Doctrine of Calvinism

2009-01-12T12:39:00.000-08:00

I think it is past time that I wrote this post, though perhaps late is better than never. Over the past few days, I have had opportunity to discuss the concept of Calvinism with several of my Christian friends here on campus, and have done my best to defended its oft disliked principles for those with whom I have have spoken.

This particular article is an attempt at apology for the proper form that this doctrine should take in the light of Scripture.

My friend Sam very graciously forwarded me the following article this morning after an extensive three hour long debate on the issue yesterday afternoon which left both of us refreshed and rejuvenated. I will post the article here:

Mark Driscoll’s sermons are mostly too racy to post on GodTube, the evangelical Christian “family friendly” video-posting Web site. With titles like “Biblical Oral Sex” and “Pleasuring Your Spouse,” his clips do not stand a chance against the site’s content filters. No matter: YouTube is where Driscoll, the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, would rather be. Unsuspecting sinners who type in popular keywords may suddenly find themselves face to face with a husky-voiced preacher in a black skateboarder’s jacket and skull T-shirt. An “Under 17 Requires Adult Permission” warning flashes before the video cuts to evening services at Mars Hill, where an anonymous audience member has just text-messaged a question to the screen onstage: “Pastor Mark, is masturbation a valid form of birth control?”

Driscoll doesn’t miss a beat: “I had one guy quote Ecclesiastes 9:10, which says, ‘Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.’ ” The audience bursts out laughing. Next Pastor Mark is warning them about lust and exalting the confines of marriage, one hand jammed in his jeans pocket while the other waves his Bible. Even the skeptical viewer must admit that whatever Driscoll’s opinion of certain recreational activities, he has the coolest style and foulest mouth of any preacher you’ve ever seen.
Mark Driscoll is American evangelicalism’s bête noire. In little more than a decade, his ministry has grown from a living-room Bible study to a megachurch that draws about 7,600 visitors to seven campuses around Seattle each Sunday, and his books, blogs and podcasts have made him one of the most admired — and reviled — figures among evangelicals nationwide. Conservatives call Driscoll “the cussing pastor” and wish that he’d trade in his fashionably distressed jeans and taste for indie rock for a suit and tie and placid choral arrangements. Liberals wince at his hellfire theology and insistence that women submit to their husbands. But what is new about Driscoll is that he has resurrected a particular strain of fire and brimstone, one that most Americans assume died out with the Puritans: Calvinism, a theology that makes Pat Robertson seem warm and fuzzy.
At a time when the once-vaunted unity of the religious right has eroded and the mainstream media is proclaiming an “evangelical crackup,” Driscoll represents a movement to revamp the style and substance of evangelicalism. With his taste for vintage baseball caps and omnipresence on Facebook and iTunes, Driscoll, who is 38, is on the cutting edge of American pop culture. Yet his message seems radically unfashionable, even un-American: you are not captain of your soul or master of your fate but a depraved worm whose hard work and good deeds will get you nowhere, because God marked you for heaven or condemned you to hell before the beginning of time. Yet a significant number of young people in Seattle — and nationwide — say this is exactly what they want to hear. Calvinism has somehow become cool, and just as startling, this generally bookish creed has fused with a macho ethos. At Mars Hill, members say their favorite movie isn’t “Amazing Grace” or “The Chronicles of Narnia” — it’s “Fight Club.”
Mars Hill Church is the furthest thing from a Puritan meetinghouse. This is Seattle, and Mars Hill epitomizes the city that spawned it. Headquartered in a converted marine supply store, the church is a boxy gray building near the diesel-infused din of the Ballard Bridge. In the lobby one Sunday not long ago, college kids in jeans — some sporting nose rings or kitchen-sink dye jobs — lounged on ottomans and thumbed text messages to their friends. The front desk, black and slick, looked as if it ought to offer lattes rather than Bibles and membership pamphlets. Buzz-cut and tattooed security guards mumbled into their headpieces and directed the crowd toward the auditorium, where the worship band was warming up for an hour of hymns with Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.”
On that Sunday, Driscoll preached for an hour and 10 minutes — nearly three times longer than most pastors. As hip as he looks, his message brooks no compromise with Seattle’s permissive culture. New members can keep their taste in music, their retro T-shirts and their intimidating facial hair, but they had better abandon their feminism, premarital sex and any “modern” interpretations of the Bible. Driscoll is adamantly not the “weepy worship dude” he associates with liberal and mainstream evangelical churches, “singing prom songs to a Jesus who is presented as a wuss who took a beating and spent a lot of time putting product in his long hair.”
The oldest of five, son of a union drywaller, Driscoll was raised Roman Catholic in a rough neighborhood on the outskirts of Seattle. In high school, he met a pretty blond pastor’s daughter named — providentially — Grace. She gave him his first Bible. He read voraciously and was born again at 19. “God talked to me,” Driscoll says. “He told me to marry Grace, preach the Bible, to plant churches and train men.” He married Grace (with whom he now has five children) and, at 25, founded Mars Hill.
God called Driscoll to preach to men — particularly young men — to save them from an American Protestantism that has emasculated Christ and driven men from church pews with praise music that sounds more like boy-band ballads crooned to Jesus than “Onward Christian Soldiers.” What bothers Driscoll — and the growing number of evangelical pastors who agree with him — is not the trope of Jesus-as-lover. After all, St. Paul tells us that the Church is the bride of Christ. What really grates is the portrayal of Jesus as a wimp, or worse. Paintings depict a gentle man embracing children and cuddling lambs. Hymns celebrate his patience and tenderness. The mainstream church, Driscoll has written, has transformed Jesus into “a Richard Simmons, hippie, queer Christ,” a “neutered and limp-wristed popular Sky Fairy of pop culture that . . . would never talk about sin or send anyone to hell.”
This reaction to the “feminization” of the church is not new. “The Lord save us,” declared the evangelist Billy Sunday in 1916, “from off-handed, flabby-cheeked . . . effeminate, ossified, three-carat Christianity.” In 1990 a group of pastors founded the Promise Keepers ministry dedicated to “igniting and uniting men” who were failing their families and abandoning the church. In recent years, mainstream megachurches — the mammoth pacesetters of American evangelicalism that package Christianity for mass consumption — have been criticized for replacing hard-edged Gospel with feminized pablum. According to Ed Stetzer, the director of LifeWay Research, a Southern Baptist religious polling organization, Mars Hill is “a reaction to the atheological, consumer-driven nature of the modern evangelical machine.”
The “modern evangelical machine” is a product of the 1970s and ’80s, when a new generation of business-savvy pastors developed strategies to reach unbelievers turned off by traditional worship and evangelization. Their approach was “seeker sensitive”: upon learning that many people didn’t go in for stained glass and steeples, these pastors made their churches look like shopping malls. Complex theology intimidated the curious, and talk of damnation alienated potential converts — so they played down doctrine in favor of upbeat, practical teachings on the Christian life.
These megachurches, like Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston and Bill Hybels’s Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois, have come to symbolize American evangelicalism. By any quantitative measure they are wildly successful, and their values and methods have diffused into the evangelical bloodstream. Yet some megachurches have begun to admit what critics maintained all along: numbers are not everything. In the fall of 2007, leaders of Willow Creek sent shockwaves through the evangelical world when they announced the results of a study in which churchgoers reported feeling stagnant in their faith and frustrated with slick, program-driven pastors. “As an evangelical, I would say this tells us something,” Stetzer says. “The center is not holding.”
Mars Hill has not entirely dispensed with megachurch marketing tactics. Its success in one of the most liberal and least-churched cities in America depends on being sensitive to the body-pierced and latte-drinking seekers of Seattle. Ultimately, however, Driscoll’s theology means that his congregants’ salvation is not in his hands. It’s not in their own hands, either — this is the heart of Calvinism.
Human beings are totally corrupted by original sin and predestined for heaven or hell, no matter their earthly conduct. We all deserve eternal damnation, but God, in his inscrutable mercy, has granted the grace of salvation to an elect few. While John Calvin’s 16th-century doctrines have deep roots in Christian tradition, they strike many modern evangelicals as nonsensical and even un-Christian. If predestination is true, they argue, then there is no point in missions to the unsaved or in leading a godly life. And some babies who die in infancy — if God placed them among the reprobate — go straight to hell with the rest of the damned, to “glorify his name by their own destruction,” as Calvin wrote. Since the early 19th century, most evangelicals have preferred a theology that stresses the believer’s free decision to accept God’s grace. To be born again is a choice God wants you to make; if you so choose, Jesus will be your personal friend.
