Asking God For Affections That Match His Reality

Catching Up

2010-10-05T22:24:00.002-04:00

Providence Church

Whew, it's been a busy couple months. God has been very faithful through our recent move to plant Providence Church in Lehigh Acres. We miss our Summit family already but we are also excited about the relationships that are already forming at Providence. To follow what is going on at Providence Church click here. I hope to continue to post personal thoughts and reflections on the gospel here, I will also occasionally be posting more church related thoughts and news on our Providence blog. Thanks to everyone for your prayers, support, and encouragement.

Prayed Over and Launched Out

Our First Sign

Providence Worship (o.k. it's just practice, the munchkin hasn't proved she can sing yet)

Our Front Door... In Lehigh!

Bossing God

2010-07-21T08:10:00.000-04:00

“let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.” - Matthew 27:42

We want Jesus to do things in front of us or for us and we declare that if he does those things then we will believe in him. Christ will take no such orders, he has given us the revelation of himself in the Holy Scriptures, they stand as a clear testimony, he makes no promise to perform specific requests from sinners so that they might believe in him on their own terms. Who are we to tell God how to reveal himself? Who are we to tell Christ he has not given us enough revelation for us to put our faith in him?

If There's No Bad News... There's No Need for Good News.

2010-06-22T09:35:00.000-04:00

I finished reading the book of Amos today. Amos was a simple herdsman in the 8^th century B.C. who one day was called by God to take a message of judgment to the nation of Israel. Israel was a nation that God had blessed in many ways but they had grown cold to God and their fellow man. They were pretty good at maintaining a ritualistic religion but they had no love for God in their hearts. Along with their apathy towards God was a continual focus on their selves, so much so that they were neglecting the poor around them. It was to this nation that Amos took one of the most severe messages of judgment we find in the Scriptures. Amos speaks about a day that God will judge the earth because the people who dwell here have rejected the law of the LORD (2:4). This day of judgment will be a day that no man can stand, in fact, he who is stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day (2:16).

One of the most devastating realities about the book of Amos is that it is written to the nation of Israel. Israel is a people loved and blessed by God and yet they have turned their back on him. “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities” (3:2). Israel was very good at external religion, they brought their tithes and sacrifices regularly (4:4), but they did so with wicked and rebellious hearts. In light of their lack of repentance this is their message, “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel” (4:12)! God despises their festivals and feasts that are done on a surface level, and in fact if songs are not sung from a heart of love and righteousness he can’t stand to hear the sound of them (5:23).

Amos points out that the people to whom judgment is coming are a people who do not think that judgment will ever come. They put far away the day of disaster (6:3). These people do not want to hear this message of judgment and in fact tell Amos to leave and do his work elsewhere (7:12).

In light of this absolute rebellion of not even listening to the final warning of God, the day of judgment is described in vivid detail. “So many dead bodies! They are thrown everywhere! Silence! Hear this you who trample on the needy… on that day, declares the Lord GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will send a famine on the land – not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD… they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it” (8:3-12).

There will be no hiding from the Lord on this day. “If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven from there I will bring them down… and I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good” (9:2-4).

There is a message of restoration at the end of the book. It is explained in 5 verses. God will restore after this day of judgment, and all who have repented of their sin and trusted in Christ's death on the cross will experience that restoration. But how will we ever come to that place of repentance if we don’t bend our ears to hear this message of the wrath that is coming. We must see the holiness of God and his demand that we be perfect. Then we must see the reality that we are much less than perfect and therefore in no way can we be right with God. Then we must see the perfectness of Christ, and the fact that he was crushed on the cross not for any sin of his own, but for mine. There is a day of judgment coming, but I will not be a direct recipient of it because Christ has already experienced my day of judgment on the cross. I tremble at the thought. I despise my sin that still remains in this body of death but at the same time I rejoice in my Savior Jesus Christ who has purchased me by his blood. He has suffered the wrath of God on my account and there is now no condemnation for me.

Yesterday I was sitting at Starbucks looking out of the big glass windows. I could see out very clearly into an open area where there were many people walking by shopping, and sitting outside talking around a large fountain. A storm came rolling in, and it was a big one. The lightening began to crash so close that the thunder was shaking the windows. I was amazed by how the people were unaffected. Granted some smiled and looked up to the sky at this wonder in the clouds, but the majority of people did not even bat an eye. As the rain was coming down many people seemed to feel very safe and comfortable sitting underneath of an overhang as the lightening flashed all around. Children were playing in the rain and even young teenagers were walking out to the fountain in the midst of the storm.

I felt that this was a picture of our culture today. Everyone feels very safe. We are a people who feel very secure. Those outside of the church no longer even hear of the wrath of God, and those inside the church have neglected it to the point where we have diminished saving grace to a toy in a McDonalds happy meal. Yet whether we acknowledge it or not the truth remains, and this day steadily approaches. I pray that we would see the reality of this day while there is still time to run to Jesus. There is amazing grace in him if you would but come.

“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria…

O you who put far away the day of disaster.” - Amos 6:1,3

Little Gasparilla Island

2010-05-17T22:32:00.002-04:00

Recently my wife and I got away for a few days. We went to Little Gasparilla Isand just north of Fort Myers. We had an amazing time together. We missed Liv like crazy but it was great for us to spend some quality time together, especially in light of the new baby in Heather's belly. The island is perfect because there is literally nothing to do there. There are no roads, no cars, no restaurants, you get there by boat! I am confident of this... I married the woman of my dreams. There is nothing better than just being with this woman, we walked on the beach, road around in a golf cart, and took a boat back over to the mainland to catch dinner one night. I hope Little Gasparilla is a spot that we can continue to visit in the future together. We have some friends that own a place there that were kind enough to let us stay there for free! The crazy thing is, the house that we stayed in is the very place that I proposed to Heather over 4 years ago.

"Waiting for Wings in the Wasteland"

2010-05-04T08:41:00.000-04:00

I was reading Isaiah 40 this morning. There is an interesting story behind this passage of Scripture. It seems that Isaiah has looked forward in time and sees the coming destruction of Judah. The Babylonians will soon come in and destroy the nation, the main city Jerusalem, and the center of worship: the temple. This destruction is on the horizon… the people will be slaughtered and those that are spared death will be taken into exile in foreign lands, the people will be separated, alone, and far away from home. In the midst of this Isaiah says, “Why do you say, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD and my right is disregarded by my God’? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; the shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Waiting for wings in the wasteland is not an easy task. It is cold, lonely, and sad there. I find it very easy to say, “my way is hidden from the LORD” when uncomfortable things happen to me and I cannot even imagine what those feel who have suffered so much more than myself. There are two promises that I want to cling to, and they are two promises that I believe Isaiah wanted to give the suffering Jews when they were all alone in exile: (1)God has not grown weary, and (2)if you will wait on him he will renew your strength.

Oh how I pray that God would give wings to those of his children who are suffering in the wasteland today. I have a vision of his chosen ones receiving power from on high to spread their wings and begin to take off out of the dust heap. But if we find ourselves still in the wasteland I pray that we would have strength to wait. Waiting seems so unsatisfying to me, but I want to embrace this scripture that says my God will come and rescue me and until that day I will wait, so that when I do begin to soar it will be he who receives all of the credit, honor, and glory for my flying. Soon we will fly, all of us who belong to Jesus. That gives me hope, that gives me strength to wait on my God.

"Exchanged"

2010-03-29T20:10:00.000-04:00

(Romans 1:20-23)

Looking at glory yet I don’t see

The beauty is blinded from me

There is no excuse, I know this King

Yet I desire other things

I have no gratitude my mind has shrunk

The core of my soul is black

I speak high words

But I’m as dumb as they come

Exchanged, now his glory I lack

“Access to Climb the Dreadful Mountain of God”

2010-03-15T10:51:00.000-04:00

Exodus 19:17 “Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God…”

It makes me nauseas that human beings (myself included) don’t really care to meet God. We are either apathetic to the cosmic bombs of God’s glory that are going off just before our eyes…. or we are blind to them.

Israel was not blind nor apathetic to the spectacular glory of God exploding before their eyes in Exodus 19, no they weren’t blind at all. Rather, they were terrified. God had just rained down his wrath on Egypt in 10 mighty plagues and rescued his people from slavery. Now in Exodus 19 the people of Israel stand before Mount Sinai and God comes down to reveal himself. God comes down in a thick cloud (v.9) and commands that everyone consecrate their selves and wash their clothes (v.10), he commands that no one even touch the edge of the mountain, and if they do they must be put to death (v.12). And not just any death, but the person (or animal) that touches the mountain where God is must be shot or stoned because no one can even lay a hand on this damned individual (v.13). When God comes down there is thunder, lightening, a thick cloud, and a loud trumpet blast that causes everyone in the camp to tremble with fear (v.16). God descends on Mount Sinai in fire and smoke rises up all around as the entire mountain shakes violently (v.18). The trumpet blast grows louder and louder and the people are warned again not to cross the limits that have been placed for if they do God himself will break out against them and they will perish (v.21).

How great is our God that he has made a way through his son and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we may now cross over the limits that Israel could not and climb this dreadful and awesome mountain of God! As we climb the glory only gets more majestic and more intense. Every step that we take up this awe filled mountain we are stunned by the mighty power of our God. We are blown away that as we climb, this mountain continues to tremble and the fire continues to burn but because we are covered with the blood of Christ we are not harmed, rather we are caught up into this glorious journey of seeking our Almighty God. This journey should daily take our breath away.

The sad reality is that we have lost this desire to climb the mountain of God in our Christianity today. Instead of realizing that the blood of Christ gives us access to climb this awesome and dreadful mountain without being incinerated, we have falsely understood the blood of Christ to pacify this mountain. Once we have embraced this horribly wrong docile view of God, we have become blind to how marvelous he is, and we are now wandering in the dessert trying to satisfy our desire for splendor with other things.

God is not docile, simple, or tame. He is extraordinarily powerful, eternally complex, and very dangerous. If you look at Christ’s death on the cross these things will become apparent. Trust in Christ and know that his death and resurrection gives you access to climb this glorious mountain. We will climb it for all of eternity and we will never ceased to be amazed at our amazing our God is.

The Finger of God

2010-03-04T08:46:00.002-05:00

Exodus 8:19 “Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God.”

I don’t think we realize the radical God-centeredness of the gospel, nor do we realize the radical God-centeredness of God himself. It is something that I grasp at times but quickly find myself magnetically drawn to put myself, and humans in general at the center. For instance the passage of the exodus from Egypt and the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart: Pharaohs’ little mortal heart seems to get all of the attention when we talk about this passage and we miss what the Almighty God of the universe is doing and why he is doing it.

God is unwaveringly committed to making himself known to his creation.

Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh and speak for God saying, “Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Oh baby let my people go.” Pharaoh replies, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go?” (Ex. 5:2) Wong answer Pharaoh. God’s direct response to Pharaoh’s statement is found in Exodus 7:5, “The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.” Again and again as the plagues are released on Egypt we hear, “By this you shall know that I am the LORD.”