Yet Driscoll is not an isolated eccentric. Over the past two decades, preachers in places as far-flung as Minneapolis and Washington, D.C., in denominations ranging from Baptist to Pentecostal, are pushing “this new, aggressive, mission-minded Calvinism that really believes Calvinism is a transcript of the Gospel,” according to Roger Olson, a professor of theology at Baylor University. They have harnessed the Internet to recruit new believers, especially young people. Any curious seeker can find his way into a world of sermon podcasts and treatises by the Protestant Reformers and English Puritans, whose abstruse writings, though far from best-selling, are enjoying something of a renaissance. New converts stay in touch via blogs and Facebook groups with names like “John Calvin Is My Homeboy” and “Calvinism: The Group That Chooses You.”
New Calvinists are still relatively few in number, but that doesn’t bother them: being a persecuted minority proves you are among the elect. They are not “the next big thing” but a protest movement, defying an evangelical mainstream that, they believe, has gone soft on sin and has watered down the Gospel into a glorified self-help program. In part, Calvinism appeals because — like Mars Hill’s music and Driscoll’s frank sermons — the message is raw and disconcerting: seeker insensitive.
Most people who attend Mars Hill do not see themselves as theological radicals. Mark Driscoll is just “Pastor Mark,” not the New Calvinist warrior demonized on evangelical and liberal blogs. Yet while some initially come for mundane reasons — their friends attend; they like the music — the Calvinist theology is often the glue that keeps them in their seats. They call the preaching “authentic” and “true to life.” Traditional evangelical theology falls apart in the face of real tragedy, says the 20-year-old Brett Harris, who runs an evangelical teen blog with his twin brother, Alex. Reducing God to a projection of our own wishes trivializes divine sovereignty and fails to explain how both good and evil have a place in the divine plan. “There are plenty of comfortable people who can say, ‘God’s on my side,’ ” Harris says. “But they couldn’t turn around and say, ‘God gave me cancer.’ ”
Though they believe that God has already mapped out their lives, Calvinists have always been activists. Ye shall know the elect by their fruits, not by their passive acceptance of fate. When it comes to wrestling with life’s challenges, however, they reject the “positive thinking” ethos that Norman Vincent Peale made famous in the 1950s. That philosophy still dominates the Christian self-help market in books like “Your Best Life Now” by Joel Osteen, which promises readers that everything from a Hawaiian vacation house to a beauty-pageant crown is within their grasp if only they “develop a can-do attitude.” Marianne Esterly, a women’s counselor at Mars Hill, says she tries to help women resist the desperation that can come with forgetting that man’s chief end is to glorify God, not to obsess over earthly problems. “They worship the trauma, or the anorexia, and that’s not what they’re designed to worship,” she says. “Christian self-help doesn’t work. We can’t do anything. It’s all the work of Christ.”
Calvinism is a theology predicated on paradox: God has predestined every human being’s actions, yet we are still to blame for our sins; we are totally depraved, yet held to the impossible standard of divine law. These teachings do not jibe with Enlightenment ideas about human capacity, yet they have appealed to a wide range of modern intellectuals, especially those who stressed the dangers of human hubris in the wake of World War I.
Driscoll found his way into this tradition largely on his own. He recently earned a master’s degree through an independent-study program he arranged at a seminary in Portland, Ore. Years ago, paperback reprints of old Puritan treatises in the corner of a local bookstore piqued his interest in Reformation theology. He came to admire Martin Luther, the vulgar, beer-swilling theological rebel who sparked the Reformation. “I found him to be something of a mentor,” Driscoll says. “I didn’t have all the baggage he did. But you can see him with a quill in one hand and a drink in the other. He married a brewer and renegade nun. His story is kind of indie rock.”
Driscoll disdains the prohibitions of traditional evangelical Christianity. Taboos on alcohol, smoking, swearing and violent movies have done much to shape American Protestant culture — a culture that he has called the domain of “chicks and some chickified dudes with limp wrists.” Moreover, the Bible tells him that to seek salvation by self-righteous clean living is to behave like a Pharisee. Unlike fundamentalists who isolate themselves, creating “a separate culture where you live in a Christian cul-de-sac,” as one spiky-haired member named Andrew Pack puts it, Mars Hillians pride themselves on friendships with non-Christians. They tend to be cultural activists who play in rock bands and care about the arts, living out a long Reformed tradition that asserts Christ’s mandate over every corner of creation.
Like many New Calvinists, Driscoll advocates traditional gender roles, called “complementarianism” in theological parlance. Men and women are “equal spiritually, and it’s a difference of functionality, not intrinsic worth,” says Danielle Blazer, a 34-year-old Mars Hill member. Women may work outside the home, but they must submit to their husbands, and they are forbidden from taking on preaching roles in the church.
“It’s only since women have been in church leadership that this backlash has come,” says the Seattle pastor Katie Ladd, a liberal Methodist who holds that declaring Jesus a “masculine dude” subverts the transformative message of the Gospel. But New Calvinists argue that traditional gender roles are true to the Bible, especially the letters of Paul. Moreover, embedded in the notion of Adam as the “federal head” of the human race is the idea of man as head of the home.
Nowhere is the connection between Driscoll’s hypermasculinity and his Calvinist theology clearer than in his refusal to tolerate opposition at Mars Hill. The Reformed tradition’s resistance to compromise and emphasis on the purity of the worshipping community has always contained the seeds of authoritarianism: John Calvin had heretics burned at the stake and made a man who casually criticized him at a dinner party march through the streets of Geneva, kneeling at every intersection to beg forgiveness. Mars Hill is not 16th-century Geneva, but Driscoll has little patience for dissent. In 2007, two elders protested a plan to reorganize the church that, according to critics, consolidated power in the hands of Driscoll and his closest aides. Driscoll told the congregation that he asked advice on how to handle stubborn subordinates from a “mixed martial artist and Ultimate Fighter, good guy” who attends Mars Hill. “His answer was brilliant,” Driscoll reported. “He said, ‘I break their nose.’ ” When one of the renegade elders refused to repent, the church leadership ordered members to shun him. One member complained on an online message board and instantly found his membership privileges suspended. “They are sinning through questioning,” Driscoll preached. John Calvin couldn’t have said it better himself.
Most members, however, didn’t join Mars Hill in order to ask questions. Damon Conklin, who is 41 and runs a tattoo parlor, says he joined Mars Hill because Driscoll made his life make sense — and didn’t ask him to pretend to be someone he wasn’t. “I decided to stop smoking crack and drinking every day,” Conklin says. “I had to find some kind of God in order to do that.” He hated the churches he visited: “I would show up looking as mean as possible, with my Afro blown out, wearing a wife-beater, and then I’d say, ‘Why don’t they like me?’ Then I went to Mars Hill, and I believed Mark.”
Driscoll’s theology “changed how I view women,” Conklin says. He quit going to strip clubs and now refuses to tattoo others with his old specialty, pinup girls (though he still wears two on one arm, souvenirs from earlier, godless days). Mars Hill counts four of the city’s top tattoo artists among its members (and many of their clientele — that afternoon, Conklin was expecting a fellow church member who wanted a portrait of Christ enthroned across his back). While other churches left people like Conklin feeling alienated, Mars Hill has made them its missionaries. “Some people say, ‘You’re pretty cool and you’re a Christian, so I guess I can’t hate all of them anymore,’ ” he says. “I understand where they’re coming from.”
Mars Hill — with its conservative social teachings embedded in guitar solos and drum riffs, its megachurch presence in the heart of bohemian skepticism — thrives on paradox. Critics on the left and right alike predict that this delicate balance of opposites cannot last. Some are skeptical of a church so bent on staying perpetually “hip”: members have only recently begun to marry and have children, but surely those children will grow up, grow too cool for their cool church and rebel. Others say that Driscoll’s ego and taste for controversy will be Mars Hill’s Achilles’ heel. Lately he has made a concerted effort to tone down his language, and he insists that he has delegated much authority, but the heart of his message has not changed. Driscoll is still the one who gazes down upon Mars Hill’s seven congregations most Sundays, his sermons broadcast from the main campus to jumbo-size projection screens around the city. At one suburban campus that I visited, a huge yellow cross dominated center stage — until the projection screen unfurled and Driscoll’s face blocked the cross from view. Driscoll’s New Calvinism underscores a curious fact: the doctrine of total human depravity has always had a funny way of emboldening, rather than humbling, its adherents.