I am grateful that God is committed to himself because I realize that he is more precious than I could ever imagine. My only hope is that he makes himself known so that I might see him and know him. My only chance is that he removes the blinders from my eyes so that I can experience him and see him reigning in his glory, only then will I be satisfied, only then will I be fulfilled.

We forget that all Egypt gets a chance to see and respond to God in light of Pharaoh’s destruction. A whole nation gets an opportunity to bow down to God, there is no doubt in their minds that this is the one true God and that he is the King of All. Listen to the response of the magicians after their failure to replicate one of the plagues in Exodus 8:19, “This is the finger of God.” In the midst of Egypt’s judgment there is grace, there is the manifestation of the one true God… and there is nothing that is more beautiful.

Oh Lord, may I rejoice that you are radically committed to making yourself known. May I learn to remain in the place of being God-centered and not man-centered. May I see your glory as you bring it about in every situation of life and every circumstance.

Drink

2010-03-03T08:31:00.000-05:00

Psalm 73:25-26 "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

My wife and I started reading through "A Godward Life" before we go to sleep each night. I enjoyed last nights reading very much, and this psalm that was quoted is one of my favorites. The main statement that the book circles around is "God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in him." I believe that statement with all of my heart. It is clear al throughout scripture, "Rejoice in the Lord always... Delight yourself in the Lord... Restore to me the joy of your salvation..." As Christians we must taste the sweetness of God, if we do then obedience will follow. Here is a great illustration from the book that I will be keeping in mind:

You don't glorify a mountain spring by climbing up the mountain to it and pouring your bottle of water into it in an effort to try and add to it. Rather, you glorify the mountain spring by climbing to it and drinking from it and declaring how amazing the water is and then pressing on in light of the strength you have received from the spring.

Somehow a mindset of mere duty and service has found its way into Christianity. We try to replicate Jesus without coming to Jesus. We try to fix our lives without coming to the one who can repair us. Beware of serving Jesus with your rigid, white knuckled, no need for help, discipline. He made it clear that he came not to be served (Mk. 10:45). Rather, we serve the Lord correctly as we draw near to him to have all of our needs met, and then once all of our needs are met we are in position to go out and serve the body of Christ, and share the good news of Christ with the world. We must come to Jesus, on a daily basis and be satisfied by his glory, his very presence bursting forth into our existence.

May my heart be the heart of Asaph in Psalm 73, "there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you, O Lord, you are my strength and my portion forever."

“Observations From the Life of a Rich Man Who Was Tiny Enough to Fit Through the Eye of a Needle”

2010-01-28T08:10:00.002-05:00

Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem where he will suffer greatly but just before he arrives there he enters a city named Jericho. There was a rich man who did not have a very good reputation with the people of the city, he had a tendency to have sticky fingers when it came to his job of collecting money from them and they were well aware of his crookedness. But, he was seeking to see who Jesus was (Lk. 19:3). That is always a good thing, to be seeking to see Jesus. But he found himself not able to see who Jesus was because he was a short man and the tall people were in the way. He wanted to see Jesus so badly that he ran and even climbed up into a tree (v.4). This man had no shame, how silly for a grown man with a job and a lot of money to be running and climbing up a tree like a young boy. I believe Jesus is looking for this kind of desire. In the previous chapter Jesus said, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it (18:17). I wonder if I am running like a child to see Jesus. Not caring about who is watching and what they are thinking. Doing the crazy things like staying up late praying, singing, and reading the Scripture or getting up early to meditate on God’s mercy that is new every morning (Lam. 3:22,23). When Jesus sees these childish silly people who care about him more than the world… he stays at their house (19:5). I want Jesus to stay at my house. When childish people see Jesus they receive him joyfully (19:6) and they’re so overwhelmed by the goodness of Christ that they start to give to the poor and restore any direct wrongs that they have done (v.8). Not because they have to do these things in order to have Jesus stay at their house but rather they do them precisely because Jesus is staying at their house… there is a world of difference. A chapter before this story of the little rich man there is another story of a rich man… sadly, he was not willing to run and climb up a tree to see Jesus, he was too busy keeping his life in order. The little rich man in chapter 19 probably dealt with the issue of being a tiny man his whole life, people making fun of him, looking down on him as the childish boy looking man who is greedy and climbs trees. But it was this very attribute that saw him to glory, see he was tiny enough to fit through the eye of a needle (18:25).

Father, I pray that you would make me very small. I pray that I would run, and climb, and abandon the concern of what others think, all so that I may see your beautiful face.

In the Beginning... It was about Him

2010-01-08T08:49:00.000-05:00

I am starting this new year of 2010 in Genesis. As I am reading along in the beginning of this book I am trying to get the big picture, I am trying to read the beginning in light of the whole. What is coming through most clearly as I read these first eight chapters is God’s righteousness, holiness, and moral perfection. I use these three terms to describe one idea or one attribute about God; that is his perfection or the fact that he is morally pure to an infinite degree. Genesis seems to be starting in a direction that if understood sets up a framework for the cross that keeps God central and not myself. I believe that the message of the cross in this generation can very easily become man-centered. The main and primary way that we view the cross is Jesus coming to redeem us so that we can have relationship with God.

Now I hesitate to even go forward because I do not want to come off as rejecting the previous sentence. I love the previous sentence! A thousand times I love it! But I want to make sure that I have that previous statement framed in a bigger picture, a grander production of redemption. God is a God of love; there is no doubt about that, but God loves himself more than anything else. I believe that this redemption of man framed in a larger picture of redemption can be seen even in Genesis, hopefully seeing it here will get us all started in the right direction so that when we see the cross we know that although we get caught up in this grand redemption, it is not ultimately or supremely about us.

In the beginning God creates this “good” place, God looks at what he has made and knows and declares that it is good (Gen. 1:31). Man selfishly begins to defame this good and beautiful creation that God has made. As man pridefuly grasps for things that are not due him he in the process mares the goodness and glory of God’s creation. Imagine this extraordinary painting that people come from great distances to see, it is terribly expensive watched by guards constantly, locked away at night. Many people have come to gaze at its beauty. The fall of man is like a crook wrestling his way past the guards and taking a knife to the canvas. Man did not only disobey God although that would be more than enough for our condemnation, but we wanted to be like God (Gen. 3:5). It was our envy and jealousy that took the knife to this glorious creation God made. We saw the beauty of God Almighty and rather than enjoying his beauty we desired to defame him and take his place so that we would be put on display and people would sing our praise. In the process we began to defame the manifestation of his glory in creation.

By chapter 6 of Genesis we see a clear picture of how God feels about his creation being corrupted. The clear picture that comes across is that God is set on totally annihilating all living things. It actually says that he was “sorry” and “grieved” that he had made earth (Gen. 6:6). After the fall mankind became exceedingly corrupt to the point where when God looked down all he saw was evil. He is set on “blotting out” the earth but he finds favor in one man, Noah (Gen. 6:8).

God being ready to destroy his creation points to the fact that redemption is not ultimately about man. It is about him redeeming creation to accurately represent his glory as it did in the beginning when he made it before man sinned and began to distort and destroy this manifestation of God’s beauty and excellence. What God is angry about is the fact that all of these evil people are living in such a way that it lies about who he is. He hates evil and wrong and clearly from the events that soon happen in Genesis it is clear that he will not allow it to go unpunished. The main point that stands out about Noah is that he was a righteous and blameless man in a sinful and corrupt world. This righteousness and blamelessness is what God saw and in light of this righteousness God had favor in Noah.

“Noah’s rescue from the flood was not ultimately about Noah

and our salvation is not ultimately about us.”

God did not just decide to destroy everybody and show that he is gracious by saving a random man and his family. God’s purpose in destroying the earth and saving a righteous man and his family was to redeem his creation so that it would once again accurately portray who he is. It angered him that his creation was lying about its Creator.

Now we look to the cross and see that the flood is a foreshadowing of eternal hell. Noah is a foreshadowing of all of those who trust in Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. God’s saving instrument for Noah was an ark and his saving instrument for his chosen people is his son Jesus Christ dying on a cross and rising from death to life. He will accomplish the restoration of his creation when Christ returns so that is once again (and this time eternally) accurately represents his glorious nature. Christ came to redeem his father's glory, that was his primary and ultimate aim in coming to earth. It was not primarily about us. I pray that I would follow Christ in living for the glory of God and not my own selfish interest. Father, rid me of my tendency to make the cross about me, may I see that your purpose of redemption is to redeem your glory and have creation once again display and accurate picture of who you are. I do not want to be the central piece of art, rather, I want to gaze into your beauty, stand in awe, and worship.

Grasping While Fasting

2010-01-04T17:07:00.000-05:00

Isaiah 66:2 “…But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”

Isaiah 58:3 “Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure…”

Isaiah 58:13-14 “…not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth…”

I was fasting today and the strangest thing happened. I didn’t get that hungry. By mid-afternoon I couldn’t help but be a little confused and a little nervous. I asked myself, “Am I getting sick or something?” Could that be the reason that I am not getting hungry. I don’t fully know the reason why I didn’t get that hungry but I am glad that it got me questioning myself because I realized something important. I have been grasping for things today during this fast, instead of grasping for God. I feel very humbled right now, slightly ashamed, and very repentant. I felt spiritually shaky this afternoon, usually during a fast I would feel a little physically shaky but instead I just felt weird, emotionally and spiritually not right. I reached down to grab my Bible to hopefully find something encouraging there and as I did a scripture that I had just heard from Francis Chan’s message online came to mind, “But this is the one to whom I will look; he who is humble and contrite in spirit…” God put his finger on my pride. I realized that all day long I have wanted to “be more, do more, and be right just for the sake of being right”. I can’t help but think that I haven’t been hungry today because I have been full of my selfish thoughts and prideful dreams.

A scripture that I was reading recently came to mind from Isaiah 58, “in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure.” I have not been seeking joy in God today, or satisfaction in him; I have not been grasping for him or feasting on him today during this fast… I have been seeking my own pleasure apart from him. (I am grateful Lord that you pointed this out to me.) These thoughts have not necessarily manifested themselves outwardly in any way today, but as I paused this afternoon God revealed to me this little selfish voice in my heart. I hate that voice; that voice keeps me from God, from true joy and contentment, pleasure and satisfaction. That voice is one that I want to kill, “search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” God, please teach me how to find all of my joy in you. Teach me to be humble and contrite, teach me to be broken. As Isaiah goes on in verses 13 and 14 I am encouraged. If I stop seeking my own pleasure then I will truly take delight in the Lord. Lord, please forgive me for seeking my satisfaction in things that are not you. I trust that you are enough for me, I really do. Forgive me for not acting like it today; forgive me for not living in that today. I want to see more of your glory; I pray that I would see it in everything. Thank you that your grace is sufficient for me, and Lord keep me from temptation, may I not slip into this kind of thinking again, Oh how it lurks at my hearts door. I will trust in you, I will hope in you, I will feast on you in the day of fasting, you are more than sufficient, you are endless joy, eternal pleasure, everlasting happiness, may I see you everywhere I look. You are the giver of every perfect gift including both food and grace.

Doubt and Deliverance

2009-12-08T07:39:00.002-05:00

In Isaiah 36 and 37 we see that the Assyrian army is preparing to attack Jerusalem. This Assyrian army is not one to be messed with, they have devastated the land and conquered many cities including Samaria just to the north of Jerusalem. The Assyrian king sends one of his officials to the city of Jerusalem to mock them and to cause them to doubt and have fear. This official stand just outside the city walls with his army and speaks with some representatives from Jerusalem. There are many Jews standing on the wall of Jerusalem who are close enough to hear the conversation. When the representatives ask this official to speak in Aramaic (a language that those on the wall of Jerusalem would not understand) the official raises his voice all the louder with the purpose of mocking Jerusalem and God so that they would be stricken with fear. This official warns them not to trust their king who claims that God will defend and deliver them, he points out that none of the other gods of the surrounding cities were able to stop the Assyrians. He even warns them that soon they will be eating their own dung and drinking their own urine. This was no light talk; this official mocked the one true and living God.

The king of Jerusalem grieves and seeks the Lord in prayer. He offers a deep call for deliverance from the Lord, knowing and proclaiming that God rules all and is in control of every nation of the earth including the Assyrians. He sends people to Isaiah the prophet and this is the word that Isaiah speaks on behalf of the Lord, “Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him: …Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should make fortified cities crash into heaps of ruins… I know your sitting down and your going out and coming in, and your raging against me. Because you have raged against me and your complacency has come to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came.” Then the Lord says this to the people of Jerusalem, “For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”

God is our deliverer, and he is faithful to his people. I believe that the enemy is constantly taunting God’s people, foolishly he taunts them even though he knows that he cannot have them, he is so thwarted because of his multitude of sins that he tries anyway. This enemy stands at the walls of our souls and hurls his mockery at our heart. “Do you really think that Christ is enough to save you?” “Do you truly think your faith is real?” “Hasn’t this all just been a game? A fabrication that you foolishly bought into about heaven and hell and eternal life?” The Assyrians words were relentless, there is nothing that they would not say, and there is nothing that Satan and his devils will not say while trying to attack our faith. The call is to stand firm. When your faith is attacked do not look to yourself, there is no assurance there. Like the king of Jerusalem we must look to God, “look to Christ the author and finisher of your faith.” In him there is life, in Christ there is confidence and assurance. As you are bombarded, cast your cares, concerns, and worries on him who is faithful. He who began a good work in you will see it on to completion. As you look to Christ and seek his face, he will reveal himself to you, “draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” He is your great deliverer and nothing at all in this world or heaven can separate you from the love of God, he has placed it on you, and if you are a child of God then there is nothing that can change that. Continue to look to him and the onslaught of the evil one will fade away in the light of his glory and grace and you will feel and know a “self-forgetful yes” to the promise of Jesus Christ and the truth that he is enough for you, in fact, you are his forevermore.

The Folly of Hiding in Egypt

2009-12-03T08:31:00.000-05:00

Isaiah 28:16-17 “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: Whoever believes will not be in haste. And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”

This stone God has laid is: tested, precious, and sure. We will receive its protections if we believe.

God will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line. Anything outside of these measurements will receive hail and overwhelming waters.

Judgment and Wrath are coming on this world. That is simply a reality. Isaiah reminds us in 28:17 that justice is the line and righteousness the plumb line. God will make things right… something that we all desire at some point in our lives (especially when we have been wronged). But this will entail the eternal punishment and pain of many people; this is a reality not a fairy tail.

The Assyrian army was ravishing the land in the 8^th century B.C. Jerusalem impulsed by their fear made an alliance with Egypt. Egypt was soon destroyed by the Assyrians. Isaiah calls this a covenant of death in v.15. Again in v.20 he says this bed is too short and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself on. Oh how I hate when I am cold at night and my wife has the covers, or when I am sleeping at a friends house and they give me the all too thin afkin that is not large enough to cover a 7 year old child much less a 6 foot 3 man. This is the picture God puts forth of what it is like to take shelter in any other name, any other plan, any other religion, any other dream or vision. Nothing will protect you from the wrath to come other than Christ.

Here is the good news. God does not afflict men from his heart; he does not get his kicks from inflicting pain. Rather, he desires that all men be saved from this judgment that is on its way. Therefore he has set up a sure foundation, a precious tested stone that will be more than enough for you. If you believe on Jesus and trust that he is your personal Lord and Savior you will be saved. I pray that people would flee to him and realize after they have taken shelter that he is not merely a helpful object of protection, he is so much more… He leads us in life everlasting, full life, in his presence is fullness of joy and at his right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Are you seeking the Lord? Searching to be found in him? May I encourage you to seek diligently. Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the word of Christ. Therefore, search the scriptures as a man who sees the sky turning black, a cold wind blowing, tornados circling, and storms rising… You are not promised tomorrow and Jesus is more than enough for you. Look to Jesus.

Are you a follower of Christ who has grown cold? Do not take this shelter for granted. God will not be mocked. No one sits in a lazy boy under this precious stone, that is not the nature of those who are under Christ’s protection. Look to the sky and see the torment that is coming, be reminded of how much Christ loves you and has done for you, look to him and find yourself assured that you are covered by this stone.

For those who have found their selves on hard times, yet trust in the Lord. Christ did not promise you an easy life, he promised you eternal life and though you may have trouble in this world take heart for Christ has overcome the world. He overcame it by the cross and soon he will overcome it with his mighty right hand, a physical breaking down of this sin stained world. Therefore, be exceedingly glad because you will be saved, you are under this stone of protection and though you may feel cramped now, remember that you are hurting under the rock of Jesus and soon he will bring about your ultimate salvation; pain is coming on this world in a degree that even you have not known… indeed you will never know, be exceedingly glad.

To the faithful follower, rejoice in your Savior. Do not forget that you are not worthy to be under this precious stone. This stone is so precious that for you to be anywhere near it without grace would be your end. All who are under this rock are sinners who by God’s grace will be spared this eternal destruction that is looming just beyond the borders of this world. Cry out to those who have taken shelter under a short blanket… you know that it will not withstand what is coming, call for them to come and shelter with you under Christ.

To the hardened sinner: Your hard heart is not hard enough to withstand the destruction that is coming. Your wall will come down. Even so, you have not out sinned God… Christ stands waiting for you to come and take refuge… all who are under this stone are sinners, none are better than you, and there is room for you. It is a sweet refuge, one that offers much more than protection, it offers life in a form that you have never known. Maybe you are convinced that your shelter will stand. It will not, no shelter but Christ will stand when the sky splits and wrath pours in. There is salvation by no other name and no one comes to salvation except through Jesus Christ. Please, run now while there is still time, flee your flimsy shack of a shelter and come to the only one who can rescue you… he stands with arms open wide, he will receive you.

Looking for a Show

2009-11-09T07:35:00.000-05:00

John 4:48 "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe."

In the gospel of John, Jesus continually meets people who are looking for a show... not necessarily a relationship. The people he encounters are not on the same page that he is, they are focused on the physical why Christ is continually pointing to the eternal. Starting with Nicodemus who after he was told that he must be born again, he asked how he could re-enter his mothers womb. Then came the woman at the well who after she was told that Christ had living water, she asked to receive some so that she would not have to come back to this well everyday. Jesus makes this interesting statement in John 4, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe. The you is plural in the original language so he was not only speaking to one person, he is saying "you all", he is describing the hearts of the people who are gathered around him. We will see this clearly again in a couple of chapters when some people come to see Jesus because their bellies are full from 5 loaves and 2 fish, they don't want Jesus, they want dinner.

After Jesus makes this statement to an official and the surrounding people in chapter 4 of John, it is interesting that he heals the mans child immediately and from a distance so that none of the people who were gathered (including the child's father) saw the miracle occur. If you have false motives for wanting to see Jesus move in power, he most likely will not let you see. Again in chapter 5 Jesus encounters a multitude of invalids... and heals one. The Christ certainly could have put on a healing show for all to see but that was not his intention, he had and still has other ultimate goals in mind. Jesus finds this man whom he had healed later in the chapter and tells him to sin no more.

The fine line here is that Christ is so glorious that in one sense he is always putting on a show. What I mean by that is, when we truly see him for who he is we are stunned, blown away by his glory, grace, and power. Because I am a sinful creature I have a tendency to pursue my selfishness in that show, instead of pursuing my satisfaction in Jesus. The people of John 4 wanted to see the miracle... not the miracle worker. I believe that if people genuinely (I will even be as bold as to use the word selfishly) want to see the miracle worker, the God is pleased with that and he reveals himself. He knows that he has put longings in the hearts of men and I believe he wants us to pursue him with a burning passion to be satisfied in him. The problem comes when I try to satisfy my longings with "things" rather than God, with things that come from God rather than the things "of God" or "in God". Jesus knew that if he healed the multitude then everyone would simply long to see the next big show. He did not come for that kind of glory. He could receive that kind of glory in an instant if he wanted to do so. He is achieving something even deeper, he is transforming hearts so that they find their ultimate joy and satisfaction in him, he is absolutely the giver but may we never forget that even more so he is the gift... he gives himself, and there is no greater treasure.

Fall at the Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-06T10:50:00.000-05:00

We swung by the Methodist Church off of U.S. 41 the other day and had a great time picking out three pumpkins (Dad, Mom, and Little Liv). It was a great afternoon celebrating the season. Liv seemed to love the feeling of fall.... precious memories.

Fine Line

2009-11-02T08:15:00.001-05:00

I like Christian Hedonism. It is a basically a way of thinking... maybe it could be called a world view. I don't think all Christians need to think this way but it has proved helpful for me over the past couple of years. Here is the line of thinking:

1. God's ultimate end or mission in creating the world was/is to glorify himself.
2. Humans are to join God in that mission and live ultimately for his glory.
3. The way that we as humans do this is to praise his glory.
4. Humans only praise what they enjoy or take delight in.

Therefore:

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him."

"The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever"

"God gets the glory, we get the help"

This line of reasoning believes that God as the amazing creator and orchestrator that he is, designed his relationship with his church in such a way that we would long for him, and as we long for him he will receive praise. The key is that in this way of thinking called Christian Hedonism the joy that is spoken of is joy in God, not from God. Now of course all things are "from God" so don't get hung up on the language. The point is that there is a fine line between joy in God and joy from God.

Because of my sin nature I like to flip this thing upside down. Very slowly I find myself forgetting that the ultimate end is God's glory and my joy is a means to reach that end. Instead I start to think that my joy is the ultimate end and seeing God's glory is a means through which I can reach it. Oh what a tragedy when I do that. I start using God for my purposes rather than find myself in his purposes. This is a fine line and in a subtle way I find myself crossing it and wondering how in the world I got on the wrong side.