Now, to start off after doing a little research, and having the findings of the research of another forwarded to me, I have yet to find much of the "overtly offensive" materials mentioned by the author of the New York Times article. Rev. Driscol deals with very sensitive issues among his flock, and is perhaps a bit more salty than most other pastors. But as history shows, so was his alleged mentor, Martin Luther. Granted, I do not recommend this approach in administering God's Word myself, or even feel that salty language is an appropriate approach to gaining an audience, even if it is for the sake of sharing the gospel with them, but I would not be as quick to condemn all of what the man is doing for the sake of a few shortcomings.

I also want to quickly point out that John Calvin, John Knox, and Martin Luther, as amazing of theologians as they were, were only men. They were sinful just as you and I are, and their writings were not perfect nor God-breathed in the sense that Scripture was whatsoever. Those who follow their teachings, like myself, simply see Biblical principles in their writings and feel that they had certain good ideas. They are not to be put on par with canonized God-inspired authors whatsoever.

That said, I feel that the article was extremely biased against the overall doctrine of election and Calvinism from the start, and did not portray it fairly. Many people who first hear of the doctrine dismiss it as an unfair and cruel methodology to believe. After all, how could God be mean enough to condemn men to hell simply for the sake of His glory (reference paragraph 13 of the New York Times article)?

To defend this principle I would like to cite Romans 3, 8, and 9, where Paul himself deals with this matter in excessive detail.

Romans 3:23-24
"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

Romans 8:7-8
"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God."

Romans 9:19-24
"You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?"

Notice how Paul anticipates the arguments that would be raised against this doctrinal notion. Now jump back a few verses.

Romans 9:14-16
"What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”^[f] So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy." (emphasis mine)

So if God is Sovereign and our chief end is to glorify Him (see the Westminster Shorter Catechism question number one), then why is it wrong of Him to determine the means by which that glory is executed upon His own creation?

These are not the only verses that deal specifically with the concept of election and predestination by name. Also reference John 17, Ephesians 1, and read carefully the first six chapters of the book of John, paying particular attention to 1:11-13, 3:16-18, 5:21, 6:36-39 and 6:44 (the word "draws in the original Greek literally translates as "dragged")

In the final paragraph of the argument, the author raises the notion that Calvinists tend to take somewhat of an elitist mentality. Unfortunately this can be true. However, it should in no way be so. Simply think about the essence of the argument for a moment. Calvinism, in a very simplified form basically says:

You cannot save yourself based upon anything that you have done or will do, and are utterly defendant upon the grace of God to save you from the wretchedness of your own sin nature.

This should in no way give the followers of this doctrine an elitist mentality whatsoever. It is simply amazing, if true, that God purposed to save any when none of them deserved it whatsoever. This concept is solidified by the following verses:

Ephesians 8:8-9
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

Romans 9:11
"(for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls)," (emphasis mine)

Please take a moment to examine with me the historical background of this "protest movement", as the author put it. She is absolutely correct in labeling it such, but the history of that protest itself is nothing new. Rather, it dates back to the Reformation itself (Reformed...Reformation...see the connection?) with a man named Martin Luther. After time the new testament church became known as the Catholic church, and remained known as such throughout the middle ages. Historically, that is simply all there was in terms of Christianity. But with this centralized church government, came abuses of power, and hence Martin Luther's ninety-five thesis. So now you had Catholics and all of these other people who sided with a man named Luther. So you had Catholics and Lutherans. From Luther branched John Calvin and John Knox. These men then put forth the idea of Calvinism and all of the other various doctrines associated with the reformed faith, such as the regulative principle of worship...etc. And from Calvinism and Lutheranism splintered all of the other micro-denominations that the modern church has come to know today...including those lumped under the banner of "Evangelicalism". So really, reformed methodology has been a concept held by church fathers since the time of Paul, with a slight deviation towards works-based salvation amidst the Roman Catholic church.

So what happened historically that suddenly made everyone question the solidity of the claims of these men. Was it just harder to convert people if they knew that they themselves could do nothing to save themselves? Or did people simply grow tired of the notion of a Sovereign God Who purposes everything "according to His good pleasure"? I urge you to search the Scriptures and your own hearts to see for yourselves.

Romans 8:28-30
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."

Bearing a Heavy Burden

2009-01-07T12:30:00.000-08:00

(Note: I wrote this post at 2am last night, but was unable to post it until now due to an internet outage in the area.)

Matthew 11:29-30 (New King James Version)

29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

I didn't understand this passage fully until now. I didn't realize what this verse meant until I stepped back and looked at life. Notice how it says my burden is easy and my yolk is light. It does not say that there is no burden at all. Rather, it says that that burden is lighter than the burden of sin.

I sit here and contemplate this revelation in the darkness of my dorm room at two in the morning and am left speechless. The burden of being a Christian alone, and living up to the testimony and ministry levels that that calling requires is heavy enough. But I sit here dazed as I add to that burden the weight of what it is to be the godly man, husband, and father that I will someday, Lord willing, be called to be. I think back on everything my father is and has been for me, and realize that I too am going to need to be that for my kids some day, and I just can't imagine it. I think of all that I will need to do to provide for my family, and all that I will need to be for my wife as her godly spouse and I nearly cannot breathe. And then I think yet more and find my mind reeling over what it will be to be a minister if that is God's calling for me, after living in a home under such a calling before and I am stunned.

How can I be all of those things with any relative standard of glory to my Lord? I cannot. I cannot be any of those things apart from His grace. I pray continually...even in these sleepless hours as I toss and turn unable to rest tonight...that God will give me the strength to live up to the challenge and enable me to be all the things that He needs me to be. Because I know all too well just how impossible it would be on my own.

Defense of the Innocent

2008-12-15T20:48:00.000-08:00

I find myself stunned once again by the irony of the extremist agenda, amidst the confusion of a sinful world. I have just returned from viewing the film "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and am somewhat surprised, though perhaps I shouldn’t be, at the lack of logic amidst the subliminal messaging of films such as this one.

Without ruining too much of the movie, please allow me to elaborate on the bare bones of the plot in order to make my case. In essence, an alien comes to our humble blue and green planet in order to convince us to stop destroying it, because it is one of only a handful of worlds capable of sustaining life in the universe. Humanity, being the evil fools that we are portrayed as being, attempt to kill him and stop his plans of destroying us before we even really know what he is trying to do with any certainty because of a slew of jumped conclusions and misinterpreted behaviors. So our little alien friend, portrayed by Keanu Reaves, unleashes the horror of the apocalypse upon our planet after rescuing all of the animal life he can aboard this special sphere things he brought to earth with him, in order to repopulate the earth with good beast-kind.

That, of course, is not how the movie ends, but I think that at this point you should start to see a few key elements that don’t align at all with Scripture’s view of our purpose on this world.

First and foremost, we as humanity were given dominion over the creation at its start (Gen 1:26). So no alien, no matter how “advanced” should have the authority to command us to abstain from doing anything of the sort. Granted, we are called to be good stewards of what the Lord has placed us over, but it is ours and ours alone to care for.

Secondly, I was struck with something that the author Gary North touched upon in his book "UnHoly Spirits". Dr. North spoke of the underlying theme of all such movies of alien invasion, and indeed all such ideologies concerning them. They all boil down to a concept of salvation from above by means of a higher evolution. Some race that has achieved a more utopian existence offers us a chance at a better life through the one which they have achieved…salvation by means of secret knowledge. Of course this ideology has existed for centuries under the name of Gnosticism, and is as old as sin itself.

Thirdly, I always find it unfathomable how people, particularly radical environmentalists, see the salvation of animal life as a noble quest, while many of these very same people condone abortion. I simply cannot understand how a quest for animal rights, which boils down to a desire to protect that which cannot protect itself, is any different from protecting the lives of infants. Or how we can somehow have the power to choose to kill a baby in the name of convenience, but not choose to kill an animal in the name of survival.

At any rate, the movie wasn’t bad, it was just guided by a false set of rules with very odd logic behind them. But as I said before, this really shouldn’t surprise me:

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile, there is no one who does good.” – Psalm 14:1

A Broad Path Indeed

2008-10-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last couple of days in a state of deep disturbance concerning the above video, wondering how many individuals will be lead astray by the dangers of games such as this one in the coming three months.

The particular industry that created that little jewel prides itself on the vast extent of actions that the player can perform in the game world. These actions include such things as sword fighting, archery, and conversation, and extend all the way to theft, witchcraft, and even polygamy…you heard me right, polygamy. Play your cards right and you can allow your character to marry multiple women…and if they discover that they are not your only wife sparks will fly! But fear not, you can just use one of your multiple invisibility spells to escape her retribution…

Brothers and sisters why do we encourage the use of such tools?! Why do we allow ourselves, our friends, and our families to participate in simulations of actions that God has very strictly prohibited?

As I slowly worked my way back to normalcy by God’s grace after He instilled in me the will and desire to leave behind my interest in fantasy games such as this one, and indeed even as I worked through simply developing that will to begin with, I realized several important facts about fantasy as a general rule. They are subtle, but then again so are most of the tools that Satan uses to lure away God’s people from serving Him.

Primarily, most fantasy worlds are places that we desire to escape to on to some degree or another. Either we see the people and places as “cool”, or we are simply dissatisfied with our current existence here in this life and want an alternate world to run to. This alone can be a problem, since when we are under oppression we are called to flee not to a made up world, but into the arms of our God.

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.” – James 5:13

And this concept is particularly true given the next factor of fantasy worlds, and that is that as a general rule most fantasy worlds are places where God as the True Living God is neither the Creator nor the Supreme Ruler. In many a pantheon of false deities created the world, if its origin is mentioned at all. For the most part, however, the author/game designer will touch upon the religious principles governing the world, because in order for it to fully work as a fantasy universe it must be bound by a set of supernatural laws that allow the characters within it to perform magic. Without this elemental and underlying principle, fantasy itself ceases to be fantasy…I have never understood why… it simply does.

Next, fantasy offers us a chance to guide our own moral actions apart from the sovereignty of an imposed moral code. Much like plastic surgery, fantasy offers the user the opportunity to look and behave differently than they ordinarily do. With this newfound liberation comes the opportunity to create one’s own moral standard. In every single fantasy that I have ever read or played with the exception of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings the characters did what they wanted when they wanted to because they could. Without the Lord of Hosts as the ruler, there is no consistent moral standard, and cannot be a consistent moral standard to guide one’s actions. In fact, the very nature of existence itself on any level cannot be fulfilled if one cannot “Glorify God and enjoy Him forever”.

Along that line, fantasy allows the player to perform more specifically evil acts such as the open practice of witchcraft, and sets forth those patterns of behavior as the accepted social standard in the world at hand. Even in the Lord of the Rings, Gandalf was a perfectly accepted and even somewhat messianic symbol, though he was a practicing wizard. Notice the simplicity and strength of Deuteronomy on this topic.

“When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you.”

On the other side of this issue please note that I am not suggesting that we start writing Christian fantasy that somehow attempts to fit God into worlds that we in reality have created ourselves. Not at all! Rather I feel that such an action would be adding to creation, and thus the fundamental message of Scripture itself, that God came and died in this world for humanity alone. I do not recommend writing about how he also came to Fakeland and died for elf-kind, dwarf-kind, and all other manner of made up beings. To do so would be to mock creation and the design of God Himself who purposed salvation as He did for a reason, and established man himself as the created head of the rest of his design.

Rather readers, I urge you to be content with where God has placed you, and instead of seeking an escape, seek His glory in all situations that you find yourselves in.

The Underground

2008-08-31T15:29:00.000-07:00

Berea Kentucky is a massive mission field. After being here for less than a full week, I’m already overwhelmed, stressed, and have had my faith challenged by several means…but I’m having the time of my life because of it.

For years I have wanted to be a part of what I like to call “the Christian underground”. Now I finally get to live that dream. I am a follower of God in a place where that is not an accepted practice. But by God’s grace I’m not alone. He has already introduced me to others who claim the faith, brothers and sisters who hold dear the same fundamental principles that I do. We may disagree on a few doctrinal points, but we can all come together on the common ground of Christ’s atoning work. Once again He has made provision when I least expected it. Once again I am the fool for not simply trusting in Him from the start.

Starting this afternoon a few of my fellow students and I began what we hope to be the first of a course of prayer meetings and/or Bible studies where those of us who claim faith can meet to encourage and uplift one another. At this point in time we number less than a dozen, but we hope to increase that number by God’s grace, if He so wills to use us thus.

We have agreed to meet in relatively public places, not that we may pray to be seen, but rather that those who are afraid to speak of their faith at this point may feel more welcome to simply come and join in. With hope, should we start an actual Bible study, others who do not claim the faith will overhear God’s Word being read as well.

We must seek to strike a balance between sharing our faith openly (Matthew 5:15), and not losing our credibility by beating everyone over the head with our Bibles (Matt 5:5). So please keep us in prayer. Pray that we would be salt and light. Pray that we would remain steadfast when literally everyone around us is living in sin and inviting us to participate with them. Pray that we would remain respectful and resolute when people harass out faith. Pray for us…we are the Christian Underground.

Safety First

2008-08-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

Let me start this off with a disclaimer. Though it is nothing too horribly off color for those over the age of maybe sixteen or so, this topic does touch upon some adult contentof the nature that you may not wish to explain to young children just yet...so choose caution in reading it aloud.

Things have been absolutely nuts around here...I mean insane. I finally got down to Kentucky and established here in Berea to start my new life as a college student, and all the good stuff that comes with that pursuit.

Sadly though, there's a lot of garbage that comes with that role as well. There's temptation to sin all around from things that peers are doing, to my own twisted and sinful creativity. I truly need no help to sin...

But what really struck me this week is something that happened as I was going through the whole "registration" process that comes with move-in day here on campus. After unloading my stuff with the help of the AMAZING Berea student staff who made it all go so fast, I went down with my dad to activate my "CPO" or "Central Post Office" box.

I had a little trouble getting the stupid thing open, given the fact that I was home schooled and had no prior locker experience. But once I finally cracked the combination in the right order and I removed the mail inside, I was pleasantly surprised to find additional items inside...at least at first.

The items were relatively small and individually-wrapped, so naturally I assumed they were some kind of hard candy. I said just so to my dad as I removed them, but he very quickly corrected me.
"Um, Ben...those aren't candies...those are condoms."

I immediately turned red with embarrasment, which quickly turned to rage. The college had just given me a free licence to sleep around with my future classmates. After quickly desposing of the items I started talking to my dad about how wrong the whole concept was. We agreed that in essense they were saying, "Well, they're going to do it anyway, so we might as well make it safe", but when you think about it, aren't they really saying "hope you get lucky this week"? And even more t han that, aren't they saying "not only that...go be permiscuous...hope you get lucky twice!"

I was quick to explain that the logic behind that idea would be much the same as giving all incoming students an extensive list of pornographic sites "to avoid". In sinful man does such an action prevent trouble, or merely enable it?

What a tragedy that such a policy exists, but particularly so in a college that labels itself as "Christian".

Praise of the Saints

2008-08-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

Just last week I had the distinct privilege of attending an evening worship service held at the RP Home (a nursing facility for members of my denomination) where my dad was scheduled to preach.

To start things off we arrived an hour too early. I hunkered down, pulled out my Bible and prepared to spend the upcoming hour preparing my heart for worship (a practice, which to my great shame, I was dreading at the time). But lo and behold, we were soon joined in fellowship by a few unexpected residents who noticed us sitting alone and came to see what we were doing.

Time flew from that point onward, which really shouldn't have surprised me given how wonderful and edifying my trip to the Home was last summer while I attended TFY. The fellowship was deep and the company very amiable. It was a joy to experience.

But as my dad started the service I noticed something even more amazing. It really seemed to catch my attention during the congregational prayer, as numerous voices gave verbal and genuine agreement to what was being lifted before the Lord by way of a hearty grunt of approval, or a warm "amen". What I discovered was that these people were actually enthusiastic about their prayer!

I had made the mistaken assumption that because they were elderly, they would somehow be a dull crowd, barely able to stay awake past their six o'clock bed times. But to my shock they were more alert and responsive than I was being!

But it didn't end there. When the psalms were sung, though they were off key a few times, the emotion driving them was far more sincere than I have heard in a very long time. The experience of lives spent in service to our Lord and Savior in the deepest devotion rang out through the words of the psalmist...and thus, through the Great Psalmist Himself. It was truly a sight and sound to behold.