If I start caring about my joy more than God's glory then I find myself not having any joy. Not even knowing where to look for it. Because my joy is in God and not only from God.

Father, will you give me grace so that I will be most concerned with your joy. Forgive me for my selfishness and renew a right spirit within me. You are God Most High, your name and renown is the desire of my heart.

Zechariah 2

2009-10-29T08:05:00.002-04:00

I was reading Zechariah 2 this morning. This outline and poem came out of my reading of the passage.

Christ dwells in our midst...

- he knows his people (v. 2:2)

- he is our protection (2:5)

- we must repent (2:6)

- he loves us with a special love (2:8)

- he will make us to conquer our captors (2:9)

- we will know that he was sent by God (2:11)

- we respond with silence, reverence, and joy (2:13)

"From The Daughter of Babylon to The Son of God"

Flee from the sin land and leave your chains there,

The daughter of Babylon with long flowing hair;

Has seduced you and stripped you so bare you are laid,

And helpless to fight off the oncoming raid.

But I am your shelter, your great wall of fire,

I'll fight off the onslaught and though you may tire;

I will make those who kinged you as slaves in their land,

To be your possession, a ring for your hand.

For I will be with you, in your midst I will be,

Forever I'll be here, I'm sent by the King

God First

2009-10-26T08:00:00.004-04:00

I am very excited about a new Bible reading plan that I have started recently. It is called the ESV Study Bible Reading Plan. You can check it out at www.esv.org

I started reading Haggai this morning, he was an Old Testament prophet who prophesied to Judah after they returned from about a 50 year exile. They were captives for almost 50 years but then a King named Cyprus let the Jews go back to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple and their city so that they could worship their God. The crazy thing is that once they got back to Jerusalem they allowed the temple to remain in ruins for about 17 years! Now the temple was understood as the dwelling place of God, the place that a person would go to commune with God; and because of distractions and efforts to rebuild their economy and community they neglected the temple and they neglected God. Haggai prophesies to these people and tells them that they must rebuild the temple. In chapter 1 verse 4 he says, "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?" What a strong word.

It would be a mistake to relate this to our local church buildings before we related it to what is really meant and that is our relationship with God. It amazes me how again and again I see that if God is not first then things fall apart. I see this in my own personal life and in the lives of others. It really is a simple equation. The tough part comes with what it really means for him to be first. See its not just about him being first in your day, and its not just about reading your Bible in the morning (although those things help) but it is truly about him being first in your heart. We have to long to be with him, know him, and experience him more than anything else in the world. If we don't then everything will begin to crumble around us. Haggai speaks to that again later in the first chapter, "Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce."

I pray Lord that you would sit on the throne of my heart. I pray that I would not be so foolish to allow anything else to rival you. Forgive me for when I have cared more about my own personal gain than I have about knowing you the one true God. You and you alone can satisfy.

"Than to be the king of a vast domain,

Or be held in sins dread sway.

I'd rather have Jesus than anything,

This world affords today."

2009-10-22T07:25:00.002-04:00

The Apostles' Creed

(approx. 2^nd century a.d.)

Christian, what do you believe:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,  the Maker of heaven and earth,  and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,  born of the virgin Mary,  suffered under Pontius Pilate,  was crucified, dead, and buried;

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven,  and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;  from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost;  the holy catholic church;  the communion of saints;  the forgiveness of sins;  the resurrection of the body;  and the life everlasting.

Amen.

First Questions: Important Questions

2009-10-17T15:55:00.002-04:00

We just looked over these Catechism's in class. Below are the first questions of each Catechism.

The Westminster Catechism (1647)

Question:

What is the chief end of man?

Answer:

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

The Heidelberg Catechism (1563)

Question:

What is thy only comfort in life and death?

Answer:

My only comfort in life and in death is that I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to Him, Christ, by His Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him.

How Shall I Know?

2009-09-15T07:44:00.002-04:00

In Luke 1 the angel Gabriel visits two different people at two different times. The first person he visits is Zechariah the father of John the Baptist. Zechariah was a priest and he had been chosen to burn incense in the temple. While in the temple burning incense Gabriel appeared to Zechariah, and fear fell upon him. Whatever Gabriel looked like to Zechariah it is obvious that it was a dreadful sight, a special and powerful being who made Zechariah tremble. Gabriel delivers Zechariah a powerful message about he and his wife having a son but I find Zechariah’s response to this message quite interesting; he says, “How shall I know this?” Zechariah wants some proof that this message is true.

I find it fascinating how quickly Zechariah goes from trembling before this awesome creature to questioning the truthfulness of his word. I believe that Gabriel found this fascinating as well for he responds to Zechariah by saying, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God…” That is how you know Zechariah. Simply look at me.

Gabriel visits another person in this chapter, her name is Mary, she is the mother of Jesus. Gabriel has to tell Mary to not be afraid as well and he delivers her an equally amazing message, the beautiful thing is Mary’s response, “let it be to me according to your word.” How different is this response from Zechariah’s? Mary looks to Gabriel this awesome and powerful being and trusts his word, submits to it, receives it, and exclaims; let it be unto me as you have said.

If Zechariah wanted to know the validity of Gabriel’s word, he had to look at Gabriel.

If you want to know the validity of God’s word, you have to look to God.

There are so many frustrations and fears in this life, so many wrong places to turn to try and find truth and assurance of God’s promises for our lives. I have to fight the temptation to look inward at my life and try to find some bit of assurance. The truth is the only assurance we have is in Christ Jesus, we must look to him the author and finisher of our faith. Paul says in 2 Cor. 3:18 that “we will be transformed from one degree of glory to another, as we behold the glory of the Lord”, not as we look into the mirror at our own image.

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.”

May we all look to Jesus.

His Winnowing Fork is in His Hand

2009-08-26T08:34:00.003-04:00

(from Matthew 3:12)

His fork is in hand and the gospel is sharp,

It sweeps through and separates, it cuts to the heart.

The wind blows the chaff to eternal fire,

And the wheat goes to Jesus in the heavens on higher.

Oh that we would be wheat, so Jesus we'd meet.

The one who holds the justice fork.

The Entrance of the Kingdom

2009-08-25T08:31:00.002-04:00

Reflections from Matthew 1&2

The Entrance of the Kingdom does not look like one would expect. In fact it looks quite scandalous; a baby out of wedlock. This kingdom entrance is going to be so upside down and so opposed from the start that heavy divine intervention is necessary. Four times in the first two chapters we have direct divine intervention giving specific instructions. The kingdom is received by the simple and opposed by the proud and haughty. Now these simple people are not necessarily simple in their knowledge but rather in their heart. They humbly acknowledge when something seems to be all together different than the rest of the world.

While the simple receive it the proud oppose it from the start. Herod longs to be on top, he desires to be king and therefore he has no room for this potential Messiah. Many have been hopefully expecting the arrival of this king and yet Herod does not have a hint of glory in his heart, rather, he has rage and selfish ambition in his heart. Oh how he is blind to the awe filled manifestation of the Creator God that is before his eyes, blinded by his own pride. We also have the first flavor of the ossified orthodoxy that lacks the guts and passion to stand up to Herod the bully. They simply say, “oh yeah, we know where he is to be born… Bethlehem.” With no passion, no care or concern they give Herod the information asked of them like a robotic program. Where is the expectancy? The inquiry into Herod’s reason for asking? Oh should they not be filled with awe at the potential of the Messiah’s arrival?

This kingdom is coming through the door of the world and it does not look like we would expect. It comes in scandal, it is received by the simple, neglected by the religious, and opposed by the arrogant. May we see and receive this treasure.

Two Peoms for Heather

2009-08-14T22:20:00.002-04:00

A Poem of Change

a new stage is just around the corner

you are as beautiful as the first

i have no fear only joyful anticipation

To spend the rest with you

i see new things in you

and they shine like stars

i marvel at how striking you are

as seasons change and leaves fall

you grow and change... but not everything changes

in a sense we will always be the same

and I love that sense dearly

in another we will always be changing

and I love that one the same

There is no fear, only joyful anticipation

To spend every moment, full moments with you

And I know we are experiencing only a shadow

Of what is to come in heaven

I am glad to walk in that shadow with you

There is no fear, only joyful anticipation

Of more and more love and happiness for all of eternity

The Beauty of Your Complexity

I find you fascinatingly complex,

So different than me and yet the same.

I'm foolish to think I have you pegged when vexed,

By this love that grows down a new lane.

I will study you all of my days,

And delight in what I see.

So opposite are your ways,

Like these flowers so happy and yet sultry.

You are;

So strong and yet so fragile.

So hard and yet so soft.

So sharp and yet so gentle.

So funny and yet so sexy.

So mine and yet so ultimately God's.

And for that I am full of joy,

For I know he will see you home to glory.

May the Redeemed Come Out

2009-08-09T17:26:00.003-04:00

My wife and daughter have gone to central florida to spend a few days with our family. Both Heather and I have a mother and sister who are teachers and they will be back to the grind of school soon so Heather and Liv have gone to spend some quality time. This leaves me sitting at Calistoga on this ridiculously hot yet still gorgeous Sunday afternoon. I feel so grateful to be involved in God's work here in Estero. At the same time there is a burden that I cannot shake to lift high the name of Christ and to call the people of this city to come to him. I am convinced that there are still more to come, I am convinced that God has many people in this city! In the book of acts in the 18th chapter Paul is in Corinth and God speaks to him in a vision, God says, "do not be afraid but go on speaking for I have many in this city who are my people." What an amazing word. They are already mine, now go and get them. Call my children out of this city, herald my name, they will come.

May the redeemed of this city come out I pray. May the gospel, that is the good news of Jesus Christ, forgiveness for you and restoration into a relationship with God... may the good news be clear and loud! I pray that the children of God would hear his voice and come to him. I pray that those who already know this love would live in such a way that God would look glorious. May the glorious grace and love of God resound in the hearts of the people of this city.

Thoughts on the Reasons for Hell

2009-08-06T07:25:00.002-04:00

Striving to be Biblical on a sad and uncomfortable topic...

On the basis of Rom. 1:23 could it be that because of our “exchanging the glory of God for images” God is committed to manifesting all of his glory so that, upon our seeing it we might not exchange it anymore; a piece of his glory being his wrath on sinners in the form of eternal hell. This concept is not easy to understand with the mind and even harder to embrace with the heart, but could it be that this display of his glory is necessary because we have not seen his glory (yes, even the glory of his wrath) as most valuable; therefore he manifests this glory so that we might see it, yes even see him for who he is and praise our amazing God. There is support for this stance from Rom 9:22-23 “What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy which he has prepared beforehand for glory-“

This paradigm enlightens us to the fact that hell is not a childish move on God’s part to “get back” at those who did not listen to him. He is God and does not need to “get back” at anyone, no one can “get” God in the first place – in the sense that they belittle him or embarrass him.