What I have taken from that very brief experience is a conviction that my own generation needs to be far more vocal in our own praise...and far more sincere. Truly, we do not have the experience of full lives lived in an attempt to fulfill our chief end of glorifying God by His grace, but we do have the advantage of youth and can surely muster more praise and enthusiasm in our worship by making use of that energy and the zeal that it affords.

Once again, I am dumb-struck by the simple wonder of just how much we can learn from those who have lived before us. Praise be to the God who created our fathers, and our fathers' fathers to give us a godly example to follow throughout the years.

Surender

2008-08-02T13:41:00.001-07:00

God used some things to really convict me the other day about my need to rely on Him more and more in all areas of my life. I have always had difficulty just blindly relying on His providence, and I realized how selfish that is.

In merely the past year, He has given me a full ride scholarship to a college that simply brims with opportunities for unique educational, extracurricular, and most importantly ministerial endeavors.

But in addition to that, he has blessed me with incredible friendships, some that were established long ago and have simply blossomed anew, and some that have just started but have already shown their worth, and other that never stopped, but have seemingly always been from years and years ago.

He has given me the safety of a roof over my head, safe food and water, and a safe place to worship...commodities that are oft taken for granted, but can be very difficult to attain in other countries.

And many, many, many other things that I have not time nor space to list.

It really struck me though as I considered all of that just how foolish I was to ever doubt His providence. So many times, I have counseled others to trust in His provision, while I myself tried to "take the necessary steps" to ensure my own happiness or well-being, lest God not do it "how I wanted it done". And in every single situation the outcome that He established, was always far better than anything I could have fabricated or wanted accomplished myself.

It is so true that hind-sight is always twenty-twenty.

So I will now, more than ever before, seek to retain the caution of Philippians 4:6-7:
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Particularly now, as I enter a stage of my life that is completely foreign and unknown, where many important parts of the course that the rest of my life will take will be established. So I ask you brothers and sisters, to please pray for me that I may learn to increasingly surrender my life to the One Who had all control to begin with and deserves all control to the end.

Harmony

2008-06-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

After having some time to think this past weekend while down in the south once again, I was finally able to solidify my own opinion on a theological issue that has eluded me for years and years: the use of instruments in worship.

After worship yesterday at a church which made use of instruments during their service, I found myself wondering just why exactly I felt that their use was inappropriate. I knew from early childhood that the answer had something to do with Old Testament worship, much like the issue of exclusive psalmody did. So I started thinking about just what Old Testament worship was, and what it stood for.

If we look at Old Testament worship, from animal sacrifices through the use of incense and even the use of instruments we will observe that all of the worship practices of that day had one element in common. They all revolved around one's senses. But more importantly than that, they all caused one's senses to picture something that was to come...that is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. They were all pieces of an infinitely larger portrait.

They were all a foreshadow of Christ's coming. So once He came, the things that pointed to that event became obsolete. But what happened after Christ's coming was that Christianity as a whole, particularly the converted Jews, still wanted certain elements of the worship practice (things that had been implemented for centuries upon centuries of their history) to remain in use for the sake of tradition.

As we all learn early on in life, change comes hard to all of us...

The books of Hebrews and James were both written to those who wished the practices of the Old Covenant (the agreement concerning worship that God made with his people before the coming of Christ) to continue. In those books the people of God are told that to attempt to continue on with those practices was an insult to God, since Jesus already fulfilled them. Why wish for what was merely a symbol, when the very thing that it symbolized has been given to you in full?

Now, since the use of instruments in worship was a part of this Old Covenant practice, it falls among the same category of activities. Why wish to use what merely symbolized Christ, now that he has already come?

Thoughts? Additional arguments? Counter-arguments?

Kiss the Son

2008-06-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

I have always been amazed by the wonder of God's creation, and the extent to which that work reflects the wonderful attributes of the One who made it, to the point that it cannot even be questioned when one is honest with oneself. (Romans 1:20)

I was privileged enough to witness just such a display a few days ago during our family trip down to Kentucky for my orientation at Berea College. We decided that after the actual orientation concluded we would take the following day to go and explore some of the local sites and sounds, and get a taste of Kentucky's rich history in the beautiful surrounding area.

During our ventures we watched as a storm developed on the horizon. For a few moments, the skies appeared to open up and rain fell in sheets, lashing across the windshield with tremendous force. Then all was quiet for a moment, and a majestic rainbow formed. What was even more incredible though was the fact that we drove right next to the end of said rainbow as it rested in a field no more than fifty yards away from the car. It was the second time in my life that I have been so near to the physical end of the rainbow (But still no gold...hmm. I must always be at the wrong end).

But the peace was not to last...after a few more moments the rain started afresh and came coupled with incredibly strong winds and lightning. At one point during this onslaught, a bolt of lightning struck the open ground a few hundred feet from our car. Seeing as we could no longer see from the windshield as the rain seemed to be literally "sucked" across the car and toward the center of the storm horizontally, and the fact that several deep flood pools were quickly developing on the back roads beneath our very tires, we decided to pull over and wait for a break in the weather. During this pause we took time to pray for our safety and thank the Lord for keeping us safe up to that point, despite the dangers we had encountered such as flying debris and opposing traffic on the narrow country roads with such limited visibility.

To conclude a long story, the storm continued to rage for the rest of the day, even after we decided to continue our journey back to the hotel, but I was nonetheless impressed with the order in the midst of such chaos. God's immense yet harnessed power was so evident as the lighting flashed and the wind screamed its warnings of the wrath and power of it's awesome Master.

But what really drove the message home later was a verse that I encountered from 2 Peter 3:10-13 about the Day of the Lord.

"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness."

One of the laws of chemistry that we learned during my last semester of high school was that matter cannot be created or destroyed, it can only change forms. What amazed me about this scientific law is that when taken in conjunction with this verse, one can see the awesome power of the Creator. It makes perfect sense that only He who created matter itself would have the power to destroy it when the time came to do so...that power does not rest in the hands of that which was also created, namely man. How amazing then is God's power, and how terrifying the wrath of one who can create enough heat to melt the very elements themselves...?

"Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him." (Psalm 2:12)

Fearless

2008-05-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

Fear is an interesting emotion. It can drive us as humans to do great or terrible things, it can make us act on pure instinct seemingly without any logical thought at all, or it can make us act in perfect obedience within the bounds of strict discipline.

Biblically, we are called to fear the Lord, in terms of our respect and just general awe of His awesome power. We are told that that particular brand of fear yields good benefits for the believer.

Proverbs 1:7:
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise."

But there is a kind of fear that we are warned against, and that is the outworking of fruitless worry. That kind of fear yields nothing but trouble for the one in bondage to it. I heard a humorous paraphrase (I am very fond of sarcasm, for those of you who have never met me lol) of the following passage, that I fully intend to have framed and displayed in my dorm at college this coming Fall. It read, "Why pray when you could worry?"

Philippians 4:6
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

What I have noticed over the recent past, and especially in the aftermath of my brush with the occult last year in particular, is that by God's grace I no longer fear death as I once did. Rather, I have felt calm or even happy in response to threatening situations. What surprises me is how we as humans do not generally fear the afterlife itself, but rather fear our departure from this life. Have you ever noticed this phenomenon?

I truly have met some who fear the endlessness of eternity, some for fear of the "unknown" from the vantage point of lives lived without Christ, and others the sheer scope of such a vast amount of literally incomprehensible time, but if we really step back and examine our fear of death, I think we will notice that nine times out of ten we fear leaving the shallow and temporary existences we have on this planet more than we fear what comes after our departure. I have even met those who claimed to have never really given eternity a second thought. They just assumed that this life was all there was, and that death would unite them with an endless emptiness.

We can even find ourselves, if you are anything like me, fearing some temporary effect or ailment that we might suffer here on this planet more than the status of our timeless existence after death. To name a few examples, have you ever felt a fear of suddenly loosing your sight, or a hand, or your ability to hear, perhaps the loss of wealth, or some other such meager part of your earthly existence, while we continue to sin without much thought at all as to the implications that those acts hold in terms of our eternal lives (NOTE: I am not preaching works-based salvation here, but we are told to store treasures for ourselves up in heaven).

Matthew 6:19-20
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."