Rather hell is a display of God's wrath, power, and holiness. It is a display in the museum of God that exists so that vessels of mercy (namely the church) might be enthralled with God. Let me be careful, we are not enthralled with watching the specific torment that so many will receive, we do not take delight in the suffering of those who will experience a Christ-less eternity, nor does God himself; rather we feel great sadness, immense sorrow; but even with these terrible feelings we are enthralled with the power and wrath of God – as well as his other glorious attributes. And we are enthralled in such a way that by the Spirit working in us we will not, oh glory in fact cannot exchange this amazing glory of God a second time. He has put himself on display and opened our eyes to see his splendor and now that he has done this we will never again turn away, he has removed the heart of stone and put in a heart of flesh.

If God is opening your eyes to the fact that you have made this dreadful exchange (and indeed we all have) I urge you to repent (turn from the object that you hold now instead of God in his glory) and put your faith in Christ Jesus as your God and Savior (now that your hands are empty from repentance, take hold of God in his glory). If you are enamored by the power and wrath of God found in Rom. 9 then realize this… you do not have to be a recipient of it – now be enamored by the glorious grace of God in the face of Christ Jesus, trust in him for your salvation from the wrath of God and I can guarantee that if you genuinely mean your declaration of repentance and faith you will be saved, and you will reside eternally in the grace of God. (If by the grace of God you make this decision, go to a Bible-believing church and tell the pastor.)

He Did Not Give Me Up

2009-08-05T07:54:00.003-04:00

My goal in reading the scriptures is to see the glory of the truth. The title of this blog is my goal, it is the direction in which I am headed and that is to ask in faith to be affected by God's reality. If he truly is reality (and he certainly is) and all that the scripture teaches about him is true (and it certainly is) then I pray that would affect me, change me, sustain me, etc. When speaking of the glory of God I mean his "weightiness, heaviness, perfections, splendor, majesty, etc. This is a hard term to define but we know that there is one out there who is all together different than us, and the goal is to explore who he is and then engage him in relationship, to see his glory, enjoy his glory, and praise his glory. Here is the glimpse of his glory I saw this morning...

A piece of God's wrath is his "giving up" of people to their unrighteous ways. This is his wrath because if we go after something that is not worthy of the pursuit it will leave us sad, lonely, in anguish... and the longer we pursue this worthless object the greater the pain and suffering.

This truth comes out in Romans 1 where Paul is speaking of God's wrath on unrighteousness, he uses this phrase three times:

- God gave them up to impurity (v. 24)

- God gave them up to dishonorable passions (v. 26)

- God gave them up to a debased mind (v. 28)

The glory of God that I am caught up in this morning is that "He Did Not Give Me Up". The issue that many do not like with meditating on the glory of God is that we cannot get to the end of it; we cannot tie all of the pieces together. The realities that we are dealing with are simply too great. But who really cares? I am satisfied to let the scripture be my guide and trust in his word even if everything is not neatly packaged. So, is it hard to know and believe that God gives many over to their unrighteousness? Yes. But scripture clearly teaches that he does, so I accept it as truth and trust my God's heart.

With that said; Oh the glory of God that for reasons higher than I can understand, according to his great purpose and plan: He Did Not Give Me Up! He has done the keeping of me! And I am more than grateful, I pray that this reality will weigh heavily on me today, that God in his giving up of many did not give me up. Ephesians 1:4 says that he chose me before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." He did not do this for those whom he has given over to their evil desires, they will not be presented holy and blameless in his sight. I thank God that in his grace and mercy he has rescued me from my thwarted desires.

May my heart, mind, and soul reside with the Lord today, thanking him, adoring him, for he did not give me up. Psalm 16:5,6 "The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup, you hold my lot, the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places, indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance."

Recent Thoughts on the Gospel

2009-08-04T07:03:00.003-04:00

Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes..."

I have been meandering through the first few chapters of Romans for a while now; just grazing. Through this slow trod God has been revealing some awesome things through the words and phrases of the text. Listen to verse 16 broken down: I am not ashamed of the gospel... Why is it that you're not ashamed? Because this gospel is the power of God! Wow, that's pretty awesome... What comes as a result of this amazing power of God? Salvation! Amazing, now who is it that receives this salvation that stems from God's power that is found in the gospel? All who believe.

What a powerful breakdown right?

Check out verse 17: "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith..."

So, if I want to see the righteousness of God, if I want this righteousness of God revealed to me.... where can I find it? "In" the gospel! (For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed). Now if it is revealed in the gospel, if that is the location; then how is it revealed? It is revealed from faith! (to everyone who believes! to everyone who has faith!). O.K. now if it is revealed "in" the gospel and the process in which it is revealed is through faith... What will I get when I see it? You get more faith!! Amazing right? "From faith, For faith!" This is confirmed later in this same book in chapter 10 verse 17; "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ." As the gospel is heard and the righteousness of God is revealed, those who have faith to see it receive more faith!

How crucial is the gospel in light of all of this? The very agent in which the righteousness of God can be seen is the gospel! Oh what a precious thing is the gospel. Think of how careful we are with presents that we transport from house to house on Christmas when we know that the only things that lies within are cheap perfume and a pair of knitted socks. Now think of the gospel as that gift but within lies the righteousness of God! Oh what a precious gift is the gospel.

We must be careful not to damage it, or carry it lightly. We must present it with accuracy in word and deed. But even more important than sharing this gift of the gospel is the truth that we must gaze into its splendor ourselves. See the gospel is not a pair of knitted socks that you enjoy for a short time and then stuff down in the bottom drawer of your dresser. God ordained this gospel to be "continually necessary" because the content is "eternal and infinite" in nature, the content is the righteousness of God and we will never be to the end of Almighty God's righteousness. Another reason it is so essential that we continue to set our gaze on this gospel is that not only are the contents revealed "from faith" but the contents are also "for faith". The very snorkel through which we breath the grace of God is our faith; "we are saved by grace through faith." Faith is the essential conduit through which the grace of God comes. No one can forfeit a kink in their snorkel. Therefore, we gaze into the gospel because in it we see the righteousness of God and that glimpse of his glory strengthens our faith, it grants us a stronger channel through which to breathe deep the amazing grace of our Lord Jesus. Oh how precious is the gospel, which contains all of these glorious things.

The Obedience of Faith

2009-07-30T08:20:00.002-04:00

Romans 1:5 "through whom, we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,"

There are massive realities and massive applications that come from this verse, and I must add that I see these specific applications as vital to the life of the follower of Christ. The first thing to do is to discover what Paul means by "the obedience of faith", then to look into why it is so important.

There is significant debate on what Paul means by this phrase "obedience of faith", there are two sides. Some believe that Paul is speaking of "the decision to obey God by putting their faith in Christ for salvation"; the other side believes that what Paul means by "obedience of faith" is "the obedience of the Christian in their daily life that comes from their faith". The first thing to say is that they are certainly both true and biblical, the only question is which one does Paul mean here in Romans 1. I believe that Paul has the latter goal in mind, he has received the ministry of apostleship in order to bring about the obedience of Christians that comes as a result of their faith. I hold this view on the grounds of two other verses in the book of Romans. In Romans 9:32 Paul says, "Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works." and again in 14:23 "For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." Both of these verses hint at the fact that Paul strongly believes that obedience is a product of faith and he sees his role as to strengthen their faith and as their faith is strengthened, obedience will follow.

Now for the why this is important. I cannot stop thinking on this truth: "Every obedient action I have ever taken in my entire life as a Christian has come from the grace of Jesus through faith" It has not arisen from my personal discipline or holiness, my power, my strength, my intellect, my upbringing, my education, etc. It has come from Christ! He delivered it to me through my faith. This has huge ramifications! Every time we have done anything obedient whether it be by positive action (serving others) or by resistance (swearing, gossip, adultery); every act of obedience has come by faith in Christ.

See we have this ever increasing belief in our culture that we can do it ourselves, there is a pervading self-reliance all around. But here is the deal... We were not made to be self-reliant; we were made to be reliant on Christ. He is the one who works in us and through us. Therefore, if you long to be obedient... Work on Your Faith! For your obedience will flow from your faith. This is my philosophy of ministry; I want to minister to people by strengthening their faith, because I believe whole heartedly that then obedience will come and God will get the glory rather than man. See if man simply white-knuckles his way to obedience, who then gets the glory? The man. Oh no friend, that is not how this universe is constructed, I believe John Piper says it best, this is the way the world (and eternity for that matter) is constructed,

"God gets the glory, I get the help. Good deal"

Oh that we would not try to do self-help seminars or how to better my life seminars, but rather we would meditate of the majesty of our God and plead with him that he would strengthen our faith so that we might be obedient and his name might be lifted high! See, this changes everything for me personally, today I will ask God for faith, more faith, stronger faith, and as he delivers that faith I will walk in obedience today and then as I walk in obedience I will thank him for that good work rather than pat myself on the back and I pray that all who see my life will see only the light and glory of Christ. May we realize that all good comes from God, may the weight of our utter dependence on him weigh heavily on us so that we might see his great value and stand in awe.

Under Sin

2009-07-22T09:14:00.003-04:00

Romans 3:9 "...For we have already charged that all,

both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,"

Under Sin... What a devastatingly beautiful place to be. I heard in a message recently from Matt Chandler that the word "iniquity" carries with it the idea of being "bent toward sin". I love that concept, because it matches up with what I see in my pitiful life. I am recklessly bent towards sin, ask my wife. On numerous occasions my wife will know if I did not read my Bible that morning! She can tell just by my attitude... true story. I have carried this fact with me as a beautiful testimony to the power and grace of God, if I go a single morning without meditating on the Scriptures and praying to my Savior my wife can tell that there is a change in my world. I thank the Lord for his power in my life.

Even so, another truth comes from these interesting words of my wife, and that is that I am a wicked little rebellious sinner. I am "prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave this God I love", without the sustaining grace of God I would plunge head long into every nasty, unspeakable sinful activity that you or I could imagine. This cannot be overstated, Romans 3 drives this idea home; "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave they use their tongues to deceive..." Do you get the picture? He is not talking about the wicked... He is talking about "all" - you and me.

Now God does something very interesting, as he gazes down on this rebellious creation he decides, "I will show them just how rebellious and dreadful they are, I will give them the law." What? What are you going to do God? Romans 5:20 says, "Now the law came in to increase the trespass."

What? Why did the law come? To increase trespass. But I thought the law came so that we could all try to be the best, the holiest, get to the top and look down on all of the other people who don't have the discipline to climb. This is a great mistake to think this way; now do not get me wrong - we need to obey the law, and do so joyfully but what we like to do as sinful rebellious people is to twist the things of God, flip them upside down and wrong side up and spoil the means to the most priceless gift in the universe.

See the law is the means to the glorious grace of God in the slaughter of his son

on the cross for the sins of God's people.

How is the law the means to this great gift? The law came to show you and I just how wretched we truly are, just how in need of a Savior we are in our current condition. Once we realize that we see that we are not saved by works of the law, we never could be, we have all sinned and exchanged God's glory for lesser objects. But oh Grace! Oh Sweet Grace!

See God wanted to manifest the glory of his grace to the world (Eph. 1:5-6). Therefore he sent the law to show us that we are "under sin" in such a way that we can never rescue ourselves, and the minute that we think there is no hope... Christ. And the rescued will praise the glorious grace of God in Christ Jesus forever and ever, Amen.

Forgetting the Main Point

2009-07-20T09:24:00.002-04:00

Isaiah 22:11 "You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago."

I am greatly convicted this morning as I read this passage in Isaiah. Chapter 22 is an oracle concerning Jerusalem, in this specific passage Isaiah speaks of a time when many were attacking Jerusalem and he states how the people took all of the necessary provisions in preparing for the siege, they collected water, broke down many of their own houses so that they might fortify the wall, and they made a reservoir... but they did not look to God, they relied on their own strength and forgot to call on the one who controls everything for Super Nova's to Sub-Atomic Particles.

The language used in the second half of verse 11 is striking, "But you did not look to him "who did it", or see him who "planned it long ago." What amazing language! So as you Israelites went down and gathered the water in buckets -- God was really the one doing it. As you broke down your houses with hammers -- God was really the one doing it. As the opposing armies were approaching to destroy your city -- God was the one who had planned it long ago. So it is not as if you forgot to call upon the God who is somewhere far off in the heavens uninvolved, the God who if we pray loud and hard enough he might be able to hear us, and he might answer. No! You did not pray to the God who ordained the entire affair, the God who actually has his hand in the process and is orchestrating your very movements! You forgot him.

I am deeply convicted by this truth. And it is not just a simple passage on prayer. May we never take this and only say, "don't forget to pray". It has to do with much more than prayer. It has to do with the fact that I live as if God is not in control, not relevant to my situation, not existent in my world, not even existent at all, I forget that he is the orchestrator of each and every event, that he is driving them and he has a purpose in mind, that purpose... the praise of his glory (Rom. 11:36; Ps. 24:1; Isa. 6:3)

Therefore, my prayer is that I may see the world according to God, that I might look at every event as one in which God is working and moving, whether it be approaching armies, a date with my wife, a ride in a boat, a walk in the woods, laying on a couch, or lunch with a friend -- he is at work today to reveal his glory, he will accomplish this revelation and people will praise his glory when they see it. What a privilege that I am asked to join him in every second of my existence in revealing the beautiful, glorious, grace of God.

Suffering and Sovereignty

2009-06-24T15:39:00.002-04:00

I cannot run from my feelings and hide in God's Sovereignty when pain, suffering, death, cancer, sickness, terrible evils, rapes, murders, and miscarriages come. No, His Sovereignty does not cover me from the pain, it is not a shot of Novocaine.

Rather,

It is like a man who has been out all day in the scorching summer sun, running, walking, hiking... It is high noon and the sun is pounding down on him, he is sun burnt, drenched with sweat, and exhausted to the point where he will soon collapse. God's Sovereignty is a huge, black, cool, flat, and smooth rock out in a field, he sees it and makes his way to lay down on this rock. After laying down he is still hot, the blazing sun is still pounding on his burnt skin, he is still soaked in sweat. But he has a cool, smooth place to lay, now this rock is not soft, but it is smooth, the coolness of the rock begins to soothe some of his skin, and even though he cannot get all of his skin on the cool rock, he seems to be so consumed with the relief that the rock is bringing to his skin that he begins to forget about the side that is still exposed to the heat.

Yes, we cannot run from our feelings and hide in God's Sovereignty. Rather, we lean against it, and lay down on it, fully exposed to the intensity of our feelings; the pain, hurt, anger, sadness, and joy. And in the midst of it all His Sovereignty cools us, relieves us, sustains us, and eventually revives us.

Oh thank you Lord for your Sovereignty.

You Would Have No Authority....

2009-06-17T08:00:00.003-04:00

John 19:11 "Jesus answered him, "You would have no authority over me at all
unless it had been given you from above..."

The son of God is condemned to die for being the Son of God. When Pilate finds out that there is a God-factor involved in this trial he asks Jesus where he is from. Jesus does not reply. Pilate then presses his credentials across the table to Jesus, "Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?"
Jesus responds in verse 11, you are on God's leash Pilate. You have no rights, territory, power, buildings, followers, servants, clothes, family, or oxygen that has not been given to you from God above.

- God had not lost control over Jesus' trial
- God knew what the Jews would say in John 19:7 when he ordained that Leviticus 24:16 be
written
- God has authority over earthly rulers
- God has authority over heavenly rulers
- God has authority over cancer, death, crucifixions, denials, push over Roman officials,
mis-guided unregenerate pharisees, fragile babies, pregnant women, ex-communicated
church members, and sinning pastors.

May we be confident that God is orchestrating this beautiful plan by his glory for his glory with great intentionality. I'm talking microscopic intentionality, city by city, church by church, leader by leader, individual life by individual life, molecule by molecule, and atom by atom intentionality.

He sees all, He knows all, and everything no matter how grand or how minuscule; knowing or unknowingly receives their orders from Him.

"This is my Father's world;
Oh let me nev'r forget.
That though the wrong seems oft'n so strong;
He is the ruler yet."

The Glory of His Life-Giving

2009-06-08T07:21:00.003-04:00

What a glory filled week. God has blessed my wife and I with a baby girl, Livia Houston Longshore. She is precious and beautiful. I have spent some time trying to reflect on the glory of God in the events of this week. Fighting to overcome the sleep deprivation, dirty diapers, spit up, and the crazy feeding schedule. These words from John 11 struck home this morning. "I am the resurrection and the life." What a power packed statement, oh how I could meditate for an eternity on this truth. Jesus says two more interesting statements, they are two things that we will receive if and only if we do the necessary action that precedes it.
He says; "everyone who... believes in me shall never die." and "if you believed you would see the glory of God."

In John 11 Jesus makes these statements about life and death, he states that he is life and the resurrection, and then in the same chapter defeats death by raising Lazarus from the dead. I believe John the gospel writer is sending a clear message by packing all of these life / death statements and stories in one chapter.

If we believe we will get two things: 1. to see his glory. 2. to never die.

He is the life giver and life sustainer. I watched a human take her first breath this week. That is a glorious occasion. And by glorious I do not simply mean happy, I mean that God's hand was in the room. He is life. The word glory can be summed up by words like, heavy, weighty, the excellency of an object, the indescribable perfections of a thing. I thank God that this week I got to catch a glimpse of his glory in the area of his life giving power. It is not a light thing. I will never allow myself, by God's grace, to get comfortable with the majesty of God. May I always trust him, being that he gives life and sustains life, and as seen in John 11 brings the dead to life. I cannot give a person life, God can. I cannot fill lungs with oxygen for the first time, God did, I watched. May I stand in awe of him today. May I see more of his glorious perfections today than I did yesterday, more this week than I did last week. I need to see it, I am consumed by him. Spirit lead me on in the way of everlasting, and God, show me your glory and I will praise your name.

Christ is life and God above,
Reached down and filled the room with love.
When by his joy he started life,
To never end by his stripes.

Why Do You Really Seek Jesus?

2009-05-25T10:29:00.002-04:00

John 6:26 "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves."

Here Jesus seems to be pointing to the currents underneath the actions of these people. He is peering into their motivations. He confronts them and reveals that they are not seeking him because they saw him do signs, wonders, miracles. They are not seeking him because they are fascinated by something bigger than their selves. They are not seeking him because they realize there is something more. Rather they are seeking him for their own personal pleasure, they found a candy store and they want more. What a fine line to walk here if we hold to Piper and Edwards core conviction that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. How do we protect against treating Jesus as the ice cream man. No one cares about the ice cream man, they care about the ice cream. I was reading about the miracle at the wedding in Cana a few days ago. The attendants were marveling at the great wine, the disciples were marveling at the God-man who made it out of water. They were valuing the giver above the gift. Jesus says that these people are valuing the gift above the giver.
Edwards argues in his work, "the end for which God created the world" that God's final end was not to give anything to his creation, for if that was his motivation then there would have to already be a creation. Rather, God in himself has a natural inclination or disposition to overflow, it is an attribute or characteristic of God. Therefore, he naturally overflows his glory and as a result of that we are brought into existence. Edwards uses the illustration of a tree, a tree produces buds, leaves, and fruits as a result of the tree emanating sap. Now creation and yes even the sustaining of the buds, leaves, and fruits is not the cause of the tree producing sap -- rather it is the natural inclination of a tree to produce sap that is the cause of it to do so, and the effect is that buds, leaves, and fruits come into existence and maintain their existence. If God were to be motivated by his creation that would make him dependent upon his creation -- that would make me, you, and us the center of the universe.

That is what I believe Jesus is saying to these remnants from the feeding of the five thousand. He says, Hey guys, you are seeking me to get your fill, you want more bread, you want butter on your bread, and a glass of 2% milk to wash it all down with. You are caught up in yourself, you are missing the greater reality -- I am God, there is more satisfaction to be found. You are willing to be satisfied with a loaf of whole grain when you have endless satisfaction in me if you would only seek me and not a biscuit. Yeah, you may have to get your eyes off of yourself for a second, but if you do that you will experience more delight, more satisfaction than you could ever imagine, you will get lost in me, you will forget about your hunger, your selfish desires, your lust, your greed, your pornography, your selfish ambition, your jealousy, your private sins. You will be consumed with me and my glory, you will be fixated for eternity on this glorious, indescribable person who you can never fully understand so therefore you continue to gaze in enjoyment forevermore, not even for a second thinking about self because you left self a long time ago, you are in an eternal race towards the light, the truth, glory, you can't remember where you left self, but you are confident it is behind you, repented of, you can't even imagine turning around, how ridiculous it sounds to turn back. Turn back? And miss this? This person who is so beautiful and only continues to grow more beautiful by the minute. This light that continues to get brighter and brighter every second yet somehow I can continue to look into him. His glory is all around us, in every word, thought, relationship, glass of wine, and slice of bread, book, truth, animal, cloud, star, wife, husband, child, father, mother.

May we gaze upon him.