Perhaps this lack of fear over eternity for the believer is due to the assurance that we as the elect chosen of God have in our ultimate destination. But perhaps the over confident side of that promise can be as much of a stumbling block at times, as in can be a comfort. Perhaps it can lead to undue pride and self-righteousness, and cause us to take for granted just how much of a gift it truly is, and our God given responsibility to walk uprightly by following His commandments, and not simply looking at it as "God has already chosen me, therefore I can sin all I want since He doesn't ever change His mind". We are still called to strive to be sinless by God's grace, and speaking from experience that is a concept that can easily be lost under the constant crushing burden of sinful lives lived daily. But still that is and must always be the goal.

1 John 2:1
"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One."

We are called as believers, to have confidence in our callings. I'm not saying that we shouldn't...rather, I'm saying that we must guard against undue pride or bad attitudes that may stem from the confidence that we should feel. Notice the word "hope" in this passage from Peter. The implication is that we truly do have something to be "hopeful" about...and that is eternal life in heaven by God's sovereign grace.

1 Peter 3:15
"--but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;"

Oh that we may be thankful every single day that that is truly the case, and that we are not left to the damnation that is our reward both here in this life, and in the one to come! Praise be to God that we may live our lives free from the fear of our own rightful reward were it not for the intervening power of Jesus Christ! Soli deo gloria.

Make a Joyful Noise

2008-04-23T09:32:00.000-07:00

Well many of you who read this blog already know of my position on this topic, and some of you even agree with me about it, but the Lord has really been impressing the importance of this issue on my heart lately, as He always seems to do after I get to enjoy fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ at retreats as I had the pleasure of doing this last weekend. The issue is exclusive psalmody.

I was really stricken by something that was prayed aloud during a conversational prayer that I had the privilege participating in during the Gethsemane Challenge. Oh, before I go on further I'd probably better explain what the Gethsemane Challenge is for those of you who don't know. Basically, it is a weekend of fasting and prayer devoted to the purpose of growing closer to Christ in our walks with Him. It is a very difficult, but spiritually edifying experience.

So to paraphrase what I heard, "thank you Lord, for giving us the Psalms to sing, which we know are safe" and I was amazed at how accurately that thanksgiving summed up the issue of exclusive psalmody.

Truly when you think about it, what alternative is better than the Divine inspired Word of God? Our worship will always be tainted, because we in nature are fallen creatures, but when we sing the Psalms we are given the opportunity to offer a perfect and holy God something that he created holy and perfect to begin with...and that He in fact created for use as such.

Now I have heard it remarked that that is all well and good, but that if you follow that argument through to its logical conclusion, one inevitably reaches the point where all of the Word should be sung in corporate worship. But let's examine the book of Psalms for a moment. What is it at heart?

Primarily it is a book poetry, but it is more than that too...it is a book of poetry put to music. But the other unique feature of it is that it contains a summary of the entire message of Scripture throughout it's course. It has been made to be sung in praise to God.

James 5:13:
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.

(Notice: the word "psalms" is used in the New King James version quoted above...other translations use "songs of praise" from the Greek root "psalmos")

On that note, another argument against exclusive psalmody that has been brought before me is that the name of Jesus Himself is not expressly used within the book's course, because God had not taken on the flesh at that point in history. This is true. But examine with me the 22nd chapter briefly:

Psalm 22:1-31
1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.4 In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.5 To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;8 He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.10
On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God.11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.12 Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me;13 they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—17 I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me;18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!20
Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!21 Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!22 I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!24 For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever!27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.28 For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive.30 Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

Now cross reference that with the account of Christ's death in Mark 15:

Mark 15:17-37
17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him. 21 And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, The King of the Jews. 27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. 29 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross! 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe. Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. 33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? which means, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, Behold, he is calling Elijah. 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down. 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.

The parallel is clearly seen. So even in this ancient book, written long before the death of Christ, His crucifixion is referenced.

So again, why would we sing anything else in our worship, when God has already provided for us something better?

A Long Road Ahead

2008-04-08T17:22:00.001-07:00

Alright, today was a historic landmark in my life as a musician. I was officially paid for my first gig. It all started after I got my wisdom teeth pulled this morning. I was made to take a drug that makes you really really tired, but I did not need to sleep for more than three hours after the surgery. And after a full day of doing nothing but laying around watching movies, I was really fidgety. So when I got wind that my dad was taking my little brother down to the park for an hour or so, I jumped on the opportunity to gather a little guitar practice while we were down there.

So once we arrived, I found a bench away from all of the other poor individuals who were about to be exposed to my practices session against their will, and made myself comfortable.

I started off playing a sweet and simple blues riff that I learned from a dvd that I was given by my grandparents, and was really having a good time with it when this group of about ten eight to twelve year olds wandered over and clustered around me.

My first thought was "oh no, their moms are going to think I'm like a predator of something trying to lure these kids over to kidnap one of them", but I kept on playing anyway and just kinda pretended that they weren't there. After a minute one of the kids moved in and handed something to me. He had a big grin on his face and gladly exclaimed "You're really good!" then ran away followed by his compatriots just as quickly as they had come. I looked down at my hand to discover a quarter. lol.

I was so blown away, I couldn't even call after the kid to give him watch his coin. Then my younger brother Sam came over, saw my quarter sitting on my guitar case, and claimed it for his own before running off again. So I guess in typical musical fashion, I lost it as quickly as I made it. lol. Easy come easy go...

True or False

2008-03-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

Well, this thought occurred to me a long long time ago, but it has taken me this long to actually sit down and write about it (big surprise there, right? lol). It was brought back to mind a few weeks ago, so I will try to present it to you now. Basically, during the worship service, Pastor Scavo was speaking about faith without works, and as he worked through the second chapter of James. The following verse really stuck out to me:

James 2:25
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?

But, in order to understand my quandary, I ask that you please read the following passage:

Joshua 2:1-7
1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute [a] named Rahab and stayed there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, "Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land." 3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land."

4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them." 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.

Now, notice here that Rahab tells a direct lie to the guards when they come to inquire about the spies, and in James 2 is hailed as "righteous" for this very deed. So what that got me wondering is, under extreme circumstances, is it ever acceptable to lie for the sake of others? And that of course begs the question of how do you define "extreme circumstances"? Would those be times of war? Persecution (consider the Hebrew Midwives of Exodus 1)? Just where is the line drawn?

My mind immediately went to Nazi Germany. I imagined myself answering the door while Jewish refugees hid somewhere in the back of the house. Would it be considered righteous to mislead those Nazi soldiers for the sake of protecting the lives of those hiding behind me? There are so many stories of the Lord protecting people in that terrible period of history when the guardians of those refugees refused to deny Christ by lying. But could they have really been working too hard to do something that isn't considered to be a sin under those circumstances?

I have often struggled with this question, and have never really been able to come up with a good answer. The best solution that I can come to terms with, but cannot seem to find Scripture directly stating it this way is, if the life of an innocent (in very broad terms...as a die-hard Calvinist, I don't believe that any of us are truly innocent) can be protected, it is probably justified to lie in order to protect that life. But I could be, and wouldn't be surprised to find, that I am wrong. So please fill me in on your personal thoughts and convictions concerning this difficult matter.

Motives of the Damned

2008-03-10T17:28:00.000-07:00

An interesting question was raised amidst the elders of my church after the sermon yesterday, that greatly aroused my interests. The passage in question was Luke 16:19-31 which reads:

19 There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us. 27 And he said, Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 But Abraham said, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. 31 He said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.

Now, if you look carefully at the passage (verse 28) you might notice that the rich man seems to be suggesting that a messenger be sent to warn his five brothers out of sheer selflessness...but consider that notion from a Calvinistic perspective for a moment. If the man is in Hell, that means that he is completely given over to God's wrath, while all of God's grace is removed from him. In short, he is totally depraved and given over to his own sinfulness for an eternity of punishment.

If this is the case, then how can he be appearing to act so selflessly? Wouldn't he only be concerned for his own well-being? Otherwise, he would only be mostly-depraved (MULIP doesn't have the quite the same ring as TULIP...lol).

Several possibilities were offered as potential solutions to this dilemma, which I will share below, but the authors of these theories shall remain anonymous. I will not further one above the other and are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Rather I will share them with you in order that you may form your own opinions on the matter, which I encourage you to share below.

The first theory was that being a parable, the details themselves couldn't be pushed too far. Thus trying to assign motives to his request was not the point of the message.