Seeking God's Approval and Not Man's

2009-05-21T07:27:00.000-04:00

John 5:41-44
verse 43 of this passage I believe is the first building block. "You do not recieve me because I came in the name of my father -- on the other hand -- if someone were to come by their own name (and hence therefore not by the fathers name) you would receive them.
Further explanation of that idea comes in verse 44: You see you cannot believe when you are more concerned with receiving glory (the opinion and honor that comes from that opinion) from people than you are with receiving glory from God.
"Oh how I want the opinion and approval of God!"
verse 42 then drives the nail from the mind (belief) to the heart (love): Therefore, on those grounds, I know that you do not have the love of God within you. Because if you had the love of God in you, you would seek his glory more than the glory of man -- you would receive me because I come in the name of the father.
verse 41 is beautiful because it caps off the passage and Jesus reminds us of his perfection, his holiness, he gives us the right example, the exact opposite of what we are, he says: I do not receive glory from people. I receive glory from God, I seek the glory of God and that is evidence that I have the love of God within me.
"Seeking the opinion and approval of man leads us away from God, rather seeking the opinion and approval of God leads us to him."
I hold that this is the meat of what John is saying in this section from v. 30-47. It is confirmed in Jesus having many witnesses (five to be exact) in this passage. He states in verse 30 that he cannot do anything on his own, his power comes from God. He is not out to impress man, in fact he is not asking people to believe in him because of who he says he is, rather, he is calling people to the many witesses that point to the fact that he is God. With the reference to these witnesses, there is a humbling aroma that comes from Jesus, it is evident that he is not out for the glory of people, he is out for the glory of God, therefore in his meekness he is bold, not prideful or arrogant for his reputation but bold for the God he serves.
"Seeking the opinion and approval of man leads us away from God, rather seeking the opinion and approval of God leads us to him."
- We only seek the opinion of those we trust.
- We only eek the approval of those we admire.
- The approval of men leads to pride, the approval of God leads to humbleness.
- One may want to argue that we must seek "wise council" or men who can help us by giving us their opinion, I would affirm this with one condition. Man's advice to another in counseling or discipleship or mentoring, must only be that of which leads the recipient towards God's opinion and approval -- any advice that leads away or in any other diretion must be thrown out and rejected. (This is a good note for those disciple or council, "Is our advice leading the other in the direction of God's opinion or our own? Are we casting our approval, our lke or dislike, or are we directing them to God's approval? Oh what a dangerous place to be if we are not towards God.
- As long as men do not have a longing for the opinion and approval of God they will not come to him for their salvation.
Oh may we see how great and glorious our God is, and therefore all the more we will run to him for hs opinion and his approval, yes, his glory.

Jesus. The Possessor and Distributor of the Life Giving Spirit.

2009-05-18T07:31:00.003-04:00

John 3:3-6 "Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom o God... ...Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

Here is an excerpt from a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus in the book of John. Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night and begins a conversation with him, Nicodemus has heard of the things that Jesus has been doing and he wants to question him further because there is evidence that Jesus is a great teacher. Jesus plunges to the core of the conversation right away and tells Nicodemus that a person must be born again by the spirit to enter the kingdom of God. Nicodemus struggles with the reality of the spiritual realm, (as do many of the characters in the gospel) and he does not understand how to re-enter his mother's womb. Jesus seems surprised at his inability to understand the reality of the new birth by the spirit.

"Jesus is the possessor and distributor of the life giving Spirit"

As I read this morning through chapters 3 and 4 of John's gospel it is very clear that Jesus possessed the Spirit, he was a man who was lead by the Spirit, concerned with Spiritual things/Spiritual reality. He takes the conversation with Nicodemus immediately to the spiritual realm and in chapter 4 he engages in a conversation with a Samaritan woman and he never once speaks on any other level than the spiritual. The disciples ask him to eat and he tells them he has food that they know nothing about; again he engages them on a spiritual level. He says, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work." Jesus did not waste anytime on earth. Now to clarify that point, Jesus does not seem like the person who is constantly running around like a chicken with their head cutoff. Rather, he does not waste anytime because at every moment he is engaging in God's reality, the spiritual reality -- it is the most important reality to him; John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all."

Jesus is not only the possessor of the Spirit but he is the distributor as well. The promise from God in Ezekiel 36:25-27 is played out in Jesus giving the Spirit. God says, "I will put a new heart in you and I will breathe my Spirit in you." Then Jesus comes in the gospel; Jn. 3:34 "...for he gives the Spirit without measure." Jesus also shows us that he gives the Spirit in his conversation with the Samaritan woman, "The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

This Spirit is life giving. Oh how desperately I want and need this Spirit! It is life. If I get it I will sell all that I have to buy a field and then bury it there so no one will be able to steal my treasure. Jesus makes it clear, "unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." Again we see this in Titus 3:5 "he saved us... ...by the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit." To have the Spirit is to have new and everlasting life.

Oh how sweet it is to possess and live by the Spirit. The world comes alive because I am looking through God's eyes. As Jesus said, my food is now to do the will of my Father. This also raises a reverence for Jesus in my mind and heart because I recognize my dependency on him for the continual blessing of the Spirit and the opening of my eyes to live by the Spirit everyday. A final application is the joy and peace that it brings me as I see the fruit of the Spirit bubbling out of my life -- knowing that the Spirit is the deposit guaranteeing my inheritance with all of the saints. May we all live by the Spirit today.

He Manifested His Glory "The Savior of the World Keeps the Party Going"

2009-05-15T14:54:00.006-04:00

John 2:11 "This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him."

Jesus is the image of the invisible God (col. 1:15), the radiance of God's glory, and the exact representation of his being (Hebrews 1:3). How amazing is it that this God-man came to earth full of God's glory and then.... manifested God's glory to us. He not only possessed it but he displayed it to the world, even now in Christ we see God's glory bubbling up into our consciousness like a breath of fresh air. As I search for these Godly affections, these divine feelings that match his ridiculous, diving, eternal reality I want to scream it from a mountain when his truth comes crashing into my tiny little mind. What truly blows my mind is that his glory can be seen everywhere; big things, small things, loud things, quiet things, violent things, peaceful things, happy things, and sad things. His glory is exploding all around us -- oh how I long for eyes to see it.

For instance in this passage Jesus manifests his glory... by keeping the party hopping! This is one of the closest pictures I have found of Jesus humanity and divinity packaged together in a passage. Now I am not saying his humanity in the sense that he does anything wrong but his humanity in the sense that I can simply relate and get a chuckle out of what goes down in this passage.

Jesus and friends who follow him are at a wedding, so is Jesus' mom. The wine runs dry -- that just can't happen at a wedding. What does a concerned mother do? Goes to her son and tells him to fix the problem. Now the mother of a normal son would say, "Hey son, go down to the 7/11 and get some more to drink for the guests" The son would reluctantly leave his comfy table and plate of finger food at the wedding and go on the errand. But not the mother of Jesus, simply by the way she approaches him you know that she fully understands what Jesus is capable of (she has already had encounters with his glory). She tells him to fix it and Jesus pretty much says no -- and this is the funny part, she looks at his friends and says, "Do whatever he tells you to do" and walks away! Making sure to get back to the guests and assure the bride that the problem is soon to be solved. Ha! Ha! But wait it gets better, then Jesus doesn't even lift a finger but has his buddies tote around these huge jars that hold up to thirty gallons a piece! Not having ever touched anything Jesus turns the water in these jugs to wine, and not only wine but the best of wine! Then we have the statement, "he manifested his glory. And the disciples believed in him."

Sounds like a funny little story and in fact I would agree that it is, but now ask for the Godly affections...

Jesus turned water into wine. I have never seen that one done before. It's not just a story -- he really did it. Go there in your mind, sit down at the wedding with him. He turned water into wine! It really happened -- I don't know if you are up to speed, but people cannot do that!

The master of the feast (who did not know where the wine came from) enjoyed the wine, it was some of the best he had ever drank. But check this out, I bet the disciples didn't even think twice about how great the new wine was -- being that they were absolutely amazed that some guy just made the wine out of water!!! The master of the feast was delighting in the gift, the disciples were delighting in the giver.

May I, and all of God's children see God' glory in everything, big, small, loud or soft. And may we delight in the giver more than the gift. May we be enthralled by his magnificent perfections, may we stand in awe at the specific contours of his glory. I believe that it is clear if we put ourselves in the sandals of the disciples in this passage -- If we have a clear view of the giver, we have no choice but to delight in him more than in the gift.

He Is Going To Ask.

2009-05-14T07:49:00.002-04:00

Hebrews 13:17 "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you."

It is easy to have tiny lazy affections that match my tiny, lazy, misplaced reality, for example: I am a pastor, I get to teach the Bible, sing some songs, and help people with their problems. How tiny of a picture right? As I receive this truth from Hebrews I ask God for his reality, his huge, beautiful reality, for example: I am a pastor, I am commanded to stand on the brink of eternity and call people by the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of His very Word to repent from their destructive lives leading to hell and turn in faith to Christ and pursue his unexplainable glory forever more, I am called to watch over souls and joyfully and gently correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. There will come a day when he will ask for an account. This is not something that I take lightly, it scares me. It challenges me to walk faithfully. Search me God I pray, search me and direct my every step, lead me on by your Spirit and your Truth. What a fearful beautiful truth. I long to be affected by God's reality and thank him for this truth. With this in mind and heart, how could today be a boring day? Today is the day of salvation! Today is the day of repentance! Today is the day to have the scales removed to see God's glory in a real and powerful way! And we get to be a part.

The great thing is that this is not only applicable to the life of a vocational minister. The entire church body is called to practice the priesthood! Men are called to lead their families well. We all stand on the edge of eternity and we are all called to shine the light of his glory by the way that we live our lives, the things that we say and do. And yes, we will all give an account. (Hebrews 4:13) Let us all meditate on that for a second, we will stand before God soon and very soon and give an account of what we have done on this earth. Therefore, let us embrace the real truth today, let us live from God's perspective -- we are called to be his workers, living fully in our present bodies so that God's glory may be seen by all.

On The Brink of Glory

2009-05-13T07:47:00.002-04:00

Hebrews 11:1-12:2 "Now Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen... ...And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him... ...These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth... ...But as it is, they desire a better country, that i, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city... ...And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

We do not live in a boring world. That is a lie. We live on the brink of glory, ever peering into God' eternal reality. This peering is our faith, our assurance that things we hope for, the things that God has promised us truly exist just over the edge. Just as the people of Hebrews 11 we do not posses them yet, we have not received this glory yet -- only the promise, so we live by faith. He has something better for us, a city to call our own; and as we lean over the brink and peer into the distance we see shadows of his glory, his promises, his reality that sweep over us on this side of eternity. A kiss from our spouse, a song that wells up in our hearts, the sun on a warm Sunday afternoon, the list could go on and on...

Let us not mistake the shadow for glory! This is important. My marriage is a shadow of God's love for his church. The song is but a parable of the indescribable reality. The warming sun is but a sign post of the eternal glory and pleasure that is to come. God is pressing into us, he is pushing through the walls of creation, our circumstances, our senses, our relationships. He is calling us to see beyond the brink. To gaze out over the ledge and by faith in him and his promises.... reveal his glory to this world. May his kingdom come....

Preaching, Old Blessing, and a thought on Marriage.

2009-05-12T07:35:00.003-04:00

So I just finished reading through a tough passage in Hebrews. I am going to take some more time to pray and meditate on this passage before I post anything on it because I am not very smart, it is a very hard passage and there is a good chance that I would say something heretical. In light of this given situation I wanted to post up some random things that I have been chewing on that have been of encouragement....