The next theory was that though the rich man was in Hell, he was still an image-bearer of God, as all men are (Gen 1:26) and that as such, no matter how completely given over to sin he would be, the image of his Creator would still be evident within him...even if it would like trying to view objects through a wall made up of cinder blocks. The image would still be there...just incredibly twisted and marred.

Finally it was suggested that perhaps the rich man was suggesting that his brothers be spared from the coming wrath that they might offer him (perhaps the oldest brother of the five?) some refreshment since Abraham and Lazarus would not. His thinking may have run along the lines of "surely they would not deny me".

At any rate, it is an interesting matter to consider, and I would be greatly interested to learn your own interpretations of this passage, if you would be willing to share them.

Intelligent Design

2008-01-04T09:12:00.000-08:00

I've been amazed over the last year or so, but even more so over the last few weeks, as I look at the world around me, and see just how evident intelligent design is. The world literally screams "God made me!", and even some non-believers that I've spoken to recently are aware of this fact, though they try desperately to cover it up.

I had an opportunity last Spring to go on a canoe trip for a week, and got to see first had just how organized creation is. Every tree, every rock, every cataract was placed just exactly where it was supposed to be for the benefit of the whole. Even down to the fallen pine tree that served as a chew-toy for the roving porcupines that snuck into camp late one night.

It has also been breath-taking to simply look into the starry sky on these cold nights, usually around midnight when I take the dog out one last time, and see the size, order, and just sheer power of God's being. The One Who made it, is even bigger than the creation...even more beautiful, even more breath-taking and glorious. If the creation is so awesome...just imagine what heaven will be like, in the presence of Creator Himself. There aren't even words to describe it...

In the end, I am always reminded of Romans 1:20-23
"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because although they knew God, the did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, the became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man-and birds and four footed animals and creeping things."

We really are without excuse, and we should be thankful every day, that a loving God put so much thought into designing a world that could sustain us like it does. I even read in my chemistry book the other day, that if we look at the atom closely, we will see that it is only able to maintain itself because the electrons and protons composing it have opposite electrical charges. That is what keeps the electrons tethered to the atom. But if these charges were not precisely balanced, (their charges would only have to be unbalanced by literally 0.00000001%) calculations indicate that all of the atoms within our bodies would instantly explode. Think about that for a minute...how could that have happened by chance? Imagine the probability of that just "happening". Even if you chalk it up to luck, that seems like an awful lot of luck to be outworked at once...doesn't it?

And if intelligent design is confirmed merely by the existence of the world, and God put that much effort into creating it to sustain us, then no man has any right to call Him "unfeeling" or "unloving". If He didn't care, we wouldn't exist.

Truly we serve an awesome God...

Predestination and Sovereignty

2007-10-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

The Lord has been leading me to spend a lot of time in thought about His sovereignty is accordance with His will and predestination. If you pause to think about it, the fact that God is sovereign over all things, including sin, and predestined all things as well, would at first sight appear to indicate that God Himself causes us to sin.

But after lots of careful study, I realized that this is not so. Now, with our limited human minds we cannot comprehend all of the details of how this can be so, but we can at least understand the concept of why it is.

Rom. 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

However Scripture, which we have hopefully all believe to be true (otherwise we have a problem), is very clear that even though God is sovereign over everything and predestined all, we are still held accountable for our own deeds because we are acting in accordance with our own sinful natures.

Eph. 1:11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

James 1:13, 14, 17 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed...Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

But we are also told that He can harden the hearts of those He wills.

Rom. 9:15,18 For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion."...Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

It is interesting to note, that God is not making us sin against our wills, it is not in His nature to do so...rather He is simply allowing us to act in accordance with our own wills.

1 Kings 22:22-23 The LORD said to him, 'In what way?' So he said, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And the LORD said, 'You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.' 23 "Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you."

In this passage, God allows the lying spirit to go out and deceive the nations. The lying spirit is performing the evil deed, not God, but God is allowing it of His own perfect will. Where this concept is very profound is in the following two passages.

2 Sam. 24:1 Again the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel , and He moved David against them to say, "Go, number Israel and Judah ."

1 Chron. 21:1 Now Satan stood up against Israel , and moved David to number Israel .

Now it is important to remember the context of these passages before we examine all that is implied by them. David was tempted to number Israel, but God forbid it lest David put his faith in the number of his armies rather than the God of heaven who determines that outcome of all battles. But in the first passage, it says that the Lord moved David to commit the deed. But in the very next passage it says that Satan did. So what does that mean? Is the Bible contradictory? Not at all! Rather, God is allowing David to sin by allowing Satan to tempt him. There is no sin on God's part.

I hope this has not been too confusing to you, and it is an issue that has thrown off a lot of people over the history of the church, but I hope it does not do so now. I will seek to answer any questions you may have to the best of my ability, and seek the answers for those that I do not know answers to myself. I would also welcome you to share your own thoughts on the matter for open discussion.

There are literally dozens of other passages in Scripture that support this concept, and I do not have time to list them all, but if you are interested in further reading on the matter, please provide your email address and I will forward to you an email that my father sent me when I was inquiring of him about it and it will definitely help clear things up.

Blind Prayer

2007-10-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about prayer recently, and had an opportunity to talk about it with a brother in Christ a couple of Sunday's ago over lunch. In the conversation we delved into the very nature and focus of prayer itself, especially how it should be framed when praying for those who are not saved, whether they be strangers that we are witnessing to on the streets, or people in our own families who have not been redeemed.

One of the big revelations for me, and a very convicting one at that, was the fact that when we are praying for the salvation of a family member (this is not necessarily true when we are praying for a stranger) our prayers have a tendency to become focused on their salvation for our own sakes (because we love them and don't want them to go to hell). But the tendency of these prayers is to ask that God would change His plans and bring them into His plan of salvation somehow anyway. What we need to remember, as difficult as it can be, is that God NEVER EVER changes His plans. They have been established from before the very foundation of time, and He is not going to change them...that is not in His nature. We also need to remember that if He does not intend to save them, their judgment is just as much in accordance with his will and glorification as might be their salvation.

I know that that concept may be very objectionable to some of you and so I want to be sensitive. The root of that objection you may be feeling stems from a concept relating to God's sovereignty in relation to predestination and the nature of sin, something that I hope some day soon to deal with on this very blog, but that will take up a whole different post some other time.

For now, I have completely altered my method of praying for those not saved, and was incredibly humbled, though not terribly surprised, by the fact that even my attempts to pray for something I felt was in accordance with God's will was tainted by the effects of my own selfishness. I allowed greed and pride to cloud my vision of God's plan, and even asked for something that may very well be outside of God's will without any consideration to the fact. Think of that for a moment, every time I prayed for the salvation of a loved one I was insulting God Himself by asking Him to act contrary to His own nature.

Brothers and sisters, be alert lest you too fall into the same snare in your own prayer lives as I did.

Food for Thought

2007-09-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

I was thinking today about the sin of gluttony, and wondering just what the nature of that seemly most abstract of sins was. We do not often think (at least, not if you are like me) about this particular sin, because it is not mentioned often in the Bible. It is not even listed directly among the ten commandments. So I started asking myself why it was a sin in the first place...well, other than the fact that God has decreed that it is.

In the past, and I suppose presently to some extent, it has been a sin that has affected me greatly. Only one short year ago I allowed myself to gain a lot of weight, and at one point I even peaked three hundred pounds. So I started envisioning exactly what I thought and experienced whenever I allowed myself to eat in excess. Then I realized suddenly that the very concept of "allowing myself" to eat that way summed up the very nature of gluttony. It is a sin of jealousy ...we allow ourselves to covet it. This is pure greed. Wanting more than what our bodies need, even after our stomachs...organs designed by our Heavenly Father to serve our bodies...tell us that we should stop.

I also realized that the Bible speaks about gluttony in somewhat more subtle terms in a few other places in Scripture.

NKJ 1 Corinthians 6:19 "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?"

NKJ Proverbs 26:15 "The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth."

I was convicted greatly by these passages, that exercise itself is commanded in Scripture. The "lazy man" buries his hand in the bowl. Especially by the concept that our bodies themselves are temples of the Holy Sprit...I realized that my temple was full of trash.

So I decided to do something about it. I started working out, no diet pills, no special "no carb" diets, just good old fashioned exercise coupled with eating less food only when I was hungry and stopping when I was full. I say this not to brag, but because I really believe now that simple exercise and decreasing food intake is the Biblical mandate for weight loss. Why do I think that? Becuase really, when you think about it, exercise also prepares our bodies to work more efficiently...and work is another concept that is clearly mandated in Scripture.