Preaching.
Here is one of the most insightful and influential quotes on preaching I ever read. It’s from Jonathan Edwards:
I don't think ministers are to be blamed for raising the affections of their hearers too high, if that which they are affected with be only that which is worthy of affection, and their affections are not raised beyond a proportion to their importance, or worthiness of affection.
I should think myself in the way of my duty to raise the affections of my hearers as high as possibly I can, provided that they are affected with nothing but truth, and with affections that are not disagreeable to the nature of what they are affected with.

Blessing.
A Four-fold Franciscan Blessing May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator, Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour, and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide, be with you and remain with you this day and forevermore. AMEN.

Marriage.
Nothing Is Lost
Yes, they were reunited, but not as husband and wife. For Jesus said, “When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Mark 12:25). There is no human marriage after death. The shadow of covenant-keeping between husband and wife gives way to the reality of covenant-keeping between Christ and his glorified Church. Nothing is lost. The music of every pleasure is transposed into an infinitely higher key.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer and John and Betty Stam today are closer to each other in love than John and Betty Stam were, or Dietrich and Maria would have been, in marriage. They “shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13:43). Their magnificent perfection points to the glory of Christ. And in the age to come, their bodies will be restored, and all creation will join with the children of God in everlasting joy (Rom. 8:21).

Marriage is more than your love for each other. . . . In your love you see only the heaven of your own happiness, but in marriage you are placed at a post of responsibility towards the world and mankind. Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal—it is a status, and office. Just as it is the crown, and not merely the will to rule, that makes the king, so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and man.2

The aim of this book is to enlarge your vision of what marriage is. As Bonhoeffer says, it is more than your love for each other. Vastly more. Its meaning is infinitely great. I say that with care. The meaning of marriage is the display of the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his people.

“Welcome one another . . . for the glory of God.” That is God’s word for your marriage. Thank him for it; thank him for leading you thus far; ask him to establish your marriage, to confirm it, sanctify it, and preserve it. So your marriage will be “for the praise of his glory.” Amen.

Jesus. Our High Priest.

2009-05-11T07:22:00.002-04:00

Hebrews 9:12,24 "he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf."

As I sit at the kitchen table this morning drinking my cup of coffee I feel blessed to be in God's word again today. God is still working the truth from last post into my heart. This morning as I continued through Hebrews, the writer speaks of Jesus as our great high priest. He relates Jesus again to the old order of priests and the old order of sacrifices. The priests of the old testament were in charge of bringing the people people before the Lord, they would take the sacrifices and give them up to God. We see that Jesus is the perfect priest who not only takes a sacrifice to God on our behalf but he gives himself as the perfect sacrifice once and for all. Now, we have access into the holy of hollies.

That is the key idea for me, now we have access into the holy of hollies. A place where we could not have gone before, an off limit region -- now open wide! That area is the very heart of God! See, Jesus did come to remove our sins, but even more important is the question of why he came to remove our sins.... so that we might draw near to God, so that we might have access to the holy of hollies! This is seen in the new covenant that Hebrews speaks of repeatedly, it is also found in Jeremiah 31. "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." Amen! We are washed white as snow. But, it gets better, look at what is said right before that, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the LORD; I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds," See Jesus did not only come and erase our sin forevermore, he also initiated the work known as our sanctification. That is, he begins to write his laws on our hearts and minds. Not on our hands as in the old Mosaic Covenant, they had to follow the rules in order to be blessed. Oh no, Jesus brings a whole new covenant, one in which his children, those who are called, begin to desire his truth, his commands, it is written on our hearts and we are drawn to the Father, by the amazing work of our great high priest.... Jesus.

Jesus. So We Might Draw Near To God.

2009-05-09T13:47:00.004-04:00

Hebrews 7:18-19 "For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God."

My wife has headed back to Central Florida today to go to a final family baby shower. That leaves me alone at the house with my thoughts... a dangerous place. Last night I was struck with a weird question, one that many Christians may think is a question that we should all have answered in 2nd grade Sunday School. But, if we are honest, this question is a very important one and it can be answered using different words that cast a new light on an old truth, "Why did Jesus really come here in the first place?" I pondered this question for a while, then wrote it down so I would remember it in the morning. I believe that God gave me the clarity that I was looking for today as I continued through Hebrews. In this passage the writer is speaking of the old covenant, the old laws, and the old priests. He then contrasts the old things with the the new things, the new covenant and our new priest Jesus Christ. The writer states how the old sacrificial system did not actually remove sin, and no one could attain the perfection that was required to enter the holy place where God dwelt. But Christ, the perfect priest provides us with a new hope... through him we, draw near to God. Jesus is our eternal priest, he has fulfilled the law so that we may draw near to God, the one who brings us satisfaction and joy everlasting.
Was that his mission? To glorify God by drawing us near to God? I believe that was his mission and still is his mission, and will forever be his mission! I believe there are huge implications from this truth, ones that I know I will only get to by further meditation, but here are a few preliminary thoughts:

This would mean that God is most glorified in me when I am near to him.
He desires to be near to me.
My main mission in life is to draw near to God
My main ministry to others is to call them to draw near to God

I know these may seem elementary, but I believe there is more here than meets the eye. More to come on this...

The Necessity of Faith

2009-05-08T07:56:00.002-04:00

Hebrews 3:14-4:2 "For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?.... So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened."

In our teaching meeting on tuesday Jamin encouraged us with a word from Hebrews. He was explaining how the book can be hard to understand but it is a beautiful thing because the writer is calling the reader into the "deep things of God", and there we can experience who God is and then stand in awe and worship him. I personally just finished reading through the minor prophets so I have decided now to read through Hebrews, I am excited to see what God has to say in this book. This morning I read the first four chapters and I feel like I have just discovered a gold mine! God is saying so much just in the first four chapters it is hard to pick one thing out, I am up to my knees in gold nuggets of truth! (If you are looking for a good spot in the word, come over here to Hebrews and help me stuff all of these gold nuggets in a sack -- we'll head straight to the bank together!) I have tried to pick out one idea from these chapters, it is similar to yesterday's post in that it is a huge idea that I do not have a grasp on, but I believe there is huge life change hiding in this truth.

As I look at my life I believe that I have always downplayed faith; meaning that I have always looked at it as "blind faith" or "just believe". I have viewed it as something simple, flimisical, and not all that necessary. Recently God has been revealing to me the necessity of faith, and here is the reason that I believe it is so necessary: "Faith is the agent, or the channel, or the conduit through which we are brought into a right standing with God." Think about Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith." This is also affirmed in this passage in Hebrews, "So we see that they were uable to enter because of unbelief.... For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened." Oh how desperately I need faith!

In light of this new mindset on faith I have a new perspective on encouragement. We do not encourage eachother simply because we want eachotherto feel good, no, rather as Hebrews 3:13 says, we "exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of us may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." I also have a new perspective on suffering. I know of friends now who are going through terrible things in their lives -- and they are standing strong in their faith! Oh what an encouragement to me! They are proclaiming God's sovereignty and goodness even in the midst of their situation and it is propelling me on from faith to faith.

Two things in closing: First, I believe that the two primary ways we get faith are, asking God for it, and reading/hearing the scriptures. In Mark 9:24 there is a beautiful picture of asking God for faith, the father of a demon possessed boy cries out to Jesus' after he commands him to believe. The man says, "I believe, help my unbelief!" Oh how many things God will give us if only we will ask. Also, Romans 10:17 says, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ." The word is powerful and fuels our faith, if we desire faith we must: ask, and search the scriptures. The second and final thing is a beautiful promise: Even as we see that faith is the agent through which we are brought into a right standing relationship with Christ we do have a promise and that is: 2 Timothy 2:13 "If we are faithless, he remains faithful -- for he cannot deny himself." Oh what a glorious promise for the child of God! He knows me, he has chosen me, he will not deny himself. May that promise propel me to faith.

What is Life Anyway?

2009-05-07T07:17:00.003-04:00

John 11:25-26 "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

Do you believe this?"

I work off of a very worldly definition of life. Not that there is anything wrong with the definition that is found in the dictionary, but I am asking God to let me see things from his reality, his standpoint. Jesus brings an interesting perspective on life, he says, "I am life." He says in John 17:3, "this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ who you have sent." I don't think Jesus is down playing the beauty of physical life; breathing, running, laughing, and crying; in fact he is the one who orchestrated the whole plan. But I do think that Jesus is unleashing on us a mountain-sized spiritual truth that admittedly I can not even begin to understand, I pray that the Spirit will illuminate this scripture in my mind and heart.

I want life! I want life in all of its fullness, I want to feel and move, laugh and cry, indulge and restrain. And I believe Christ is saying... "You haven't seen nothing yet!" "Press into me and you will find life to the full; then press into me further and you will find even more!" Jesus is life! He holds in himself a bottomless ocean of life and he calls us to swim deep, he says, "ask me to help you swim deeper and I will help." All of our experiences so far are only but a teaspoon of his bottomless ocean of life.

Do I have real life today? Jesus says, "If you have me, you have life. If you do not have me, you are dead." The only way to get real life is to press into Christ, he holds all that I can imagine and all that I could never even come close to dreaming up. Oh how I pray that I would experience real life today, may I move by your Spirit Lord, may I experience you in all I do, may I rejoice that though this physical world is faltering and fading; you are near, and you are calling me to run towards you, as you run towards me.

Polluted Offerings for a Tiny Distant God

2009-05-06T11:37:00.003-04:00

Malachi 1:6-14

"A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I (God) am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you,... When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil?... Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, (of the temple) that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand... For I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations."

This morning I am reading through the book of Malachi, this is the last book of the Old Testament. Israel has made mistake after mistake and God has poured out his grace on them again and again. It is amazing that the New Testament ends again with Israel turning their back on God by offering polluted sacrifices. I am left with the question; "Am I offering polluted sacrifices to God?" Am I bringing God the best of my life? Or do I offer him the last watered down swig?

We would all like to answer, "Oh yes! I give God right off the top, the good stuff." But do I really? Do I give him the best of my mind? My time? My meditations? My finances? My heart? My body? I would argue that when I hold back from God, when I just can't seem to get around to spending time with him, that one of the things that is going on is that I do not have a correct view of who he is. In those moments I believe that the God of the Bible is a tiny distant God, one who is too far away to notice, nice enough to ignore my apathy, and too tiny to really do anything about it. (Oh God may I have a clear and ever present picture of who you truly are!) You are not a tiny distant God, but a huge, powerful, ever-present and always near God. God sends us this message towards the end of this passage; "For I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations." May I have affections that match your reality God. May I be truly affected in my mind, heart, and spirit today that you are not a tiny distant God, but rather the truth is that you are indescribably massive and closer than I could ever imagine. May I bring you the best of my life today because you are more than worthy.