NKJ Genesis 4:12 "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you."

Not only does this passage indicate that it is a matter of "when" on "if" we shall work, but that when we do, that work will be difficult to accomplish. So in my opinion, what is the best way to prepare for physical service to the kingdom? With a good solid training program...and enough will power to resist eating when we don't need to.

But those are just my thoughts...what are yours?

A Dog-Eat-Dog World

2007-08-26T06:29:00.000-07:00

I've been a little surprised as I've been reading the newspaper and watching the news over the last few weeks to hear all of the outrage over Michael Vick's dogfighting charges. I'm not surprised necessarily that their is such a hubub...dogfighitng is a cruel and inhumane sport.

Rather, what surprises me so much is the fact that our federal court system and media sources are making such a big deal out of just how "cruel and reprehensible" it is, while a blind eye is still turned to the issue of abortion.

I wonder why our society views the killing of animals a higher crime than the killing of babies? Why is the soul-less life of a beast more highly valued than the living soul of a child? And what does this mean for our country's future, if something is not done?

Now as I said before, I find dogfighting to be cruel...I'm not trying to say that it's not. What I am trying to demonstrate is that the life of a human should be valued much more highly than the life of an animal.

So what can we do to bring about effective change in this realm of government, to bring things back to the Biblical standard?

I am amazed at the irony. Men love sin, and hate Christ. So anyone who attempts to reform the government will be hated, and most likely have all or most of their work undone as soon as they leave office, since their following will not like the effective changes they may bring about for the good of those same men. But there is hope...

"And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved." - Matt 10:22 (NKJV)

Fantasy...Good or Bad?

2007-08-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

Alright, I'm not going to lie. I love fantasy...especially medieval-style fantasy. But is such fantasy something that a professing Christian should be taking part in?

So much of the genre is corrupted by gnostic teachings (the pursuit of secret knowlege aka. magic) and duel mystic philosophies (yin and yang...good and evil are balanced).

Because of this, I am afraid to touch fantasy merely for the effect that it can have (and actually did have) on my subconscious. Part of what bothers me so much about it all is the fact that such occult practices as open witchcraft (see Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Oblivion, and a whole host of other games, movies, and books) are widely accepted hobbies and even careers for characters to pursue within the culture of their respective fantasy worlds.

My brothers, this influence must be stopped. Will we simply sit idle while the influence of the occult grabs at the minds and hearts not only of ourselves, but of our much more vulnerable non-Christian friends and neighbors? Are we going to let pop culture desensitize us so thoroughly that the open practice of magic no longer causes us to shudder in sheer revulsion?

In so many of these worlds, false gods are known to reign supreme. In the expansion Shivering Isles for the popular video game Oblivion, the player has the option of serving a physical representation of 'the mad god', and eventually becoming a deity him/herself (or so I've heard...I got rid of my own copy of Oblivion long before this particular expansion was released).

Now, as much as I huff and puff against the influence of these games, books, and movies, I do not necessarily see anything wrong with playing/reading/watching them once in a while. Is it wrong as a believer to read the Qur'an? Certainly not, in fact it helps us learn how to counter the influence of Islam abroad! Is it wrong to spend so much time reading it and studying it's teachings, that you no longer spend enough time reading the Scripture that the living God has supplied you with? That would be a dangerous mistake indeed!

What I am arguing is that when taken in high dosages by the believer, these games can have a profound effect on one's subconscious...I know, I opened doors that I wish I hadn't. I allowed myself to get very deep into the 'mysteries' of how a pretend system of magic would work if it were real. And I am also cautioning the danger of this content when taken in low dosages (let alone high) for the non-believer, who has no protection from the influence of demonic or satanic powers as we do.

If you are as interested in this subject as I am, and especially if you are working through these same issues in your own life, I highly recommend the book UnHoly Spirits by Gary North. This is a battlefield in our culture today, and we need to arm ourselves properly, lest we fall pray ourselves to the fiery darts of the enemy.

Christian Rap = Sick (in the good way) or Crap?

2007-08-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

Alright, here we go...

I love Christian rap...I think that it is the best form of music out there, though I have never found a type that I didn't like. Why, you may ask? In a word: lyrics. The content of Christian rap is so much more fulfilling than most of the fluff that's out there that I've listened to.

You're probably asking, "What?! Christian music...fulfilling??? You wanna talk about fluff!!!" But hold on, don't knock it till you try it. Below are the lyrics for the song Godhead, by Flame.

Verse 1: God eternally exists/ as being three in His personages/ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and each person is/ fully God and there is only one God who subsists/ so chew on this/ cause this is meat and I’m certain of this/ His prerogative could have been to conceal Himself/ but we serve a God who has chose to reveal Himself/ to be certain of who we servin’ let’s search the text/ because it’s urgent that we worship Him for who He is/ the topic of the Trinity should evoke some emotion/ for those who are chosen/ and also for those who oppose it/ examine close He’s distinctive in His entities/ that’s why we contend for the Trinity in serenity/ we have no Christianity if God is not triune/ in that case we are were saved by whom/ then creation was made by whom/ then redemption was made by whom/ the consummation will take place by whom

Hook: Pastor Joe speaking/T-R-I-N-I-T-Y/ It’s the trinity/ it’s the trinity/ oh blessed trinity

Verse 2: If we could peer in the past and see a system called dynamic monarchianism/ another system modalistic monarchianism/ before the session we gone focus on one of the isms/ modalistic monarchianism/ get to the core or the center where the belly is/ popularized by a guy named Sabellius/ trying to fight for the position of monotheism/ traditionally held by Jewish in they religion/ and that’s true but he started trippin’ in his position/ and said that God manifested Himself in different/ modes at different times this is real twisted/ that’s why a bishop named Athanasisus had resided/ in a meeting in Nicea in 325/ A.D. where they debated was Jesus God/ and if He was, was He the Father the first time/ Jesus the second/ and Holy Spirit the third time/ while affirmed that the Father is God/ that the Son is God/ and the Holy Spirit is God/ good that ain’t gone solve it/ cause the problem is this/ it’s the simultaneousness/ that he denied

Verse 3: Modalism is back and its now packaged as Oneness Pentecostalism/ and its growing in numbers now like the cost of living/ and when they hear this I’ll be labeled a Pharisee/ but the Assemblies of God already labeled it heresy/ in the 20th century when it first emerged/ and ever since its birth its been hurting the church/ in conclusion a myriad of questions I ask/ cause its confusing and steering away at the masses/ I pose to you question number 1/ you mean to tell me that the Father is the Son/ well who was He praying to in the garden of Gethsemane/ I guess you’ll say He was prayin’ to His deity/ so you sayin’ that His human side/ is prayin’ to His divine side/ that is Father/ In that case then there are two beings/ in the person of Christ is that what you are seeing/ no that’s not the scriptures that’s confusion/ and it takes stabs at the hypostatic union/ and that’s that the one Jesus/ is 100% man and 100% God/ not 100% Father and 100% Son

Now for those of you that know anything about theological terminology, those are some pretty deep terms he uses. And he rhymes them. Imagine that in motion, set to a beat, with a flow to match the music? See what I mean?javascript:void(0)
Alright y'all...what do you think? And if you don't like rap, that's fine...tell me why, and then fill me in on whatever style you DO like. I'm looking playing around with becoming a sound engineer after all, so I am very interested.

Hollaback!

Wasup?

2007-08-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog! I am very glad that you took the time to come and check things out. But enough introductions...time to get down to business. Let's start with the most important issue and work backwards.

I am a Christian, and as such I believe that glorifying Christ is the most important thing in life...so important that it should be discussed before everything else. I am a Christian because I believe that Christ Jesus was a real person and that he was the real Son of God. There is so much evidence out there for Christianity, that it's just too hard to ignore. But that's my belief. What is yours? Why do you believe in what you believe?

If you find this question difficult, perhaps you need to look more closely at what you do believe. If you have any questions about my faith, and why I am so sold on Christ, you are more than welcome to ask me. You can do so on here, or you can give me an email at ascottishsamurai@gmail.com. Hit me up, test my faith, and see what you can learn.

And if you should find that like me, you can see no gaps in Christianity as the one true religion, then I can walk you through how to draw near to the one true God.